How To…Make Homemade Granola

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good long weekend! Mine was very relaxing but it seemed to go by way too fast 😦

I thought I’d start off this week by sharing one of my favourite recipes that is always a must-have in my fridge. As by the title, I’m assuming you can guess that this mystery recipe is for homemade granola. I started making my own granola a while ago just because I found store-bought ones to be too sweet and I liked knowing what ingredients I was putting into my body. Over time, I have perfected my recipe and have come up with one that I absolutely LOVE– I even like it better than any of the store-bought versions I’ve tasted. Here it is below:

2 cups of oats

1 cup of chopped pecans

2 tbsp of maple syrup (best with 100% pure)

1 tbsp and 1 tsp of coconut oil

1/4 tsp of vanilla (best if 100% pure)

1 big pinch of salt

Optional: 1/4 cup flax seed or wheat germ

Throw all of these ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands to combine. Once you see that there are no more clumps of coconut oil and everything is mixed throughout, it is ready for the oven. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and pour the granola evenly over it. Put in the oven at 310 degrees fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes (depending on how toasted you like it). Once finished, take out of the oven and let cool. If you like, granola can be stored in a tupperware container in the fridge for future use.

Above: all the ingredients mixed together in a bowl

Below: the granola just out of the oven

Hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Obviously the nuts can be substituted for other kinds (e.g. almonds, walnuts, etc.) and substances other than maple syrup can be used to sweeten the granola (e.g. honey, agave syrup), but I’ve found this combination to taste the best. If you have any questions or comments leave them below and let me know some other recipes you’d like to see in the future. Thanks for reading! xo A

Weekly What I Ate

Hey everyone! Happy Wednesday! We’ve all made it halfway through the week 🙂 I thought since I haven’t done it in a while, I would do another Weekly What I Ate. Again, one of my favourite bloggers, Anna Saccone, does them and I love watching them. So here we go! This is what I ate in a day when I was at home studying and doing work:

For breakfast I first had my Tim Hortons steeped tea (with the Keurig k-cups– mandatory for me in the morning!) I add a lot of skim milk and about a teaspoon of sugar. Next, I had a piece of multigrain bread with some peanut butter (for some reason I prefer the bread not toasted), and a cut up kiwi. I buy the kiwi in pre-made packages at Longo’s, which is very convenient. They make ones with all kinds of fruit and vegetables. This one had about two whole kiwis in it.

For a snack I had two of these Activia 0% yogurts. They’re really yummy and I love the peach and raspberry flavours. The only thing with these is to watch the fat content. If you’re watching your fat intake, make sure they say 0%. If not, especially in greek yogurts, the higher percentages start to contain a lot of fat.

For lunch I had this yummy quesadilla. I essentially just looked at what I had in the fridge and threw something together. So, in this one, I had shredded cheese, some chicken, and some lettuce in a whole wheat tortilla (the PC Blue Menu ones). I let the tortilla heat up in the pan and some of the cheese melt, and then I flipped over half of it until it was golden brown on both sides. I then had this with some salsa (mild of course– spice and me do not agree!) and a big glass of water. It was very filling and delicious!

For a snack I was treated to a Starbucks by my dad 🙂 I always get a grande, nonfat, half-sweet caramel macchiato. I know, I’m one of those snobs at Starbucks who has the super long drink order 😉 But it’s worth it!!! The nonfat milk ensures that you’re not getting too much fat, and ordering half-sweet cuts down the sugar…so overall this drink isn’t toooo bad for you.

For dinner I had a very random mix of things. My family was having quesadillas, but as you now know I had that for lunch! So I didn’t want one. So what I did was take the chicken they were using and the filling they were using (the lettuce, cheese and caesar dressing) and ate them separately. We also has leftover mashed potatoes, so I has some of those as well. I also had a big glass of water (I’ve been trying to get my 8 cups in a day!!)

Finally, just before bed I has some herbal tea. I LOVE the camomile, honey and vanilla flavour. You can find it in a bunch of different brands and they all taste pretty much the same. I stumbled upon this Twining’s version and it’s really good. I find that drinking this before bed just calms me down and helps settle my body. If you’ve never tried drinking a herbal tea, you definitely should! There’s many other different flavours if you feel like you’re not into this one.

I hope all of you enjoyed reading this post! Leave a comment if you’d like to see more like this. xo A

Weekly What I Ate

Hey everyone! I thought it would be fun if I started doing a Weekly What I Ate. One of my favourite bloggers, Anna Saccone, does this in a vlog and I love watching it. Not sure what it is about seeing what other people eat that is so entertaining, but somehow it is! Here we go!

For breakfast I had a banana and two lemon blueberry oat bran muffins. These muffins are super easy to make and (If you make 24 muffins instead of 18) are only 146 calories a muffin. They’re great for breakfast, or even a quick snack during the day. I also had a large mug of tea (a breakfast MUST for me). I use the Tim Hortons steeped tea Keurig K-cups. I add about a quarter cup of milk and a teaspoon of sugar.

For a mid-morning pick-me-up, I made a homemade latte. The Keurig Rivo system is AMAZING. Its quick, easy to use, and a good investment for those looking to save money (aka not spend so much money on that Starbucks addiction ;)). For my latte I used about a cup and a half of skim milk and the Classico Lavazza espresso pod. I also ground fresh nutmeg on top to taste!

For lunch I had a PB & J panini (a little twist on the little kid version). I used museli bread (whole grains, seeds & raisins) and simply put the PB & J on (Kraft Light PB (less fat & calories) and St. Dalfour raspberry jam (the best)), lightly buttered the outside, and stuck it on the panini press for about 3 minutes. It’s a quick, healthy option for lunch.

For an afternoon snack I had an Activia 0% Raspberry yogurt and some sliced bell peppers. I realized after eating this that it was not necessarily the best combo taste-wise! The two flavours don’t exactly compliment each other! Either way, it was a healthy snack that kept me full until dinner.

For dinner I had a burger (PC blue menu angus burger with Ace Baguette rosemary hamburger bun) and sweet potato fries. It was delicious, healthy and filling. That portion of the meal only came to 520 calories… not bad for a burger and fries! Then I had a salad with some chopped romaine lettuce and a little bit of Catalina dressing. Usually I have a snack after dinner, but this actually filled me up so much that I didn’t need one.

Hope you enjoyed my first Weekly What I Ate! Let me know in the comments what you’d like to see more of. Thanks for reading! xo A

PS: all calories counted using My FitnessPal app