Do
you enjoy your bowl of yoghurt with some crunchy, flavourful granola in the morning?
We thought so! We love it as well. The only thing with traditional granola is
that it’s full of carbs and full of gluten, and that’s bad news for many diets,
including low-carb and keto. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that you need to skip
your favourite breakfast. Keto and granola can be a perfect combination. We
show you how!
What
is granola?
Granola
is a mix that classically consists of oats, seeds, dried fruits, honey and
sometimes nuts and other extras like coconut or chocolate chips. It was
trademarked about a hundred years ago by the famous cereal maker John Harvey
Kellogg, who was also behind the invention of – you’ve guessed it –
cornflakes.
Typical
about granola is that the key ingredients are whole grains and oats and that
the complete mix is baked in the oven with lots of sugar to make it crunchier
and more tasteful. Today you can buy dozens of different types of granolas in
every supermarket or food store.
What
is low-carb granola?
If
you’re familiar with low carb and keto diet, you’ve probably noticed some red
flags in the section above. And you’re right: classic granola with sugar, carbs
and gluten is not very healthy (although all too often, the manufacturer
suggests that it is), it is NOT gluten free, it’s not NOT low carb and
definitely NOT keto-friendly. You may have noticed, as you wandered down the
granola aisle in the supermarket, that there are very few low-carb
options.
Luckily
for you low-carbers, keto lovers and those of you who want or need to avoid
gluten, we’ve got your back with our own low-carb, gluten-free keto-friendly
Granolas!
Summary
Finding
a good, healthy low carb, keto-friendly granola is difficult. Our Granolas are
low-carb, gluten-free and free of added sugars. Instead of oats and grains, it
consists of mainly nuts and seeds, which are rich in protein, healthy fats and fibre.
Ideal if you’re on a low-carb, keto or gluten-free diet!
The
Best Ingredients for a Keto-Friendly Granola (and Which to Avoid)
So
far, you’ve learned that a keto-friendly granola should contain only very few
carbs, no added sugar, no grain or oats – which means: no gluten! – and be rich
in protein and healthy fats. So, what ingredients should not be missing to
create a tasty, low carb granola? And which ingredients are better to avoid?
We’ve made two practical lists, so that you can easily get this right in your
head:
The
best low-carb and keto-friendly ingredients are used for our
Granolas:
- Nuts | Think of almonds, pecans,
walnuts or Brazil nuts
- Seeds | Like pumpkin seeds,
flaxseeds or chia seeds
- Sea salt | Just the right amount to
balance the flavour
- Coconut chips | Make sure they’re
unsweetened
- Freeze-dried fruits | Like
(rasp)berries, but not too much!
- Coconut oil | To add smoothness and
good fats
- Dark chocolate | Great for keto,
provided it's sugar-free!
- Erythritol | The best sweetener for
keto: great taste, zero carbs
Ingredients
to avoid
- Grain, corn and oats | Too high in
carbs, contains gluten!
- Honey | It’s tempting, but a no-go
since it's basically sugar
- Sunflower oil | It’s in a lot of
granolas, but it’s best to avoid this one
- Raisins | Like bananas and mango,
raisins contain a lot of carbs
- Dried fruits | Forget them, they're
carb bombs!
5
Creative Ways to Use Granola
The
first thing you think about when we say ‘granola’ is probably your breakfast.
But did you know that there are many other ways in which you can eat this
lovely comfort food? We’ll give you five creative ways to use granola, other
than as your breakfast. This way, you can eat it at your favourite moment of
the day!
Psst...
We know it tastes so good that you'll want to eat it all day long! But be
careful – you also want to nurture your body with other healthy keto foods,
like vegetables and natural oils.
- Salad
topping: Granola can perfectly serve as a salad topping over
your favourite salads. The crispy garnish tastes great with veggies that have a
naturally sweet taste, like snap peas or roasted carrots.
- Granola
bar: It’s quite easy to prepare your own healthy granola bars,
so that you always have something for those craving moments. You’ll find a
healthy granola bar recipe right below in this article!
- Frozen yoghurt ice
lolly: Create your own delicious ice cream with granola! All you
need is a handful of raspberries, Greek or coconut yoghurt, and low-carb
granola. Puree the raspberries, add all the ingredients into ice cream forms or
plastic cups, insert wooden handles and freeze for at least 3 hours.
- Gratin: Granola can serve great
as a crunchy topping for vegetable gratins or other oven dishes with baked
(vegan) cheese and vegetables. Depending on how long your dish needs to bake,
add it from the beginning or halfway the baking process together with the
(vegan) cheese.
- Trail
mix: Add some extra keto-friendly ingredients to a bowl of
granola, like fresh nuts, pure chocolate chips and some seeds or coconut chips
for a quick and easy energy-boosting trail mix that serves perfectly as movie
night snack.
Summary
Some
typical granola ingredients are best to avoid when you’re on a low-carb or keto
diet, like grains and oats, sunflower oil and honey. Except for breakfast, you
can also use granola as a crunchy topping on oven dishes, make ice cream
lollipops with it or enrich it to create your own trail mix.
Recipe:
Create Your Own Healthy Granola Bars in Just 30 Minutes!
It’s
really easy to make your own granola bars that are low-carb, tasty, crunchy and
sugar free, even if you’re not such a great cook. You can make your own
granola, or simply use a low carb ready-to-eat granola, like one of our
heavenly Granolas, it’s up to you!
This
is what you need for about 400 grams of granola bars:
- Oven
- Baking dish & parchment
paper
- Spatula or spoon
- Sharp knife or food
processor
- 375g of your favourite Granola (or,
if you make your own: 250 grams of mixed nuts, like almonds, pecans or Brazil
nuts; 75 grams of seeds, like pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds or chia seeds; 50 grams
of coconut chips)
- A handful of freeze-dried fruits,
like (rasp)berries or strawberries
- A teaspoon of sea salt
- Almond butter
- Optional: 50 grams of sugar-free
dark chocolate chips
- Optional (not for vegans): egg
white of two eggs
Step
1
Prepare
your oven by preheating it to about 170° degrees Celsius and prepare your
baking dish with parchment paper.
Step
2
Chop
the Granola or the nuts into small pieces with a knife or in a food
processor.
Step
3
Put
the chopped granola or nuts in a bowl and – optionally - add all the other dry
ingredients and the sea salt.
Step
4
Add
the almond butter or combine the almond butter in a separate bowl with the egg
white first before you add it to the dry ingredients.
Step
5
Push
the mixture firmly onto the baking dish and place it in the oven until the
edges turn golden brown.
Step
6
Let
it cool down and cut it into bars or crush it to create granola.
Enjoy!
