“Granola Cereal” (THM-S, Grain Free, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Sugar Free)

Since following a low carb diet for a while now and then a year ago switching to Trim Healthy Mama one thing I have missed as my late night snack or a quick breakfast is cereal. Yep, the sugary thing we all loved as a kid and may even now that we are adults if we are honest. Thankfully, I know now that the boxes of cereal we can buy at the stores are loaded with all the things that did not do my fluffy body any favors so I avoid them. I also have a little guy that loves cereal and would eat it three times a day with toast if I let him. Though I try to make three balanced meals a day for us I have been guilt of letting cereal be his two early meals on crazy hectic days. I say that as I hang my head.  I know nobody else has done this right? No worries, it is a no judgment zone here in my world!

We still eat cereal, just not the boxes from the store any more.Now, we opt for one that is full of protein and good fats. This recipe can still have the sweet sugary taste without sluggish feeling that those processed sugars leave us with. I call that a bonus for sure!

I came up with on the spur of the moment. I was trying to make a crunchy and sweet snack to keep in some little baggies for those hectic days I mentioned earlier. Grab and go my friends, grab and go! But after I had finished the first batch I made I remembered reading on Facebook that one of my friends like to eat her granola and I thought this should work great like that too. So I tried t with almond milk and there it was..our new cereal option! This is a great low carb snack and breakfast and if you follow Trim Healthy Mama you would need to keep it within the “S” fuels due to the healthy fats in the recipe.

It is so simple and quick that I am not sure it would even qualify as recipe since I just toss things together and bake but for the sake of sounding like I know what I am doing I will call it a recipe (hey, we all like to sound official sometimes). No one needs to know that it only takes us just a few minutes to toss this together and bake right? Nope, just let them think you slaved over a hot stove for them because they are loved!

This cereal has very few ingredients but it is so satisfying and sure to please everyone in he family. I am adding this recipe to my list of “Simple Suppers and Snacks” because I only used three ingredients that I had in my pantry and the bonus is that they are all things I can find in my local grocery store or the small health food store here in town.

Now, with that being said I will say that some may not be able to find the Lilly’s chocolate chips that I add here but you can use things you can find like the 85% chocolate bars (chopped) from Aldi, WalGreens and Trader Joe. Or for those that don’t mind using Hershey’s sugar-free chips you can grab those at most grocery stores. The chocolate chips are totally optional and can be left out completely , but in my world I can not imagine anyone saying to leave out chocolate, ha!

As you can see from the pictures it browns up really nicely and if you could smell my house after I have made some of this sweet crunchy goodness you would swoon and jump up and start making some yourself!  You can let this brown as much as I did or pull it out sooner if you don’t want it as dark but I love the nutty flavor that comes with this dark golden brown. Just watch it closely because this mix can go from light brown to burnt in just an instant it seems.  I am pretty sure “burnt flavor”  cereal is not a desirable taste for any food plan lol.

So I hope you enjoy this cereal for your low carb, sugar-free breakfast or snacks, Remember you can totally just bag this up in little portions to carry around in your purse for a great snack on the go. I like to make a double (or triple) batch to have on hand. After it has totally cooled and the chocolate chips have been added I store it in jars with tight lids in the cabinets. Or at least I try to store it but it goes fast here so I am lucky if any is left after everyone get’s their hands on it. Oh, and I just may be the guiltiest of all!

For more recipes like this in the future please click on the “Follow My Table of Three” button on the upper right hand side of this page. If you are on your mobile device you may have to scroll down around the comments at the bottom to find this follow button.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing a chair at my little table today. The recipe is below so please enjoy let me know if you try it and what you think!

No Grain Granola Cereal

• 3 cups of flaked unsweetened coconut (the bigger flakes the better here)
• 6 to 8 oz of sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup of sugar-free chocolate chips (I used Lilly’s but use what you can find)
• 2 Tbsp of Truvia (or the equivalent of your favorite, you may have to adjust here)
• 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss together the nuts, flaked coconut, oil, salt, sweetener and cinnamon until all the cereal is coated well. Once you have this all tossed pour it out onto a foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes watching it closely and tossing half way through. Now, since oven temps vary so much it might take a little less or a little more time to get brown enough, just be careful. It will go from not done to burnt fast! Once the cereal reaches your desired brown color pull out of the oven. I let the mix cool completely before adding the chocolate pieces. The mix might still look a bit shiny with the coconut oil but it will dry out nicely and will not greasy at all. You can totally use less oil if you want to. Store left over mix in an air tight container at room temp.