Situation #1: You are staring into your bowl of smooth, tart, yogurt, wondering how you might be able to make your snack even better…
Situation #2: You just finished your sweaty 90-minute turbo session on the bike, and need a yummy carb-protein combo to boost your recovery. You pour yourself some yogurt, reach for your box of Quaker granola (or other favorite crunchy cereal), and are absolutely mortified. You are out of your fave yogurt topper. This is a serious and probably life-threatening situation. Who can you call (besides Ghostbusters)?
The answer to these two dilemmas may be simpler than you think. You (probably) don’t even need to go to the grocery store, or spend an hour waiting to take your own homemade yogurt topping out of the oven. Nope. You can mix up some crunchy, nutty, satisfying, granola oh so fast, sprinkle it on top of your otherwise-naked yogurt, and be enjoying a protein-packed-(healthy)oily-carb-o-licious snack in less than 10 minutes–with only a few ingredients from your cupboard!
Situations #1 & 2 pretty much happened to me one morning last week. I got back from a morning of coaching + swimming, with a rumbly in my tumbly for a crunchy something to mix into my TJ’s Greek Honey Yogurt. But, I live with a hungry man who loves crunchy cereals practically as much as I do, and we go through the stuff way too fast. So, the three boxes of cereals/granola on our shelf (purchased about a week ago) had disappeared. I could have given up on my dream to enjoy a bowl of crunchy, sweet, goodness right then and there. But, this was one of those stubborn, intense, cravings. So, I decided to make some granola on the stove. It turned out just as good as the full granola recipe that I bake in the oven, but took like 0.156% of the time.
Ingredients: (serves 1)
- 1 T coconut oil (you could also use any cooking oil, or even butter…just be sure not to burn it)
- 1/2 c. oats (I used a combo of whole rolled oats and steel cut)
- nuts and/or seeds (I used chia seeds, almonds, and pecans) *other ideas: cashews, walnuts, macademia nuts, sunflower seeds
- sweetener/seasonings (I added honey, cinnamon & sea salt) *other ideas: brown sugar, maple syrup, agave, nutmeg, cocoa, applesauce
- extra things (e.g. coconut flakes, dried fruits, chocolate pieces) *add fruits/chocolate after cooking.
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a small skillet over low-to-medium heat, just to melt (doesn’t take long…don’t go anywhere!)
- Toss in oats, and stir to coat in oil
- Toss in nuts/seeds (and coconut flakes, if using)
- Allow ingredients to toast until lightly browned and fragrant, then remove from heat
- Stir in sweeteners, seasonings, etc, and stir. Pour granola on top of your yogurt/milk, or snack on it by itself!
Go and have yourself a merry little bowl of yogurt and crunchies–no waiting necessary!