Tuesday 2 June 2015

Grain Free Granola Round #2

I've been on a bit of a breakfast kick lately. Breakfast is, after all, the most important meal of the day. And let's face it, breakfast foods are just plain old fun. Pancakes, waffles - don't even get me started on french toast.







Of course, all of these things contain two things that Mike and I try to avoid eating regularly: sugar and grains. It happens like clockwork - any time Mike eats anything particuarly sugary, his arthritis in his left hand flares up and the old pain that used to plague before going gluten free returns.


And what else is a bowl of cereal if it's not a giant bowl sugar and grains?  That's why every so often I like to make my own grain free granola using only natural sweeteners. (In fact, the first recipe I ever posted was a grain free granola.  Glad to see my pictures have improved some, but I'm getting distracted now.) When you prepare your own granola, you can add whatever variation of nuts, seeds, or dried fruit you prefer. Because inflammation is a concern in our house, I prefer to use macadamia nuts over other types because they have a higher omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Having too little omega-3 and too much omega-6 leads to inflammation in the body - no thank you.

 Since macadamia nuts are more expensive, we save this for special treats or when we want to have something a little different.


This is also a great on-the-go snack if you're going to be out and about.





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Nutty Grain Free Maple Granola
Crunchy, grain free granola - the perfect start to your day!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (335 grams) Macadamia Nuts (or nuts of choice)
  • 1 1/2 cups (120 grams) Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut
  • 1/4 cup (40 grams) Chia Seeds
  • 1/4 cup (80 grams) Maple Syrup (or sweetener of your choice)
  • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup (40 grams) Dark Chocolate Chips/Cacao Nibs (dairy free if vegan)
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 330F/165C 
2. In a blender or food processor, lightly pulse your nuts until they become course. You want big chunks and small grainy pieces so make sure you don't over process everything into a flour. 
3. Transfer your nuts to a bowl and mix in the desiccated coconut, chia seeds, cinnamon and pinch of sea salt. When it looks like you have everything mixed through, and the vanilla extract and the maple syrup. Make sure your coat everything in maple so it all becomes a sticky mess. 
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread your granola onto the sheet evenly. You may need two baking sheets depending on the size. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and stir your granola so that your granola bakes evenly. Then return the granola back to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely before adding the chocolate chips. If you add the chips too soon they will melt all over the place. Add in any other bits and pieces you might like, dried fruit, roasted seeds etc and then store in an airtight container.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 Cups



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