Banana Nut Granola (for your brain)

Back 👏🏾 to👏🏾School👏🏾 It’s so interesting that as a culture, we cling onto the start of a new school year as a chance to reset despite the fact that many of us are not returning to a classrooms. It’s clear that virgo season takes its hold on us whether we know it (believe it) or not, there is a shift in energy, and after summer's long and delightfully aimless days, we are ready to get back to work. In the iteration of my institutional art world life, we would have been working towards a big launch of our fall programs and getting into the swing of welcoming audiences and communities back into our space. This year is different as I enter into my entrepreneurial era. September is the calm before the storm of preparing to launch my business this fall (stay tuned!). There is much to anticipate, and an endless to-do list, but there is no jolt back to the office like most of us experience. Now, it’s up to me to change my rhythms and get focused. If all goes according to plan, my time will begin to be even more accounted for with a schedule of 1:1 nutrition clients, and the work that goes into supporting them. I feel like it’s an opportune time to shift my routine into a more structured version in anticipation of a fruitful launch. 

The schedule I am committing to work towards goes as follows: 

• Wake up by 7

• Do my morning routine: journal, movement, meditation, shower, dress, eat 

• Be at my desk by 10 

• Take lunch from 1-2

• Wrap up the day around 4:30 by setting the following days agenda

Wish me luck…I’m already anticipating challenges around the wake up time - I’ve had a glorious summer of sleeping in - but fingers crossed, the planets and the collective energy will keep me going. Although 3 hours to complete my morning routine may sound extravagant, I know myself well enough to account for the fact that choosing what to wear and what to eat for breakfast, can take quite some time if I don’t have a plan. While I don’t have any solutions to present for the former, I do have some strategies for the latter... 

I used to be one of those people that could not stand to even look at, never mind eat breakfast. I was proud of the fact that I naturally fasted until lunch, and thought that this was a superior way to live and eat. What I didn’t know was how much this was affecting my mood, my energy levels, my digestion, and that it was contributing to throwing my period out of whack. While you might identify with my former disgust for breakfast, I invite you to re-frame this meal as the first chance we get to nourish our bodies, support our nervous systems, and balance our blood sugar in order to stay in a good mood, keep steady energy throughout the day, and ensure optimal function of all of our body systems.

Unless I’m making weekend brunch or hosting, breakfast is not my go-to creative meal of the day. It’s the meal that I’m most likely to repeat throughout the week and since it’s first thing in the morning, it has to be easy to throw into a blender, a bowl or a plate. When I’m in a meal-prepping mood, breakfast is high on the priority list. Some of my favorite things to pre-prepare include:

• Chia pudding

• Overnight oats

• Beans and Sauteed Greens

• Frittata 

Smoothies are an obvious choice as well, but lately I’ve been really digging Greek yogurt as a lazy high protein option with fruit, nuts and seeds. I wanted to kick things up a notch both taste-wise and nutritionally and so, my new favorite granola was born.

Banana Nut Granola (for your brain)

Aside from the fact that eating something in the morning helps your brain work better, this banana nut ‘nola get’s is name from the addition of the best functional maple syrup on the market: Rainbo’s Forest Juice. This dark canadian maple syrup is fully loaded with Lion’s Mane to boost focus, and Reishi to de-stress. Packed with my favorite whole grains, nuts and seeds, this recipe is like a souped up version of the banana nut granola bars from the school yard. You can use it to top your yogurt, enjoy with milk, or eat straight out of the jar, whatever gets you to eat something!

½ cup GF rolled oats (I use sprouted)

½ cup buckwheat groats

1 cup walnuts, chopped

½ cup sesame seeds

½ cup sunflower seeds (If you want to cycle sync, use pumpkin for menstrual/follicular phase)

½ cup coconut flakes

2 tbsp ground flax

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

½ tsp salt 

1 overripe banana

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

⅓ cup Forest Juice (or maple syrup)

Pre heat your oven to 300 and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients: oats, groats, walnuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, flax, cinnamon, cardamom, salt. In a smaller bowl, mash the banana until smooth, and add in the coconut oil and forest juice. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and combine well with a spatula. Pour everything onto the sheet tray and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes (it fills your kitchen with the most amazing smell) and then let the granola cool completely. Once cool, break up into chunks and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.