Breakfasts on school days are a pretty hurried affair.   Homemade granola is a great way to start the day, in a fast way.

I am jumping onto the coconut oil band wagon.  I bought the organic cold pressed version at $15.90 (500ml) from a health shop instead of the cheaper ones found in Mustafa.  Told myself to see how things go with this first bottle (how often I can use it and how much my family like the food cooked with coconut oil) before evaluating if a cheaper alternative can be considered.

But then again, I am not switching TOTALLY to coconut oil, it is too expensive anyway.  It will be another alternative fat for me to consider from time to time, for I have been rotating on different kinds of cooking oil in my household.  Risk management.  Diversification.  Whatever you call it in the business world.  I am doing the same thing in my pantry (stay clear of the confirmed unhealthy ones of course) just In case one fine day, another smart professor tells us that the coconut oil is not that healthy after all, hey, I did not eat it for a majority part of my life, did I?  The margarine/butter case study has taught me a lot about following food/ nutrition/diet trends: MODERATION.

The strong whiff of coconut fragrance in the house could not go unnoticed when I was baking these granola in the evening, preparing for the next day’s breakfast.  The girls approached me one after another to check out what I was cooking in the kitchen.  They ended up trying out these granola as supper, and gave them thumbs up.

I wonder if stir fried vegetables with coconut oil have any coconut taste in it, the owner of the health shop I bought the oil from told me that there won’t be any though.

// Update : I stir fried Baby Kai-lan with a tablespoon of coconut oil, definitely can smell and taste the coconut in the dish. //

COCONUT OIL GRANOLA
// Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground almonds / almond slices
5 tablespoons melted coconut oil (Mine never turn solid, that’s how warm my place is!)
1 tablespoon Thai coconut sugar / Thai palm sugar / brown sugar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a big bowl, mix coconut oil and sugar with a metal spoon.

Add rolled oats and ground almonds. mix well to make sure the oats are even coated with oil.  Add more oil if needed.

Spread mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 6 minutes, stir with a wooden spoon and then continue to bake until turn golden brown, about another 6 – 8 minutes.

Remove granola from oven and cool on a rack.

Store in airtight container.

Serve with milk or plain yogurt, topped with fresh or dried fruits.