Healthy Eats: Cranberry Pecan Granola

The smell of fall in the middle of spring? That’s what you can expect when you toast up this incredibly healthy homemade granola! Clusters of toasted oats, delicious pecans and juicy dried cranberries come together with pumpkin pie spice to form a scrumptious breakfast or post workout carbohydrate. The main benefit of homemade granola is you can control the sugar/sweetness and therefore the total carbohydrates. Store-bought varieties often pack upwards of 50g of carbs in only 1/4-1/2 cup, whereas my Cranberry Pecan Granola has only 25 g of carbs in 1/2 cup! Here’s how to put this tasty treat together:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts work well too)
• 2/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 3-4 large egg whites (or approx 2/3 c liquid egg whites)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice (or make your own by mixing together cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves & nutmeg – just eyeball the ratios but cinnamon should be the largest portion)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. This is a low and slow kind of deal! In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until they are nice and frothy. Add in the molasses, agave nectar and pumpkin pie spice and stir until combined. Add the oats, cranberries, pecans, and sunflower seeds and toss until evenly coated.

Spread on a parchment lined large baking sheet so that the cranberry pecan granola is spread as thin as possible. Bake in 15 minute increments, stirring each time. The granola should be perfectly toasted right around 1 hour (give or take depending on your oven). Let it cool completely before moving to a plastic bag or container.

Nutrition: 1/2 cup = 161 calories, 24.3 g carbs, 5.5 g fat, 4.5 g protein

This incredibly healthy granola tastes amazing and compliments your protein shake perfectly for a post workout carbohydrate or as a side next to your eggs with breakfast. *The exact portions will vary per person but there is no reason to guess at how much granola you should eat or what you should eat with it! Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Try our other tasty healthy EATS by clicking here.