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A breakfast favourite, granola is often touted as a healthy ‘wholegrain’ option, but is it really?
Made from toasted oats, dried fruits, nuts, seeds and a hefty dose of honey. Store-bought is often laden with added sugar, unhealthy oils and additives that are anything but healthful. You can make your own but in my books, traditional granola is a ‘fake’ healthy food.
Yes it’s high in fibre, which is why it’s considered healthy but in my opinion, fibre is overrated. I’m saying you shouldn’t have fibre in your diet but you can have too much of a good thing. Many people with IBS and other digestive issues find that high fibre foods (the insoluble kind), especially grains like those found in granola, can irritate their guts and exacerbate their symptoms.
Plus, sugar. Need I say more? In our modern Western world, we are sugar-addicted and overloaded with carbohydrates in our diet. Breakfast is usually carb-heavy, predominantly grains and sugar - toast, cereal, muesli, oats, porridge, pastries - add a glass of OJ and sliced bananas to the mix and your breakfast can be anywhere in the vicinity of 50-70g of sugar (and I’m not talking about added sugar, I’m talking about the natural sugars found in these carb-heavy foods).
That’s the equivalent of eating up to 14 teaspoons of pure sugar in one meal sitting.
Mind blown 🤯
If you think that’s healthy, I’ve got news for you:
High amounts of sugar in the diet mess with your hormones - mainly insulin - the fat storing hormone, which leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, type II diabetes and heart disease.
There is a better way! Low carb grain free granola. And it’s just as delicious as the ‘real’ thing. Here’s how you make it:
The main switch is oats for nuts. This drastically cuts down the carb count and is much easier to digest on a sensitive tummy. You can use whatever nuts you like - mixed nuts works well in this recipe. To make it lower in sugar use a low carb friendly artificial sweetener instead of sugar or honey. This grain-free granola is higher in nuts, which means it’s also higher in protein as well as fibre, keeping you fuller for longer. Add healthy fats from coconut oil or grass fed butter and you’ve got yourself a truly healthy low carb treat!
If you’re doing strict low carb or keto, or maybe you’re trying to eliminate your sugar cravings, then opting for an artificial sweetener like erythritol, stevia or monk fruit is the better option because it gives you the sweetness without the insulin spikes. But it’s important to note that these artificial sweeteners are still a processed product.
Here at Strong Curves we advocate for a balanced diet of nutrient dense whole foods and to stay away from processed items as much as possible. So while low carb treats like this granola recipe are great while you’re adjusting to low carb and working on eliminating your sugar addiction, it’s best not to get hooked on the stuff!
If fat loss isn’t your main goal and you’re able to tolerate more carbs on a more relaxed approach to the low carb diet, using a small amount of a natural sweetener like honey or coconut sugar is best.
Disclaimer: The whole point of going low carb is to get healthy and deal wth your sugar addiction or carb dependency. It’s easy to fall into the trap of swapping sugar addiction for a sweet addiction so just be mindful when eating any of these sweet treats. it’s so delicious, you may find yourself dipping your hands in to the mason jar, a little too often. And I want to remind you that although this is a perfectly healthy food, if fat loss is your goal, you should still eat it sparingly because it is a calorific food! This definitely isn’t an every day kinda breakfast, more like a once in a while treat.
Founder of Strong Curves
With a no BS approach, I teach women how to sculpt strong curves and build confidence through my digital books, e-courses and app.
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Teaching women all over the world how to sculpt strong curves and gain confidence with my digital books, courses and app.
