Delicious Gluten-Free Granola

The Gluten-Free Options For Granola

Granola is usually made with some highly processed versions of oats. Additionally, some store-bought granola have a lot of unnecessary ingredients and a whole load of sugar. Homemade is always better because your know exactly what you’re putting into your food.

Here I have two options for the main granola ingredient. First is puffed rice and the second is, old fashioned rolled oats. The puffed rice is a strict gluten-free option but it is high GI. This means it can raise your blood glucose levels.

However, when you mix puffed rice with nuts and seeds (or any high sources of fiber) it slows down the glucose spike. Additionally, when you bake rice with fats like coconut oil, it also slows down the glucose spike.

Why Should We Care About Glycemic Index (GI)?

Understanding the glycemic index of foods can help you understand how certain foods affect your blood sugar levels. Continuous high spikes in blood sugar can lead to a multitude of diseases we see today, like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, and possibly cancer.

Making the right food choices for you and your family can make a huge difference in the health of your household.

Many foods from the store include high fructose corn syrup, which is present in a lot brands of ketchup, sauces, bread, cakes, crackers, candy and granola bars. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is made from highly processed sweeter made from corn starch. There are two problems with this: it is high GI, and it is made from genetically modified corn. Genetically modified food means that it is food grown to have resistance to pesticides and herbicides for better nutrient profiles, higher productivity for the farmers employed by large corporations, as well as higher profitability for big corporations because it can withstand a lot of unpredictable weather conditions and scarce resources. This is an excellent read about the human cost of GM foods if you’re ever interested.

So, This Gluten-Free Granola Has Your Health In Mind

This recipe is simple, easy, quick, and healthy. It is great to make for 1 weeks worth because it has fresh fruit. I chose to add fresh fruit because many dried fruits from the store has added sugar or preservatives. When you bake this twice (as you will read in the recipe) the fruits dehydrate, and become slightly crispy and chewy which is exactly what you want for a morning granola crunch.

No Sugar

This recipe has no sugar. I’ve sweetened it using CÓCOES light Coconut Flower Syrup. It is made from the nectar of coconut flowers, that are grown on the coconut palm! You can read more about it on the CÓCOES website. This syrup is low-GI and nutritious. It is extremely versatile and can bring out a beautiful light caramel flavour when used with desserts.

How Do You Store This?

You can store this in a air-tight container, on the kitchen top where it is cooler and dry. It can stay fresh for about 1 week. If it is extremely humid where you are, then you can store it in the fridge. However, it may get soggy. You can always make it crunchy again by mixing in a tbsp of coconut oil and setting it on a baking tray for 5-10 minutes.