Anne’s “To the Summit” Granola

I always make homemade granola when we travel. It travels exceptionally well and provides long lasting energy and can be eaten on the sly during meetings! For years I've stuck with one basic recipe that included raw oatmeal, unsweetened juice concentrate, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and so forth. If I thought we would need extra energy on a long hike, for instance, I would make it with some oil or added honey or brown sugar. I have shared that recipe for years.

After I finished Ultimate Reset, I started looking for more plant-based recipes to include in our diet. I'm not 100% vegan and certainly not gluten free. My body goes into spasms if I think about cutting out breads completely. If I had to do that for health reasons, I would. But, I don't. So I don't sweat the gluten stuff. However, the following granola recipe would easily fit into a raw, vegan and reduced gluten diet assuming you purchase the right ingredients.

I found half a dozen recipes for raw vegan granola and used a little from each to create my own recipe. Truthfully, you don't really need a recipe for granola. But here is what I did and it turned out very well..totally addictive. It provided energy for me the entire week in Vegas while we were at the Beachbody coach summit. And because of the sprouting and low drying temperatures, this granola is probably the healthiest and most nutritious granola I've made. This tastes just like the Two Moms in the Raw granola that I have bought the last couple of years. It's not available at stores here locally anymore, so I'm delighted that I can now make something similar and for a fraction of the price. 

Anne's Raw "to the Summit" Granola

Plan ahead. The soaking of the buckwheat, almonds and sunflower seeds takes 6-8 hours or overnight.
This recipe would fit in a raw, vegan diet.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw buckwheat groats
       (Buckwheat groats for this recipe must be raw, not toasted. I found them in bulk at a local health food store and online from Sprout People.)
2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw almonds
——-

4 cups grated apple (skin on is fine if they are organic)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup raw dark agave nectar
8 large pitted dates

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2 T. ground flaxseed
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I bought unsweetened organic coconut pieces that I found at our healthfood store)
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Himalayan salt
2 T. chia seeds

——

Optional: 1 T. coconut oil

In separate containers, soak the sunflower seeds and almonds in cool water for 6-8 hours. Buckwheat only has to be soaked about 30 minutes, but before you do that, rinse in your sprouter or in a sieve under cool running water for about a minute. The water gets very starchy and thick as they soak, so pre-rinsing helps remove some of that. Once you soak the buckwheat let it sit in your sprouter or in a sieve over a bowl and rinse 2-3 times with cool water until your almonds and sunflower seeds are ready. For more information on sprouting, check the Sprout People site. 

Chop the soaked almonds or put in your food processor for just a few pulses. You want them chopped by not ground. I use one of those Pampered Chef food choppers on a cutting board.

Combine the almonds, drained sunflower seeds and buckwheat groats in a large bowl.
Puree the dates with 1/2 cup of the grated apples in a small food processor. A magic bullet will work in a pinch.
Add all the ingredients together and let it sit a few minutes, which allows the chia seeds to help bind it all together.

Spread on dehydrator trays lined with fruit leather sheets, about 1/2 inch thick. I have the Excalibur dehydrator and this covers almost 2 trays. It makes over a gallon size bag full.

Dry at 125 for 1 hour and then turn down to 115. Here in Nebraska, it takes about 8-12 hours depending on how humid it is at the time and how thick I left it on the sheets. To make sure it's completely dry on the bottom, once it feels dry, I invert the whole dryer tray onto a dryer tray without the fruit leather sheet and dry it just a little bit longer.

I broke it up just enough to fit in the gallon ziploc bags. It stays together very well. By the time we got home, the little bit that was leftover was completely broken up and made a great cereal with some almond milk!

If you have questions, just ask in the comments below. This is really clear to me, but I love cooking, so it may not be as clear to someone who doesn't spend much time in the kitchen.

TIPS

**You can use all maple syrup (the real stuff) or all agave, but I like to use a little of both.

**You can also use a variety of sprouted grains, if you wish. And if something happens and you don't have time to finish mixing the granola after soaking and rinsing the buckwheat, leave it in your sprouter and rinse a few more times until you see little sprouts, then dry it on your fruit leather dehydrator sheets at 115 until dry and mix the granola later.

**I've also added a dash of nutmeg and vanilla.

**Remember flavors intensify in the dehydrator so go easy on any spices you add.

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Tagged as: Clean Eating, Raw Vegan Granola