April 29, 2012

True Honey Nut Cereal

This week I had some fun making new recipe’s. Before I went to Paleo, I was addicted to cereal. I would eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack! I loved cinnamon toast crunch and raisin bran. Since oats, sugar, wheat and all things cereal are anti-paleo, I had to make my own. It was pretty tough training myself to avoid my daily treat but I overcame for 6 months! This past week I decided to make my own cereal and now I am not sure why I waited for so long. It is fast, simple and delicious. My one problem, I tend to avoid dairy because I think it might cause some binding up issues. I am going to start adding in full fat milk with my cereal on occasion and see if I notice a difference. My other option is to eat the cereal with almond milk.

Honey Nut Cereal

Ingredients:
1/2 C almonds (I used shelled and sliced)
1/2 C walnuts
1/2 C Pecans

1/4 C Hazlenuts
1/2 C sunflower seeds

(You can use any nuts you like-Pumpkin seeds, coconut, macadamia nuts, I just used what I had in my pantry)
1 C pre-soaked raisins (cover in water for about 10-15 min, until they puff up a little)
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp honey

Process:

Blend

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
In blender or food processor blend the nuts, cinnamon and sea salt.
In a large bowl melt coconut oil.
Combine Coconut oil, vanilla, honey and raisins and mix until well blended
Combine the liquids and nut mixture in the large bowl and mix well.
Taste test the before you bake! You may like it a little sweeter or saltier than my taste buds.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
Spread the granola evenly over the sheet. (A thin layer)
Bake 40 minutes for a nice crunchy granola. (The longer you bake, the crunchier it will get. Cooling also makes it crunchier.)
Allow to cool completely.
Eat with Almond or Coconut Milk