Maple Pumpkin Granola

Is it breakfast time yet?

As we get further into fall and closer to the holiday season I find that my ideas for recipes and blog posts are coming at me left and right. What's up with that? Autumn is one of my favourite times of year. Maybe that has something to do with. There's so much fresh local produce to choose from, pumpkin is in abundance, and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are working their way into everyday baking.

I'm keeping things on the simple side today. I've had this granola recipe in my head for a while now. I think I stumbled across a recipe online, and then again, while I was at the grocery store I saw some quinoa granola on the shelf. I thought hey that's a great idea, you can up the protein of the granola and add some extra crunch action at the same time. Brilliant! Quinoa is such a perfect addition to granola.

It's always more fun to DIY. Enter this recipe.

After I rinsed the quinoa I tossed it in with the rest of the dry ingredients, gently heated up the wet ingredients and mixed them together, I baked it to perfection without stirring. Instead, I rotate the pan in the oven once or twice for even baking. This way you get all those lovely clusters of granola. The only hard part is not touching it when it comes out of the oven and letting it completely cool.

After you feast your eyes on this homemade granola you'll be longing for lazy weekend mornings.

Maple Pumpkin Granola gluten free, vegan, vegetarian | makes about 5 cups

Print or email this recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinse
• 1/3 cup pumpkins seeds
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or other vegetable oil)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, salt and spices.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin purée. Pour over the oat mixture and mix until combined.
4. Spread the mixture out evenly onto prepared baking sheet, pat down, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle the dried cherries over top of the granola. Let cool completely, then break up into pieces and serve, or store in an airtight container.

*Tips*

• I find that not stirring the granola while it bakes is one of the keys to getting tons of clusters. So instead of stirring, just rotate the cookie sheet a couple times during baking to ensure even browning.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 275 Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 4.6g Cholesterol: 0mg Carbohydrates: 33.7g Sugar: 12g Sodium: 52mg Fiber: 4.5g Protein: 7g

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Simple things are usually the best. You can spend hours on a recipe, going to different grocery stores and specialty food markets to buy unique ingredients, but often times it's the things we make with what we have on hand that taste perfect.

This soup comes together in the blink of an eye, and most of the ingredients are things you'll likely already have in your fridge or pantry. It will quickly become a family favourite.

Squash is one of my reliable friends in the fall and winter. It's a standard vegetable, but when you vary the cooking methods and ingredients, your end result is full of interesting new flavours.

For this creamy soup, squash butternut squash gets roasted and onions and garlic become caramelized. There is no dairy in this puréed soup. The roasting brings out such rich flavours that you wouldn't want to mess with. No lack of flavour here.

No lack of vitamin A either. One serving of this soup has a whopping 298% of your daily intake!

I kid not...golden, buttery flavoured squash is infusded into every spoonful. 

And to top it all off? My pumpkin pie spice roasted pumpkin seeds.

Now this is comfort food! So simple. So good. Perfect before/or after a night of trick or treating.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup gluten free, vegetarian, vegan option | makes about 6 cups

Print or email this recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, roughly chopped
• 1 large Spanish yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups no sodium added chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• pumpkin spice roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
2. In a large bowl, toss the squash and onions with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and empty the bowl out, making sure the veggies are in an even layer. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until veggies are tender and golden brown. 
3. Transfer the roasted squash and onions to a large pot; add the chicken stock and nutmeg. Simmer for 25-30 minutes.
4. Purée the soup using an immersion blender or working in batches with a blender or food processor until you have a silk smooth soup. Careful it is pipping hot! Adjust seasonings to taste.
5. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with 1-2 tbsp pumpkin spice roasted pumpkin seeds.

Nutrition Information (with 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds)

Serving Size: about 1 1/2 cups Calories: 166 Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Carbohydrates: 23g Sugar: 4.8g Sodium: 67mg Fiber: 4g Protein: 5.2g

Happy Halloween!