Oh my word you guys . . . I am having the best time on our little family vacation. Although, I gotta tell you, my feet are starting to hurt.

I think we may have walked all day every day for the for the last week.

Not even kidding!

2 full days of walking, more like running all over Disneyland (FYI – that place is HA-UGE!!!!!!) with one very excited little lady, who also happens to have very long legs for an almost 5 year old! Especially compared to her poor ol’ mama.

From Disneyland we headed to New York for 3 glorious days. The weather was absolutely perfect so instead of taking cabs all over town we walked. And walked, and walked and walked and walked. Oh how I just love that city! Have you been?

It’s incredible! So beautiful, so big and busy but there is so much detail, and beauty and so much to see and do! We have been twice now and I’m pretty sure we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of all there is to do/see/eat/experience!

Anyways lots of walking has been done.

You know what comes in super handy when your out and about doing all of the walking?

Snacks! Lots and lots of snacks!

Oh how I wish I had a big old bag of this cranberry coco-nutty “granola” on hand while we were walking our little legs off this past week.

You guys know how much I love me some healthy snacks right? Well, right before we left while I was putting of all of the packing I threw together this incredible little batch of “granola”. I mean I needed something to fuel the last minute packing frenzy right?!

Now, I’m saying “granola” because this is not your typical granola recipe. Well not for me anyways, when I think of granola it’s usually  made up primarily of oats with a few nuts and some dried fruit added in at the end.

Well not this granola. This granola is oat free my friend. Today we are putting those glorious little last minute add-in’s front and centre baby!

And because our “granola” is made up primarily of nuts, it also happens to be high in protein and healthy (essential) fats which means that not only is it all natural and all kinds of delicious but, it will also keep you fuller for longer. Love, love, love!!!!

So today, sweet invisible internet friend of mine, we are making ourselves a big ol’ batch of all natural, grain free, paleo friendly Cranberry Coco-nutty “Granola”.

I don’t know about you but I avoid buying granola from the store because it’s usually way to sweet for me and I also find it’s a little to sharp . . . like overly crunchy you know? does that sound weird? Probably . . . this is awkward . . . anyways, store bought granola, I personally am not a huge fan, I always cut my mouth on the extra crunchy, super sharp oats blah, blah prefer to make my own and today we are doing it with a twist.

Are you in?

Of course you are, because your crazy cool like that and always up for trying new things with me.  It’s one of the reasons I love you ♥

So, this cranberry coco-nutty”granola” we are making . . . all natural with no refined flours or sugars added, sweetened with nothing but a little drizzle of maple syrup, a splash of vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon and a sprinkle of finely shredded coconut.

The sweetness of the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and coconut combined with the savoury, rich, buttery, nuttiness of our nuts, oh my word you guys  – delicious!

Then you throw in a few finely chopped dried cranberries to give you an occasional burst of rich, juicy, tart sweetness and you my friend will be whisked away to a world of crispy, crunchy, buttery, sweet blissful deliciousness.

Sprinkle some over your greek yoghurt with a drizzle of maple syrup for an insanely delicious twist on breakfast.

Pack it into your lunch box for the perfect mid morning/late afternoon pick me up.

A handful of this and a banana would be an incredible pre/post workout snack.

Eat it by the handful while you hunt through cupboards trying to decide what to make for dinner . . . although it’s dangerously addictive you will probably find yourself going back for handful after handful, after handful, after handful  and it will end up being dinner . . . not that I would know anything about that . . . 😉

Or, you could eat some with a handful of dark chocolate chips for the perfect little late night indulgence.

All natural, high protein, grain free, paleo friendly cranberry coco-nutty”granola”, crispy, crunchy, buttery sweet and simply delicious.

Make it, eat it, love it

Cranberry Coco-nutty “Granola” 
Makes approx 2 cups of subtly sweet, crispy, crunchy coco-nutty “granola”

Ingredients –

2/3 cup raw almonds

1/3 cup raw cashews

1/3 cup raw, skinless hazelnuts

1 Tablespoon of chia seeds

1 Tablespoon pistachios

1 Tablespoon finely shredded coconut

1 Tablespoon of coconut oil, melted

2  Tablespoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Method –

1 – Preheat your oven to 150’C (300’F) – Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking/parchment paper and set aside.

2 – Place almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and pistachios into a medium size zip lock bag and give them a good pounding with a rolling pin (or you could use a knife to roughly chop but I like the “bash in a bag” method personally 😉 ) Go easy though, you don’t want to pound them to powder, you want there to be some larger pieces, even a few nuts left intact for some nice texture.

3 – Place your crushed/chopped nuts into a medium size bowl.

4 – Add chia seeds and ground cinnamon and stir to combine.

5 – In a small bowl or just whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla then pour over your nut mix. Stir to combine.

6 – Spread your maple, vanilla coated crushed nut mix into one even layer onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 mins stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it as like any granola recipe, these nuts can catch and burn quickly if left unattended especially when it comes to the final 5 mins.

7 – Once your “granola” is golden and no longer “sticky” remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 mins.

8 – Add your chopped cranberries and coconut flakes to the baked nut mix and stir to combine. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring by the handful directly into your pretty face to an airtight container (or ziplock bag) and store in the pantry.

9 – Eat simply by the handful, sprinkle over some yoghurt (it’s all kinds of awesome over this coconut or vanilla bean yoghurt FYI – you should probably get some of that 😉 ) add a handful to your morning oats, or waffle stack, or throw a handful into your daily smoothie . . . the options of how you can eat this are limitless.

Enjoy xoxo

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Question of the day –

What snack (or snacks) do you keep handy when your out and about?