I recently shared with you all that I decided to start making better choices for my health. While I still indulge in a bacon cheeseburger every now and then, I've been much better about my day-to-day meals. My biggest improvement has been with my breakfast and lunch that I eat on working days. In the morning, I have either 1/2 cup oatmeal with fresh fruit or a whole wheat English muffin with nut butter (peanut or almond so far). For lunch, I eat vegetables or beans. Throughout the day, though, I often get a craving some snack foods. That's why I tried this new recipe for an energizing granola mix. This mix incorporates sweetness, carbs, and fat into a relatively healthy option to curb those cravings for things like candy, cookies, and chips. Nuts are satisfying and tasty to help keep you going until dinner time. This recipe is easy as well, and you can make a batch to last all week.
The sweet flavor of this mix comes from a small amount of honey and pure maple syrup. These ingredients are very sugary, but they are more natural than other store bought options that include corn syrup. The dates also bring a sweetness and gives the mixture some stickiness so it is easier to eat than the more crumbly granola recipes.
To get your dried dates to the correct consistency, mix them in a food processor for about 1 minute until they form into a dough.
Next, you heat the peanut butter with the syrup and honey to make a sauce that will easily mix with the other ingredients. This sweet peanut butter sauce is so delicious on its own, I wanted to eat it all before pouring it in with the other ingredients!
Make sure to chop up your cashews before adding them to the mix so they're not too overpowering. Now toss everything together with the divine peanut butter sauce until well incorporated.
Honestly, I was originally trying to make breakfast bats with this recipe, but the ingredients didn't stick together well enough. I didn't want to add more sugar (honey and maple syrup), so I decided to break up the failed bars and make a mix instead. It ended up working out great. It's not quite as convenient to eat as bars, but it still works for an on-the-go snack.
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Energizing Granola Mix
by Blog to Taste August-12-2016
A tasty way to make it through your work day
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Rolled whole oats
1 cup pitted dried dates
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup Peanute butter
1/8 cup Raw pepitas
1/8 cup Honey
1/8 cup Pure maple syrup
Instructions
1. Chop the cashews into quarters, set aside.2. In a small sauce pan, combine peanut butter, honey, and maple syrup. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often.3. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix until well incorporated.4. Press the mixture into an 8x8 casserole dish and freeze for about 20 minutes.5. Break up the mixture and store in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator to keep the mix fresh longer. If you're not storing it in a fridge, eat it within 3-5 days.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6 servings
