Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Granola

Mornings have always been my favourite. I love sitting down with a warm cup of coffee, mentally preparing myself for the day in store.

If you’re someone with PoTS, however, mornings are a downright bitch. Not in the typical, ‘I don’t want to leave the toasty confines of my bed’ kind of way. Not in the, ‘I’m just not a morning person, so there’ kind of way. Not even in the, ‘it’s 3AM and no one should have to get up this early for work?!’ kind of way.

Mornings with PoTS mean heightened symptoms of dizziness, palpitations, nausea, and zombie-like fatigue. From Mike’s experience, and from what I can gather here on the Internet reading about other people’s experience, the symptoms usually last the first couple hours after waking up.

For months, I woke up every morning and prepared breakfast for both Mike and I. It wouldn’t have been quite so tedious if we were able to have the same breakfast every morning, but as Mike was in the business of putting on weight, I was not. Eating a two egg omelette with four pieces of bacon and 1-2 potatoes would have put a serious damper on my own health goals, as tasty as it was.

I really don’t know why I didn’t think of making my own cereal before. Determined to find an easier way to enjoy my mornings once again, I started playing around with a few different grain free cereals and granolas. We’d seen a few Paleo granolas for sale online, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to spend £9 on a box of granola that would only last about three or four days.

So, equipped with the goal of making both of our mornings easier, to save a little in cost and convenience, and to satisfy the cravings of my inner child and her love for breakfast cereal without compromising calories or nutrition, I came up with this cinnamon and coconut granola. It’s grain, nut, and dairy free, and can easily be made vegan.

INGREDIENTS

•    1 1/4  cup unsweetened shredded/desiccated coconut
•       ½ cup sunflower seeds
•       ¼ cup chia seeds
•       1 Tablespoon cinnamon
•       Pinch of Sea Salt
•       1/3 cup honey/maple syrup
•       ½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
•     1 egg or egg substitute of choice. I actually prefer using a gelatin egg for this recipe.

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 325F/162C
2. Mix together the dry ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture.
4. Spread your mixture evenly onto a baking tray lined with parchment and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it turns into a golden brown, turning the half way through.
5. Cool for about 15 minutes and store in an airtight container.
6. Enjoy!