It has recently dawned on me that my lazy Saturdays are soon to be compromised by a little thing called motherhood.  To slowly ease myself into this transition I’ve decided to start my weekends by doing something marginally more productive than taking a long leisurely breakfast and then retiring to the sofa for a Friends marathon. Instead, I’ve been whipping up a batch of my favourite granola for the week ahead. (To any mums reading this – yes, I do realise that this will in absolutely no way prepare me for what’s to come!) 

This recipe is loosely based on the ‘Nutty Granola’ from Honestly Healthy. I’ve cut down on the honey and olive oil as I find it doesn’t need as much, swapped out the cashews for some flaked almonds and added a couple of other ingredients. The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily take out or add whatever you like to create your ultimate granola.

Makes eight servings.

INGREDIENTS:
100g pitted dates // 200g jumbo rolled oats // 85g pecans // 60g flaked almonds // 40g desiccated coconut // 30g pumpkin seeds // 1.5 tsp cinnamon // 3.5 tbsp honey // 3 tbsp olive oil

METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 160°.  Simmer the dates in 1cm of water for 15min.  Place in a blender with the cinnamon, honey and olive oil and blitz until smooth.

Place the remaining ingredients in a large bowl with the date mixture and stir well.  Scatter the mixture over two large baking trays lined with baking paper and pop into the oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 110° and cook for another 30 minutes.  At this point the granola should have dried out (it will also continue to do slightly so once it cools down.)