At Vamper.cc, we’re big on food: we love good food, and good food for us is both delicious and highly nutritious. Food needs to nourish your heart – literally – and your soul, and we’re forever in the kitchen trying out new recipes to ensure we eat a really well balanced diet that tastes amazing.
Before we got together (and for some time after) Matt didn’t eat breakfast. Once upon a time he wouldn’t eat a thing until gone lunch time; now we enjoy a nutritious breakfast before work every day. (To be fair, cycling 14 miles to work makes it impossible to wait until lunch time for food!)
These days we love sharing breakfast together. It’s a chance to chat about the day ahead, enjoy each other’s company before work takes over, and a way to boost our intake of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
Our favourite weekday breakfast this year has been good ol’ Weetabix, loaded with Greek yoghurt, organic honey, flaxseed/linseed, fresh fruit and organic whole milk. It’s a great start to the day, and we’ve just discovered a way to make it even better: by adding a scoop of homemade seeded maple oat granola to finish it off.
This granola is easy to make, really tasty, and full of vitamins and minerals: the oats are full of fibre and can lower cholesterol, pumpkin and sunflower seeds are good for heart health and the immune system, and flaxseed/linseed is rich in plant-based Omega-3 essential fatty acids. A good way to boost your breakfast and power your ride!
Ingredients
- 100ml maple syrup
- 300g porridge oats
- 100g pumpkin seeds
- 100g sunflower seeds
- 75g milled linseed/flaxseed
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tspn flaky sea salt
- 1 tspn ground cinnamon
- ½ tspn grated nutmeg
- 1 tspn ground ginger
- 120ml unrefined coconut oil, melted
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Method
- Heat oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment, or a non-stick liner.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir thoroughly, and add the melted coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir thoroughly.
- Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to turn golden. Remove the baking tray from the over and, using a fork, gently rake the mixture. You want to bring the golden edges to the centre, and the centre to the edges. Return the tray to the oven and bake for a further 10-12 minutes. Repeat raking process. Return the tray to the oven once more for another 10-12 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, rake once more, and allow the mixture to cool completely. You can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for a fortnight. Best enjoyed sprinkled over Greek yoghurt with a handful of fresh, juicy grapes or blackberries – excellent ride fuel!
