enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Granola
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I have been maintaining a gestational diabetes diet for about three weeks and will have more to say about it later, but so far, I have enjoyed experimenting with some new recipes to see what will help keep my blood sugar low but still fill me up. This is one of the first and I have a feeling it may have opened a whole new "adventures in bulk bin shopping" chapter of my life.

I followed this recipe from Delighted Momma for Grain-Free Chocolate Granola and it was pretty rad. I picked this recipe because I love cereal or granola for breakfast but due to the extra carbs it's probably not ideal right now. This batch has nuts (filling but no-carb!) and coconut oil (good fat!) and is not too sweet.

EDIT : I have been making this with about 1/3 C of coconut oil instead of the 1 C the recipe calls for and it's even better. 😉

After shopping the bulk bins for hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, flax seed and shredded coconut, I made up a batch on Sunday night and tried it yesterday morning with milk. I learned that a little goes a long way. While normally I pour out about 3/4 C of cereal, I was totally content with just a 1/2 C (or less!) of this. It was also very chewy, but totally delicious and I was thrilled to check my blood sugar an hour after breakfast and be in the clear. 

Totally recommend, regardless of your dietary needs.

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25 responses to “super excited about granola.”

  1. Claire Avatar

    How weird – I just made my first homemade granola on Sunday too! I have got oats in mine though but its healthy and yummy 🙂

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  2. Ruth Avatar

    I love this and will definitely be making this recipe! I eat a mostly paleo diet and this recipe is perfect! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Ali Avatar

    yum! this recipe looks great! can’t wait to try it out soon after I finish my fitness model diet in four weeks!

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  4. Diana Avatar

    This looks delicious! Seems like a great swap out for anyone who loves granola (like me!).
    xo
    Diana
    http://unusuallylovely.com

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  5. Ffion Avatar

    Sounds interesting… I’m into muesli in the morning, but this sounds like an interesting alternative… must try it at some time 😀
    Thanks for the tip!

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  6. Melissa Sharp Avatar

    May I offer a suggestion? Chia seeds. They are full of all the good omega fats and bursting with fiber too. I’m obsessed. They’d do great in this granola recipe.

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  7. Angie Avatar
    Angie

    That’s awesome, I’ve been making my own granola for years!! I use Orangette’s recipe, which is adapted from Nigella Lawson’s.
    You may need to tweak it a bit for your dietary needs, but you REALLY, REALLY need to try it. It’s so addictive and HEALTHY. I have made a lot of granola in the past but this one is the winner for me, hands down. Whenever I make a batch it’s gone in a couple of days because husband takes some to work and we can’t stop eating it.
    Here’s the link to the recipe (I swear I don’t know her and she doesn’t pay me to advertise, I just like it that much):
    http://orangette.blogspot.mx/2008/02/consider-it.html

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  8. elise blaha Avatar

    wonderful tip! thank you!

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  9. elise blaha Avatar

    that looks wonderful! but yes, for right now, too much sugar/sweets and carbs in that one. but post GDM diet, I will make it for sure! thanks for the tip!

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  10. Kelly Avatar

    did you use the full cup of coconut oil? that seems like so much! but I suppose the fat is what helps keep you full.

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  11. elise blaha Avatar

    just about 1 C. it was super hard to scoop out while the oil was in solid form. I would say next time I make it I could get by with less, but it’s the main ingredient to coat all those nuts. 🙂

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  12. Kelly Avatar

    thank you!

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  13. creole wisdom Avatar

    Yum! I have made granola before, but with grains and sweetened condensed milk. It never really felt like being healthy, more like dessert. Thanks for passing along a better recipe. I’ll have to try it sometime 🙂

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  14. Marissa Avatar

    You’re such an inspiration, Elise!

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  15. Brittany @ kitchen::candid Avatar

    Oh man now I have to add an assortment of nuts to the grocery list! I’m quite giddy about the thought of being able to enjoy granola whilst doing a paleo challenge!

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  16. oh shoot Avatar

    This is really exciting because I have always wanted to make my own granola. I have been lazy about it, but now, after reading this post I wanted to go home and make it.

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  17. tate Avatar

    I was so disappointed when I started seeing a natural-path and she pointed out how full of sugar my favorite breakfast (granola) was… so excited to try this… I am a standard greek yogurt and granola kinda girl- talk about high protein breakfast! ha
    thanks for the recipe!

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  18. Marian Avatar

    I love to start the day with granola, so I’ll have to try this recipe. I usually buy the kirkland brand from costco and I have a feeling that making it yourself is a lot healthier. 🙂

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  19. bethany Avatar
    bethany

    love it! just went to trader joe’s and bought most of my ingredients… plus some sunflower & pumpkin seeds! will let you know how it goes 🙂

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  20. Katherine Michael Avatar

    Oh yummy! That look delicious. I had Gestational Diabetes during my recent pregnancy and it was so frustrating. I felt overly stressed with the 4 times a day finger pricks and 99% of the time the numbers we just fine regardless of what I ate. It ended up being more stress than I felt it was worth and stopped doing the finger pricks the last 2 weeks before Felix was born. My heart was so much more at peace going into the final days of pregnancy.
    Not saying you should do the same, everyone is different. But I hope and pray the GD dosen’t cause too much stress in your life. 🙂

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  21. J3SS1C4 Avatar

    This recipe sounds interesting. I’m not the biggest cereal fan at all, but eat it as a quick option in the morning before I start work. I do love nuts though, so I may give this a try soon!

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  22. Pidgen Avatar
    Pidgen

    I have to laugh, this is not granola – it’s chopped nuts in a bowl with milk! lol. But really, it sounds delicious! 🙂 I used to make an ice cream topping using nuts and honey, it was so simple and so yummy!!

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  23. Naomi Avatar
    Naomi

    Just made this using your coconut oil reduction. It’s pretty tasty.
    I also calculated grams of fat for 1/2 cereal if you followed the original recipe. From the coconut oil alone, you’d consumer 28g of fat if you ate 1/2c of cereal…that’s just from the coconut oil!!

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  24. Christina Avatar
    Christina

    How many servings can you get with this recipe?

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  25. Mike Avatar

    granola bars are good mmm being a kid back in the day.

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