Jordans Lighter Granola

If you enjoy munching through a bowl of granola for breakfast but are a bit worried about calories and fat, have you tried a new Jordans Lighter Granola? Jordans, well-known for their tasty range of muesli, granola and porridge, have recently launched a lighter version of their granolas with 30% less fat. It is available in two delicious flavours: Raspberry & Apple and Strawberry & Blueberry.

Each spoonful boasts a combination of crispy and crunchy baked golden oats with an addition of barley and lush fruit and berries. There is no added salt, it's high in fibre and helps to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
It is made with 100% natural ingredients, without added nasties.

I am more of a cup-of-tea-and-toast-for-breakfast girl,but my husband regularly eats granola. Kids enjoy snacking on dry granola in the afternoon. Eddie might have a glass of milk, but separately, not pouring over the granola.
My favourite way of eating granola is to make a kind of a sundae dish, with layers of thick set Greek yogurt, fruit compote and granola topping. I'm also known for eating the granola straight from the bag (not very ladylike, I know, but... oh so good).

We have tried Jordans Lighter Granola Raspberry & Apple. Each serving (45g) contains 179kcal.  It is low on salt at 0,01g. But there is still quite a lot of sugar in it - 10g per serving.
The oats & barley clusters are crunchy and sweet, with generous amount of dried apple slices and freeze dried whole and broken raspberries. It is a tasty granola, with a good combination of flavours (sweet  tangy) and textures, though it might benefit from a reduced amount of sugar.

Just the other day I baked a batch of chocolate banana muffins, and added Lighter granola as a topping for some of the muffins for an extra crunch.

Jordans Lighter Raspberry & Apple Granola and Jordans Lighter Strawberry & Blueberry Granola are available from Waitrose from January, Tesco from February and Sainsbury’s from March  (RRP £3.69 for 550g).

For more breakfast ideas and recipe inspiration, visit the website at Jordans Cereals.

Disclosure: I received a sample of Lighter granola for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Nutty granola cookies

Just the other day I have been reading an article about the correct ways of melting the white chocolate, and how much more capricious it is in comparison to its milk and dark brothers. Did I heed the wise advice? My melting session ended up as a fiasco, and I had to rethink on how to decorate what was supposed to be Granola Chocolate Cookies.
The original recipe was sent to me by Jordans together with a bag of nutty granola to try a new recipe for Mother's day. The recipe looked delicious, and my guys love cookies, of course, I'll do it.
Here is the original recipe for Granola Cherry & Chocolate Cookies (reproduced on my blog with kind permission from Jordans)

Ingredients:
50g Jordans Super Nutty Granola
100g plain flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
75g light muscovado sugar
75g dried cherries
75g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
75g white chocolate, broken into pieces

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven to 160C), gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet (or 2 smaller ones) with baking paper. I would say, definitely two, as the cookies expand considerably as they get baked.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cherries and Jordans Super Nutty granola, breaking up any large clusters with your fingertips.
3. Melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan over a low heat, taking care that the mixture doesn't get too hot. Pour into the dry cookie ingredients and mix well.
4. Shape the mixture into 9-12 balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet, spaced apart to allow for spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown. I made 15 cookies, and they were not small. I think if you make just 9 balls, you'll get gigantic cookies.
Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, positioned over a saucepan of simmering water. Use a teaspoon to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. Serve when the chocolate has set.

Cook's tips: Use plain or milk chocolate instead of white for drizzling over the chocolate cookies.
Try using sultanas, dried blueberries or cranberries instead of cherries, for a change.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Now back to my saga. First of all, I couldn't find any dried cherries, I knew I had a packet somewhere, but either I have hidden it too well, or someone has sneakily eaten them all and threw the empty packet away. Both is possible. I had plenty of raisins, so I used them instead. I suppose the dried cherries would work really well with white chocolate though.

As my white chocolate melting session turned into yet another cooking disaster and curdled, I ended up with a solidified lump. I tried to soften it with butter and golden syrup, but it still looked unspreadable and quite unappetising. Thus I had to improvise and make a lemon icing with the icing sugar and lemon juice.
The cookies are very sweet, I would reduce the amount of golden syrup maybe to 2. And maybe increase the amount of granola. Jordans Nutty Granola is a delicious granola for all nut lovers.

Nutty granola is a lovely ingredient in baking, and I am sure it won't be long before we have another cookie baking session, though I will stay clear of the white chocolate next time. So much easier to melt the milk chocolate.

Disclosure: Thanks to Jordans for sending us a bag of Nutty granola with the recipe for the purposes of trying the recipe.

My fellow bloggers were testing different recipes with Jordans granola and crisps. Check out what they made.
Mother's Day Strawberry and Lemon Munchkins
and
(more to come)

Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola Raisin & Almond

I never skip my breakfast, but most of the time it is just an enormous cup of Twinings Earl Grey with lemon and a couple of slices of toast. Which by around 10.30ish makes me quite peckish, and then I go for naughty biccies or a chocolate boost. Would eating a granola make me feel full for longer? I was happy to give a Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola Raisin & Almond a try.

I have recently written about Jordans Super Berry Country Crisp which has a lovely seasonal Christmasy twist to it with lots of cranberries.
How does Crunchy Oat Granola Raisin & Almond compare to it?
It obviously contains the similar honey baked British oats, which come in crunchy clusters. It has also the same superior quality of staying crunchy and not going soggy when the milk is added.
The flavours are different. You can definitely taste the almond. And there are lots of sweet raisins as well.
As mentioned before, my boys prefer to eat cereals without milk, just munching the crispy clusters as they are.
The bag comes in a packet rather than a box (well done on cutting on waste!). If you are worried about spilling the contents, just pop your bag in a reusable plastic container.
After having an early breakfast of Jordans granola, I did feel energised and ready to take on my day.

If adding milk to the granola is not your cuppa tea, why don't you make a berry compote granola fool? Just add three layers in a deep glass: the berry compote, Jordans granola and your favourite yogurt (I used the Greek style yogurt) for a more trendy breakfast (I planned to present it in a flat champagne glass, but I managed to break the last one a few days ago, so my "posh" breakfast is done with a wine glass).

If you've tried this granola, have you noticed the little bee logo on the side of the packet? It signifies Jordans are "using the cereals that are grown to Conservation Grade standards which means they come from British farmers who manage 10% of their land so that birds, bees and butterflies can thrive".
It is commendable that Jordans' customers are doing their bit to help keep the British countryside flourishing.

To find out more about Jordans and explore their extensive range of products visit Jordans website.

I received a packet of granola for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Crunchy Munchies: Jordans Super Berry Country Crisp

When it comes to a breakfast routine I am a "grab-a-cup-of-tea-and-a-toast" girl. I guess I am not very keen on cereals that go soggy and look like something my grandma used to prepare as a feed for pigs. So, it was with some hesitation that I decided to try Jordans Super Berry Country Crisp. Will it stand the test on sogginess? 

Each box of Jordans Super Berry Country Crisps contains golden baked oat clusters with freeze-dried blackcurrants, cranberries and blueberries. 
I have read the following information on the box with approval:
- no added salt
- high in fibre
- no artificial falvourings, colourings or preservatives
- non-GM

The cereal looks very appetizing and has a lovely delicate sweet smell. There is plenty of berries, as you can see from the image below. The oats come in pretty clusters as promised.

Now, the moment of truth: will it or won't it go soggy, when milk is added. I was pleased to discover that the clusters stayed crispy and crunchy. They had a pleasant almondy quality to them. The berries added a lovely zing and a slight tart note. Overall, a very nice taste and combination of flavours and nutty & crunchy textures. The cranberries give the cereal a Christmasy/seasonal appearance, but of course, you can have it all year round.

All in all, a very good cereal for breakfast or for after school munchies.
My guys actually prefer to eat cereals as snacks, dipping fingers in little bowls. Eddie drinks milk from a glass, Sasha doesn't drink milk. They both were happy to chomp on the oat clusters and dried berries.

And one more piece of information that I found impressive: "Jordans is the only cereal company which insists its farmers dedicate 10% of their land to create homes for British wildlife, like barn owls."

So, if like me, you try to avoid soggy cereals (we won't be naming names), then this is a cereal for you.