This week, Ryan and I are going grain-free and vegan as a sort-of cleanse from the past few weeks of eating and drinking like it's #vacayallday.
For breakfast, we love to have smoothie bowls, but if I don't have granola to put on top of mine for the added crunch factor, I'm not into it. Normally, I'd pick up a bag of this Taste of Seattle granola, which we all love, but because we're going completely grain free (which means no oats), I decided to do a little Pinterest search to see if I could make my own. I wasn't even sure if grain-free granola was a thing, but I was delighted to find that it is, and that this recipe made it seem as if there might even be a good chance of it being tasty.
I remembered coming across another interesting looking recipe in my Instagram feed, where mashed bananas provided the sweetness for the granola, meaning you wouldn't have to add any sweetener. So I combined the two and what resulted was this gloriousness that I can say we'll DEFINITELY be making over and over, whether we continue to eat grain-free or not. It's even great as a snack, eaten dry (in fact, I'm munching on some as I edit this post), or simply in a bowl with almond milk.
I got the ultimate compliment on it from my hubby, who said it tastes like his Grandma Peach's desserts. Now that's saying something of a recipe that's completely naturally sweetened and totally good for you!
Grain-free Banana Coconut Nut Granola
Ingredients:
1 Cup Chopped pecans
1 Cup Sliced almonds
1/3 Cup Finely shredded, unsweetened, dried coconut
3 Tbsp Flax seeds
4-5 Dates, chopped in to small dice
1/4 Cup Coconut flour (almond flour would also work)
3 Tbsp Coconut oil
1 Ripe banana, mashed
2 Tsp Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the nuts, coconut, flax seeds and coconut flour.
Add the dates in, a piece at a time to make sure they each get coated with the flour mixture, which will keep them from clumping together.
In a separate bowl, add the coconut oil and heat in the microwave until liquified.
Combine the mashed banana with the coconut oil and pour it over the nut mixture. Add the salt and cinnamon and toss again.
Spread the granola onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 18-20 minutes, turning once, halfway through. Watch closely to ensure the nuts don't burn.
Allow the granola to cool completely before stirring, to allow it to form clusters.
Store in a zip-top bag at room temperature.
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