Healthy Homemade Granola

Our homemade granola is getting more and more popular among our friends and customers. And that’s the only gluten free product we make. Granola is organic oat-based cereal. There are sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pecan nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, honey, oil, sea salt and vanilla. You can have for breakfast or as a healthy snack during a day. Eat it plain or with your milk or yogurt.

Why our granola is healthy?

First of all it’s a whole grain cereal. Oats are whole grains, and that means they retain all the nutrition that are contained in bran, germ and endosperm of the kernel. According to the Dietary Guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services whole grains such as granola might lower your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Second, granola provides you with a much needed dietary fiber, which you can find only in veggies, fruits, beans and whole grains. Dietary fiber helps you to fight constipation and type 2 diabetes. It also lowers the level of bad cholesterol. All this seeds and dried fruits we add to our granola increase the total volume of fiber.

Third, granola provides you with essential nutrients such as iron and potassium, vitamin E and healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Fourth, our granola is completely sugar free. We use honey to sweeten it. Most of the commercial brands are loaded with sugar. They can have as much as 17 g of sugar for a serving size. It’s more than a tablespoon of sugar! It’s way too much.

Eating homemade granola for breakfast will help you to start your morning with a fulfilling and delicious meal, boosting your energy and concentration without extra sugar or caffeine.

It’s great for kids, weight watchers, athletes and all other people who want to stay healthy, look and feel just great. 

Hot Cereals for Healthy Breakfast: Old-fashioned Corn Grits

Grits are traditional and well known Southern dish that consists of ground corn, water and salt.

Honestly, I never tried it before I came to Louisiana, but found out that as whole grain cream of wheat it can be a healthy breakfast. It’s just a little bit less nutritional if compared with wholegrain cream of wheat though (to find nutritional facts on it see the previous post).

One serving (2/3 of a cup) of grits also contains 100 calories, but there only 2g of protein, 20g of carbohydrates, 1g of dietary fiber and 0.5g of fat. It’s rich in vitamin B and iron (6% of DV).

On the good side the fiber in grits won’t let you to go hungry for a longer time and help your digestion. Additional benefits arise from their high B vitamin concentrations, which help to break down fats, carbohydrates and protein.

For 1 serving use:

3 Tbsp. of yellow corn grits

1/2 – 3/4 cups of water

1/8 tsp. salt (optional)

Cooking Directions

For a stovetop:

1. bring water or milk and salt to a boil in sauce pan.

2. gradually add grits, stirring constantly, with wire whisk until well blended.

3. return to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.

For a microwave:

1. mix corn grits, water and a dash of salt in1-quart microwaveable bowl or measuring cup.

2. microwave on high 1 minute. Stir with wire whisk. Cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes or untilthickened, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir. Cool slightly.

Caution: bowl will be hot; carefully remove from microwave using pot holders. Note: microwave ovens vary. Cooking times are approximate. Overheating can cause cereal to boil over.

To make grits more flavorful you can add butter, sun dried tomatoes, bell peppers or other vegetables, light cheese (cottage cheese, for example) and lean meats (like low far turkey sausage) for extra protein with a low fat turkey sausage or cottage cheese.

Enjoy your hot breakfast cereals with 7 Grain.

Hot Cereals for Healthy Breakfast: Whole Grain Cream of Wheat

For many of us when we were kids a hot cereal for breakfast was a must. So my mom used to get up earlier to make us a cream of whet. She was saying it is especially good breakfast for a cold winter morning. I have to admit I hated it. And now being a mom myself I understand that she was right. Low-fat, low-sugar options like oatmeal and cream of wheat are excellent choices, both for overall health contrary to what many people think. And may be I have to thank my mom for not having weight problems.

  

Wholegrain Cream of Wheat

Wheat farina, or cream of wheat is a coarsely ground wheat grain. It is a good source of calcium and iron (45% of DV), vitamin A (20-30%) and contains other minerals including copper, magnesium and selenium. It’s completely fat free. So if you wish to add some fat and flavor, you can add low fat milk (which is 20-40% of calcium) to your bowl or sprinkle your favorite nuts on the top.

One serving of whole grain cream of wheat contains 4g of protein, 19 g of carbohydrates, including 3g of dietary fiber. While 19 g doesn't sound like a lot, it does provide your body with a boost of energy that can be crucial to get you moving in the morning. One serving is about 100 calories (150 if you use fat free milk). It doesn’t seem like a lot but it can easily get you through the morning providing a needed boost of energy.

For 1 serving use:

3 Tbsp. of whole grain cream of wheat

1/2 – 3/4 cups of water or milk,

1/8 tsp. salt (optional)

Cooking Directions

For a stovetop:

1. bring water or milk and salt to a boil in sauce pan.

2. gradually add whole grain cream of wheat, stirring constantly, with wire whisk until well blended.

3. return to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 2-1/2 minutes or until thickened, stirringfrequently. Cool slightly.

For a microwave:

1. mix whole grain cream of wheat, water or milk and a dash of salt in1-quart microwaveable bowl or measuring cup.

2. microwave on high 1 minute. Stir with wire whisk. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or untilthickened, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir. Cool slightly.

Caution: bowl will be hot; carefully remove from microwave using pot holders. Note: microwave ovens vary. Cooking times are approximate. Overheating can cause cereal to boil over.

Additional ideas

It looks, well, humble. To make it more appealing for my kids I added butter and sweetened it with raw honey, cinnamon and fresh or dried fruits, such as apples, raisins, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana etc. They seemed to like it much more then I did in the past.

Sounds like a good idea? So, next time you come to Covington Farmers Market or Camellia City Farmers Market get your whole grain cream of wheat from 7 Grain Bakery.