Hungry Monkey Granola

Woo oh my, it has been a WHILE that I haven't swirled and scrambled, hasn't it... What else is there to say other then that my life has been busy (in a good way!) and a couple of things have changed- including my diet... believe it or not, but....*drum rolls*...I have gone...*drum rolls*....v....e....g....no not vegetarian. I've gone vegan! It's been a little over six months now that I've stopped consuming animal products. It all has to do with a trip to Jamaica earlier this year, where I decided to experience my trip eating at "Rastaurants"- basically where Rastas eat. 

I had been doing some research prior to my trip and found out that the diet of Rastafarian culture is an "Ital" one- in a nutshell, wholesome, organic vegan food. There are some variations around it where fish is permitted, but not all kinds of fish. It's a very interesting philosophy around food and its impact on one's body &  mind. Well I was certainly convinced and decided to give it a try. I've never been a big meat eater in the first place, so I was looking forward to it, and the transition to vegan seemed to happen naturally. Today I can truly say that I feel good without animal products. I really do. The funny thing is that I had tried the whole Paleo thing before, but all that meat was getting to me. I just felt "toxic" inside. Anyway- the point is, you should eat what feels right, what feels "natural" to you and not one someone preaches to you. Don't listen to the hype- just listen to your body and follow the signs. I have no clue how long this vegan thing is going to last for... but for now, I'm enjoying it :)

Anyhow- so that's one reason why I stopped blogging because I was getting used to a whole new culinary lifestyle. 

So...I can't promise anything, but I am hoping to have some more regular activity on here! Sorry for going all silent, but now you know why :)

With that said- granola! I'm sure that like me, lately you've been coming across this plethora of home made granola recipes, no? I finally had the chance to get around it and it sure is one fun thing to do! I had a bunch of oats and made a chocolatey version with almonds, raisins and banana chips. I even decided to give it a name: Hungry Monkey Granola! 

Some of the base ingredients: oats, almonds, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa....

Which are then mixed with honey and coconut oil, baked in the oven for a good hour or so...

Add in non-nut based toppings of choice: raisins, banana chips! 

Indeed, there is no rocket science behind homemade granola :) 

HUNGRY MONKEY GRANOLA

Ingredients:

3 cups oats (not the instant type!)

1 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3-4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup coconut oil

Raisins

Banana chips

Preheat oven to 250F. In a bowl, mix the oats, almonds, cocoa and brown sugar. Then add the honey. Finish with coconut oil. Lay it all out on a baking tray and bake for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes for even colour and toastiness. Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer to a bowl and add raisins and banana chips to your preference. Serve with milk or almond milk...or whatever you want! Enjoy! 

Notes:

Substitutions: you can substitute honey with molasses, agave- heck even corn syrup if that's what you want to do! You can also switch coconut oil with vegetable oil, as long as it's not olive oil. I used coconut as that's what I had on hand at the time. 

The Crrrrrunch! Factor: The more honey (or other liquid sugar source) you add, the more clusters you'll get. So it's up to you, just don't sugar-bomb the recipe :)

Final result: incase you're curious, this recipe made about 19.4 ounces/550gr of total product