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OATS, GLORIOUS OATS – AND A RECIPE FOR SUPER-SPEEDY NO-BAKE GRANOLA

November 6, 2014 3 Comments

granola on oak sharper I’ve always longed to be the sort of girl who wafts around making her own granola. Yes, I know making granola is neither arduous nor complicated.  But it often seems a faff – you have to turn the oven on in advance, then you have to hang around while it’s baking, gently prodding and turning. When I wake up feeling like a bowl of granola, I want it in ten minutes not an hour. And that, I guess, is why supermarket shelves are groaning with bags of granola (most full of sugar, I hasten to add).

So imagine my joy at discovering the perfect recipe for no-bake granola.  Not only does it take ten minutes but it’s delicious.  And when I read the October issue of the British Journal of Nutrition (which had an entire supplement devoted to oats), my joy was complete.  Because oats, it would appear, are the answer to many of the things that keep Ms’s Kale & Cocoa awake at night. Here’s a quick summary of the most recent research on the humble oat:

  • Oats are a key ingredient for boosting Bifidobacteria (the gut’s most important probiotic)
  • Oats are a vital weapon in the obesity battle – they’re more filling, calorie-for-calorie, than any processed cereal.  That means you won’t need to snack before lunch…
  • When it comes to cardiovascular health, the power of the oat is so compelling that many government authorities (including the US, Europe and Japan) have issued formal health claims on the ability of oats to reduce cholesterol (by up to 20% when eaten regularly).
  • An oat-rich diet has also been shown to: reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes; control blood pressure; and boost the immune system.  All this is due to a soluble fibre contained in oats called beta-glucan. The only grain with a higher beta-glucan content is barley (sign up now so you don’t miss our upcoming posting on bountiful barley).

Finally (and this could have contributed to my recent feelings of oaty joy), the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that moderately-stressed women (can someone show me a woman who isn’t ‘moderately stressed’?) taking beta-glucan supplements became less stressed, had more energy and fewer infections.  Eat your heart out diamonds, oats are a girl’s New Best Friend!

So now I’m throwing oats into everything ….  a handful into smoothies and crumble toppings,  ground oats into soups, stews, biscuits and cakes.  But most of all, I’m making edited versions of  teen-blogger Izy Hossack’s glorious granola (from her just-published debut cook book Top with Cinnamon).  And my children all have their own versions (a cinnamon-spiked, cranberry-stuffed one for Daughter Number One, a nut-free one for Daughter Number Two, a coconut-y one for The Boy,) … that’s how easy and versatile this stove-top granola is.

IZY HOSSACK’S STOVE GRANOLA (makes 4 generous portions)

  • 2 cups rolled oats (I use jumbo oats)
  • ½ cup chopped almonds (or whatever nuts you like/have)
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds and 1 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil (or butter if you must)
  • 2 tbps honey, agave or maple syrup (reduce if you’re going easy on sweeteners)

In a large frying pan, dry roast the oats and nuts (and seeds and coconut if using) for five minutes, until just golden.  Move the mixture to the sides of the pan.  Add the oil and sweetener and stir everything together for a further four-five minutes.  Leave to cool (it will crisp up as it cools).  If you want to add dried fruit or cinnamon or chia seeds (anything you like, frankly), do this now.

We like ours with live yoghurt and fresh fruit. It lasts for a good two weeks (but rarely beyond a couple of days in our house). Oh – and did I mention that oats are chock full of biotin and zinc? Perfect fodder for my hair project (more on that later).

Annabel

  • Meal Types: Breakfast, Family, On The Go
  • Conditions: Diabetes, Gut, Heart, Heart disease, High blood pressure, Immunity, Strokes
  • Ingredients: Nuts, Oats
« HEALTHY HALLOWEEN: PUMPKIN AND POMEGRANATE HUMMUS
ANXIETY, MOOD FOOD AND CHINESE ‘SPAG BOG’ »

Comments

  1. Janet says

    January 12, 2019 at 8:37 am

    How does this recipe compare to the the Christmas Granola recipe you posted a while ago? I ‘m still making that regularly adding turmeric but leaving out the cranberries. Wondering if I should swap recipes.
    I really enjoy checking your posts, there is always something interesting and informative in them
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      January 20, 2019 at 7:40 pm

      Hi Janet, this is the one I always make because I don’t need to wait for the oven to heat up. I can just throw everything into a pan while i’m doing something else in the kitchen. But Susan prefers her recipe! I suspect the oven-baked might be a bit crisper. Why don’t you try both and let us know? Thanks for your kind words too!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Recipe for kale and black sesame rice, seaweed, avocado, pomegranate says:
    January 15, 2015 at 11:13 am

    […] I know that sounds weird. And it won’t happen every day (we still love our porridge pancakes and granola). People all over the world eat vegetables for breakfast – the famous British fry up includes […]

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Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive harvest at Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil @bidni_evoo in Malta in late September. Fresh from the press, the oil was pretty peppery! That’s the polyphenols at work.

Polyphenol levels in olive oil also play a vital role in its brain boosting properties. They help reduce neuroinflammation and slow cognitive decline.

A study presented at a conference this summer by Harvard School of Public Health looked at the cognition of more than 90,000 people over 30 years. It found that those who consumed half a tablespoon of olive oil each day, as opposed to mayonnaise or margarine, had a 28%  lower risk of dying from dementia. Interestingly, this research found that the brain benefits of olive oil held up, regardless of the quality of the rest of the participants’ diet. So even those who didn’t adhere to other guidelines of the Mediterranean diet still got the benefits from the oil.

There’s more on the blog - link in bio

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity #EVOO
Two new pieces of research you need to know about Two new pieces of research you need to know about if you want to age well: 

1️⃣ the kynurenine pathway. It’s complicated but high levels of it don’t bode well for ageing well. Several studies have found that older people, those who’ve had hip fractures, the frail, as well as the depressed have higher circulating levels of kynurenine.  Indeed the more kynurenine in your blood, the greater your chances of dying sooner rather than later. High levels of kynurenine also seem to be associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin – meaning both poorer sleep and a greater risk of depression.

New research has identified a very simple way of blocking the accumulation of kynurenine (and its toxic by-products) in our blood and tissues: regular, heart-beat-raising movement.

2️⃣ Platelet Factor 4 (PF4). This compound appears to keep our brains and memories sharp. And it too is released when we move. Discovered by a team from the University of Queensland Brain Institute, PF4 is a protein secreted by the tiny blood cells that prevent blood clotting (known as platelets). This protein rejuvenates brain cells (neurons) in ageing mice, and researchers now think it may be the reason that exercise  and movement amplify the production of new neurons in the brain.

Want more info? It’s on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity
In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for caring for ourselves and our parents. Take a multi vit for 50+, persevere with technology and/or try something new every day, walk daily, stay social, consume sufficient protein, supplement with vits D and B12… 

#agewell #healthyaging
Autumn giveaway! 🍂 We’ve got a bundle of two Autumn giveaway! 🍂

We’ve got a bundle of two books to give away here on Insta - one copy of The Age-Well Project and one of 52 Ways to Walk. 

To win, simply leave a comment below letting us know your favorite landscape for autumn and winter walks. Do you like hills, mountains, flatlands, canals, rivers, coastlines, cities, cemeteries, your local park, moorland...? Just a few words to tell us where you’d most like to be walking in the next few months to help you age well. 

The competition closes at midnight BST on 18 October and a winner will be selected at random.

And in case you’re wondering why Annabel’s interested in your favourite landscape, it’s because she’s writing a new book about the places we choose to walk in and how they affect us. So she’d love to get a rough idea of the best-loved locations… all in confidence, of course.

Good luck!

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Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth #betterbrainhealth #brainfog  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell
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