Healthy Mediterranean Diet Snacks Homemade Granola

Tackle Snack Cravings With Extra Virgin Olive Oil Fuelled Healthy Treats

If you want to incorporate more nutritious and wholesome food into your diet without sacrificing flavour? Look no further than the Mediterranean Diet which can make good use of your extra virgin olive oil for snacking.

In this blog post, we will delve into some mouth-watering snack ideas that perfectly align with the principles of the Mediterranean Diet featuring extra virgin olive oil. Get ready to tantalize your taste buds while nourishing your body with these healthy snacks infused with extra virgin olive oil.

In her blog looking at 5 snacks to eat on the Mediterranean Diet, Dietician Sheela Prakash explains why homemade granola is such a great choice.

Prakash said one of her staple snacks to prep ahead of time is homemade granola to eat as an accompaniment to Greek yogurt or just on its own.

“It is so simple to make and it’s a fun way for me to use up a lot of the ingredients in my pantry,” she said.

Typical recipes include some combination of nuts, oats, and honey, which together provide carbohydrates for energy with fiber for balanced blood sugar. Prakash is a big proponent of honey as a natural source of sweetness — it’s also one of the longevity-boosting foods popular in Blue Zones, areas of the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives.

Prakash outlines the key role of extra virgin olive oil in homemade granola:

Granola also needs some type of fat to bring it all together, and Prakash uses olive oil, which adds a unique flavor and is linked to lower risk of illnesses like heart disease and dementia.

Dietician Sheela Prakash

“It’s really so full of good fats, so it’s making my granola better for me,” she said.

“I think if you are on a quick fix diet that’s hard to sustain, eventually you’re going to tire of it, you’re going to maybe feel deprived because you’ve cut out things that you enjoy, and that’s not what the Mediterranean diet is,” she said.

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Homemade Granola With Energizing Carbs With Less Added Sugar

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 300g rolled oats
  • 50g sunflower seed
  • 4 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 50g pumpkin seeds
  • 100g flaked almond
  • 100g dried berries
  • 50g coconut flakes/desiccated coconut

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Mix the oil, maple syrup, honey and vanilla in a large bowl. Tip in all the remaining ingredients, except the dried fruit and coconut, and mix well.
  2. Tip the granola onto two baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for 15 mins, then mix in the coconut and dried fruit, and bake for 10-15 mins more. Remove and scrape onto a flat tray to cool. Serve with cold milk or yogurt.
  3. The granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.

Loaded Hummus Dip

Healthy Mediterranean Diet Snacks Hummus Dip

This colourful suggestion from A Couple of Cooks is a great way to jazz up your hummus with extra crunch and vitamins. One of our healthy mediterranean diet snacks.

Ingredients

  • 4 rounds of pitta bread
  • 200g/7oz canned chickpeas
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • A pinch salt
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice or more

Instructions

  1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Reserve a few whole chickpeas for serving.
  2. Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, tahini, and water in a food processor, and blend to a creamy purée.
  3. Add more lemon juice, garlic, cumin or salt to taste. Turn out into a dinner plate, and make smooth with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil and scatter with the reserved chickpeas.
  4. Sprinkle with paprika and serve with pita bread, warmed in a moderate oven for three minutes, and cut into quarters.

Blueberry Muffins Baked With Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Healthy Mediterranean Diet Snacks Blueberry Muffins

Here’s an ever-popular choice for the sweet tooth. These Blueberry Muffins with Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Mediterranean Living are always a pleasing way to boost your energy during the day.

Ingredients

  • Dry Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 6 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups blueberries (defrost, if frozen)
  • Wet Ingredients 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 cups milk (of your choice)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Stir in blueberries.
  3. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix only until everything is incorporated (don't overmix).
  5. Fill oiled oven tins with muffin mix.
  6. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

For more recipe ideas and health snacks to make using your favourite extra virgin olive oil see here.

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