Now, I'm not going to pretend that I am not tempted to eat entire packages of my favorite types of cookies, but if I could never eat another cookie, the next best thing would be granola. Granola....sounds so healthy doesn't it? Well don't be fooled, it can be higher in calories than you think with the addition of high calorie dense ingredients like nuts, seeds and dried fruits, so I am careful to try my best to practice portion control.
You can find my favorite granola recipe on my current favorite food blog http://www.kitchentablescraps.com/2008/10/seeded-granola.html. This is why I love, love,
love this recipe..... Most granola, and especially granola bar recipes have a tons of sugar, usually brown sugar, and never introduce a "savory" flavor element, and if you haven't heard lately, the trend in sweet treats is "savory" (for instance, salt on chocolate.....I always add a pinch of salt to things like yogurt and even ice cream, because I love the sweet/salty stuff!) This recipe for "Seeded Granola" has coriander and fennel, both savory spices, and it also uses barley malt as part of the sweetening mixture which also imparts a more savory flavor, (barley malt is about 1/2 as sweet as sugar).I decided to make a few adjustments in the recipe and scoop it out as "granola cookies". This makes it a little easier to control my portions as well as making it more portable for a quick snack on the road or inbetween yoga classes, when I don't have the option of a hot bowl of oatmeal. First, I doubled the spices because I love the spiciness, and then for the cookies I added a handful of raisins (chopped), an extra egg and doubled the barley malt.....that's just what I did, you can do whatever you want....play with it! I used a small scoop to form "cookies" and after the final toast in the oven I let them cool, and then dipped the bottoms in melted bittersweet chocolate.
PS Like I mentioned, be careful with your portions, granola can be high in calories. For instance, I roughly calculated the calories in this granola recipe to over 3200 calories, per batch!
Holy cow, those look GOOD!
ReplyDeleteThey DO look amazing! And count me in on the sweet/salty combo. I add a pinch of salt to sweet stuff too!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Christmas, Tracy, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the encouragement and inspiration your blog provides!
Beth,
ReplyDeleteI have to put them on my highest kitchen shelf where I actually have to get out a step stool!
But making them in "cookie" form does indeed help me with portion control.
leslie,
ReplyDeleteI hope that my blog is getting to a more positive place.....
These past few weeks have been very self reflective, as if I'm purging, so I hope it doesn't come across wrong. If it does, then so what anyway, lol....
But I think, maybe, the key word in the title of my blog is in fact "transforming", and the transformation of thought, the most challenging, is what is going through the fastest change right now.....the other two things, food and body are on autopilot (how nice, huh?)....eat well, and swing long, LOL!