There's no better way to start your day than with a hearty bowl of nuts, seeds and berries. It has a quintessential connection to the great outdoors. This breakfast or any-time-of-day snack is gluten free, low carb, keto and paleo friendly. Along with being super delicious, filling and packed with healthy nutrients. It's part of our new cooking series called Get Cookin' RV Style. Each recipe in this series will have a short cooking video featuring a guest chef and a blog write-up. Make sure you subscribe to both our blog and YouTube channel for notifications when each new recipe is released.
The convenience of this recipe, especially when RVing, is that it's based on a pre-packaged Keto granola that you can buy at a local grocery store, or have shipped to you wherever you are or are on the road. Whether you're on a strict Keto diet, or you just like to eat a good Keto or low-carb meal on occasion, this granola can be a great addition to your diet.
Download a PDF of this delicious recipe.
The Keto Diet
If you aren't familiar with the Keto diet, here's a bit of information for you (or you can skip to the recipe). As we age, most of us put on extra weight and find it harder and harder to lose it. The modern American diet is filled with lots of processed and packaged carbs and sugars, which you either need to burn off every day, or they turn into stored fat on your body. More than two-thirds of American adults are currently overweight or obese. And this extra weight can lead to a lot of health concerns, including heart disease, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
You've probably heard about low carb and ketogenic diets. They've been around for decades. They came into the popular consciousness with the South Beach and Atkins diets. And now the Keto diet is the latest development. These lower carb and especially lower sugar or sugar-free diet are a great way to lose weight and live healthier. While lower carb diets are controversial with some nutritionists and doctors, there are also plenty who praise the virtues and benefits of eating a lot less carbs. Especially as a way to get your weight back under control for a period of time.
People often see significant weight loss on a Keto diet. Especially when paired with 30 to 60 minutes of medium-intensity daily exercise, such as walking, running, biking or swimming. Scientific studies on low carb diets have proven that they are generally safe and beneficial. If you are diabetic, Keto foods and recipes are often sugar-free or very low sugar, so they can be a good way for you to help keep your blood sugar levels in check. Of course, you should talk with your doctor about your specific health situation before making any significant and regular changes in your diet. And do your research to decide if Keto is right for you.
Learn more about the Keto diet at these evidence-based links:
- A Keto Diet for Beginners
- 10 Health Benefits of Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diets
- Pros and Cons of a Keto Diet
If you're already on a Keto diet or considering incorporating it into your healthy lifestyle, our new cooking series will feature some Keto recipes to help you support Keto eating while traveling or living in an RV. Here's the first one for you to give a try!
Keto Nut & Seed Granola with Berries
This recipe is quick and easy to make. It starts with a packaged Keto Nut & Seed Granola. Because the primary ingredients in Keto Granola are nuts and seeds, these packages are more expensive than what you might be used to spending on a traditional box or bag of breakfast cereal. But a little goes a long way. Traditional granolas are filled with carb-heavy oats and sugars as the main ingredients. Here are a some of the best Keto granola options available:
Click on each image below for more detail:
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1. Nutrail Low Carb Keto Nut Granola
- 7 flavor varieties: Cinnamon Pecan, Blueberry Cinnamon,
- Vanilla Strawberry, Vanilla Raspberry, Cacao, Vanilla Blueberry, and Birthday Cake
- Available at Sprouts Farmers Markets or Amazon
- Also available in a 22-ounce Blueberry Cinnamon value package at some Costco Wholesale stores
- Information current as of July 2021
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2. The Granola Bakery Keto Granola
- 4 flavor varieties: Cinnamon Crunch, Blueberry Crunch, Strawberry Crunch, and Chocolate Crunch
- Available at Amazon
- Information current as of July 2021
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3. Livlo Granolo Keto Granola
- 3 flavor varieties: Cinnamon Almond Pecan, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Frosted Blueberry
- Available at Amazon
- Information current as of July 2021
Disclaimer: La Mesa RV has no connection to any of the companies, brands or products listed in this recipe, blog post and video, and does not receive any financial consideration from the companies, brands, and products mentioned. No endorsement of La Mesa RV by the companies, brands and products mentioned should be assumed.
In addition to the main ingredient of Keto Nut & Seed Granola, a few other key ingredients in this recipe that you might want to learn more about include:
Chia Seeds
These tiny black and white seeds, popularized by the Chia Pet commercials of the 1980s, pack a powerful nutritional punch in very few calories. They were a food staple for the Mayans and Aztecs. Native to central and southern Mexico, these edible seeds from Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family, are high in fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. And they're a good source for calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, potassium, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 and vitamin B3 (niacin). Chia seeds are loaded with antioxidants, which can help fight the production of free radicals in your body, which can cause damage to cell molecules and contribute to cancer.
Flax Seeds
Flax seed is a really historic food crop, cultivated extensively in ancient Egypt and even further back to the Fertile Crescent region. It's now emerging as a "super food", and one you should strongly consider eating on a regular basis. The flax plant has been used for food, oil, textiles and other uses for centuries. Flax seeds occur in two basic varieties: brown and yellow (or golden). Both have similar nutritional content and are high in omega-3s, fiber, and a host of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B1 (thiamine), magnesium and phosphorus. Flax seeds are rich in lignans, which are plant compounds that have antioxidant properties and estrogen that help lower the risk of cancer and improve your health. They may even help lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and control blood sugar levels.
Wild Blueberries
You've probably heard about how much doctors and nutritionists love blueberries, but what you may not know is the important difference between wild and regular (aka cultivated) blueberries. Wild blueberries are known as "low-bush" blueberries, and regular/cultivated blueberries are known as "high-bush" blueberries. The wild ones are different because they are smaller in size, and have less water content. That makes them more intense, sweet and tangy in flavor compared to regular blueberries. But the big reasons why you should consider eating wild blueberries instead of regular ones are:
- Twice the antioxidant capacity per serving
- Twice the fiber
- 30% less sugar
- 8 times more manganese
- More nutrition for less calories
Blueberry consumption also helps reduce oxidized, damaged DNA. It promotes gut health, and shows potential to prevent chronic disease.
Wild blueberries are mostly grown in the state of Maine in the U.S. and in the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island in Canada. You'll probably have to buy frozen wild blueberries most of the time. But depending on where you venture in your RV, you may find a local farmer or farmer market's where you can purchase fresh wild blueberries in season.
Unsweetened Keto-friendly Milks
Unsweetened almond milk has become one of the most affordable and widely available nut milks that's perfect for the Keto diet. It's very low in carbs and sugar. There are also some other nut milks that are great on Keto, such as macadamia nut milk, cashew milk, soy milk, coconut milk and flax milk. Just make sure there are no added sugars in the milk you choose.
RV RECIPE: Keto Nut & Seed Granola with Berries
Ingredients for a Small Serving:
- 1/3 cup Keto Nut & Seed Granola, such as NuTrail "Blueberry Cinnamon" Keto Nut Granola
- 1/2 tsp Chia Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Whole Flax Seeds
- 2 tsp Wide Sliced Coconut, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup Blueberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 1/2 cup Raspberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 6-8 Blackberries, fresh
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or to your taste)
Ingredients for a Large Serving:
- 2/3 cup Keto Nut & Seed Granola, such as NuTrail "Blueberry Cinnamon" Keto Nut Granola
- 1 tsp Chia Seeds
- 1 tsp Whole Flax Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Wide Sliced Coconut, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup Blueberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 1/2 cup Raspberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 6-8 Blackberries, fresh
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or to your taste)
* Other Berry Options: Use 3/4 cup of a three-berry blend of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries instead of separate frozen blueberries and raspberries with fresh blackberries. Costco sells a 4 lb. bag of Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend frozen berries that is value-priced and delicious. Trader Joe's also sells bags of a frozen three berry blend.
** Additional Milk Options: Macadamia Nut milk, Cashew milk, Soy milk, Coconut milk and Flax milk
Click on each image below for nutritional information:
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Instructions:
In a cereal bowl, use a 1/3 measuring cup to portion out your Keto granola into the bowl. Add blueberries and raspberries (or a triple berry blend). Then add the chia seeds, flax seeds and extra coconut. Finish with fresh blackberries and pour on the nut milk to your taste.
Start-to-Finish Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Tools Needed:
- 1 small or medium cereal bowl
- 1/3 cup size measuring cup
- 1 tsp size measuring spoon
- 1/2 tsp size measuring spoon
- 1 Tablespoon size measuring spoon
- 1/4 cup size measuring cup
- 1/2 cup size measuring cup
RV TIP: Wheat Straw Plastic Tableware
If you're looking for lightweight and hard to break tableware for your motorhome, you should consider wheat straw plastic plates and bowls. Our Keto Nut and Seed Granola recipe uses a gray-colored Greenandlife bowl purchased from Amazon. It's dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator and freezer safe, and won't rattle when you're driving down the road. And if you treat this tableware right, it should last you many years. Plus, it's good for the environment by using wheat straw that might otherwise be burned or wasted after harvesting wheat crops. This tableware is made of wheat straw, starch, food-grade plastic and is BPA free.
