Omega-3 Granola Recipe

Omega-3 Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• ½ cup coconut oil or canola oil or melted butter
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• ½ cup ground flax seeds or chia seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups nuts (chopped or whole). Try walnuts, pecans and almonds.
• ½ cup dried fruit (if desired, add after baking)
• ½ tsp sea salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a large bowl, add oats, ground flax or chia seeds, nuts, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, melt coconut oil or butter. Add in maple syrup or honey, and cinnamon.
4. Whisk to combine. Pour over oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Spread granola onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, or until granola is golden brown. Add dried fruit to cooled granola.

Nutrition Tips:

• Oats can help with both constipation and diarrhea. They contain fiber to help keep things moving. Specifically, they provide water soluble fiber, which can help bind loose stools.
• Loose stool tip: To make this recipe work for loose stools, leave out the flax seeds, nuts and dried fruit and replace with ½ to 1 c almond or peanut butter.
• Constipation tip: To make this recipe work for constipation, add ground flax and extra dried fruit.
• Ground flaxseed is a good source of plant-basedomega-3 fatty acids, an anti-inflammatory agent. They also provide 40mg magnesium per tablespoon. Some chemotherapies lower blood magnesium levels.
• Add walnuts, pecans, ground flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds for another boost of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.

Recipe provided by MGH Cancer Center Dietitians