As a mom and health-supportive chef with limited time, I’m all about functional food. Food that tastes great, feels good and serves a purpose. I love developing healthy alternatives to not-so-healthy staples as well as nutrient-dense meals and snacks that nourish your beautiful, baby-makin’ body through the childbearing years. This pregnancy superfood granola is no exception.
It starts with wholesome organic oats and buckwheat groats, rich in manganese to help with energy creation during pregnancy and to help form your baby’s bones and cartilage. We mix in some chia seeds for an omega-3 baby brain boost and some pregnancy digestive aid. They are then tossed with lauric-acid rich coconut oil (a powerful immune booster), sea salt, and ginger (to settle those queasies of course). To sweeten things up, we use soaked goji mulberries, packed with Vitamins A and C and a small bit of coconut, maple syrup, and almond extract. At the end, we toss in some slivered almonds, high in Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of infection and anemia, and bake to crispy, golden perfection.
When I was pregnant with my first, I kept a big batch of this granola on stand-by. It was the only thing I could stomach in the mornings (besides a super large bagel or bran muffin). It’s perfect for a mama still struggling with a bit of nausea and contains powerful micronutrients to support pregnancy and baby’s development. Added bonus: it also contains high levels of beta-glucan for a milk-making, breastfeeding boost after baby.
Yield: 3 Cups
Ingredients
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½ cup goji berries, cold soaked in ¼ cup water overnight*
- ½ cup mulberries, cold soaked in ¼ cup water overnight*
- 2 cups oats, whole rolled
- 1 ½ cups buckwheat groats
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¾ cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
- 1 ½ teaspoons ginger, ground
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup almonds, slivered or whole
* Short on time? Just give your berries a quick boil in water to plump them up and drain – this keeps them from burning in the cook process.
Directions
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Preheat oven to 300° (275° if using a convection oven). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
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Drain berries
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Mix oats, groats, chia seeds, coconut flakes, ginger sea salt together
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Toss with coconut oil, almond extract maple
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Mix in almonds
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Spread evenly onto cookie sheet. Granola must be thinly spread with space (no clumps) or it will steam and not get crispy
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Bake for 20 minutes. Stir granola and rotate sheet
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Bake another 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy, checking every 10 so as not to burn
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Let cool completely. Store in airtight container in cool, dry place for up to 2 months
Contributed by:
Barley and Oats develops nutritionally optimized recipes to support fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding female health. The company was founded by Ashly Yashchin, a mother of one (and soon to be two!), who was inspired to start this service after coming across overwhelming research about the effect of food on female health. Barley and Oats is now in the process of partnering with top nutritionists, registered dietitians, hormone experts and chefs to develop a DIY protocol for women to get the nutrition they need, taste they crave, and convenience they deserve.
Sources
- Sidoryk-Wegrzynowicz, Aschner M. “Manganese toxicity in the central nervous system: the glutamine/glutamate-γ-aminobutyric acid cycle.” J Intern Med. 273(5):466-77. Web. May, 2013.
- “Manganese overview”. UMM.edu. University of Maryland Medical Center. 2016. Web.
- “Vitamin E fact sheet for health professionals”. NIH.gov. Office of Dietary Supplements. November, 2016. Web.
- Jilani, Iqbal MP. “Does vitamin E have a role in treatment and prevention of anemia?”. Park J Pharm Sci. 24(2):237-42. Web. April, 2011.
