My apologies to those of you who are allergic to tree nuts, but I thought I would highlight hazelnuts for their goodness since it’s one of my favourite sneaky ingredients. I call it sneaky because you can toss it into a lot of different meals if you just want the meal to seem special. I know it sounds ridiculous, but just consider I’m making you breakfast. Would you rather have “granola” or “hazelnut granola?” Add a dash of hazelnuts and all of a sudden, you think I’m treating you! (Don’t tell my houseguests!)
According to Canadian Living (and other articles I’ve found), hazelnuts are a good source of calcium. Who doesn’t need more calcium?
I make granola at home regularly, featuring hazelnuts. I opt for homemade granola because I have found that so many of the granolas that I try to buy have soy (to which I have a food sensitivity) or a ton of sugar (which means I end up having a major sugar crash and low energy soon after eating it). More recently I have developed a different recipe for a variation on the granola, made with quinoa as a base (which I’m including below as well).
Jolly’s Coconut Hazelnut Granola
Mix in a bowl:
Put it in the over [375 degrees]on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil. Every 10 minutes or so, just mix it around so it doesn’t burn. It’s done when it’s browned and crunchy.
Add shredded coconut [if you like it] fresh fruit or dried fruit like dates and cranberries (watch out for sugar sweetened fruit in the dried fruit section!)
Add yogurt or milk or almond milk. I also add a spoonful of hemp seeds with that it too, because that adds extra protein.
Jolly’s Hazelnut Breakfast Quinoa
Make a few cups of quinoa and toast the nuts and seeds (see above for ideas) the night before and store it in a closed container in the fridge. In the morning, warm up a bowl of quinoa (I use the microwave, but you could put it in a pot with some milk). Add cinnamon, crushed toasted nuts (including hazelnuts of course!) and some milk (I like the almond milk), and some chopped dates or other fruit.