Easy Vanilla & Cinnamon Granola Clusters (FOOD PHOTO SHOOT)

Hello my friends!

So um………..that rain that I’ve been hoping for to help with the wildfires, well it finally arrived and with it came the chills of early Fall. Be careful what you wish for my friends, be careful.

Since basically everything in my wardrobe for cold weather is located thousands of miles away in South America I’m feeling the need to acquire some new things before Winter gets here. Haha, yesterday I got caught in the rain on my way to the gym and realized that I could really have been smarter about what I had chosen to wear. My cotton hoody was soaked through and the sweats weren’t much better. Shopping time!

I’ve never been the type of girl to truly enjoy a lot of shopping. As a kid I’d always wait until I absolutely had to get new clothes for an event or after I’d taken a growth spurt and my clothes didn’t fit. That’s just my personality when it comes to the small things in life, I’m kind of basic and purposeful. Hmmm, but maybe because it’s necessary now I’ll have more fun. Actually, I’m surprised at myself for how excited I am to update my closet. Alright, but on to the recipe.

Starting out today with a delicious and balanced bowl of goodness like this just spells success in my book. I think if I had to take a survey of what food combination I’ve eaten the most of in my life it would be berries with yogurt. I’m obsessed.

But to get really real I’ll admit that while I do love to have this meal in the mornings I will be completely honest here and tell you that more often than not this has been what my evening looks like recently. You see, for me it’s all about volume because I really do enjoy food, so I’ll almost always go for a Huh-YOOOOGE bowl of Greek yogurt piled with berries of any kind, and topped with a good amount of whatever crunchy, sweet and/or salty items I’m craving. Oh, and nut butters too, we cannot forget nut butter. Like really, can I just live in a world where nut butter jars grow on trees??? I’ll also throw in some chocolate if it’s one of those kind of days, ya know?

For the longest time I’d never branch out past a basic routine of plain cereal with my berries and yogurt, but granola has always held a special place in my heart. I LOVE it and I love that it can go so many different directions. In fact, because I like it so much it’s a wonder I’ve rarely ever made it. I guess it’s because there are so many great brands available to buy out there. Which might make you wonder why you’d want to take extra time and effort to make it at home? Well my friends, it’s because it’s SO friggin’ gooooood! Not only that but you have control over the flavors and ingredients that you’re putting in, it’ll make your kitchen smell divine, it’s versatile af, and last but not least it’s just fun! I must say that one of my inspirations for this particular recipe was my favorite “just the clusters” cereal from Trader Joe’s but I wanted to try making it with protein powder.

I’d love to know what you think if you decide to try it. Don’t forget to eat it with something delicious too. It doesn’t have to be yogurt and berries either. Some popular ways I’ve seen others do it, and done myself, are to add it as a topping for oatmeal, avocado or nut butter toast, smoothies, smoothie bowls, loaded sweet potatoes, and so much more. What do you like to put it on?

As always, the recipe is available upon request. The first request gets an upvote.

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST. And by the way, my intro post did a huge $0.21

Oh, and I've recently made new accounts on social media just for my Steemian friends to follow so don't forget to go follow me on all your favorites!