I made my own organic granola! Ultimate clean run fuel. (recipe included)

Strength Training
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I am not a huge fan of “carb loading” for marathon training but it’s necessary to have the proper fuel in the tank to sustain long runs. After trying many different granolas and ultimately due to cost, sketchy ingredients, too much of the wrong stuff (sugar, nasty oils) I decided to make my own run fuel.

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Granola is NOT a low calorie snack. Usually it’s not healthy at all. Actually, most of the granola out there is just a bullshit sugar bomb with low grade oils and other sketchy ingredients no different than ultra processed cookies. Purely Elizabeth and Grandy Organics brands are the best I’ve found but at $7-$10 for a tiny bag and a bag is 1/2 empty when you open it, it’s just another expense and chore to keep it stocked. They’re both also too heavy on nonsense ingredients.

Here’s my Run Fuel Granola:

100% Organic Ingredients:

  • 4 cups oats
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup coconut flakes
  • 2 tbsp cocoa nibs
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1.5 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C).
  2. In a large bowl, combine oats, sliced almonds, walnuts, coconut flakes, and cocoa nibs.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat maple syrup, honey, coconut oil, cinnamon and almond butter over low heat until melted and combined.
  4. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well until evenly coated.
  5. Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until golden brown.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note that once it fully cools is when you can break it apart into awesome chunks! it won’t do that until it cools.

To tweak this recipe try adding vanilla extract and take away cinnamon. Or use peanut butter in place of almond butter - or neither!

The nuts and nut butter add a ton of calories. To cut the calories in 1/2 just take away the nuts or greatly reduce.

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Nutrition (per 1/2 cup serving):

  • Calories: Approximately 350 kcal
  • Protein: About 8 grams
  • Carbohydrates: Around 35 grams
  • Fat: Roughly 20 grams
  • Fiber: About 5 grams
    (according to ChatGPT)
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I modded this recipe for a different flavor:
Reduced Cinnamon to just 1 teaspoon
Added 3 teaspoons vanilla
Removed Almond Butter and used Peanut Butter instead
Added 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Love it.