Recipe reproduced with permission from Glenda Bishop. Glenda is a Registered Nutritionist, wellness coach, neuroscientist and educator.

Granola, or toasted muesli, is one of my favourite breakfast cereals. It’s crunchy, sweet and has lots of delicious flavour. And it’s surprisingly easy to make. Normally though, granola is made in an oven and takes about half an hour or so to cook, then a while longer to cool. But you can make granola heaps faster by cooking on the stovetop. Which is excellent if you want granola for breakfast but don’t have time for it to bake in the oven. Instead you can make this quick and fuss-free low FODMAP Maple Macadamia Stovetop Granola.

Let’s talk FODMAPS

The biggest problem with regular granola is that it’s often made with honey, which is high in excess fructose. But my granola recipe uses pure maple syrup, giving it a delicious sweet flavour and helping to make it crunchy. Maple syrup, when in pure form, is low FODMAP. But make sure it’s the pure stuff. Because maple-flavoured syrup often uses polyols in the sugar syrup that’s then flavoured to be 'maple-like'. And you don’t want that.

The other common issue with granola is the nuts and seeds that are used. They either include high FODMAP nuts or they use too many nuts and seeds, making the oligosaccharides too high. So this recipe has been carefully developed by choosing the nuts and seeds that are lower in FODMAPs. And it also keeps the total amount of nuts and seeds to less than 2 tbsp per serve.

Maple Macadamia Stovetop Granola

Makes: 4 serves

Serving Size: 1/2 cup or 55g

Prep and Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp macadamias, chopped
2 tbsp ground lindseed
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

Heat a non-stick frying pan over low to medium heat.
Combine the oats, macadamias, lindseed and sunflower seeds in a bowl. Then add to the frying pan and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. You’ll know that its done after it starts to brown a little and gives off little popping noises.
Turn off the heat, then add the maple syrup and quickly stir through the oat mixture until everything is coated. Then pour the granola out onto a baking tray and spread out with a spoon. Allow to cool down for 5-10 mins, and break it up a little before serving. Note: to speed up the cooling, you can place the tray in the fridge or freezer for a couple of minutes.
Serve for breakfast with Low FODMAP yoghurt or milk, plus fresh low FODMAP fruit.

Serving ideas:

You can use this granola in any way that you’d use regular granola or muesli. Here’s some ideas:

As a breakfast cereal, you can serve it with your favourite low FODMAP milk or yoghurt, plus fresh low FODMAP fruit.
As a snack or dessert, you can use it as a topping for fresh or stewed fruits, kind of like a cheat’s crumble/ crisp.
Nibble on it straight from the jar–although a safer option is to tip a low FODMAP portion into a bowl and then nibble from the bowl.
Use it to make a breakfast parfait by layering a serve of granola, low FODMAP yoghurt and low FODMAP fruit (e.g. strawberries, melon) in a glass

Since this granola is cooked on the stovetop, it’s a no-fuss and quick version that you can make just before you want to eat it. But you can also make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge–it will keep for at least a month.

Ingredient Notes:

This recipe is suitable for a low FODMAP diet, provided that the recommended serving size for this recipe is not exceeded.
This recipe is naturally dairy-free. However, if you have an allergy to any of these items, or have coeliac disease, please check the labels on any purchased ingredients to ensure they are safe for your requirements.
Make sure to choose pure maple syrup and not maple-flavoured syrup, which can often be high in FODMAPs.
While there is a reasonable amount of nuts and seeds in this recipe, they were chosen because they are very low FODMAP choices, especially at the serving sizes used. This helps to keep down the total amount of oligos when combined with the rolled oats.

Rachel is a university qualified Clinical Nutritionist based in Balmain. She is also the busy working mum of two teenagers, so is practical and realistic with her advice . Rachel offers private consultations to improve your family's health and well-being. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram for more healthy tips and tricks.

If you'd like help implementing a low FODMAP diet I can help you. Find out more about my services here. If you’re after more delicious low FODMAP recipes go here.

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