There's two things that I haven't tried before, making my own granola and matcha. Okay, well... I have tried matcha since my favorite tea room here dusts it over their fabulous brownies, but outside of that - no. I've had my fair share of green tea, but matcha is different. Since I haven't tried it before, but have heard good things... I decided to do a little research.

At the end of my research, I ended up buying myself a package of the green stuff.

Matcha is made by using specially shade-grown green tea that's then ground down into a find green powder. It's supposed to be effective in improving mental focus with it's higher amounts of  theanine. The theanine and caffeine together help to give a boot of energy without causing the crash that comes with the caffeine in coffee. The antioxidants are what I'm after though!

Since matcha comes in a powder form, you can not only use it to make lattes and the like. You can also use it in just about anything else, especially baked items! With already trying something new with the matcha, I decided why not be extra bold and make something I haven't made before too? Granola!

After this weeks experience, I honestly don't know why I never made granola before. It's one of my favorite things to enjoy for breakfast or a snack and it's os easy to do. Plus, I love being able to control what goes into my granola; mixing it up and making it my own or to suit my tastes at the time.

This batch of granola turned out pretty amazing. I wanted to use the bright red cranberries to stand out among the green tint of the matcha powder, but really you could use any dried berry that you enjoy most.

You can also swap out any of the nuts and seeds to fit your desires as well. I picked mine based off variety and preference for myself and also what I happened to already have on hand in my pantry!

Skinny Matcha Granola
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 12 • Size: About 1/4 Cup • Calories: 266.9 • Fat: 13.4 g • Carb: 33.2 g • Fiber: 6.6 g • Protein: 6.8 g • Sugar: 12.8 g • Sodium: 4.1 mg

Ingredients:
3 C. Rolled or Old Fashioned Oats
1 C. Nuts (I used Pistachios & Walnuts.)
1 C. Seeds (I used Flax, Chia, Pumpkin/Pepitas & Sunflower.)
2 Tbsp. Sweetener & Brown Sugar Blend
2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil, Melted
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 C. Dried Cranberries
2 1/2 Tsp. Matcha Powder
Salt to Taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the 3 C. oats, 1 C. nuts, and 1 C. seeds together in a large bowl; set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the 2 Tbsp. brown sugar blend, 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, and 2 Tsp. Vanilla together.

Pour the oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine before adding in the 1 C. cranberries and 2 1/2 tsp. matcha powder; stir until everything is coated evenly.

Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet and place in the oven to bake for about an hour; stirring around every 15 minutes.

Once done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside to cool entirely.

Place the granola into a large airtight container for safe-keeping/storage.

This stays good for many weeks!