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Pumpkin and Cranberry Granola

October 15, 2015  |  Adolescents, Advocacy, Allergy, Allergy-awareness, Awareness, Blog, Candy, Education, Food-allergy, Food-allergy-blog, Foodservice, Halloween, Holiday-tips, Know-the-faacts, Safety-tips, Support-group
Pumpkin and Cranberry Granola

by Peggy from Allergy Free Test Kitchen

It’s great that supermarkets are now stocking the shelves with many gluten free and allergy friendly products, but they do get expensive. Not only that, but free of allergens, does not always mean it is healthy food. A lot of the food products are full of sugar and starches.  

One of the best things you can do for yourself on your gluten free or allergy friendly diet is make your own food. Here are several reasons to become a do-it-yourself-er in the kitchen. 

1. It’s more economical. Who doesn’t want to save money?

2. It’s healthier. (For instance, you can use less sugar).

3. You control the kitchen environment so you have less worries about cross contamination.

4. You can get creative. (It can sort of be like a science experiment).

5.The food will mostly like be made with better ingredients.

6. The food tastes better. (That’s for sure!)

Making your own food is not all hard or time consuming. Finding simple, yet allergy free recipes, is as easy as logging onto the internet. And there are many cookbooks nowadays too. 

One of my favorite things to make that is easy and delicious is granola. It takes very little time and effort. Granola is great for breakfasts or snacks. It’s wonderful on top of dairy free yogurt too. 

Granola can be healthy for you too (if you use the right ingredients). Eating granola can increase your fiber intake and therefore aid in digestion. Fiber may also make you feel fuller for longer periods of time. This is good if you are trying to maintain a certain weight. Granola is thought to boost energy levels and possibly even help with your cognitive activity. Not only that but it may be beneficial in lowering your blood pressure levels and may be a good source of iron staving off anemia. 

All that being said, it is still probably wise to eat granola in moderation. Many granolas are made with lots of oils and processed sugars. But for today I bring you a granola recipe that is simple, easy, and uses unrefined sugars and NO oil.

Pumpkin and Cranberry Granola

Ingredients: 

¾ cup + 2 T. pumpkin puree

1 ¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. ginger

1/3 cup coconut sugar

2 cups gluten free rolled oats

½ cup dried cranberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients.

Add in the oats and stir to coat the oats.

Spray a 10x15 pan with cooking spray. 

Place granola on pan and spread out evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir.

Bake for 10 minutes more.  Remove from oven.

Turn off oven.

Break up any large chunks of granola into tiny pieces.

Sprinkle cranberries across the top of the granola.

Return to the turned off oven for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.

Peggy Trefts is the creator and author of the blog Allergy Free Test Kitchen. She prepares food free of corn, milk, eggs and gluten due to food intolerances and allergies, in addition to eating a modified anti-candida diet. Eating this way has brought her back to good health and has changed her life. She believes food can be free of common allergens and taste better than ever. You can follow Peggy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and her Blog page.