Cardamom, Ginger + Vanilla Granola

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I have been on such a cardamom and ginger kick lately, I can’t get enough of the spices together.  I love pairing them with vanilla as I feel it complements the overall flavors really well. The addition of olive oil’s subtle fruity fragrance did well here, but I didn’t add that much so it wasn’t that noticeable. I threw in some matcha powder to give it that delicate earthy taste.

So good.

Recipe Redux challenged me this month to create or use a dehydrated good for a healthy dish. The lack of dehydrator in my life led me to the slow oven dehydrator method for buckwheat groats, which I tend to soak and sprout frequently anyway. I decided on a healthy granola, because generally every granola I eat is super sweet and then I feel so sluggish afterward..thank my pseudo-diabetic status.

So this has less sugar per serving and it made my almond milk taste really good, spicy, and earthy so I was satisfied. I can’t remember the last time I had looked forward to drinking the milk after eating some sort of cereal or granola…Cocoa puff days perhaps?

Ingredients:

Dry:

1.5 cups sprouted + dehydrated buckwheat groats

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 C raw sunflower seeds

1 C raw chopped nuts (I used combo of macadamias, hazelnuts, brazil nuts and walnuts)

1 C dried fruit (I used dried persimmons and mango)

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup cacao nibs

1 tbsp matcha powder (optional)

1-3 tsp cardamom

1-3 tsp ginger

1-3 tsp cinnamon

good pinch himalayan salt

Wet:

generous 1/3 C honey (I used raw/local. Use more if you’d prefer it sweeter)

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

If you have a dehydrator, good for you congratulations. You do you, soak those groats.

For those who do NOT have one of those precious devices, I will tell you how to do a simple wannabe dehydrating method via oven that doesn’t waste hours and tons of electricity.  Soak buckwheat groats in water for at least 30 minutes, I did about 4 hours

Drain and spread out on baking sheet for at least 8 hours or until dry. You’ll see little tails have formed.

Bake in oven at a low setting, around 200 F for about 2-3 hours, mix intermittently, or until groats are light golden and toasted. Don’t over toast! Set aside and let cool.

Combine and mix all dry ingredients EXCEPT dried fruit, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, and matcha in a large bowl, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine all wet ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat on low until honey has melted.

Mix wet ingredients and pour over dry.

Mix thoroughly until all dry is coated.

Spread out on parchment paper on large baking sheet, using multiple if necessary. You want the granola to be spread out, but overlapping is definitely ok, I’d say about 1/2 inch layer thick.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until granola is light golden brown and toasty. You’ll start to smell it. Don’t over toast it or it’ll taste burnt once it cools.

Take out of oven and let cool.

Add in and mix chopped dried fruit, nibs, hemp seeds and matcha if using.

Eat and/or

Store in air-tight container in fridge.

Dried persimmons are so beautiful.. 

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