Chewy granola - AIP, paleo, grainfree & gluten free

I've splashed out and bought 2 new cookbooks recently. My favorite is The ZenBelly Cookbook. The author, Simone Miller is an actual chef (rather than a home cook who's found social media & then made a cookbook!) so her recipes are tried and tested and therefore actually work. The second is The Healing Kitchen which is to help expand my AIP recipe base.  I haven't used this one as much but so far so good. The recipe below is adapted from that book.

Rightly, or wrongly, I am a snacker.  I can't function on just 3 meals a day.  The autoimmune protocol puts snacks in the wrong camp but I find I can't get through the day without snacks.  I think I have a high metabolism (*excuse).  So I thought this granola would be an easy grab and go snack but of course it can be for breakfast too!

Chewy Granola

2 tbs molasses

2 1/2 tbs melted coconut oil

2 ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes

2 cups of plantain chips

1 cup of raisins

2/3 cup of other dried fruit chopped (e.g. apricots, cherries, apple rings, mango)

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl mash the banana with the molasses, coconut oil & vanilla until you have a smooth-ish paste.  Stir in the remaining ingredients ensuring everything is evenly coated with the wet mixture.  Spread out into a thin layer on the baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins or until it is beginning to crisp around the edges.  You may want to stir it halfway through to ensure an even crisp.  Leave to cool on the tray before breaking up into pieces.  Store in airtight container in fridge.

I'm excited to play around with this recipe; changing out mashed banana for other fruit purees, different dried fruit options or drizzling with melted dark chocolate (as a friend suggested), not AIP but would be amazeballs.........I'll keep you posted!