There are food cultures and trends that change depending on the time period and location, much in the same way that fashions shift and influence each other. In recent decades, a returned focus on whole foods and healthy living has taken over as the top priority in restaurants, grocery stores and households after the sudden rise in convenience foods started to reveal its consequences. If you are equally concerned about making the healthiest dietary choices and living a better lifestyle, you have most likely come across suggestions to eat more granola and oats. Here you will find out the benefits of these foods, what kind to look out for, and some recipes you can try.
What is Granola?
Granola is rolled oats usually combined with other ingredients such as nuts or honey to create a dry, loose cereal. Oats are grown in huge quantities all over the world due to their importance as a staple grain. Granola is just one of many ways that oats are used in food. Here are some examples of other ways oats are processed:
- Oatmeal
- Oatcakes
- Oat flakes
- Oat flour
- Muesli
- Oat milk
What Are the Benefits of Baking with Granola and Oats?
Granola and oats have been proven time and time again that they are an excellent part of a healthy diet. Apart from having them in their simplest forms, baking with them can also introduce their various benefits into your diet. For example, oats are known to help lower cholesterol. They are also full of essential vitamins and minerals such as protein and vitamin B. This helps to keep the body functioning well and maintain a healthy metabolism.
Which Ingredients Are Best?
When baking with granola, it is best to choose the kind that is most suitable for the recipe. In many cases, this involves your own personal preference. For the healthiest option, choose whole grain granola as this will provide the fullest dietary benefits. The reason for this is that whole grains retain far more of their vitamins and nutritional contents compared to their refined equivalents. While some refined grains can still be good for you, studies have shown how whole grains offer more fiber and fewer health risks, such as heart disease.
Simple Recipes to Try
Now that you know a bit more about granola, oats and their health benefits, take a look at some of these recipes you can try for yourself:
Granola Cookies
You can either grind up your granola to create flour or use whole granola for your cookies. You can also include crumbs of granola in your ordinary cookie recipe for added texture.
Granola Bars
For your own easy snack, prepare granola bars with your preferred ingredients, such as cherries or chocolate, and then enjoy for the rest of the week.
Granola Bread
For a more substantial baking recipe, try making your own granola bread. Once it is finished, spread a slice or two with butter for a healthy yet indulgent breakfast or snack.
There are so many ways that oats and granola can be used to enrich your diet. Hopefully, some of the above examples have inspired you to find your own.
