I have been a huge fan of granola for the past year and to be honest it is not that hard to find a sugar-free/honey-free granola in the UK. However, in Bulgaria it is not that common, which made it quite difficult for me to find a granola that is good for my health and my budget.

You may wonder why I am looking for a honey-free one (the sugar-free is self-explanatory). There are a few reasons I do not want to have honey in my granola. Firstly, I want to say that honey is not toxic when heated as most people believe. However, it has always been considered a “super food”. This is true when it is in its unprocessed raw state due to the high content of enzymes, vitamins and minerals as well as pollen. In addition, it has been used as a cough medicine, treatment of season allergies. It also helps with wounds because of its anti-inflammatory and healing properties.

However, when heated- the enzymes, vitamins and minerals in the honey are killed (the same goes to fresh fruit and veggies when cooked). BUT this certainly does not make it toxic.

I came across an interesting fact about where the “toxic honey assertion” comes from. The Ayurvedic wisdom considered heating honey as unacceptable because people believed that it will lead to “Ama”, which is undigested matter in the body or the milestone of disease. Ayurveda also claims that heating honey above 40C leads to a negative change and honey becomes bitter.

Personally, I avoid heating honey just because it does not give me any health benefits and it is something I have to use in moderation. I much rather consume something that will give my body the healthy nutrients it needs. So, I prefer sweetening my granola (and baked goods) with date syrup, because it is one of the best baking sweeteners present.

All being said, here is the recipe for my homemade granola. I must mention that this was my first attempt at baking granola, and it turned out pretty good. Next time, I will try to play around with the ingredients in order to make something unusual and surprisingly delicious.

Ingredients:

Honestly, I forgot to put cinnamon in mine, but I would definitely recommend that you do that, because everything is tastier with cinnamon.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 C.
2. Toss the oats, buckwheat oats and the desiccated coconut together in a bowl.
3. Then, add the wet ingredients- the baby puree, melted coconut oil and date syrup.
4. Stir with a spoon until the wet and dry ingredients are completely mixed.
5. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray.
6. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spoon or spatula until the mixture turns golden brown. This takes approximately an hour.
7. Remove the granola from the oven.
8. Let it cool.
9. Store the homemade granola in an airtight container or a jar.

Nutritional information:

The granola ends up 290g, which is approximately 9 portions. The nutritional information below is the overall value for the granola. However, each serving (33g) provides 124 kcal, 3g fat, 20g carbs and 2,3g protein.

Health benefits: