Homemade granola is great fun for kids to make; it’s also inexpensive and contains far less sugar than you will find in commercially made varieties.
The extra bonus is you can add in the bits you do like and leave out the bits you don’t!
Skill Check (as appropriate for each Key Stage)
Follow a recipe; follow food safety & hygiene rules; chop using bridge/claw safely; use measuring spoons and cups; use a jug to measure liquids; use digital/balance scales; whisk; tidy away.
Allergens
Gluten | Sulphites
(Please note the allergens listed are indicative only. Allergens vary depending on brand; check the labels on the products you use.)
Equipment
2 mixing bowls, wooden spoons, baking sheet, oven gloves.
Ingredients (serves 22 children)
- 840g rolled oats
- 40g brown sugar
- 110ml oil (rapeseed, coconut or vegetable)
- 75ml honey
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 85g sultanas/raisins
- Optional ‘toppings’: 1 sliced banana, a handful of fresh berries or dried fruit (mango or cranberries) and a splash of cold milk.
Method
- Mix the rolled oats and brown sugar together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, honey and vanilla.
- Pour over the dry mixture and stir to coat thoroughly.
- Spread the mixture on a baking sheet and bake at 180C/Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes.
- Stir frequently (every 5 minutes) to ensure even baking. It should be golden brown when done.
- Add dried fruit after it has finished baking.
- Let it cool on the baking tray and break up any large pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Fun Breakfast Fact
The world record for the most people eating breakfast in bed is 289 and was set in Sydney, Australia on 2nd March in 2012. It involved 85 queen size beds containing four people each.
So thinking about granola...
Oats provide starchy carbohydrate, which gives us slow-release energy, and are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Milk is a great source of calcium and protein. Semi-skimmed and skimmed milks contain all the important nutritional benefits of milk, but are lower in fat.
Granola is delicious with a fruity topping – why not experiment and change your fruits with the seasons?
Activity and Discussion Ideas
- Ask pupils to discuss the main ingredients and identify where they fit on the eatwell guide. Are there any food groups missing? Is there a good balance of the food groups? Is there anything the pupils would add to either the recipe, or the meal, to make it healthier or more balanced?
- Pupils might like to think of different topping ideas for their granola. They could write out their recipes or draw a picture of their granola with their favourite toppings on.
Nutritional Information
- | Energy | 887KJ/211kcal | 11% |
Med | Fat | 7.3g | 10% |
Med | Saturates | 1.0g | 5% |
Med | Sugars | 6.7g | 7% |
Low | Salt | TRACE | <1% |
per 50g serving
% of an adult's reference intake
Typical values per 100g: Energy 1774KJ / 422kcal
Notes
A traffic light system is used on nutrition labels to make it easier to see which foods and drinks are lower in calories, fat, sugar and salt. Try and choose more ‘greens’ and ‘ambers’ and fewer ‘reds’, and stick to smaller portions of ‘reds’.
Just because a recipe or a food has a red traffic light doesn't mean you shouldn't eat it. Understanding why a food or recipe might have a red light can be helpful. For example oily fish is high in total fat and so any recipe containing oily fish is likely to be ‘red’ for fat. But it is recommended that we eat oily fish at least once a week because the type of fat it contains is beneficial for our health.
% Reference Intakes are also shown. Reference Intakes are guidelines about the approximate amount of particular nutrients and energy required for a healthy diet (based on an average-sized woman doing an average amount of physical activity). Most children will require less than these Reference Intakes. The contribution of one serving of a food or drink to the Reference Intake for each nutrient is expressed as a percentage.