'Banana Bread' Granola

This is ideal for those friends who 'don't like bananas' - we all have one. Just like banana bread its not an overly banana-y taste and offers up ~4.7g of fibre per 100g - your gut will be smiling. Although fibre is beneficial for things like protecting against cardiovascular diseases and some cancers, it is not a nutrient you want to be consuming in large quantities in the hours prior to exercising. This is because it can reduce the time it takes for food to be emptied from the stomach, increasing the risk of gastrointestinal issues and potentially impairing performance.

Use whatever nuts you fancy - hazelnut, walnuts - whatever you have. You could add some dried fruit to this if you fancy but be sure to do that after cooking.

Makes 800g

Ingredients:

300g oats

200g nuts (pecans & pumpkin)

2tbsp. (level) brown sugar

1tsp. ground ginnamon

40ml veg oil

60g honey

1tsp. vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas

Method:

1). Preheat the oven to 180/Gas 4. Put the oats, nuts, sugar and cinnamon into a mixing bow.

2). Mix the oil, honey and vanilla together (melt if honey is not runny enough). Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher.

3). Mix the oil mixture and bananas into the oats. Mix until well combined and then spread the mixture in a thin layer onto a baking sheet. Make sure the tray is not over crowded - may need to use two.

4). Pop into the oven and bake for 20mins or until crisp, removing and stirring the mixture a couple of times throughout baking.

5). Allow to completely cool on the tray and then pop into a Tupperware or jar - should keep for a couple of weeks ...if you can keep it that long. Enjoy!

Nutritional Composition (per 100g):

Energy (kcal): 402

Fat (g): 21

Saturates (g): 2.4

Carbohydrates (g): 41

Sugars (g): 15

Protein (g): 9.3

The Sports Chef