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.
Every month, the Healthy UBC Blog highlights a locally available food, and gives you a recipe or two to try out. This month, read all about mandarin oranges, rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, fibre and folate.
