Yesterday we decided to discover some new parts of Dublin. We ended up in Ranelagh, a cute neighbourhood on the other side of the canal, where we found some nice health food stores and book shops. I was really impressed by Urban Health, a newly opened store with all the essential superfoods. Must come back to try out their menu, the juices looked really fresh. We also found a really cool bookshop with so many must-buy books. I got the book from Ireland's healthy eating revolutionaries at the Happy Pear. Back home, I went through the whole book which now has so many post-its in it, that I think I have enough new recipes for another month, at least.

After reading over a hundred recipes, I was definitely in the mood for some baking and decided to make a batch of granola for the week. I went for a recipe that I have experimented with for a while now and once I took the granola out of the oven, I knew it. This is it. The ULTIMATE CHEWY GRANOLA RECIPE.

I've never managed to make the granola chewy enough with oil. Sunflower or coconut oil never do the trick for me. The oil makes it nice and crunchy but I prefer it chewy too, almost like pieces of crumbled cookie. One day when I was making my granola my eyes caught sight of a few ripe avocados and bananas in my kitchen. And that was it, my oil-free avocado granola was born. Here's the recipe:

Chewy avocado granola (oil-free)

1/2 avocado
1 ripe banana
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 cups (200 g) organic oats
1/2 cup (60 g) desiccated coconut
1/2 cup (100 g sunflower) and/or pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup (45 g) sesame seeds
1 tbsp raspberry jam (I use St Dalfour) 
 
Preheat the oven to 180 C degrees and line a tray with a baking sheet.

Mash the banana and avocado in a bowl until completely smooth. Add cinnamon and maple syrup and stir everything together. Mix oats, coconut, sunflower and your choice of seeds in another bowl. Then add the oat and seed mixture to the wet ingredients and mix everything well together. Finally add a tablespoon of raspberry jam and make sure it mixes well with the other ingredients. 

Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread out evenly until it covers the whole sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove it from the oven, crack it a little with a wooden spoon and put any dark golden pieces from the edge into the middle of the tray so that they don't burn. 

After another five minutes, remove from the oven and let stand to cool. You might need to break down the granola into smaller pieces with the spoon.

Once cooled, pop the granola into a mason jar and enjoy for a week or so. 

Breakfast. It can be so many things and I believe for most of us it tends to change; we vary it depending on the time, the season and whether we are out or at home. When I was growing up we had sourcream yoghurt (filmjölk) with homemade cassis jam and granola for breakfast. I can't say I really liked it. The filmjölk per se is sour and the cassis jam was hardly sweet enough for my immature taste. My biggest cheer was on the weekend when we, if I was lucky, ate some honey yoghurt or in summer when we had fresh raw strawberry jam in the refridgerator.

When I was a teenager I loved making pancakes or scones for breakfast, or if I was in a rush I often just grabbed a couple of apples.

Since then, fortunately, I have found quite a few morning foods that power me up for a great day.

For me black coffee and fruit is an essential in the morning. Without it, I don't feel quite like myself.

Here are a few of my breakfast favourites

Chia pudding, fruit and black coffee

Berries, fruit, egg and yoghurt with homemade granola

Raspberry chia overnight oats (for one)

1/2 cup almond or oat milk
1/4 cup oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp coconut flakes
a handful raspberries
1 tsp cinnamon cacao nibs

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Stir gently and refridgerate overnight. Place some fresh or frozen raspberries in a glass and pour the chia oat mixture on top and decorate with goji berries, cacao nibs and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Coffee, tea and juice with friends (good conversations can be very energising too)

Mashed avocado drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chilli flakes on ryebread (mm one of my absolute morning favves)

When me and Damien have breakfast in a café I often bring a protein bar to have alongside my coffee. Then it is just a bonus if I find something that I like, such as these dried pineapple rings.

Hope you found some inspiration, expect a follow up post soon!