Red, White & Blueberry Granola Parfait

Happy 4th of July!! [to my American readers, that is… to everyone else, yay Friday!]

I never used to be a huge fan of the 4th when I was a kid. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was deathly afraid of fireworks. When my family would watch them, my mom would put earplugs in my brother’s and my ears so that we wouldn’t freak out.

I’m still kind of afraid of fireworks, mostly because I know the damage that they can cause if they go wrong… but they’re undeniably beautiful. These days, I love the 4th of July. It could be that said fear of fireworks has decreased, or it could be that I’m of legal drinking age. Either/or, I dunno.

That said, I still love to get a little something healthy in my body before all of the afternoon and evening indulgences. But I still love to be festive. Enter: granola and yogurt parfait. Remember when I did the 21 Day Sugar Detox? There was this stuff on the detox called “banola.” It’s basically grain-free granola, sweetened with bananas. I decided to make a blue granola based on this recipe, and what better ingredient to add a little US of A color than blueberries? That’s a rhetorical question.

You could really put this granola on whatever you wanted, but just take into account that it’s not overly sweet. There’s a lot of natural sugar from the blueberries, but if you find that you want it sweeter, just add some honey or maple syrup. I decided to make a fun parfait with some strawberries to get the full flag of color into the jar. If you want to keep breakfast light today or over the weekend, this is the perfect, USA-inspired dish.

Banola adapted from The 21 Day Sugar Detox
Makes approximately 4 cups of granola

Ingredients

For the blueberry granola:

• 1 banana
• 2 c. blueberries
• 1/3 c. egg whites (or 2 egg whites)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 c. raw almonds
• 1 c. walnuts
• 1/2 c. sunflower seeds
• 1 c. almond meal

For the parfait:

• 2/3 c. blueberry granola
• 2/3 c. greek yogurt
• 6 medium strawberries, cut into chunks
• 1/3 c. blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a blender, process bananas, blueberries, egg whites, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until smooth. There will still be a few pieces of blueberry skin that won’t blend, which is fine.
3. Prepare a cookie pan with either parchment paper or non-stick spray (I used parchment paper. If you use non-stick spray, expect the granola to brown more.
4. In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients with the blended ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Spread the mixture on the pan into as thin a layer as you can.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until some pieces turn golden, breaking up and flipping every ten or so minutes.
7. After the blueberry granola cools, assemble the parfait. Layer 1/3 c. greek yogurt, half of the strawberries, the blueberries and 1/3 c. blueberry granola, in that order. Follow with the remaining greek yogurt, strawberries and granola.
8. Top with a little more yogurt or fruit, if desired.

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Questions of the Day:
>> What are your 4th of July plans? Weekend plans if you’re not celebrating?
>> What are your favorite parfait additions?