autumn fall muesli granola herbst müsli

Autumn inspiration: a granola to Fall for & news

Finally Autumn arrived with cool, rain-thick air. And although I am not crazy for rain, I have to say, I found it rather refreshing to go out for walks with my little boy in cooler and wetter weather than our last Summer presented us with. Autumn also has it’s comfy sides, doesn’t it? Yes, night is fighting back and stealing a few more minutes of every new day it seems. But the candle lit in the morning at breakfast or in the evening at dinner table shines all the brighter for it. And even though the sky is rather grey and dark these days, the beautiful fiery-colored metamorphoses of the tree’s leaves sometimes let’s me forget the blue of the sky. And just think about all the bright orange pumpkins showing up everywhere now :–)

autumn fall muesli granola herbst müsli

The season changes and so does the food – in my house anyway ;–) I’m all for warming homey dishes these days. Could eat soup all the time and if you asked me whether I want a nice bowl of salad or a steaming hearty casserole… it will definitely be the latter! Porridge also made a big reappearance in my kitchen but today I want to share with you a recipe for the granola that I will probably eat all Fall long ;–) Edible Autumn inspiration with your favourite milk :–) I just love it!

autumn fall muesli granola herbst müsli

A gorgeous mix of rolled oats, crunchy pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts, comfy cacao and a warming fragrant blend of vanilla, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and ginger. Soft sweetness is added by maple syrup and fruity cranberries. A bit of coconut oil increases the “crunch” and to top it all off: fresh orange zest! The smell! Amazing! I promise, every time you will open the lid of that granola-container your nose will die to get a good dose of this cosy aroma of roasted oats, cacao, spices and orange. A definite “tummy-rumbler” ;–) And it tastes just like…     …red and yellow leaves enlightened by golden sunshine…     …wearing that beloved snug wollen jumper again…     …sipping a hot cup of tea in the morning as the fog starts lifting outside…     …like Autumn.

autumn fall muesli granola herbst müsli

And what’s the news, you wonder? After all, this season has been around a few times already… ;–) Yeah, there is something else I want to share with you. It is partly explaining, why I haven’t been able to post as often as I would like to in the past weeks (besides being a part-time working mum of a little boy ;–) ). And probably those many, many recipes that are waiting to go to the blog, will have to be patient yet. You see, I have been taking classes again. As a healthy balanced diet is very important to me and as I found it increasingly difficult to get qualified and proven knowledge to this rather extensive issue on the web or from books, I decided to treat myself with a profound education in the area. In Summer this year I graduated from this course as certified nutritional trainer :–D

As I am still working on my dissertation and some nutrition-related projects are coming my way now, those (never enough) 24 hours each day are rather packed. Keeping the quality of the blog high is a total priority, which is why I won’t be able to go back to more frequent postings for a while – hope you will stick with me anyway!

autumn fall muesli granola herbst müsli

I consider the knowledge, that I gained in this education, very valuable to maintain or gain good health and simply a happier life. That is something I don’t want to keep from you. Therefor you can expect some nutrition-related posts to emerge here soon as well. Don’t worry. I will keep it interesting – no intentions to bore you with complex scientific terms and endless obscure statistical numbers ;–)

So stay tuned and have an amazing start into this beautiful, colourful season!


Ingredients:

1 cup holds 250 ml = average coffee cup

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cacao
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped (or replace with more pumpkin/sunflower seeds if nuts are an issue)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/16 tsp ground cardamon
  • 1/16 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/16 tsp dried ground ginger
  • 2 tbsp neutral tasting oil (e.g. rapeseed) or coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp Agave or maple syrup or honey
  • 1/2 cup cranberries
  • zest of one organic orange

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C hot air and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Add all dry ingredients – except cranberries and orange zest – to a medium sized bowl and stir until well mixed.
  3. Add in oil and sweetener and stir again until well mixed. It might take a minute or two until no dry spots remain.
  4. Transfer the granola to your baking tray and spread out evenly.
  5. Pop into the oven for approx. 20 minutes. After around 15 minutes you might want to stir the granola on the baking tray with a spatula or similar, to assure even browning.
  6. While you are waiting, wash and zest your orange and roughly chop the cranberries.
  7. Once the granola comes out of the oven, add cranberries and orange zest while it is still hot and stir it in. Leave to cool on the baking tray, then transfer to an airtight container, or enjoy right away :–)

 

 

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