Grain-Free Cinnamon Vanilla Granola

As we know I love granola…as a cereal, on yogurt, right out of the container. You name it, I love it! Lately, I’ve had some upset stomach issues, and in an effort to rule things out, I stopped eating oats for a bit. Well—no oats?!?!?! What’s a granola-loving girl to do? Improvise of course!

I found this recipe from Against All Grain for a completely grain free granola, so I thought that I’d give it a shot—couldn’t be all bad, right? I made a few adjustments (like maple syrup for one) to make it a bit more true to my tastes, and I must say…it is pretty good!

I did try the granola as a cereal, and I will admit that I wasn’t overly excited—because the granola is mainly nuts and I was too impatient to fully cook it, it didn’t soak up the almond milk like a more traditional granola does—not as satisfying. That hasn’t stopped me though! My favorite way to eat it has been to throw in some dried blueberries and then snack on it throughout the day. There’s something about the granola with it being just slightly moist with a bit of a chew to it (I know that sounds weird, but it is so satisfying!), and throwing in the dried blueberries adds a bit of extra sweetness—mmm…mmm…truly scrumptious! I’ve seriously been carrying around a little Tupperware and a spoon each day, to and from meetings, sneaking bites as I can (nobody was looking…right?!?!?!).

 

• Difficulty: easy
• Print

• 3 cups mixed raw nuts (I used a mix of pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews)
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon golden flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, melted
• 1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (plus 1 teaspoon for soaking water)
• 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
• Optional: 1 cup of dried fruit of your choice (raisins, blueberries, cranberries, etc)

Instructions:

1. Soak all of the nuts in enough water to cover them and mix in 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover, and soak overnight, changing out the water one time. Soak the sunflower seeds in a separate bowl, following the same procedure as above. Note that if you use cashews, they will take on a brownish/purplish color—since everything gets processed, you won’t notice later.
2. Drain the nuts and seeds and place on a paper towel to absorb the remaining water. Keep half of the sunflower seeds separate.
3. Place all of the nuts and half of the sunflower seeds in the bowl of a food processor. Grind them until they resemble the size of oats.
4. Add in the coconut oil, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt. Pulse until combined.
5. Next, add last half of the sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds, and pulse once or twice, until they are roughly chopped and mixed into the nut mixture.
6. Remove the blade, then mix in the shredded coconut with a spoon. Turn the mixture out onto 3 parchment covered dehydrator trays. Spread it evenly into a thin layer.
7. Bake in your oven on the lowest setting for 3-4 four hours, or until free of moisture (I wanted mine slightly chewy, so I took it out a little early).
8. Let cool completely before adding any mix-ins (it will crisp as it cools) and then store in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks. 

 

I just ran out of this granola today, and I’m totally bummed! Aaron’s going to have to make a run to the store so I can work on a batch to take with me the rest of the week! 😉

What’s your favorite carry-around snack?

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Two Thumbs Up Heart Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Running. I enjoy running. I enjoy building up stamina, beating goals, and the feeling of accomplishment when you’re done. Don’t let me fool you though—I am by no means a good runner! In fact it’s been almost two years since I’ve really gone for a true run (and the size of my pants is a testament to that). This weekend, I got it in my head that I would pick up running again, and to make it even better, I decided it would be a family affair.

So, Saturday morning, I donned my running gear, laced up my shoes, put the leash on the dog, and…told the kids to grab their bikes or scooters. This would be fun right? I would get to run, the dog would get out for exercise, and the kids would get to ride. Well, if you know where we live, you’d know that no matter what direction you go from our house, you’re basically going uphill. So—peptalk time!

“Guys you know we’ve gotta go uphill for a bit, but we’re tough, right?!?!”

“RIGHT!!!!”

“Great! So, there’s no fussing on the way up cause remember then we get the sweet, sweet downhill!”

“YEAH!!! We loooove the downhill! Can we go fast?”

“You bet!”

So, out we go…around the corner…and uphill. Ten minutes in, I was carrying a scooter while Jax was trailing behind, “MOOOOMMMM!!! WAIT FOR ME!!!!” Two minutes later Jax was balanced on his scooter as I tried pulling it while running. One minute later, huffing and puffing, I caved. “Guys, can we do this? Can we keep going? Or should we turn around and go downhill?”

“Let’s go DOWNHILL!!!”

So much for my first run in two years…it can only go uphill from here, right (hee, hee, hee)!

Even though my first run-run was a flop, my first run on these cookies wasn’t! J Luckily I had all (well, almost all) of the ingredients on hand—I love it when that happens! I didn’t have actual oat flour, but if you grind your oats in a food processor for several minutes, you can easily—and for a fraction of the cost—make your own oat flour. I also love that you can talk yourself into saying that these cookies are “healthy”, they are scrumptious, and Connor gave me two thumbs up…lots of two thumbs up!!

Because my batter was still a bit warm when I mixed in the chocolate, some of it melted into the batter making a chocolate chocolate chip cookie—mmm..mmm! If you want a less chocolately batter, let your mix completely cool, but good luck waiting that long! The cookies bake up nicely, but be sure to let them cool on your pan before transferring or else they’ll flop apart…not that I would know or anything… 😉 Once the cookies are cooled, they are chewy and break apart easily. The kids loved that!

Heart Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups walnuts
3 TBSP canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. In a food processor, blend the walnuts until they are ground into a fine meal. Add the oil, and blend for 2-3 minutes, until the consistency of natural peanut butter. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Whisk together the brown sugar and ½ cup of water in a pan and bring to a boil.
4. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the walnut butter. Add the vanilla, and stir until there are no lumps.
5. Whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
6. Stir the oat flour mix into the walnut mix. Cool the dough for at least 10 minutes.
7. Fold the oats and then the chocolate chips into the dough.
8. Shape the dough into 2-inch balls and placed onto parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass sprayed with cooking spray.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown.
10. Cool for several minutes and transfer to wire racks.

 

Enjoy the cookies, and in the meantime, I hope that with more practice, the uphills won’t be so daunting…for the kids…or for me!  So, what pointers do you have for getting back into the swing of things?