I had a lucky streak with the mail last week:
And I just received some Granola from Love Grown Foods
Their products are free from:
- Free of Refined Sugar
- Free of High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Free of Trans Fats
- Free of Hydrogenated Oils
- Free of Artificial Flavors
- Free of Preservatives
- Free of Gluten
- Free of Genetically Modified Ingredients
This one was great. Full of cranberry flavor. I love cranberries and don’t eat them all that often so this was a nice treat.
And this flavor is what I’d call classic granola. Raisins, cinnamon, almonds. Lovely. The little snack packs will be perfect for Scott’s lunches and Skylar’s car snacks.
But this one stole the show. Of course. How could chocolate not steal the show for me?
A perfect balance of sweetness, chocolaty-ness, and goodness, indeed.
If you’re looking for quick and easy granola, granola bars, and granola-ish ideas that you can make at home, check out these 5 recipes:
1.Homemade Granola (Vegan, GF, 20 minutes to make)
2.Biggie Microwave Banana Oat Cakes (Vegan, GF, 3 minutes to make)
3.No-Bake Vegan Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Energy Bars (with protein option) – Vegan, GF, freezer-friendly, fast
4. Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter and Oat Snack Bars (Vegan, GF, 5 minutes to make)
5. Microwave Blueberry Banana & Oat Cakes (Vegan, GF, 5 minutes to make)
From my last post on Blue Foods and Fun Toppings, it was entertaining to read what your favorite toppings for foods are. Peanut and nut butter was mentioned frequently. Not surprising that blog readers love their nut butters.
And blue foods like blueberries or blue chips, also popular with you all.
Questions:
1. Do you like Granola?
Yes, I love it!
I love oats and have an entire post dedicated to 25+ recipes of mine using oats or oatmeal. Check that post out if you want any oat-based recipes and I also discuss oats and gluten, there.
2. Do you make your own granola or granola bars? Or do you buy them?
I make my own, all the way. Except for when I am lucky enough to be gifted some granola.
It’s easier, faster, usually healthier, and always cheaper for me to make my own granola and granola/snack bars.
3. Fave granola/granola bar recipe (if you make it) or brand/type if you buy it?
I gave you 1- 5. What are yours?
P.S. If you’re just catching up on posts, here are mine since Friday:
I hope everyone’s had a great weekend! What did you do?
You sure have a lucky maibox! LOL
I’m 16 and I absolutely LOVE your blueberry oatcakes! I make them a lot during the school week because they are easy and oh-so-healthy compared to Pop-Tarts and frozen waffles. I love granola, but we don’t buy it much; on the rare occasion I’ll ask for the Bear Naked brand, I think it’s pretty good. Keep up the blogging :)
I’m not a huge granola fan, but I LOVE your banana cakes. Had one for breakfast this morning for the first time and it was delicious!!
thanks for telling me :)
Oh, I’m so envious! I’d settle for being able to buy these, not just having them show up on the doorstep… silly Australia! Thank you for also providing recipes that I can make Down Under ;)
That granola looks yummy!!
I love granola, but have never made my own. Have wanted to for awhile, though! My current favorite is Galaxy vanilla almond with NO added oils! It tastes like biscotti! :shock:
Uhh who DOESN’T like granola?!?! Are they human? Those little snack packs are so cute/perfect for someone who can’t stop eating granola once they start aka ME
Their granolas look so good! I signed up on their site to get some, so here’s to hoping! I did get some Udi’s granola in the mail the other day though that are fantastic!
I would like some fun mail! All I ever get is those red light tickets! Gahha!
you crack me up!
MmM-MmM-MmM why is granola so darn good!??? loving the blueberry banana oat cake ;)
yay for the bloob banana oat cake!
I like granola…except the puny serving size! Does nothing for my volume whoredom. They have some nice-looking brands in London that I might try, like Dorset.
I like granola, but I don’t eat a lot of it. I have only ever had it in yogurt, and it is pretty good. I have never made my own.
you are SUCH an amazing cook that you can and should make your own!
I like granola, although I don’t buy it much and I have never made it! It is one of those foods (like all dry cereal) that I can easily eat the entire package in one sitting. It just doesn’t seem to fill me up at all!
yay! I’m excited to have a few more of your easy oatmeal recipes to try! thanks and I will let you know how they go!
please do!
Okay so I have to admit something — I am totally envious of your blogging goodies. I wish I were as established as you are, girl :) That granola sounds to die!
I’ve always wanted to make my own granola, but I’m lazy. Brownie points for honesty?
Love you, missy!
you are EXTREMELY established…omg, I am flattered that you even said this b/c I think the same of you…you know that!! I love ya too honey!!!
xoxo
I love granola, but cannot usually buy it. My youngest has severe peanut and tree nut allergies, so when we have granola, it’s always homemade. On a side note, I blogged today about what I cooked this weekend…which included THREE of your recipes (of course I linked to your pages for them). Thanks for the great food this weekend!!
Crissie
thank you, i saw the post.
The granola looks so good!
.. and so does the microwave banana oat cakes!
This post makes my day! I LOVE granola and am always on the lookout for new recipes and way to use it. I always look for granola with low sugar content. I try to make my own but if Im low on time I like Galaxy granola. My weekend wasnt too bad. I worked so it was ok. I actually just passed out and woke up from a nap. Whew! But this post made me happy!=) Have an excellent start to your week darlin!
I love granola…and oats…way too much! I am addicted to granola, and I have to be very careful not to overdose. I usually only buy it in bulk, so that I can buy a very small amount at a time.
i LOVE granola but never make my own…too easy to buy!
hello from aruba! arrived early this eve…can’t wait to get on the beach tomorrow!
SO GLAD you MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy Palm Beach for me! Omg our trip feels like a lifetime ago!!!!!
What a score! Yes, I love granola. I usually make my own, but I just picked up a bag of Bare Naked low sugar kind since I have a busy week ahead of me and won’t have time.
Wow! I want to try every single one of those Granola recipes. Yummy. And what is especially nice is that they all seem simple.
well keep me posted if you try them :)
I’ve never seen that granola before.. it looks good!
I’m making my own granola bars tomorrow! They are always so much better than store bought ones!
amen. enjoy your homemade.
If I had to choose only one food to eat every day for the rest of my life, it would be granola. I absolutely LOVE it…so much. I can’t eat it though!! :-( Over the years, it seems I developed a sensitivity to it, even when I make it myself. Ugh. Oh well. I make it for my boys and hubby and they love it and I get to watch them eat it! :-) Averie, your chocolate peanut butter microwave oat bars are awesome! My family loves them and I love that they are so easy to make! Easy is good in our house!
“chocolate peanut butter microwave oat bars are awesome! My family loves them and I love that they are so easy to make! Easy is good in our house!”—
THANKS for telling me!!! :)
Mmmm, I love granola! I make my own but I don’t think I’ve ever made the exact same combo twice! I throw in whatever I have on hand at the time and voila! delicious granola for the snacking! Your recipes look fantastic ~ I can’t wait to try your microwave oat cakes!
enjoy the microwave oat cakes and i always mix and match, too, never the same recipe twice.
I LOVE granola!!
Re: Parents in San Diego.. if they stay there long enough, I might end up visiting!! :) Wouldn’t that be so much fun!!
that sounds like a plan. keep me posted :)
I’ve been obsessed with chocolate granola lately! Its so good!!!!
that granola looks SOOO good!!!
Sweet granola score, chocolate would probably be my fave too.
1. Yes, but I rarely eat it because it can be pricey to buy and time consuming to make.
2. Yes, sometimes. :-) I haven’t had much dehydrating time lately.
3. My fave homemade would be from Sarma’s Raw Food/Real World book even through the ingredients and pricey and it makes a sticky mess of my dehydrator. It has a nice fruit nut blend and makes a good well-rounded emergency snack.
have seen that recipe in RFRW and have never made it b/c well…her ingredient list for granola, i.e. a snack, costs more than i spend to feed the family for many days with real food and meals! lol.
I love granola, but I do make my own. Really, it is just too expensive to buy and with really no good reason. Not to mention the super high calorie and fat in most store brands. These flavors sound good really tasty though!
Hi Averie! I guess you could say I’ve been a ‘lurker’ but wanted to finally say hi and tell you how your granola bar recipe inspired to start making my own and I’ll never buy again! I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, but you’re right, it all works! I LOVE them :)
thanks for delurking and glad my recipe inspired you to make at home and never buy again. YAY!
You did have a good mail week, ha. That granola looks wonderful, can I have some? :]
MMMM that granola looks great. YUM.
The granola looks awesome!! The cranberry and pecan especially catches my attention. I’m a cranberry lover, too!
I don’t buy granola or bars unless…I don’t know…major sale, maybe? It’s one of those things that the fun packaging and flavors always lure me in but I always end up putting back because I know I can make it myself to save money and probably be happier with the result ;)
Wow all of those granolas look tasty!!! And I love that they don’t have any bad ingredients in them
I buy Vega bars now. I just tried them and they are very tasty! I anticipate they will be a welcome addition to my busy clinical days, as I barely have time to go back to my office for a snack! I will stick it in my clinical bag and I will eat it between patients. This will hopefully help with my afternoon slump after a day of nonstop patient care!
How sweet are those anyway? One of the reasons i only occasionally eat cake is because i can’t stand sweet things. I only eat cake with little to no sugar, i’m just built that way.
That Granola looks tasty though…
not overly sweet. make your own granola using any of my recipes and just omit/reduce the sugar…that will take care of it :)
Oh, never thought to reduce the sugar in the recipe… i’ll try it and see how it works, thanks for the tip.
I love your oat cakes recipe! Just made some in fact – banana with some vanilla…mmmm!
sounds good :)
I looooove granola. Like, I don’t even buy it because it’ll be gone too fast. I could eat it all in one sitting, and most store bought granolas aren’t that good for you. I actually just made some granola bars, but I’m not feeling so well so I haven’t tried them yet. The kids love them so I like to have a supply. The ones I make the most are actually Oh She Glows frosty no bake cakes. I think of them as granola bars. They’re so easy and you can switch up ingredients really easily :)
try my no bake bars that I linked in this post, i think you’ll love them. and so will your kids :)
Now that you mention it, I have made them before. I had totally forgotten till I looked at the ingredient list. They’re fantastic. Thank you for the recipe :D I also just tried your chocolate chia seed pudding as an after workout snack the other day. Omg, it was amazing :D
Love Grown looks great—I’ve never heard of it.
I always make my own though, then I can put what I want in it, and it is way cheaper!
My fave granola would not be overly sweet.
I love homemade granola bars/granola and make them all the time! They’re so so easy, too. As for storebought granola..I actually don’t eat it much unless it’s a little over yogurt or something like that because a lot of it’s loaded with sugar.. Those bags looks awesome, though!
I loooove granola! I can’t wait to try Love Grown Foods’ version:)
I just recieved their granola. I like it! a little goes a long way. Perfect for those granola bars.
:)
I just bought a new version of Bear Naked ( I think) and it has cherries, choc covered almonds and granola and it’s sooo good! I love any kind of granola with chocolate.
man, the mail man must be crushing on youu ;)
Lucky lady! Great goodies you scored this week :)
I like granola, but like Gabriela, self-control is hard.
Right now I’m loving Udi’s Vanilla granola!
I loooooooove granola but never buy it because I have zero self control in its presence. I have a vivid memory of being in tenth grade and sitting out on the patio talking to my best friend on the phone, demolishing an ENTIRE bag of Bear Naked granola as I did so. 8 servings. That’s what’s up.
That being said, my favorite brands are Bear Naked and Nature’s Path. And I like it best either totally plain or with chocolate chips!
Thanks for the vinyasa yoga rec, btw- I tried a class this morning and it’s definitely way more my style!!
owwwwww- so lucky! What a great freebie. I <3 granola and granola bars. I home make both pretty much weekly. How are you doing? Hope the weekend has been fabulous
I make my own granola bars and granola every week. I do keep some Pure and Larabars stored in my pantry because they travel really well!