My Healthier, Happier Version of good 'ol Quaker Harvest Crunch

I write this as I sit in my kitchen munching on the last of the Haystacks of Love. Or as my friend Sora likes to call them: Poo Cookies. Thank you, Sora. Since HofL went over so well (who made them? Any thoughts, improvements, poo cookie stories of you own to share?) I thought I would throw down another recipe that I like to play around with. The recipe that follows sadly has no chocolate but it does have delicious, fat flakes of coconut as well as coconut oil. Coconut oil can be found at any organic/health food store and should really become a staple of your kitchen and bathroom. What?! Yep, after a bath I slather it on my skin for some dewy goodness all day long. But, back to the granola and please enjoy the story. Comment at the end of the post if you enjoyed it and hey if you didn't, you're crazy! Who doesn't like granola?!

The Story

My mom and I used to love Quaker Harvest Crunch. We would sit down together on weekend mornings and eat huge bowls of it while simultaneously devouring a new novel. At the end of the bowl I always made sure I had left over milk so I could add more of that sugary, crunchy goodness to soak it up. QHC was eaten for breakfast, lunch, dessert (so freakin' good with ice cream!) and just straight out of the box while watching Pretty Woman together for the hundredth time. It was a comfort food that connected us, we also liked to think it was pretty healthy. I bought a box to have as my first breakfast when I moved into my own apartment in Toronto almost 8 years ago. When I was missing home or worried about my mom’s health I would reach for the familiar orange-hued box, have a couple of handfuls and feel better.  Of course I realize now that it is loaded with sugar and not a lot of nutritional value, but at the time, it soothed my heart and my mind. I have also learned better coping strategies over the years, for which I am very grateful and those will be shared at a later date! 

In my search for greater goodness in comfort foods my friend Alexa gave me the following granola recipe.  I have adapted it in order to ramp up the healthy quotient. So, give yourself a hug and mix up your own batch of QHC.

Best served with almond milk or yogurt with fresh berries

Ingredients:

4 cups oats - large flake are the best, not instant
1 cup nuts - 2-3 varieties, like almonds, walnuts, pecans
1 cup seeds - 2-3 varieties, like sunflower, pumpkin, chia seeds

1 cup large flake coconut (unsweetened)

1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive/sunflower oil)

1/3 cup of maple syrup, really yummy organic & dark

Directions:

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Roughly chop your nuts. Be careful.
Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl.

Melt the oil and maple syrup in a saucepan on low.

Add the oil and maple syrup mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and mix to combine.

Spread out on a large wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Put in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take it out and stir. Place back in the oven but checking on it and stirring it every 5 minutes for a total of 20-25 minutes. Just watch the stuff on the edges doesn't burn. You want it to be golden brown and this is a pretty dry granola which I think is best.

Let cool, and then stir in 1 cup of raisins or other dried fruit.

Store in a glass container in the fridge or freezer.

I have also added different flavors like heaping teaspoons of cinnamon and ground ginger to the dry ingredients; it gives the granola a comforting zing. Play around and let me know what you come up with!

Happy Eating until next time
tbxo

An inspiring TedTalk

I saw this just the other day and holy crap did it hit home! Lisa Rankin is a doctor talking about what is really wrong with our health. We may eat super healthy, run everyday, get pap smears, etc but if we aren't stoking our pilot light, our physical body will break down. I am learning to take care of my body, mind and spirit after a tumultuous year and a half. The good times I had in my twenties are starting to show up as well, but I don't regret a moment of them. And starting to smoke at the age of 14 - ah, who am I kidding, I experimented with mom's ciggies when I was 11 - doesn't help matters either. Before you get all mad at me, I quit for good on my 29th birthday, it was my champagne birthday on the 29th of August. It was so hot and humid in Toronto and I was smoking and drinking champers with my best friends. I also got dumped the next day, but continued on my path as a non smoker! Another story for another day. 

Figure out what jazzes you and follow through.  "If you don't grow, you'll grow a tumor"

Happy Learning until next time 

tbxo