Sugar Free Homemade Granola

Did you grow up with the nutty and wholesome smell of granola in the oven? I didn't, but thanks to this recipe, my mom now makes her own as well!

4 cups rolled oats

½ cup olive oil

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup EACH sesame OR sunflower seeds AND pumpkin seeds

1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds

1/8 tsp EACH nutmeg AND cinnamon

Dried fruit: craisins, raisins or chopped, dried apricots

Pour oats, seeds and nuts into a square baking pan. Then drizzle the wet ingredients over the top, slowly rolling all together with wooden spoons. Bake at 275 degrees until golden brown. I check and stir every 20-30 minutes.

While cooling, I toss in the dried fruit. We store this on our counter top with a ¼ measuring spoon for a quick snack when needed. I typically double this batch and it lasts us about two weeks.

The thing to remember with homemade granola is that you can change up the measurements and ingredients as you like. For example, switch up the spices, nuts, seeds, or dried fruit to something different and the taste completely changes. What you want to maintain is the ratio of wet to dry, specifically of and for the olive oil, syrup and rolled oats. You can also switch out honey for maple syrup and get a nice crunch with a little sweet. Sometimes that makes all the difference in the world.

Easy to give as a gift, just store in a Mason Jar, tie with a bow and you have yourself a last minute hostess gift, thank you or holiday gift.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Natural Sugar Substitutes Keep You Healthy

Learn about natural sweeteners which are healthier and do not involve any processing like white sugar that would cause environmental pollution.

Our daily diets always include sugar in one form or the other, which is indeed necessary for our body. Sometimes, it will be in the form of fruits, and some other time, it will be sweets, cookies, chocolates, cakes and smoothies. But, fruits, as we all know, are of fewer calories and the natural sugar contained in them is not harmful to the body, compared to sweetened products. The sweetened products available in the market are usually made out of synthetic sugar, which is hard to be processed and eliminated by the body, and it gets deposited in the body as fat.

Also, there are serious problems linked with too much consumption of sugar including obesity, imbalance in blood sugar levels, heart diseases, arthritis etc. One cannot completely exclude sugar from their diet, but can replace the synthetic sugar with natural sugar substitutes, thereby keeping the fitness of the body.

The natural sugar substitutes are healthier and do not involve any processing like white sugar that would cause environmental pollution. They are widely available in the market and are not much expensive. Some of the healthy sweeteners have been discussed below. Any of these natural sugar substitutes can be included in your diet and you can stay healthy and fit.

Agave Nectar

Agave Nectar is made out of blue agave plant seen in Southern Mexico. 90 percent of agave nectar is composed of fructose and it is sweeter than the usual table sugar and hence can be used in a lower quantity.

Stevia

Stevia is made from the stevia rebaudiana plant extract and is said that it has no carbohydrates, no calories and very safe to use. It requires only a very small amount of stevia for sweetening as it is around 300 times sweeter than regular sugar.

Brown Rice Syrup

When rice is cultured with enzymes, starch contained in the rice breaks down and results in the formation of rice syrup. As brown rice syrup is contained with soluble complex carbohydrates, it gets digested within two or three hours after intake. The evaporation of this syrup results in the formation of rice syrup powder.

Maple syrup

Maple syrup is also a natural sugar substitute and is also an antioxidant. The darker B grade maple syrup is contained with more minerals than the A grade one.

Honey

Honey is a natural sugar substitute and sweeter than sugar. It has high calories and carbohydrates compared to refined sugar. According to reports, raw honey is composed of enzymes, minerals and B-complex vitamins.

Xylitol

Xylitol is a low calorie, sugar alcohol which is a natural sugar substitute. The one advantage of xylitol is that, it is absorbed slowly and will not add in a rise in blood sugar level in the body.

ZSweet

ZSweet is an ideal sugar substitute for sugar substitutes as it does not increase glucose level in the body. It is of zero calorie and tastes like refined sugar. It is produced from erythritol which is cultured from sugar and natural plant extracts.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com