I had a glorious kid free morning on Sunday after my mom came and took the boys to visit their great grandparents. It's been a while since I've had the time to really get in the kitchen and just do a little baking, so I took a little time to get creative in the kitchen. I made a batch of Banana chocolate chip muffins for the boys breakfast this week and then threw together some seasonally inspired granola.
I do enjoy pumpkin spice and chai flavours however in stores I find they are overly sweet and most of the tasty looking pumpkin loaves and muffins are full of sugar and other ingredients I'd rather not put into my body. If I'm gonna have a pumpkin-y treat I want to savoir and enjoy it not feel guilty about all the bad stuff that's likely in it.
I made a batch of Pumpkin Spice Granola and I've gotta tell you it's just way to easy to make granola once you know the basics of it. I love adding different types of nuts and seeds into my granola but I kept this one pretty basic since my cupboards could use a little stocking. In fact I didn't even have pumpkin seeds but if I made this recipe again I would add them in SO I've included them in the recipe! Walnuts, pecans or pistachios would also be amazing in this granola but I just didn't have anything on hand. The game plan for the week is to restock my baking cupboard for the season!
I truly love and enjoy baking at this time of year, but I do have to limit myself so I don't over do it, especially because I've traded my more intense workouts for yoga lately in order to stretch out some very tight muscles. I will say thought that I'm really loving waking up to do yoga before the rest of the house is up in the morning. I used to do a lot of yoga classes but I find that I can't get to them with kids, activities, working and a business I just don't have the time to add an extra hour plus workout outside the house to my day.
The Yoga Studio on Beachbody on Demand has been wonderful! There are so many options from Restorative yoga to Core yoga, Flow, Yoga for Athletes, Cardio and flow, Sculpting, Meditation and even Pre and Postnatal yoga. There truly is something for everyone and every time frame too from 10 minutes to over an hour long yoga practices I can get a yoga workout in no matter how much time I have to spend. The muscle recovery practice stretched out all the right spots in my neck, shoulders and hips which is just where I needed it! I think once I'm feeling loose again and back to my regular workouts, I'm going to be sure to incorporate even a short flow to my day to keep my body in balance and stretch things out!
If you haven't checked out the Yoga studio or the 3 week yoga retreat on Beachbody on Demand yet I highly suggest it!
Now back to the Pumpkin Spice Granola!
Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
Granola
3 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
Instructions
Prepare Granola: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry
ingredients together (oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, sea salt, pumpkin
pie spice). Whisk the wet ingredients and spices together (pumpkin, coconut
oil, maple syrup) making sure to break up any large chunks of coconut oil by
pressing it on the side of the bowl with a spoon. Pour wet ingredients over the
dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Bake the Granola: Spread the moist granola into a large cookie
sheet cake pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes; stir; bake for
another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest – it should start to crisp
up. If the middle of the granola is still moist add another 15 minutes until it
is crisping and browning on the outside.
Store in a plastic zip-top bag or sealed glass jar 1-2 weeks. Serve
with plain greek yogurt or simply with milk.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Combine all ingredients for desired mix and blend
well. Use what you need for the recipe and then store remaining mix in a small,
airtight container or make ad hoc. Feel free to experiment with amounts to get
a blend that works for you. I personally like lots of ginger and cloves in my
pumpkin spice but some people don't like those spices as much.
I had a glorious kid free morning on Sunday after my mom came and took the boys to visit their great grandparents. It's been a while since I've had the time to really get in the kitchen and just do a little baking, so I took a little time to get creative in the kitchen. I made a batch of Banana chocolate chip muffins for the boys breakfast this week and then threw together some seasonally inspired granola.
I do enjoy pumpkin spice and chai flavours however in stores I find they are overly sweet and most of the tasty looking pumpkin loaves and muffins are full of sugar and other ingredients I'd rather not put into my body. If I'm gonna have a pumpkin-y treat I want to savoir and enjoy it not feel guilty about all the bad stuff that's likely in it.
I made a batch of Pumpkin Spice Granola and I've gotta tell you it's just way to easy to make granola once you know the basics of it. I love adding different types of nuts and seeds into my granola but I kept this one pretty basic since my cupboards could use a little stocking. In fact I didn't even have pumpkin seeds but if I made this recipe again I would add them in SO I've included them in the recipe! Walnuts, pecans or pistachios would also be amazing in this granola but I just didn't have anything on hand. The game plan for the week is to restock my baking cupboard for the season!
I truly love and enjoy baking at this time of year, but I do have to limit myself so I don't over do it, especially because I've traded my more intense workouts for yoga lately in order to stretch out some very tight muscles. I will say thought that I'm really loving waking up to do yoga before the rest of the house is up in the morning. I used to do a lot of yoga classes but I find that I can't get to them with kids, activities, working and a business I just don't have the time to add an extra hour plus workout outside the house to my day.
The Yoga Studio on Beachbody on Demand has been wonderful! There are so many options from Restorative yoga to Core yoga, Flow, Yoga for Athletes, Cardio and flow, Sculpting, Meditation and even Pre and Postnatal yoga. There truly is something for everyone and every time frame too from 10 minutes to over an hour long yoga practices I can get a yoga workout in no matter how much time I have to spend. The muscle recovery practice stretched out all the right spots in my neck, shoulders and hips which is just where I needed it! I think once I'm feeling loose again and back to my regular workouts, I'm going to be sure to incorporate even a short flow to my day to keep my body in balance and stretch things out!
If you haven't checked out the Yoga studio or the 3 week yoga retreat on Beachbody on Demand yet I highly suggest it!
Now back to the Pumpkin Spice Granola!
Pumpkin Spice Granola
Ingredients
Granola
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (or other nuts)
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1-2 teaspoons homemade pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg*
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
Instructions
Prepare Granola: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry
ingredients together (oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, sea salt, pumpkin
pie spice). Whisk the wet ingredients and spices together (pumpkin, coconut
oil, maple syrup) making sure to break up any large chunks of coconut oil by
pressing it on the side of the bowl with a spoon. Pour wet ingredients over the
dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Bake the Granola: Spread the moist granola into a large cookie
sheet cake pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes; stir; bake for
another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest – it should start to crisp
up. If the middle of the granola is still moist add another 15 minutes until it
is crisping and browning on the outside.
Store in a plastic zip-top bag or sealed glass jar 1-2 weeks. Serve
with plain greek yogurt or simply with milk.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Combine all ingredients for desired mix and blend
well. Use what you need for the recipe and then store remaining mix in a small,
airtight container or make ad hoc. Feel free to experiment with amounts to get
a blend that works for you. I personally like lots of ginger and cloves in my
pumpkin spice but some people don't like those spices as much.