Grain Free Granola

Don't see the word Grain-Free and immediately assume I'm some sort of strange hippy - cause you'd be wrong. Well mostly. My definition of "hippy" and your definition are probably much different, a subject I will dive into another time... I have friends that are gluten free, and I myself only each wheat on occasion... 


For now, I'm here to talk about the MOST delicious granola ever made on Earth. Seriously.


Eat it plain - with a spoon or by the hand, eat it on top of yogurt, with fruit, with milk, with cardboard... well maybe not, but EAT IT!


My dad is the most "anti-hippy" man in the world and gawked at my offerings... until he tried it, and now I'm demanded to make regularly scheduled batches of this stuff. Its amazing, and you'll love it.


First - throw out all your ideas about granola. It can be whatever you want, hence, my version suites my tastes and my tastes alone, because I won't change it up for anyone :-), although I will provide some useful substitutions, but only if I must... so here goes:


*  also dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, soy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, egg-free (contains tree nuts)


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C sliced almonds
• 1 1/2 C sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 C walnuts, finely chopped or pureed
• 1 C macadamia nuts, finely chopped or pureed (or hazelnuts or cashews or whatever)
• 1/2 C sunflower kernels
• 1/2 C Pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) - find these, they are amazing!
• 1/2 C dried cherries
• 1/4 C coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 C honey (or maple syrup or agave)
• 2 tsp cinnamon - don't skip its amazing in it!

Instructions:

1. Combine almonds, coconut flakes, nuts, seeds and fruit in a bowl
2. Whisk together oil, honey and cinnamon
3. Pour oil-honey mixture over nuts and fruit and mix
4. Spread onto a single layer on lightly oiled baking sheet
5. Bake for one hour at 275 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent burning

Store in the fridge in an airtight container - will last a couple weeks - but only if your crazy and don't shovel it in your mouth hole the second it cools from the oven. Enjoy.

Nutrition Estimated from Sparkrecipes.com

P.S. don't look at the nutrition and freak, this is chalked full of the best kinds of healthy fats, monounsaturated fats and medium-chain saturated fatty acids- all great for boosting metabolism, boosting immunity and regulating blood sugar!


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