The first time I ever had Granola was at Marmadukes Cafe Deli. The Cafe was so quirky from the outside, it felt like it didn’t make sense if I didn’t stop to have breakfast there. I could have chosen the typical english breakfast- eggs etc, but I wanted something light , healthy and something I’ve never had before. At that time, it felt like it made sense- quirky cafe, quirky selection. I was extremely impressed by the presentation and always wanted to visit the cafe again but unfortunately never managed to get ready by 11.30 am!Yes that is when they stop serving breakfast (although apparently breakfast is served all day Sunday-probably never made it out of bed on Sundays either). (MEH!) At £4.80 it is indeed on a pricey side (in Sheffield at least), which is probably another reason that stopped me from visiting the establishment. Although to be fair, the portion is huge and I didn’t mind paying that much just for a bowl of Granola.
MARMADUKES GRANOLA
warm milk, yoghurt & maple syrup
From what I recalled the Latte was ok- nothing too special. I honestly would have just stick to Tamper Coffee if I wasn’t too keen on having breakfast that day. Tamper is the only cafe that I can so willingly spend up to £7 on coffees and still be able to smile at the end of my visit. It is just that good. It is quite strange since Marmadukes uses Monmouth Coffee and I do frequently visit Monmouth Cafe- Covent Garden (despite the crazy long queue– maybe it was the queue that somehow psychologically alter my decision making process). On a second thought, I probably should pay a visit to both Tamper and Marmadukes on the same day to provide a better comparison on both cafes.
Latte
So because of the slight changes in my life, i.e. the reason to start spending wisely when it comes to food (also because now I have a lot of time to partake on food making process), I decided to experiment on different ways to eat Granola but at the same time still keep it under budget. I remember going back and forth in between Sainsbury’s and Tesco in order to find the cheapest Granola that will go well with fruits of my selection such as Blueberries, Strawberries and Banana. I somehow find it weird to pair Granola with pieces of apple with banana or the other two fruits that I’ve mentioned- but hey that is simply my personal opinion.
In the end I purchased Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola, Raisin & Almond from Sainsbury’s. At Tesco, this costs £2.99 but it is on offer at Sainsbury’s for £2.00. Haaa… so going back and forth was worth it especially when £0.99 can be spent on purchasing bananas etc (or anything else)!
So, first, I decided to make Granola parfait- after stalking Instagram pictures of granola- I simply had to! The key to making a good parfait is to have a good balance of flavour- sweet, sour etc.
Ingredients to make 4 Granola Parfait:
Rachels Organic Greek Style Honey Yoghurt 450G (on discount- 2 for £3.00)
4 Tesco Bananas – £0.12 each
Tesco Blueberries 400G- £3.00
I didn’t end up using all the yoghurt nor did I use all the granola. I layered the parfait as can be seen in this picture:
Granola Parfait
Total Cost Per Parfait: £2.12
The parfait can be kept for up to 24 hours (I also couldn’t find a used jam bottle- which is why I had to resort to my precious red wine glasses). In the end, a ‘glass’ of parfait costs half the price of the bowl of granola from Marmadukes!
Few days later, using the remaining Granola, I decided to have it with warm milk, bananas and strawberries.
Ingredients:
Tesco British Skimmed Milk 568Ml/1 Pint- £0.49
Tesco Everyday Value Strawberries 400G- £1.75
Tesco Bananas Loose- £0.12
Total Cost: £2.36 (although of course, I didn’t use all the strawberries and only used a bowl of warm milk).
Personally I preferred the parfait, I even had a ‘glass’ as my dessert but both are good ideas to start a day or while reading books- which was what I did. Most importantly, the cost to make a glass of parfait and to have granola with warm milk is still cheaper than a bowl of granola at Marmadukes!
Perfect Accompaniment/ Snack for Leisure
Livin On A Budget 