Kid friendly granola...for those babes that don't quite have all of their teeth yet!
While I'd rather blab on and on about how advanced my kid is, I wanna talk about how behind Camille is on getting her teeth.
Girlfriend is 2, and only has 11 teeth.
It's entirely my fault: I got my teeth so late in life, it was embarrassing. I had to have the last of my baby teeth pulled before I went to college. Isn't that crazy?! I was 17 and lacked 4 permanent molars!
I hoped that Camille wouldn't inherit my weird sluggish teeth, but she did. But, the good news is: the longer her permanent teeth develop in her gums, the healthier they will be when they come in. Plus, less cavity-potential!
But, I have to say: most two year olds are eating apples, raw carrots, and celery sticks. Meanwhile, Camille is eating thin apple sticks (that I painstakingly cut with a mandolin), steamed carrot coins, and celery cooked in chicken broth. I'm ready for her to eat a few more grown-up foods.
I've been waiting so long to share my love of granola with her. My favorite granola is super chunky, has whole roasted almonds in it, and big ass dried cherries. But, girlfriend just can't cut it. So, what's a food loving Mama to do?
I decided to make a kid friendly granola recipe for her with just as much nutrient-packed ingredients, but no chunks to trip her up.
Enter: seedy hemp granola for kiddos!
Plus, it's a totally nut free granola recipe!
I start with rolled oats, something I'm always trying to get her to eat more of, because she burned out on oatmeal as a baby. She'll hardly touch a warm bowl of oatmeal these days, so I needed a different way for her to fill up on heart-healthy oats.
Next: flax seed. I love love love flax seed. It's a vegetarian source of omega 3s (hallelujah!), and if you buy the golden flax seed, it's toasty, nutty and rich. I didn't really get into flax seed until I started buying golden flax.
Coming up next is unsweetened coconut flakes. I am always trying to limit Camille's sugar intake (except when I'm stuffing chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in her mouth to mitigate a meltdown in public, of course), and so I reached for the coconut flakes without sugar. They're a little crispier, too!
Finally: I added in a generous scoop of hemp hearts. Just 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds have 11 grams of protein, plus, I love their nutritional profile for kids: more omega 3s (so essential for brain development), vitamin E and iron.
So, while this granola lacks salty almond chunks, oily walnuts, or my personal favorite: pecans, I still feel great about its nutritional profile.
Last minute, I decided it's sad to deprive Camille of my favorite part of granola: dried fruit! But since it's usually chewy, I grabbed a bag of freeze-dried blueberries. They're super crisp and even dissolve a bit to change the color of the milk blue. (How fun!) I'm a big fan of freeze-dried fruit, and I talked all about it here on my 3-ingredient toddler recipes post.
I hope you make and love kid friendly granola. And Mama can totally eat it, too--I promise!
Kid Friendly Granola
Kid friendly granola recipe with seeds, hemp hearts and blueberries.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- 3 tablespoons hemp hearts
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup freeze-dried blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat for easy clean-up.
- Combine all ingredients (except the blueberries!) in a large bowl, and stir well to combine.
- Spread the granola evenly on the sheet pan, and cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely, and then store in glass jars.
- I recommend adding the blueberries just before serving, as they lose their crunch when they sit in the jar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
½ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 326Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 6gSugar: 10gProtein: 7g
Sarah says
Thank you! I'm always on the lookout for granola recipes that don't use nuts(tree nut allergy). I will try this recipe. Puh-lease!! I may have all my teeth but avoid eating hard things because the crunching makes my teeth hurt (unless it CANDY!!)
Julie says
Oh my is she a cutie...
Laura ~ Raise Your Garden says
Camille is adorable! Just had my third baby last week, the joy the give. But eating. Ughhh. Feeding picky kids is hard!!!! So I love this and will be trying it with my older girls ( 7 and 5) Thanks!!! I mean, I never have a problem eating so what's up with kids these days??
Holly says
This looks super yummy! Yay for Camille getting some yummy granola. Beautiful girl! I remember when my babies were that small, now they are 6, 8, and 11.
This definitely sounds like something my 11 year old would enjoy. She has her last set of braces on and can't have regular granola. Any thoughts on substitutes for coconut?
Love your blog. Have a wonderful day!
Christina Lane says
Hi Holly! Oh, you're so lucky to have 3 babies! I can't think of any coconut substitutes...maybe leave it out altogether and decrease the liquids a touch? It's super dry and crunchy, so I can't think of anything similar to coconut. Sorry!
Anna Lawrence says
Hi! What measurement do you count as a serving? Thanks so much!
Amanda says
She is too cute. I love seeing the things you feed her on here and on IG. I don't have kids but there are a few little ones in my family that refuse to anything but chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. It looks like Camille has such a great palate! Anyway, I love granola and wouldn't mind giving this a try myself. Those blueberries look especially delicious in it. Thank you for sharing such great, new recipe ideas!
Shawnna Griffin says
hey girl- this looks so yummy! Love the pic of Camille! She is so cute! Y'all have a great weekend!
Dawn Collier says
Hi Sarah, I tried to get the recipe for Blackberry Ice Cream but a Granola recipe keeps opening. Can you suggest a way to avoid this. Love your recipes. Thank you,
Cheers
Dawn (Australia)
Christina Lane says
Hi Dawn,
Sorry about that! Click on the logo at the top of the page, and it will take you to my home page. From there, you will see the blackberry ice cream photo.
Apologies!
Christina Lane
Carroll loveday says
No oil - add mashed ripe bananas
Christina Lane says
Good idea! I like oils and fats for kids because they need them for brain development. But bananas are awesome, too!
Simone says
Que bom você compartilhar essa receita de granola saudável, pois as que encontramos no mercado em sua maioria são cheias de conservantes.
Le says
First things first: "except when I’m stuffing chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in her mouth to mitigate a meltdown in public, of course" <-- where can I get myself some of these?! 🤣
Okay, I know this post is a couple of years old now... but your Camille is just adorable! This recipe looks wonderful too. I might have to blitz the oats a tiny bit though (as my little one is only 12 months and has only 4.5 teeth at the moment). Can't wait to try it though!