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Crunchy, sweet and just a bit savory, granola is a crowd pleaser. But most brands of granola are loaded with sugar, with minimal protein or fiber.  Fortunately Ben McLauchlin of Swerve saves the day again with his “Everything” Protein Granola that rolls together all things sweet, savory, crunchy – and chocolatey.

 

This Everything Protein Granola packs about two ounces worth of protein into a single quarter-cup serving, with less than one gram of added sugar. And with pork rinds as his not-so-secret ingredient, you would never guess that this granola could give us the green light to indulge without derailing our diet. As with most of Ben + Swerve’s recipes, it’s keto-approved and naturally gluten-free.

 

Everything Protein Granola

Makes 8 quarter-cup servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup ground up pork rinds (salt and pepper or regular flavor)
  • ¾ cup unsweetened protein powder
  • 1/8 cup ground flaxmeal
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ cup unsweetened peanut butter (¾ cup Granular Swerve, and 2 teaspoons of molasses)
  • ¾ cup Brown Sugar Swerve
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • Lillie’s sugar-free chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.  Set aside.

In a large or medium bowl, combine oats, pork rinds, protein powder, flax meal, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add peanut butter and Brown Sugar Swerve, whisking until the Swerve has melted into the peanut butter and water.  Stir in vanilla and maple syrup.

Remove from heat, and pour half of the mixture into your dry ingredients.  Mix well and use a spatula to ensure that all of the oats are well coated.  Add the remaining peanut butter mixture, and mix well again.

Spread the granola mixture over baking sheet, leaving as many clusters as you want, and bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir, and bake for another 8 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Let cool completely before adding unsweetened chocolate chips and transferring to a storage container.  The granola will still be slightly soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will harden up as it sits at room temperature and cools.

Per serving: 110 calories, 5 grams fat, 1 grams saturated fat, 65 mg sodium, 21 grams carbohydrate (7 grams net carbs), 2 grams fiber, 4 grams sugar (less than 1 gram added sugar), 6 grams protein.

 

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