Maple pecan granola
For many people who are beginning a vegan or raw—or even just healthier—lifestyle, the cravings for comfort foods can be a big challenge. The trick is to turn those unhealthy comfort foods into nutritious, energy-giving and cruelty-free options.
Homemade raw granola is a fantastic staple for a healthy diet. It’s dense with protein, fibre, calcium and minerals, and I personally can’t get enough of it. There are as many recipes for granola as there are nuts, fruits and seeds, so it’s always fun experimenting with a variety of ingredients to find the perfect balance of flavour and crunch without compensating the nourishing value of raw foods. This particular recipe highlights the sweetness of maple syrup, along with warming winter spices and a nutty pecan and almond crunch.
If you’re reading this post, hopefully you’ve invested in a food processor and a good dehydrator. Granola, like recipes for flax seed and veggie crackers, is sticky and moist when you mix the ingredients, so you’ll need to dehydrate it until it becomes dry and crunchy. If you don’t own a dehydrator, you can spread the granola on cookie sheets and bake it at your oven’s lowest temperature setting until crispy. Enjoy!
PrintMaple pecan granola
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dates, soaked
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups pecans, soaked for 2 hours or more
- 1 cup almonds, soaked for 2 hours or more
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked for 2 hours or more
- 1 cup raw oat flakes (certified gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1/4 cup chopped dried pear or other fruit
Directions:
- In a food processor, process the dates, apple, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon and salt until smooth. You may need to scrap down the sides of the mixing bowl a few times. It's okay if a few small chunks of dates still remain. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
- Add the pecans, almonds and pumpkin seeds to the food processor (no need to rinse out the bowl) and coarsly chop with a few quick pulses. You want this mixture to be chunky.
- Add the nut mixture to the bowl with the date puree and mix to combine. Fold in the oat flakes and dried fruit.
- Spread the granola on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 6 hours, or until the granola is crunchy. Break the granola into pieces and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.