Coconut Granola Clusters with Carrots
Coconut Granola Clusters with Carrots is the perfect breakfast for your busy morning. With just 10 minutes of prep time, you’ll have a healthy granola with hidden veggies that’s full of flavor.
Granola clusters are the best thing about having a bowl of granola, right? Having a jar of homemade granola ready for those quick breakfasts on workweek mornings is a lifesaver! Granola is filling and leaves you satisfied all morning long. Grabbing a bowl of yogurt or applesauce (my kids’ favorite) and a heaping handful of granola especially with big clusters makes breakfast a breeze. I don’t know about you, but when I come downstairs to get breakfast ready for the kids, I like knowing exactly what I’ll be serving and having it prepped ahead of time!
I know what you’re thinking, “can’t I just buy a bag of granola at the store, it’ll be quick too”. Well, sure you can, it is easy to grab a bag of pre-made granola from the shelf and plop it in your shopping cart. Better yet, just order it online and it’ll be delivered to your door! BUT…flip those bags of granola over and look at the ingredient list. I can count on one hand the granolas I would allow to be in my cart. So often there are preservatives added and more sugar than I want for my breakfast. And dried fruit (usually with sugar added) added and lots of nuts. We prefer added raw veggies and no nuts, thanks! Even though Coconut Granola Clusters with Carrots has a cup of honey, I feel comfortable serving this to my kids and myself. With making your own granola (or anything really) you will have complete control over exactly every ingredient that goes into making it, which nine times out of ten will be less sugar and no preservatives!
Making Coconut Granola Clusters with Carrots is just a ten minute job. We can all carve out ten minutes in the kitchen to make a healthy breakfast, right? I know it can be hard when you have little kids or work outside the home…I have little ones and I’ve worked outside the home before! I get it! A few things I’ve found to be helpful with MAKING kitchen time happen are:
- Bring the kids into the kitchen with you! Kids love helping stir and pour ingredients into the bowl. Teach them how to cook when they’re little.
- Mark it down on the calendar when you’ll be in the kitchen. Sounds kind of silly, I know, but it works! I will mark it on the calendar and tell my husband that Sunday from 4-6 or Tuesday from 6-8 he has to take the kids OUT OF THE HOUSE so I can have alone time to do a few meal prep items.
- Make a menu. I’m sure you’ve heard this everywhere! Jotting down a few meal ideas (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) on a piece of paper and making a list of which items you can prep ahead of time is so important! It helps you make the grocery store run more productive, meal prep the items and takes the guesswork out of what to make next.
- You have to give something up to gain something more. Take a close look at your day to day activities and decide which things are crucial and which things you could give up. For me that was watching Netflix at night. I know you’re gasping right now saying “not Netflix!” 😉 BUT…ask yourself, if I gave this one activity up (even if it’s just once a week) so I could make breakfasts (or dinners) ahead of time, would that save me more headache throughout the week and provide a healthier lifestyle? I’ll put my money on yes, it would be worth it!
Here we go…let’s make Coconut Granola Clusters with Carrots! The first thing I do is peel the carrots, chop them into thirds, and put them through the food processor. Then in a big mixing bowl (make sure it’s a big bowl for this is a big batch of granola!) whisk together the honey and oil. Then add in the oats, carrots, spices and either the orange essential oil or freshly squeezed orange and stir it all together with a big spoon. Lastly fold in the “extras” of sunflower seeds and coconut shreds. Here’s where you can get creative too…I almost always those two extras, but if you have some more favorites…add them in! Just be careful that what you add so they won’t burn (raisins are best to add AFTER the baking is done as they swell up and burn horribly!). There you have it, the granola is all mixed up and ready to be spread on the baking sheet and baked! I stir my granola only once, I feel it helps with making larger clusters. One last side note for this amazing granola…let it cool completely before stirring and breaking into clusters.
- 1 cup honey
- 2/3 cup avocado oil or coconut oil melted
- 6 cups quick oats
- 1 cup raw carrot, grated
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 orange, freshly squeezed OR 6 drops Orange Vitality essential oil
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl whisk together honey and avocado oil.
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Add the oats, carrots, cinnamon and orange essential oil (or freshly squeezed orange) to the mixing bowl. Using a large spoon, mix together until all oats are evenly coated.
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Fold in the sunflower seeds and coconut shreds.
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Pour onto the parchment covered baking sheet and spread evenly.
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Bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool completely before stirring or transferring to a container.
Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
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More amazing recipes to try:
Maple Pecan Grain-free Muffins with Caramel
