Granola
I love gluten free granola; sweet and crunchy, it always satisfies a good snack attack.
I also get a kick out of using the term "granola" to ridicule my Boulder brethren. However, when I'm feeling earthy, dousing myself in patchouli (which my husband dislikes to no end) I can easily apply the term to myself --even though I'm more of a yuppie than a hippie. I guess that would make me a yippie.
Alas, I digress. Several years ago when I first encountered the live food diet, I created this recipe for a crunchy live gluten free granola. Even though he's not a hippie, yippie or yuppie, my husband really likes it and so does my younger son. The little guy eats it with yogurt, which makes for a tasty and filling snack.
2 cups almonds
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- Place nuts and seeds in a large bowl, cover with water and soak overnight
- Place raisins in a separate bowl, cover with (½ to 1 cup) water and soak overnight
- Place the raisins, along with their soaking water in a food processor and puree until smooth
- In a fine mesh metal strainer, drain and rinse the nuts and seeds and discard the soaking water
- Add nuts and seeds to raisin puree in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, to the consistency of granola, then add vanilla, cinnamon and salt and pulse briefly to incorporate these final ingredients
- Transfer mixture onto two large parchment lined baking sheets
- To make live granola, place in the oven on the lowest setting (usually 135°) for 24 hours
- For instant gratification, bake 45 minutes in the oven at 250°; for this more decadent treat, I sometimes drizzle agave over the granola, or add shredded coconut, currants and other dried fruit
- Serve
Serves 12
Enjoy this nutritious power packed, grain free, gluten free, healthy raw granola recipe with fresh fruit, plain yogurt or as I do, simply by the handful.
Posted on September 11, 2007 in breakfasts by Elana
you might also like: Gluten Free Granola
or Breakfast Bars
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20 comments
Can you drizzle the gourmet add-ons over the live granola too?
Oakling- yes, I often add agave or dried fruit to the live granola.
Hi Elana,
How much water do you use to soak the raisins in? I'm in the process of making this granola and have had to keep it in the oven (at 250 F) for over 2 hours now.
Any suggestions?
Hi Wendy,
I cover the raisins with just less than a cup of water. I will make a note in the recipe above for future bakers. Thanks for pointing this out to me.
Elana
I just made this recipe, it is yummy! I was under the impression that for something to be considered a "raw" or "living" food it can not be heated higher than 110-120 degrees? So this is technically not a "raw" food? Is that right?
Jessica -From what I have read raw food is anything "cooked" below 118 degrees. The lowest setting on my oven is 135; more live enzymes survive at this temp than at 250 degrees, though yes, you are correct, the live food people would not consider this raw.
Thanks for the great recipe, Elana! Where does the raisin puree get reincorporated?
Also, I wonder if you couldn't "bake" this in a crockpot on low (I think this is usually about 200ºF), possibly with a chopstick or wooden spoon to let the steam out, for slightly less than 24 hours. It would use much less electricity, allow you to leave the house, and not heat up the entire kitchen in the summertime. These are the reasons why I use my crockpot to poach chicken breasts for salads (without propping, for 3 hours on high). Here is an idea of what I mean by propping: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-crunchy-roasted-garbanzo-beans.html
As always, take care!
~M
Hi ~M -Thanks for your comment. The raisin paste does not leave the food processor. I added a couple of words to the recipe above to make this more clear as the way I had it written didn't quite do the job.
Love the crockpot idea for this recipe. Not sure how it would work since I haven't ever tried it this way. If you do it, please stop back by and let us know the results. The one issue I could see is that the granola would not crisp if it is not laid out on a flat baking sheet, evenly exposed to the heat. However, still might be worth a try in the crockpot. xo Elana
Yeah, you're right that the oven works much better, though I did eat the crockpot version. This is fabulous with coconut milk...maybe one day you'll make coconut milk from scratch too.
I also sometimes add black sesame seeds as part of the nuts/seeds...they taste great (but check your teeth! :) )
Hi Elana - How do you store your granola (and power bars)? How long do they keep? We're heading out on a 2 week road trip with our 2 year old and I'm looking for easy to store snacks. We'll have a cooler with us. Thanks!
Jessica-
I store my granola in a glass mason jar. For my power bars I use a glass pyrex with a plastic lid or a glass anchor brand dish with a glass lid.
If you go to the right side navigation of my site and look for "purchase" then "elana's pantry store" you will find many of the items that I use.
Hope this helps and glad you like the granola.
Elana
I have a huge craving for your granola right now! I am so bored with the un-fortified gf cereals that I've taken to eating homemade chicken soup for breakfast!
Another great breakfast: pancakes with coconut flour! They are so fluffy and filling! I used the recipe on the back of the Bob's Red Mill package with some tweaking, and hemp milk + apple cider in lieu of buttermilk. I've made them 2x, and they win rave reviews by my mom, fiance, and even picky younger brother. I'm willing to bet you could make them Elana-friendly by using your Honeyville blanched almond flour instead of the recommended white rice flour and baking soda instead of the baking powder (perhaps adding more acid in the form of apple cider vinegar) and using arrowroot for the cornstarch.
Anyways, are you using raw or roasted almonds here in your granola recipe? Also, are they whole almonds, slivered, or sliced? I think I actually have each of the above types described. :) Take care!
[...] http://www.elanaspantry.com/2007/09/11/g…; [...]
Hi ~M,
Those pancakes sound great!
I use whole raw almonds in this recipe.
Elana
Hi Elana,
I'm a newby to RAW - do you have to soak the seeds and nuts before you make granola ?
Thanks
Helene
Helene,
Feel free to experiment and make it any way you wish, the soaking activates enzymes in the nuts and gets them to just barely begin a sprouting process.
Best,
Elana
This is a GREAT recipe.
I have made three variations:
* as posted
* using dried cranberries instead of raisins
* using dried mango and cashews (macadamia nuts seem to be lacking from the four stores I tried)
They are all so nice. Thank you!
Onelasttime,
Yum! Amazing.
Elana
Hi Elana,
I read in your book that you recommend organic fruit spread (jam) due to the concentrated nature of the product. Would that also be true for something like raisins (or dried fruit in general)? Thanks!
[...] that way – and it includes coconut oil and sprouted flour! Elana’s pantry features a raw grain-free granola that is made similarly to mine. So between these, I think you’re [...]
Does the granola have to be "dry" when you take it out of the oven?? Mine's been in for almost an hour and it's still pretty wet...
I used to have this problem of wet granola, but implementing some of these changes helped a lot and now we love our granola! If the granola is still wet after the recipe's baking time, I recommend letting it bake for maybe 10-15 minutes longer. Then, shut off the oven, and keep the door closed with the granola inside. By the next day, it should have dried out considerably. (In my incredibly arid apartment, I might be able to leave the granola on the baking sheet on the kitchen island with the same effect).
If you hydrated your raisins with 1 cup of water, next time I suggest using only 1/2 cup of water. Since I've been using only 1/2 cup of water, my batches come out much better, though I still dehydrate them further by leaving them in the closed oven overnight. Another option is to soak your nuts for a bit less time; I used to soak for 24 hours or so, but now for around 12 hours.
I do *not* recommend raising the temperature beyond 250ºF or your nuts will burn.
Good luck!