Packaged granola often has too much sugar and European-style muesli has become outrageously expensive in grocery stores. Beat the packagers at their own game by buying what goes into this great, diet-worthy healthy breakfast cereal and making homemade but lower calorie granola.
Those who like Kellogg’s, Kashi, Quaker or Alpen granola or muesli can replicate it without tons of honey or sugar. Skip that ingredient.
Granola found in health food store bins tastes good, but they too are made with a honey and sometimes the ingredients are toasted in oil. Avoid nonessential calories by creating a homemade version.
Start with the following, easily found items:
Basic Granola Ingredients
- 32 ounces of Quaker or any inexpensive raw rolled oats
- 1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts or walnut pieces
- 1/3 cup chopped raw unsalted cashews
- 1/3 cup chopped raw hazelnuts
- ½ cup chopped raw pecans
- 1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup raisins or pieces of other unsweetened dried fruit
The basic ingredient is plain raw rolled oats, just like the oats that are found in Quaker Oats (the classic variety, not quick or instant). These taste just fine uncooked, and have loads of antioxidants. Add to this raw almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts that you have chopped in a food processor first to make small pieces. Packaged almond, hazelnut and walnut pieces or slivers also can be found in the baking section of the grocery.
Five Minutes to a Healthy Cereal
Shake the ingredients gently together in a large Ziploc bag, Rubbermaid large jar, or a tin with a close fitting top. The cereal can be stored on a shelf as long as it is sealed properly.
Does this mix have a lot of calories? Relatively speaking, yes. A small portion-- about 4 ounces -- is smaller than a typical portion of commercial corn flakes or cocoa puffs and contains from 250 to 400 calories. However, that is sufficient to keep the hungriest breakfast-eater feeling comfortably full until it is time for a small lunch. Serve this homemade granola with fat-free milk or yogurt and slices of banana or pear and top the concoction off with a big shake of cinnamon.
While raw nuts are not cheap in bulk -- about $6 to $9 per pound, the oats are only about $2 per 16 ounces. The mix above makes enough for 2 weeks of breakfast-sized portions, making the cost less than $1 per portion. The amount of carbs or fat depends on the balance of nuts versus oats (barley and wheat can also be added) but there is no cholesterol and almost no sodium in this mix, almost no sugar. A typical serving is about 75% carbs and 15% fat, with no trans fats and only a small percentage of saturated fat.
Research Says Big Breakfast Helps Dieting
In June 2008, a new study presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society found that women who eat half of their daily calories first thing in the morning lose more weight in the long term than those who start the day with a small breakfast.
According to lead researcher Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, from the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, Venezuela, scientists compared the "big breakfast" diet with a strict low-carb weight-loss regime. The strict dieters lost weight initially but then put the pounds back on. The big breakfast eaters did not.
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