As you probably know by now, I am a huge yogurt lover. I could eat it every day and in fact on most days I do. Lucky for me, this is one of the foods that during my rough pregnancy I was still able to keep down [most of the time]. It also happens that the little babe loves yogurt as much as I do, so we usually sit down together for either a powerhouse breakfast or a nice refreshing snack and have a serving of greek yogurt with a big heaping of fresh berries, a small drizzle of honey and some granola.

What I don’t like on my yogurt parfaits is the prepackage granola that usually goes along with it. The kind that is almost always filled with unnecessary sugar, fat and a ton of extra calories.

So, I do what any crazy person does and I always make my own.

It turns out that making a healthy homemade granola is an extremely simple and cost effective way to add a little bit of crunch to your yogurt without all the quilt. While I usually use this and this recipe, over the last couple of months I have been experimenting with making my own granola that is loaded with nuts and seeds [which are perfect powerhouse food for pregnancy] without using oats, sugar or oil. It also doesn’t need to be baked in the oven for an hour, Bonus!

While it may sound boring at first [where did all the yummy stuff go?], I have found that by gently heating walnuts, almonds, pepitos, hemp and flax seeds together brings out their natural oils and flavors. Toss in some toasted coconut for some extra flavor and you have a crush worthy ‘granola’ to use for a healthy and yummy topping for your every day yogurt consumption. A big batch of this ‘granola’ can also be made in about 15 minutes so you have plenty of time to do the other things in life, that if you are anything like me are always putting off – picking up the never ending collection of toys on the floor, do yet another load of laundry, wash the new pile of dishes that magically appeared in the sink or dry some more unwarranted kiddo tears.

Parfait with Berries

1 heaping cup of mixed Berries
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
Sprinkle of Nut Seed Granola
Drizzle of Honey [optional]

Nut & Seed ‘Granola’

1/4 cup chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup slivered Almonds
1/4 cup Pepitos
1/8 cup Hemp Seeds
1/8 cup Flax Seeds
1/4 cup Shredded Coconut  
1/3 cup Organic Puffed Brown Rice Cereal [optional]

Over medium-low heat, put walnuts, alomonds and pepitos in small pan for 5-10 minutes, stirring until toasted to a very light golden brown. Keep a close eye on the pan because the nuts tend to go from golden brown to burnt in a blink of an eye. Right before the nuts are toasted to perfection, toss in the hemp and flax seeds, turn down to low and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Don’t be frightened the seeds will pop a little. Place on plate or cutting board to cool.

Add coconut to hot pan and toast on medium heat for 5 minutes, stiring every 30 seconds or so. Place ontop of nuts and seeds to cool.

Once cool, you can add the puffed brown rice cereal. This is optional but I like the bulk up the nuts with a low calorie cereal.