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19
Jul
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Tropical Guava Granola |
Ever since joining Twitter, I’ve been trying to figure out how to increase my following. And yet whenever I get an email notification that I have a new follower, I don’t know whether to be happy or disappointed – there’s a pretty good chance I’ll open that person’s page only to find out I was spammed. It’s pretty obvious when I get a follower who really has zero reason to be interested in me. I mean, you sell insurance in South Dakota? What do you want with me?
But such was not the case when Oh! Nuts found me. As soon as I checked out their online store and saw their incredible selection of nuts, dried fruits, and candy, I only wished I found them sooner!
Things got even better when Oh! Nuts offered me samples of three products of my choosing. Just like that – I didn’t even have to ask! I immediately took this opportunity to pick some things that I don’t normally buy, either because they aren’t readily available or I just hadn’t thought of using them before.
When my bags of goodies arrived, my first thought was that Oh! Nuts is Oh! Generous! These were full 1-lb sized bags.
My first choice were these sesame almonds. Because honestly, when I left Greece, I thought I’d never see them again.
Second, I wanted to pick a new-to-me dried fruit. Dried guava? Never had that before. Decision made!
And then I figured I’d better pick a nut that would go well with the guava, if I planned to use it in a recipe. I think guavas are a tropical fruit, so I picked a tropical nut – macadamias. Roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts, to be exact.
All of the products arrived well-packed and fresh tasting. And like I already said, I was floored at their generosity in providing full-sized samples.
I put the guava and macadamia nuts to use in a tropical-inspired granola laced with coconut and ginger. I’ve never made granola before, usually because I get turned off by recipes that have too much honey or oil to possibly be considered healthy (unless you only eat the teeniest portion – am I the only one who hates itty-bitty portions?) So this time I dug a little deeper and took some inspiration from recipes that used fruit puree as a binder instead of all that oil or honey, and I used stevia to provide the missing sweetness. I kept a little (olive) oil in though, for good measure.
The end result was a tasty, crunchy, healthy blend that couldn’t be easier to throw together. And needless to say, the base mixture can be changed up with whatever dried fruits or nuts you happen to have on hand, but we both really enjoyed this tropical version. Thanks again, Oh! Nuts! It never would have happened without you!
Tropical Guava Granola
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup (140gm) shredded coconut
3/4 cup chopped almonds (85gm)
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts (85gm)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup applesauce
liquid vanilla stevia drops, to taste (such as NuNaturals)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
100 gm dried guava, chopped
Preheat oven to 300F. Combine oats, flax seeds, coconut, almonds and macadamia nuts. Whisk together the olive oil, applesauce, liquid stevia, cinnamon and ginger. Pour over oat mixture and stir to combine.
Empty the bowl onto a rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until dry and crunchy. Stir in the chopped dried guava. Once cool, store in an air-tight container.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 110.6
Total Fat: 7.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 7.5 mg
Total Carbs: 10.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
Protein: 1.9 g
One more thing – my girl Dawn from Florida Coastal Cooking tagged me for 5 Answers for 5 Questions. I’m jealous of the fact that Dawn moved to Florida from Massachusetts and therefore has such fresh beautiful produce year round and access to great seafood! She’s always grilling up something yummy. I really hope she comes back for a visit though 🙂
5 Answers for 5 Questions
1.) What was on your To-Do list today:
– go through a bunch of food photos on my camera (check!)
– Cathe HIIT dvd & 5 mile run (so glad that is done)
– hit up the farmers market (check!) for my current obsession, fresh arugula (fail – they didn’t have any this week.) But I got some other lettuce and some pretty peaches and plums too.
– pick out a gift for a very special new baby girl and another yet-to-be-born boy or girl (hurry up, K!)
– get a pedicure (whoo hoo! that was added to the list late in the day when I realized I had a chunk of time)
2.) 5 Snacks you enjoy:
– protein “ice cream” concoctions
– Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt
– ice cream (light, full fat, sundaes, whatever – didn’t say it needed to be healthy, or something I snack on all the time, right?)
– half sour pickles (no, not with the ice cream, ’cause I’m NOT preggers!)
– dark chocolate zone bars
3. ) 5 Places you have lived:
– my parents’ house
– overnight camp (can we call this temporary living?)
– sorority house
– a townhouse my husband owned previously
– the house we bought together and live in now 🙂
4.) What were you doing 5 years ago….Hmmmm….2005:
– lost about 30 lbs
– graduated college
– bought my Honda civic
– got a job, got laid off, and got another one!
– got engaged!
5.) 5 things you would do if you were a Billionaire:
– donate a whole bunch of money to help cure breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and Alzheimers
– spend a few weeks months island-hopping in the Mediterranean, and of course staying in the nicest private villas
– make sure all of our immediate family members were living comfortably
– always buy really nice gifts for my friends’ birthdays, weddings, etc.
– hire a live-in food photographer for this blog!
Passing this on to some fabulous fellow bloggers…
1) Branny from Branny Boils Over
2) Bridget from The Way The Cookie Crumbles
3) Josie from Pink Parsely
4) Dani from Dani Spies
5) Kira from Cook, Pray, Love
I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
Dawn — July 19, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
Full size free samples?! Score! I'm definitely going to try this. I love granola but like you said…who wants to eat a 1/4 cup for 300 calories and 30 grams of fat. (Hence why I almost NEVER eat the stuff). Thanks for answering the questions! I love learning new things about friends!
Ashlee — July 19, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
I love granola, but it does pack in the calories! I make it at home each week, this recipe looks delish! Maybe you should just move down here with Dawn and me 🙂 I love your last thing you do with a billion dollars, I would too!
brannyboilsover.com — July 19, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
That is so generous of Oh!Nuts. And how do I not follow you on twitter!? Off to do that now.THanks for passing on the getting-to-know you exercise. There's so much more to food bloggers' personalities than food.
brannyboilsover.com — July 19, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
That is so generous of Oh!Nuts. And how do I not follow you on twitter!? Off to do that now.THanks for passing on the getting-to-know you exercise. There's so much more to food bloggers' personalities than food.
Joanne — July 19, 2010 @ 5:48 pm
From what I hear, Oh Nuts is an awesome company and you made some great choices to receive from them! That granola looks fantastic!
Jennifurla — July 19, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
I will have to look them up, looks so good
newlywed — July 19, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
That dried guava looks great…as does the granola. Granola is on my long list of things to make at home that I haven't tried yet, and like you, I've had a hard time finding recipes that don't pack in a lot of fat. I can't wait to try yours with the applesauce — genius!
Kerstin — July 20, 2010 @ 3:47 am
What a unique granola! I'm intrigued by the dried guava too.
grace — July 20, 2010 @ 8:49 am
i don't think i know what guava even tastes like. regardless, i know i'd like your granola–it's so unique, and there's cinnamon. and coconut. and yum, LOVE me some macadamias.
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) — July 20, 2010 @ 4:48 pm
that looks insanely good. tropical + granola is such a good thing!love that you are happy about taking my daughter to pride. Trying to show her that everyone has a life and it's not our place to judge. It's our place to be tolerant :)And the fact that you open another browser to comment…god i love you!!you could always subscribe to me via email and if the spirit ever moves you to comment, just send me an email if you want.. i hate to make you open another browser..you are too sweet!xoxo
Kira — July 20, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
Thanks for passing it on! That granola looks delicius. Yumm guava.
Kira — July 20, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
Thanks for passing it on! That granola looks delicius. Yumm guava.
carascravings — July 21, 2010 @ 4:54 am
That granola looks perfect…nice and crunchy!
marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — July 21, 2010 @ 1:40 pm
Your granola is right along the lines of how I would prepare it. I love big portions too & generally keep away from traditional granola because of it's super high sugar content. The use of fruit puree as a binder is perfect! xo
camelia — July 29, 2010 @ 8:25 pm
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Jennifurla — April 5, 2011 @ 1:21 am
I will have to look them up, looks so good
Ashlee — April 5, 2011 @ 1:21 am
I love granola, but it does pack in the calories! I make it at home each week, this recipe looks delish! Maybe you should just move down here with Dawn and me 🙂 I love your last thing you do with a billion dollars, I would too!
brannyboilsover.com — April 5, 2011 @ 1:21 am
That is so generous of Oh!Nuts. And how do I not follow you on twitter!? Off to do that now.THanks for passing on the getting-to-know you exercise. There's so much more to food bloggers' personalities than food.