Superfood Granola, by Diane

This was my first attempt at making granola. I saw this on the instagram of @themindfulblonde, and she posted the ingredients but not a recipe (except bake it at 400 for 20 min). I figured I was shooting for a texture and flavor, and how hard could that be? I really liked the use of all the superfood ingredients I already add to my daily smoothies or drinks. I also find that granola is typically loaded with bad fats and the first few ingredients tend to be a sweetener, which is not the case here.

This came out fairly good! I needed to make it even more of a sticky consistency than I thought, and I also thought 20 min was a little too long as some of the granola got slightly burned. I've adjusted all of the things I did below:


Ingredients:

4 cups quick oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour (she used almond flour but I had this on hand and it was more nutritious)
4 heaping tbsp of collagen powder
6 heaping tbsp of flax seeds, chia seeds, and chocolate protein powder (I use Philosophie's Cacao Magic and it is AMAZING!!)
2 heaping tbsp of cacao nibs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup slightly melted coconut oil
1/4 cup dark maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Add all the ingredients together and mix through, making sure the wet ingredients mix completely into all of the dry ingredients.

3. Check for sweetness, chocolatey flavor, and texture. You want to be able to taste the sweet and chocolate coming through since the oats and rice powders are bland and so is milk. For texture, you want it to stick together so that when the moisture cooks out in the oven it breaks into chunks. Adjust ingredients as needed- if too dry add more coconut oil or maple syrup depending on the sweetness.

4. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray or more coconut oil. Pour the granola onto the baking sheet and spread evenly, then pat down so the granola gets compact (you want it in chunks at the end!).

5. Bake for 15-20 min (check to make sure it is golden and not burned), then break into chunks. Let cool by placing the foil onto a drying rack and store in an airtight container.