Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Soaked Granola

UPDATE- a new recipe variation for apple cinnamon flavor!

I've always loved granola, and was so sure it was good for me. Imagine how upset I was to find that this wasn't the case. Luckily, there's some great soaked recipes out there, so I went about revamping them a bit to come up with one I really like.


Soaked Granola

2 1/2 cups oats
2 cups water
4 tablespoons yogurt, cultured buttermilk, kefir *
1/4 cup wheat flour
Combine these ingredients and soak for at least 12 hours, preferably 24.

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut
2/3 cup dried fruit (raisins, cherries, apricots etc.)
1 1/3 cup "crispy" nuts and seeds **
Mix above ingredients into the soaked oat mixture.

Variation- Apple Cinnamon Granola
1/3 cup coconut or crispy nuts
1 cup dried apples, cut into medium chunks
1/4 cup melted coconut oil, or 1/8 cup ea. coconut oil and olive oil
2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
1/2-3/4 cup natural sweetener (honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, agave)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine ingredients and pour over oat mixture, stir thoroughly.

Variation- Apple Cinnamon
To above ingredients, add in 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Spread granola mixture on lined baking sheets or dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 150 degrees F
or bake at your oven's lowest temperature. Depending on your method and how thinly you spread your granola, it will be dry in 4-24 hours.

Notes
* To make this dairy free, try reducing acid medium to 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I used vinegar the first time I made this and it was just fine, you might need to alter the amount of sweetener to your taste.
** "Crispy" seeds/nuts as per NT- I soaked for 8-12 hours then dried them

The different options allow you to change the recipe around as you like. One of my favorite combinations is dried apricot and papaya, with almonds or peanuts and sunflower seeds. Really yummy with the coconut. Sometimes, when it's dried, I add chocolate chips (don't tell on me!) This is really flexible, so play around to find out what your family likes best.
I am happy to post this at Pennywise Platter Thursday- lots of yummy things!
Also, posted at Real Food Wednesdays - check out all the great ideas!

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6 comments:

Live.Love.Eat said...

I'll have to check out your link because I thought granola was good for us too. I DO know too many are loaded with sugar but I will see if that's the case.

I'd love to make my own. Thanks for stopping by awhile back. Always playing catch up, I am.

KellytheKitchenKop.com said...

I love homemade granola!

Thanks for joining in on Real Food Wednesday!

Kelly

Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet said...

I love granola too, so I was thankful that we can still enjoy it soaked. :-)

Thanks for sharing your frugal recipe was part of Pennywise Platter Thursday!

mahmommy said...

LiveLoveEat- I was mostly referring to the information I've found on how indigestible the whole grains are- more on this suject next week! Also see http://www.westonaprice.org/ for more info.
Kelly & Kimi- thank you both for hosting such great carnivals- I've learned so much on both your sites and am honored to participate!

Kitchen Stewardship said...

Oh, and I just returned the dehyd I borrowed from a friend! I had been hesitant to try soaked granola b/c it's such an extensive extra step to dehydrate. I'll bookmark it!

Thank you for joining the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods! Next week’s theme is Un-Processed Foods, or things you could buy in the store but choose to make at home. Hope to see you back!
Katie

mahmommy said...

Katie- I thought it would be hard too, AnnMarie at Cheeseslave had the first recipe I found that made it seem easy (and it is) Now is a good time to start looking for dehydrators, they often go on sale in the fall in time for Christmas with other kitchen items.

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