Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Granola

Eating All The Feelings

Well, it's finally happened. That moment that every blogger fears. Both dreaded and cursed alike by victims past, present and future. Nothing can stop it, it's inevitable, it has happened and it will probably happen again. No one is safe, nothing can stop it...

...My computer crashed and I lost an entire blog post. :(

Ok, a bit dramatic I know but let me explain how robbed of life I feel at this precise moment in time. I have spent the last two days writing up and creating my Food Blogger Connect 2015 - life of a volunteer (part one) post. That's right. two days for part one! I finally become happy with the finished version and as I literally go to publish it, my laptop says no and has what can only be described as a virtual panic attack. It flips me the finger, restarts itself and despite saving the post as I went along, about 95% of it becomes lost deep in the nether realms on the internet. 

When in doubt, turn to granola. 

Understandably this left me feeling like I'd simultaneously been punched in the crotch and kissed by a dementor whilst also being told that I can't pull off dungarees. In layman's terms, hurt, empty and furious. As with most things in life when I'm feeling a little bit distressed, I cheer myself up with food. I actually made this Healthy pumpkin granola a couple of days ago and was going to post it later in the month but seeing as I am enjoying it at this very moment, I think it's only fair that you guys get to as well. Pumpkin seems to have currently taken over my life with it being October and all and I knew I had to make up a batch of granola using it as the prime ingredient. You see, even though I do love my oats in the morning, I also have an intense love for cereal. Anything from granola to cookie crisp to all bran to coco pops, I love them all. However, I don't love the high sugar content of most supermarket cereals that often results in a massive spike in blood sugar before causing a crash that leaves me both tired and hangry (hungry + angry) after about an hour of eating the stuff.   

After losing two days worth of work, the hangry blogger took to the granola like a beaver to lumber. 

Whilst a lot of shop-bought granola advocates various health claims, they are usually packed with the sweet stuff and often contain a great deal of saturated fat as well - way more than you need for breakfast. My version slims the oil content down to only 1-2 tablespoons and swaps out the sugar for truvia to make this a breakfast/snack that will cure your cereal craving without punishing your waistline. On top of that, not only does the pumpkin puree base add in a generous helping of Vitamin A, Iron, Zinc and Beta-Carotene but with the addition of pumpkin seeds comes a boost of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese copper, B vitamins, vitamin K and vitamin E. Phew! That's a lot of good stuff. I'm almost feeling better about loosing my blog post knowing that I've just had a yummy cereal treat whilst reaping all those glorious health benefits. Oh wait, actually I'm still angry. Right granola, ROUND 2!!!

Ingredients: 

2 cups oats

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruits of choice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp allspice

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup sweetener (I used truvia but can sub for brown sugar, coconut sugar, xylitol, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar...you get the drift)

1/3 cup water (omit if using a liquid sweetener)

1-2 tbsp oil of choice (I used rape seed oil)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a bowl combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and spices. Don't add in the dried fruit at this stage (I'll explain why later). 

In another bowl combine the pumpkin puree, oil, water and sweetener. 

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and stir to ensure everything is coated.

Spread out the mixture flat onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to stir and break up the pieces to ensure even cooking. 

The final consistency should be quite crunchy and the colour should have changed from orange to a dark golden brown. 

The reason why you shouldn't include the dried fruit into the mix at the beginning is because as this granola has a low oil content, it takes longer to crisp up and spending 40-50 minutes in a hot oven will most likely lead to the poor raisins being cremated. It's probably best to either incorporate them into the granola halfway through baking or keep things simple and just add them at the end. 

This makes about nine servings if you go by 1/3 cup as a serving size but I often amp this up to 1/2 cup (hardcore living) meaning that this granola lasts me about six days. Perfect as a weekend recipe to see you through the week. :)