Chocolatey goodness created with oats, hemp seeds, chia seeds, maple syrup… sounds like heaven to me. Smells like it too. When I got bored this past Saturday afternoon, I realized I was fresh out of granola so I should take some of my empty time to make some. I had all of the ingredients necessary including a huge tub of oats, two jars of maple syrup (all the sugar I can get my hands on) and coconut oil. The key components of baking the perfect granola.
It took me a second to figure out what flavor I would do and what add-ins I could incorporate. When I decided to opt for a chocolate flavor, I knew I could spice it up to the next level by using my ALOHA Daily Good Greens Chocolate Blend.
I’m sure you’re reading this thinking, “Aloha? Daily Good Greens? What the heck is that?”
Well, ALOHA is a great company I recently found that creates high quality nutritional products with no artificial sweeteners/flavors, animal products or fillers. I received their superfood dark chocolate and daily good greens whole-food powder earlier this week which is amazing in smoothies like a banana blueberry one. Or added to this granola.
A single pouch of the Daily Good Greens Chocolate Blend contains only 45 calories and 5g of natural sugars which include coconut and maple sugar. The other super foods packed in range from spirulina, spinach, wheatgrass juice and young coconut water. Oh and let’s not forget cacao! All ingredients are organic too. Can you say heck ya? I can!
This granola is awesome to eat straight out of the jar or smother in unsweetened almond milk like I did recently, topped with fresh raspberries. My favorite use for granola however is topped on a thick and creamy banana smoothie. I highly recommend it.
This recipe is very college-budget friendly too, even if you don’t have cashews or super foods to mix in, you can still follow the same basic guidelines to get awesome granola that is on the lighter side. Mine was not extremely clumpy like your usual store-bought brands because I only used a bit of maple syrup but the more sugar, the stickier it will get.
- 2 cups oats
- 1 packet Daily Good Greens Chocolate Blend (or 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp to ¼ cup maple syrup (if you like less sweet/sweeter)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup cashews
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Combine all ingredients, except cashews, on a baking sheet sprayed with coconut oil or place on parchment paper. Mix well and pop in oven for 15 minutes.
- Check the granola and give it a toss. Put in for another 10.
- After your granola has cooked, toss in ¼ cup cashews or whatever nut you have on hand. Feel free to add in some chocolate chips or dried fruit as well.
For my first time baking granola, I can tell you all that it really is a simple snack dish to make! You can throw some in a ziploc bag and take it in your backpack for a mid-class snack or gift it to a friend.
With the chia seeds, oats and hemp seeds, you’re not only getting a decadent chocolate fix but you’re also getting a whopping dose of protein. How totally awesome is that?
Enjoy, friends! 🙂
-Addie
*** For more information on the wonderful brand, ALOHA, you can click here. All opinions are my own and I thank ALOHA for the gift of their Daily Good Greens, 5-Capsule Daily Nutrient Pack and Superfood Chocolate. ***
