Hello summer! Nashville has been SO hot lately so I’ve been craving cool foods in the morning but still don’t want to give up the crunch of morning cereals. Today I’m sharing something I’ve been loving lately topped on a cold and creamy smoothie bowl in the morning. I talk about “food phases” often and right now with this Nashville heat, I’ve been enjoying smoothie bowls topped with this Citrus Caraway Granola for a sublime sweet savory combo.
I was flipping through Bon Appetite the other weekend and came across a beautiful recipe for a granola with fennel seed in it, I absolutely loved the idea of combining savory spices in a traditionally sweet recipe. I was inspired to recreate something that I love using caraway as the main spice, which is one of my favorite spices and quite underused even in my kitchen!
Caraway is an herb in the parsley family, it’s sisters/or brothers are dill, anise, cumin, and fennel. It has an earthy taste that’s slightly sweet, pungent, citrus-y all at once. If you think of rye bread and how it has that distinct flavor, especially noticeable when breathing out after you taste it, that’s what caraway is! Not only does caraway taste amazing, it also has some powerful nutrition and health benefits behind it (same with fennel, also used in this recipe). One of my favorite uses for caraway is to help digestion! The actual seed contains loads of fiber, about 38g fiber per 100g (which you’d never eat that much, but for a reference point, still a lot!). Being high in fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants may be a reason for it’s anti-obesity properties as well. Eating caraway as well as other herbs and spices found in the parsley family, can help beat the bloat due to the essential oils found in caraway seeds, decrease ulcers, may help those who have gall bladder issues, and may help improve symptoms of IBD and IBS due to its antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and spasmolytic properties. On top of that, the seeds contain minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc and magnesium; vitamins such as Vitamin A, E, C, and a host of B-complex vitamins.
On to this granola, like I mentioned, it’s delicious with a sweet smoothie bowl as the base; that combination of cold, creamy, and sweet with crunchy savory granola is out of this world! If you’re a traditionalist (or smoothie bowls are just weird to you), try it on Simply Coconut Ice Cream, Coconut Whipped Cream, on BanaNO Cream Ice Cream, or good ole’ homemade almond milk. Both golden berries and dried mulberries give a huge citrus boost to this recipe that already has lemon zest, lemon juice, and brightness from the caraway seed- it screams summer granola if there ever was such a thing! Golden berries and dried mulberries are great sources of vitamin C, fiber, carbohydrates, and
Where to find: golden berries | dried mulberries | cacao nibs (optional ingredient) | kind of love this digestive spice mix called D’Mix too (only they don’t have caraway, which would be beautiful!)
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
- 1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup dried mulberries
- 1/4 cup golden berries
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- In a blender, combine the almond butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla, sea salt, black pepper, and cinnamon. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all remaining dry ingredients except dried apricots and golden raisins, and stir to evenly disperse all ingredients. Pour the wet mixture in the large bowl and mix to combine.
- Using a lined baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the granola mixture flat and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and crisp. Stir in dried fruit.
- Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe, be sure to tag me so I can see how you make and enjoy this recipe! #nutritionstripped.
xx McKel
p.s.
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