Recently I co hosted my first yoga retreat and had the pleasure of cooking for our beautiful retreaters. One of our breakfasts was a gorgeous granola I discovered in Amy Chaplins At home in the Whole Food Kitchen, it’s substantial without being heavy, not too sweet and not complicated to make. Paired with Organic yoghurt and fresh seasonal fruit it provided a great start to our days of yoga, deep rest, connection, sharing, discussion and rejuvenation.

Makes 24 portions

70g (1/2 cup) raw pumpkin seeds
70g (1/2 cup) raw sunflower seeds
65g (1/2 cup) raw unhulled sesame seeds
450g (5 cups) regular rolled huts
140g (1cup) whole raw almonds, roughly chopped
175g (2 1/2 cups) dried unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp ground cinnamon
120ml (1/2 cup) organic brown rice syrup
60 to 120ml (1/4-1/2 cup) Maple syrup……I used approx 60ml
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
120ml (1/2cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
60g (1/2cup) thinly sliced unsulphured dried apricots
160g (1cup) unsweetened dried cherries

-Preheat oven 150 degrees Celsius
-Line 2 Baking trays
-Place pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds in a medium bowl and fill with water, swish around and let them settle. Drain through a sieve, rinse under water and set aside to drain.
-Place oats, almonds, coconut, and cinnamon in a large bowl; toss to combine and set aside.
-Warm rice syrup, maple syrup and salt in a small pan over medium heat. Stir until mixture begins to simmer, then remove from heat and stir in olive oil and vanilla; set aside
-Stir the drained seeds into the oat mixture. Pour in the olive oil mixture and stir until evenly combined.
-Divide between baking trays and bake for 15mins. Stir, rotate baking trays and bake for another 15mins. Stir again and return to oven for an additional 5 to 10mins or until granola is golden and toasty.
-Place warm granola in a bowl, add dried fruit and toss gently. Cool completely before storing in jars.

Enjoy