My baby girl has been teething and inevitably transformed into a "scotch tape baby" so in the morning... forget about pancakes for awhile! Among my top breakfast recipes there is my homemade nutty chai granola (as well as my basic overnight oats recipe and my chia pudding !). This is totally the kind of recipe I need when I don't have a lot of time (or hands untied!). Therefore, I always make sure I have 1-2 jars in my pantry.

It's made of oats, coarsely chopped nuts, coconut flakes, dried fruits, seeds and chai spices. As you can see, I like to put a LOT of stuff in my granola and it is a pretty complete recipe! I add almost everything I have in my pantry in order to make it the most nutritious, crunchy and tasty granola as possible.

This recipe is great because you can do variations on the nuts, the seeds and the dried fruits as much as needed to make your tastebuds happy! It's also lower in fat and in refined sugar than most grocery store granolas and there are way more nuts and dried fruits (sold granola are nothing more than a mix of oats, fats and sugar). In my opinion, it's not even comparable!

The heavenly smell (I have to say I'm completely addicted to masala chai spices...) while it's baking is enough to convince me to do it over and over again. This recipe fills up about two or three jars but they don't even last a month, so I frequently bake a double batch!
It's the perfect breakfast, snack or parfait/pudding topping.

Any seasonal fruits and/or yogurt (my favorites are coconut, sheep or cashew yogourts) will make this bowl of granola an amazing breakfast for hurried mornings! Noah enjoys his with homemade vanilla almond milk (and a few dark cacao nibs!). We sometime like to grind it into a granola powder that we mix with our cashew yogurt to make this lovely apple pie porridge that I posted a few weeks ago.

Nutty chai granola (w/ dried fruit, seeds and coconut)

This crunchy, nutty, sweet and tasty (thanks to the masala chai spices!) granola is a recipe I've been making for a few years. I always make sure I keep a jar in my pantry!

Yield : about 2 large jars

Ingredients :

3 cups rolled oats (or 2 cups rolled oats + 1 cup soaked overnight buckwheat groats)

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup other nuts of your choice (hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, cashews... I normally do a mix of what I have)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon grounded ginger

1/4 teaspoon grounded cloves

1/4 teaspoon grounded nutmeg

Pinch cardamom

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter/earth balance if you prefer)

3/4 cup maple syrup or honey (or 1/4 cup maple syrup + 1/2 cup coconut sugar)

2 cups unsulfured organic dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, chopped dates, apricots, cherries, blueberries...then again, I do a mix)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2-4 tablespoons hemp seeds

2 tablespoons grounded flax seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup dark cacao chips (at least 70%) - optional

Preheat the oven to 300F.
Coarsely chop your nuts with a sharpened knife. You can use the food processor if you want to speed up this step, but the result won't be as crunchy.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut flakes, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and spices.
In a small casserole, melt the coconut oil. Once melted, add the maple syrup/coconut sugar. Stir into the bowl and mix well until the oats are well coated.
Spread the mixture evenly on a large parchemin paper covered baking sheet. Bake for about 25-35 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so until the granola is golden brown and well toasted. The coconut flakes burns easily so be sure to keep a close eye while the granola is cooking!
Add the dried fruits and seeds and mix to combine. Set aside to cool. You can add cacao nibs if you want, but we normally add them ourselves in our own bowl in the morning if we feel like it.
Store the granola in an airtight jar.
Serve with yogourt or milk and fresh fruits. Enjoy!