Paleo Granola

Ever since I started Paleo/Primal I've found there are a few things I truly miss that are not friendly on the diet. One of those things is Granola. To be more specific, cereal. Having a quick bowl of cereal before work or even just having a little plastic bag of it to snack on throughout the day. What makes it worse is the last 2 places I've worked always has this maple smelling cereal that people love to eat when they get to work, and man does it smell good!! There are other days that I just want to get some full fat Greek yogurt (primal) and chopped fruit and sprinkle in some granola for an extra crunch.

I finally decided that it was time for me to create my own "Granola" to beat these cravings. I went to the grocery store and bought raw cashews, almonds, Pepita's, sunflowers, and natural raisins. I also remembered that I had leftover apples that I had picked from a trip upstate (can't get any more natural than that!)

Not even an hour later my house smelled of maple cinnamon goodness. Oh man my nose was happy! I have to say I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

Paleo Granola

Recipe: Paleo Granola
1c raw cashews
1c raw almonds
1/2c pepitas
1/2c sunflower seeds
1/4c chia seeds
1/4c shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/4c raisins
1/4c coconut oil
1/4c raw honey
1/4c pure grade a maple syrup
1tsp vanilla
1 small apple, peeled, cored, finely chopped
1 tbsp cinnamon
Dash of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 275. In a food processor, combine the cashews and almonds and chop up the pieces to be smaller. In a large mixing bowl, melt the coconut oil and then add the remainder of the ingredients (minus the raisins . Once all ingredients are coated spread them on a baking sheet (I recommend lined with parchment paper.) I sprinkled a little more cinnamon on top (because I like cinnamon) before placing it in the oven for 30 min where I stirred the 'granola' every 10 minutes. If you're having trouble getting it to be a golden colored after 30 minutes you can turn on the broiler and let it get toasty that way too. Be careful not to burn it! Once it's done let it cool for about 20 minutes and then you can break it up for eating :)

Enjoy!!

Kim