Happy Fall!! Tomorrow is the first day of fall so bring on the pumpkin!
I think one of the biggest concerns for people going grain free is, "what will I eat for breakfast?" We have been so trained to eat cereals, toast, pancakes and waffles with an occasional egg for breakfast, carbs and more carbs! If you are missing your morning cereal, here's the solution! This granola recipe along with my other granola recipes (Banana Nut Granola and Almond Nut Joy Granola) are the perfect high fat and moderate protein breakfast! Enjoy them with unsweetened almond or coconut milk or on top of greek yogurt, if you tolerate dairy or just plain.
If you would prefer to make soft cookies out of this recipe as opposed to crunchy granola, that is an option. I personally like the granola best for the crunch, the cookies are soft and I prefer my nuts crunchy. Dehydration is recommended but certainly not required. If you have been thinking of getting a dehydrator, the one I have is very reasonable and so worth it! I have quite a few recipes that I use it for including, beef jerky, cookies and crackers. So if you have been contemplating, get it!!!
Grain Free Pumpkin Spiced Granola
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups raw nuts, chopped (I used almonds, pecans and walnuts)
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 3/4 cup coconut chips (optional, replace with nuts or it may be too soupy)
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (optional or add more flour. I usedJay Robb’s Vanilla Egg White Protein)
- 1 tsp lucuma (optional)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, honey or coconut nectar*
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/8 cup almond butter
- 11/2 -2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- couple dashes of sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the chopped nuts, seeds, coconut, protein powder, almond flour, lucuma and all the spices and salt in a bowl and mix well
- In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, almond butter, liquid sweetener and vanilla
- Combine the two bowls and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated
- Place on dehydrator sheets in clumps and dehydrate at 145 for 2 hours, then turn down to 115 until desired crunch is obtained. I left it in there for 24 hrs.
- For oven method, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 175-200 until desired crunch is obtained. Stir every so often to cook evenly
Quick notes
* I used Xylitol Maple Syrup which is far less sweet than regular syrup and honey. I added 1/4 cup of erythritol as well. If you want it sweeter, make sure to add a granulated sweetener, not more liquid. It will make the granola too soupy.
Variations
If you prefer a soft cookie instead of crunchy granola, spoon out the “dough” onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 200 for 2 hours
