Recipe of the Week: Homemade Cinnamon and Butternut Squash Granola

If you’re looking for a healthy breakfast option and stuck for ideas, this homemade granola couldn’t be easier and is way more tasty than any shop-bought version! Sweetened with a purée of butternut squash, maple syrup, coconut oil and cinnamon, it is not only delicious but also packs in the nutrients. Try it as a topping for greek yoghurt or as a portable snack, but do watch the portion sizes!

This Butternut Squash Cinnamon Granola is packed with…

• 90g ground almonds
• 170g flaked almonds
• 100g unsweetened coconut flakes
• 175g pumpkin seeds or mixed sunflower, sesame & pumpkin
• 2 tbsp flaxseed – ground
• 50g chia seeds
• 200g pecans, chopped
• 90g oats
• 130g coconut oil, melted
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 190g butternut squash (baked and then pureed) or pumpkin  (Alternative: use tinned pumpkin)
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• Pinch sea salt

[Using organic ingredients, where possible, will reduce the nasties and will enhance the taste of the granola]

Here’s How…

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a large bowl, combine coconut flakes, almonds, pumpkin seeds and pecans, ground almonds, flaxseed, chia seeds, oats

In a blender, combine the pumpkin/butternut squash, coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon, vanilla extract

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly coated.

Spread the granola in a thin layer on a baking sheet

Cook for 30 mins stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Variation:

Replace some of the oats with quinoa, buckwheat, rice flakes.

Add a spoonful of cocoa powder for a chocolate version

Nutritional Nugget

Butternut squash Cinammon Granola’s main sweetness comes from Butternut Squash, which is low in fat, a very good source of dietary fibre and contains folic acid. Its rich orange colour indicates high levels of beta-carotene, which your body automatically converts to vitamin A; a powerful anti-oxidant and an essential vitamin for good eyesight. To find out more about the health benefits of Butternut Squash, take a look at this article CLICK HERE

May Simpkin is a BANT registered Nutritional Therapist with a Masters Science degree in Personalised Nutrition. She is an experienced clinician and Head of Wellbeing at Grace Belgravia, London., as well as Chair of the Continual Professional Committee at BANT, the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy . She is also registered with IFM, The Institute for Functional Medicine and a member of the RSM, The Royal Society of Medicine.

For more recipes visit: www.maysimpkin.com

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