a week of granola

I am addicted to granola. I will put it on anything and everything, but it's even better on it's own as a snack. The problem is that most granola on the market contains oats/grains, and well that's not Paleo-friendly. Even if you can track down a good granola or trail mix, they always seem overpriced for such a small portion. And all that money for snacking adds up, which just makes me want to buy a $.99 bag of chips.

Well, guess what? Granola is actually so simple to make. I used to make it with oats, but now I just pack it with variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit to make it super hearty and delicious. Grain-free, Paleo-friendly, and unprocessed-- there's really no need to buy granola again.

Grain-Free Granola
yields about 7 cups

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups sliced or slivered almonds
1 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup roasted, salted pepitas
1 cup roughly chopped/crushed unsalted cashews
3/4 cup chopped unsalted walnuts
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey (I used a dry measuring cup)
2 tsp coconut oil, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put all ingredients into a large bowl. Combine everything together well with a wooden spoon.
3. Dump the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread out into an even layer.
4. Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes, gently mixing the mixture in between.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet.
6. Granola can be stored once cooled.

**NOTES: I couldn't find any pepitas that were roasted AND unsalted. Since I don't add any extra salt to the recipe, it's okay to have one of the nuts/seeds be salted. However, be careful because I find that the "salted" versions tend to be overly salty. I advise buying everything unsalted and add a dash of salt to the mixture if you'd like, so that you can better control the amount of salt.

 

Seriously, SO easy. One bowl, one spoon, one sheet. That's it. This is a great snack for a group, but I usually try to keep it all for myself. Since it makes about 7 cups, I measure 1 cup of granola into 7 sandwich baggies. Then, I have a snack already prepared for each day of the week! Now, someone please pass me a bowl and unsweetened coconut milk. I'm about to have a cereal break right now.

Enjoy my Grain-Free Granola! Hope you love it!