Well hello there!
I am officially back in Lexington and as amazing as my time at home was, it will be good to get back into a routine (and see Steve of course!). The second week at home absolutely flew by, and I got to see a lot of people, but did not burn myself out like I usually would. I think a lot of that is because I was not running; it meant I had an extra few hours a day to do things! Thank you to Lindsay, Dawn, Sarah, and Amanda for guest posting, and allowing me to enjoy those precious few hours with my friends and family.
I will recap things a little more on Wednesday, but today is of course, Meatless Monday, and I hope you will join Confessions of a Mother Runner and I with our linkup…if you have a blog that is….if not, I hope you will give meatless monday a try. Your wallet and body will thank you 🙂 Please let me know if you do!
If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen that the first weekend I had my bridal shower, which my sister did an amazing job at. One of the things we did together to get ready for the shower was making granola the day before. We made three different kinds, but only one of which I had tried a few weeks before. It was a favorite of Steve’s, but I wasn’t sure how people in England would like it, especially as it involved dates.
In fact, I was so concerned about it, that when I made little name tag for the food we prepared, I put Date and Maple….because I thought the word date would put people off. I could not have been more wrong. Not only was that granola by far the most popular, but four people asked me for the recipe, and I made the granola another two times within the 2 weeks I was home! My mum has had it for breakfast every day since!
Unfortunately this is not my own recipe, but as I was traveling this weekend, and taking a break from my blog, I do not have a brand new recipe for you, but I urge you to make this Chunky Date, Coconut, and Almond Granola from Epicurious. It is amazing. Seriously. I tweaked it a little, so have put the recipe I used below.
Thanks again for all your love and support for my Dream Come True race recap last week. I was a little worried it would be too ramble-y or self absorbed, but for some reason, you guys seem to love it when I just write what comes into my head. I really appreciate your support, and I would love to hear more about what you are striving for. Please email me if you have exciting news you want to share, I would love to support you too!
Date & Nut Granola
Serves: 8
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup roasted almonds, cut into pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cashews
1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup (packed) pitted dates, soaked for a few hours in warm water
1/4 cup dried fruit of choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 260°F.
Once the dates are pitted and softened from the water. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash them.
Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl.
Melt butter with honey in heavy small saucepan over low heat.
Pour over granola mixture, add dates, and toss well. Spread out mixture on baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes, remove from the oven, add the dried fruit, and stir around.
Put back in the oven, and bake until granola is golden brown (20-30 mins)
Cool on the tray if you want larger chunks, if not put straight into a container.
Nutritional Information
315 calories, 17g fat, 4mg sodium, 35g carbohydrates, 8g fiber, 13g sugar, 15mg cholesterol , 9g protein
Have you ever had a recipe that you just LOVED and needed to make over and over? Do the names of food ever put you off?
33 Comments.
ahhh I admit youre right. I made date and nut powerballs this weekend and almost didnt as I had convinced myself I HATED DATES. I do not 🙂
Welcome home!!! Glad to have you back and with such deliciousness. I love making homemade granola because it’s so simple and you can eat it with everything!
I have actually been on a granola kick lately and this is perfect timing! I attempted to make “no bake cookies” yesterday and they weren’t really sticking together so I decided to turn them into granola:) Your recipe looks delicious!
How perfect! Coincidentally I’ve been eating a homemade trail mix lately very similar, with nuts, dates and figs. This is a delicious step up from that!
Welcome back!! I am a granola addict. I make it and all I can’t stop. won’t stop. eating it! And this one would definitely be gone within a day!
I am loving the look of this! I LOVE homemade granola, and yours looks so good!
things like this NEVER last long in my house!
I love homemade granola packed full of my favorite things. Yum!
I’m so glad you are back! Congrats again friend. I’ve not made my own granola either -This looks yummy and so easy. Thanks. Happy Monday
Yum!! So glad you got a nice break and it’s great to have you back!!
I love a good granola for my greek yogurt, this looks awesome! Welcome back!
you can never ramble too much about a great race, well deserved! and welcome back… home #2!
Dates and granola are matches made in heaven! Welcome home!
I love finding recipes that I make on repeat…Especially to the point, where I don’t even need to look at the recipe, I know it by heart…HAHA! This looks delicious. Thanks for sharing friend and Happy Monday! XOXO
I never ate a date in my life until last year and boy gave u ever been missing out! Great recipe!
Yum! This looks so good! Welcome back!
Looks delicious! I love granola and so many things you have added to this one! So happy you are back and your trip went well! I look forward to reading about it Wednesday!
The idea that someone might not like dates just boggles my mind — they’re my favourite thing to eat and I seriously put the in everything! So I’m glad to see that people loved them. And welcome back home, lady <3
I’ve actually rarely found a granola mixture that I don’t like, but never made much of it at home! Sounds delish! And welcome back, Tina. 🙂
I love making my own granola and this one sounds delicious! I’ll have to give it a try.
Omg I love granola. I could sit down and eat my body weight in that stuff like it’s my job.
I love granola and trying new recipes. Dates are one of my favorites, so I’m looking forward to this one!
This sounds so perfect! I could have this for breakfast or mix it into yogurt any day! yummmmm!!!
Beautiful granola here, Tina! I am on the pro-date bandwagon, and not just the kind that happen with Justin Timberlake in my dreams. 😉
Hahhahahaha! LOVE that Meg 😉
I’m going to need to make some granola… I have been seeing these recipes everywhere lately! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I am a granola addict- especially late at night with ice cold Almond Milk.
Triple yum. I am definitely making this! We can’t seem to keep enough granola in our house!! 🙂
I love dates! Good thing since I live in the date capital of the world :-). I’ve never made my own granola but this sounds amazing.
My grandmother makes date and nut pinwheel cookies for Christmas. I thought I hated them for years because dates were funny, wrinkly fruits. Finally I realized I loved dates! So yes – the name put me off for YEARS!!
Welcome back stateside! I’ve been wanting to make homemade granola recently and your recipe sounds like the perfect one to try for once I get settled in our new place.
Welcome back! I’m so glad I was a part of your site. And this recipe……I’m making this with coconut oil and I bet I’ll be eating it daily! And yes, the name “nutritional yeast” put me off forever. Now we can’t get enough of the stuff.
I need to go buy some more dates because I sat down with my bag this weekend and COULD NOT STOP EATING THEM! This looks great though so when I buy more i’ll definitely try it out =D
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