The best granola I’ve ever had.
I tend to be a bit of a granola snob. I’ll admit, it’s a weird thing to be all high and mighty about, but I generally think the store-bought brands are over-priced, over-sugared, and don’t have enough of those clusters I love to pick out of the bag. Those are the best part! And this is why I usually just make my own granola.
However, as you can tell from my now-weekly blog posts, my work schedule has picked up dramatically. I currently have less time for writing things that don’t involve Word documents and PowerPoint presentations, and also less time in the kitchen. Less granola, too.
I was really excited when Purely Elizabeth sent me some samples of their granola and a gluten-free baking mix for oatmeal cherry chocolate chip cookies. Their timing was impeccable – the package arrived around 4pm, and it wasn’t until the postman startled me with my apartment’s crazy loud buzzer that I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch, and barely breakfast. I have a bad habit of getting sucked into projects.
I immediately tore into the cranberry pecan granola, poured some almond milk over it, and sat down to continue plugging away at my computer. And then I actually paused and said out loud to the dogs (of course): “This is the best granola I’ve ever had.”
It’s organic, free of refined sugar, gluten, dairy, and soy, and yet the taste is reminiscent of buttery oatmeal cookies without any actual butter. The base ingredients are also really simple: oats, coconut sugar, raw virgin coconut oil, puffed amaranth, quinoa flakes, chia and sunflower seeds, and sea salt. In addition to the cranberry pecan flavor, they also make original, pumpkin fig (love!), and blueberry hemp.
But if you need an actual oatmeal cookie in your life (and frankly, who doesn’t?), the Purely Elizabeth mixes are equally delicious. Again, simple ingredients and really great flavor – you just have to add oil, applesauce, and vanilla. I actually halved the oil in the recipe and doubled the applesauce and the texture was still perfectly crispy and chewy. I think next time I’ll try pumpkin puree instead of applesauce since I hoard pumpkin year-round.
The mix makes about two dozen cookies, and I won’t even tell you how long those lasted at my house. It’s embarrassing.
If you’re interested in trying the granola or cookies, you can find them at your local Whole Foods, or check the Purely Elizabeth site for other stores.
Discloure: I received the granola and cookie mix free of charge, but as always, all opinions are my own. This is some seriously good granola.
