Easy Recipes Using ‘The Paleo Foods Company’ Granolas

Who would believe that it’s the middle of March already?! That means that it’s nearly Spring, and you are probably starting to think about healthier eating, and ways to help you look your best for the better weather. My post on ‘3 Tips For Healthier Skin And Hair‘ has some great ideas for this, but today, I wanted to share a few recipes which I have come up with after discovering ‘The Paleo Foods Co‘ and their granola.

I am not promoting any sort of ‘diet’, lifestyle choice, or eating plan. For personal reasons, everything in moderation, as part of a heathy balanced lifestyle, is what I feel to be best for ME. However, that DOESN’T mean that some foods, associated with certain ‘diets’, or lifestyle choices, can’t still be good for me. For example, unlike many other brands of granola, this one is full of fruit (coconut), with 7 types of nuts and seeds, and no refined sugars. So, it’s packed full of good fats, protein and vitamins, which all help contribute to great hair, skin, and overall health, just in time for Spring/Summer.    

I played around with this product for a couple of weeks, and came up with a few, super easy, recipe ideas for you to try. There are 3 different flavours of granola in this range, Honey and Pecan, Cocoa and Hazelnut (made with cocoa nibs), and Berry and Almond. Feel free to use a different one to that which I have used in each recipe, if you’d prefer.

This post IS NOT SPONSORED, I just wanted to share my ideas with you guys!

The first idea I had, came from a long time ago, when a particular smoothie stand existed in the shopping centre here. They sold my absolute favourite smoothie, and it was milk, museli, banana, honey and frozen yoghurt all blended together. It wasn’t the healthiest, and as I loved it so much, I have since been looking for ways to create a healthier version. I prefer to call it more of a thick shake, rather than a smoothie, but it is basically breakfast in a bottle, and with lots of goodness for a healthy boost:- so here’s my recipe:

This makes around 300ml, depending on the size of banana you use. Obviously, you can alter the amounts here to suit your own personal preference. 

1 Frozen banana (halved) 

200ml of skimmed milk (you can also use semi-skimmed, almond milk, rice milk etc) 

3 Tablespoons of ‘The Paleo Foods Company – Cocoa and Hazelnut’ granola (I like the combination of the banana with this cocoa, but you can use a different flavour if you like)

2 Teaspoons of runny honey (can be replaced with an alternative, such as ‘Agave’, or pure maple syrup)

And that’s it! Simply blend it all together and enjoy! As you’ve used a frozen banana, you won’t even notice the absence of a frozen yoghurt or ice cream.

If you like cold, creamy treats, but prefer to have them in a bowl with a spoon, rather than in a cup with a straw, then try this next quick and easy treat!

Break some bananas in half, or smaller, and place into separate freezer bags, and freeze, preferably overnight. 

Depending on how much frozen dessert you want to make, place some pieces of frozen banana into a blender (I’d recommend going for 2 average sized bananas per person)

Blend the bananas, until they are of an ice-cream like consistency. 

Then, all that’s left to do is choose your granola flavour and blend as much, or as little, as you like into the banana!! Personally, I’ll more than likely always go for the ‘Cocoa and Hazelnut’ granola, as the mixture then becomes almost like a chocolate and hazelnut ice-cream. Don’t get me wrong though, the other granolas are great too, but if you love chocolate, then why would you say no to a healthy chocolate frozen dessert?! 

You can then simply empty it all into a bowl, top with some more granola if you like, and enjoy!

Maybe you’re someone who isn’t actually that keen on bananas. Or, maybe you prefer to have something less cold (and stop the old sensitive teeth from playing up), then the granola is also great as a topping for yoghurt. I don’t need to give you instructions for this one, it’s pretty self explanatory, but makes for such a delicious, and satisfying, breakfast or snack.  For me, I have been absolutely loving having the ‘Honey and Pecan’ granola with yoghurt and chopped up pear. Don’t ask me why or how that combination works, but it really does! However, if you don’t like to eat dairy yoghurt, then of course, you can add your granola to a coconut milk based yoghurt, or other dairy-free alternative. It will taste just as good!

If you’re a more traditional person, and don’t like to be too adventurous, you can enjoy this great granola in the old fashioned way, in a bowl, and drenched in milk. Again, just as tasty with dairy, non-dairy, full fat, or skimmed milk, it’s totally your choice! My favourite way to eat this, as a cereal, is to have it with skimmed milk, and chopped banana. I know, banana features quite a bit in this post, but it works so well with all the tasty nuts, seeds and coconut in the granola! As an alternative, however, you could use the ‘Berry and Almond’ granola, and put some fresh blueberries or strawberries on top. Especially now that these types of fruits will be coming into season, it’s the best time to make the most of their nutritional benefits.

So, I hope that this has inspired you all to get creative in time for spring! Boosting your health, and getting your hair, and skin, looking it’s best doesn’t have to mean that you miss out on flavour. If, like me, you aren’t a fan of eating a hand full of sunflower seed as a snack in the afternoon, or a handful of almonds with your morning tea, then definitely give this granola a try!

Let me know if you have tried these granolas, and what your favourite ways are to enjoy them!

Until next time guys!