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Point1 Granola – GNAROLA™!

Gnarly Granola! This is taste central. “Shop Bought” granola and muesli will often have plenty of additives, preservatives and generally a huge amount of grain and not much of the good stuff you want, i.e. – nuts, seeds, fruits, quality honey and no added sugar!

So step in the simple as chips Point1 Gnarola™, like granola only gnarlier!!!

This is simple enough to make even for those who burn water in the kitchen, all you need to do is buy good qaulity ingredients, drop the smartphone for 8 minutes and you are set.

Ingredients:

DRY

150g Mixed Nuts (I used Walnuts and Hazelnuts but whatever nuts you want, brazil-nuts taste amazing and are packed with selenium!)

250g  or about 2 Cups of raw rolled Oats

35g Pumpkin Seeds

50g Ground Flaxseed/Linseed/Chia Seed…any seed!

25g chopped/dried coconut

2 tsp or more of Cinnamon

WET

15-20ml Walnut oil

150g or 4-5 TBSP of decent Honey (Maple Syrup works fine too)

AFTER BAKING – ***optional***

150g Chopped dried fruits of choice – I used fig, sultanas and prunes – re-hydrate if you wish

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How To:

Pre-Heat the oven to 155c (fan oven) – Line a decent size baking tray with parchment/baking paper.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl – you can play with exact quantities of each type of ingredient.

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Combine your oil and honey in a small bowl and heat until real runny over a bain-marie or at worst in the microwave.

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Pour wet stuff into dry, give it a good mix (it should coat but not overwhelm the dry ingredients); spread out all of the Gnarola mixture thinly onto the baking tray, place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until she is golden and crispy! Make sure to keep an eye on the oven as it burns easily and burnt food ain’t ever good for you! EVER!

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Once out of the oven, you should have a dry, light and crispy granola. Add in your chopped mixed fruit, let cool and store in an airtight container.

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It can be enjoyed with the milk of your choice, but my favourite is with yogurt as part of a pre-ride breakfast. A big sprinkle on some good porridge made from well soaked steel-cut oats is amazing also, especially with more cinnamon and apple compote on top!

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Basic Nutritional stuff:

Obviously with all the fruit, honey and oats this is not the kind of thing to be eaten 5 times a day in huge quantities if you want to stay, lets say, in race shape. Enjoy it in moderation as part of an overall savage diet and you’ll be well….a savage!

The oats are packed with fibre and carbohydrate, the honey is a wild mix of a variety of sugars. Nuts like hazelnuts and walnuts are packed with thiamine (B1), Vitamin B6, protein, quality fats and very importantly for any bike rider minerals like magnesium, manganese, zinc and iron all of which are very important for proper CNS function, cell health and muscular contraction.

Likewise sunflower seeds and flax-seed both pack a mega nutritional punch with high amounts of fibre and trace minerals!

Finally the dried fruits (dates, figs and sultanas in this case) add to the carbohydrate content which is important on a riding or training day or for recovery but they also, unknown to many people, are full to their sweet wee gills with important minerals like iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium! Add in the cinnamon and all the yogurt, “veggie milks” or whatever else you eat with the Gnarola and you’ve got yourself a serious snack!

Wrap Up: Point1 Gnarola™ – Tastes the business, is packed with quality carbohydrate, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and provides a great crunchy texture in a moderate GI package that’s packed with fibre! Enjoy it anyway you want.

Feel free to comment with any additional ingredients you add.