Healthy Applesauce Granola

Hello friends,

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted…you know how that life and work thing gets in the way! Hopefully some of you have found me on Instagram.

I’m just getting back into cooking after a somewhat lazy few months. As we get into these fall days I am craving some healthy granola. This is a slight spin on my Oil-Free Granola recipe I’ve posted previously. I wanted to make a granola without a lot of calories. So I replaced the natural sugars with applesauce and cut the oats way back to a half cup and added 1 cup of puffed rice. One cup of puffed rice has only 60 calories; one cup of oats has 420! The puffed rice will give you the added bulk without the calories and many less carbs.

Using applesauce is also a calorie cutter: 50 calories for a half cup vs over 200 in a 1/3 cup of maple syrup. And the applesauce helps to bind the granola so it clumps more easily. I don’t heat it but rather just mix it in so it sticks to the oats and rice.

If you want to add a bit of oil I would suggest using an oil spritzer and lightly spritz the granola before baking. Enjoy!

Recipe – Makes 1 3/4 Cups

2 Tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter

2 tablespoons of water

1/2 cup of applesauce

1/2 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of puffed rice

Stevia drops (optional)

1/2 cup of nuts (chopped almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a medium bowl mix peanut butter powder with water until smooth. Add in the applesauce. You can also add a few drops of Stevia for additional sweetness

Add dry ingredients to a medium bowl. Mix in the wet ingredients and stir until combined

Spread granola on a parchment covered baking sheet or silicone mat. Bake for 20 minutes, stir. Continue to bake for 20 minutes more until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Store in air tight container. Makes 7 – 1/4 cup servings @ 107 calories, 6 grams of fat and 9 net carbs

Optional Mixins:  dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips