Granola is an extremely popular breakfast and snack food with a wealth of health benefits, including its ability to lower cholesterol, regulate digestion, aid in weight loss, and improve heart health. It also helps increase energy, prevent anemia, and promote proper organ function. Intake of granola also helps lower blood pressure, increase cognitive activity, improve skin quality, build stronger bones, manage diabetes, stimulate new tissue and hormonal growth, and even prevent cancer.

The long list of health benefits commonly attributed to granola is mainly due to its nutrients including dietary fiber. The minerals in it include sodium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron. Vitamins include vitamin E, vitamin C, niacin, vitamin E, and thiamin.

People often say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that it keeps your brain working throughout the day. That is especially true if you add granola to that since it reduces blood pressure in the body. By being high in potassium and low in sodium, granola helps with hypertension by acting as a vasodilator. When blood pressure is lowered, the veins are loosened, stress on the system is reduced, and increased blood and oxygen flow can occur. Increased oxygen and blood flow to the brain can boost cognitive function and increase the speed of nervous response and the formation of neural pathways. This is the same reason that bananas are often called “brain food” because their potassium levels stimulate high mental functioning. [Source]

Grain Free Granola

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced almonds or pecan chunks
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup organic clover honey or raw maple syrup
• 1/3 cup Coconut oil
• 2 tsp Organic vanilla
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg

Servings: 4

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and grease.
2. Mix coconut, nuts and seeds in large bowl. Add cinnamon & nutmeg and stir to coat.
3. Melt coconut oil and honey on low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Add vanilla.
4. Pour coconut oil mixture over nuts and seeds. Stir to coat. Pour out onto prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once until golden brown. Let cool completely in pan (for larger chunks), then pour into an airtight container for storage.
6. Can be eaten with fresh organic berries and coconut milk! Yum!