nutty granola no. 5: a paleo cereal

a few months ago, i did another “clean” cleanse, but this time, i did the “gut” version. once again, i’ve adopted a few new habits that i’m enjoying continuing even though i’m officially done with this round of the cleanse.  the “gut” version of the cleanse is reallllly similar to paleo eating, so while i was on the cleanse and madly searching for recipes that my family might also eat, i found a recipe for “nutty granola” in a special edition magazine (which was actually my favorite resource for family-friendly paleo recipes!) and it inspired me to see if i could alter my favorite granola recipe into a paleo / clean version.  this recipe is not strictly “clean gut” because it has 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, but otherwise, it’s realllly close.  i’ve been baking up a batch every few weeks ever since the cleanse and eating it regularly for breakfast with some cut up fruit and a scoop of plain noosa or homemade yogurt, without any added sweetener (ahem, not clean or paleo, but packed with probiotics!) or some coconut/almond milk if i’m wanting to be more “clean.”  when it’s hot out of the oven it’s really hard to keep mr. happy stuff (or myself) from eating it by the handful.  it also makes a fantastic sprinkle on the top of ice cream, or eaten with cashew butter and celery or apples.  the ingredient list is flexible as all good granolas are, but i’ve tried to choose nuts and seeds that are the most “flake-like” for a nice crunchy cereal texture.

nutty granola no. 5

(modified from orangette‘s amazing granola no. 5)

16 oz. raw mixed nuts

4 oz. unsweetened wide coconut flakes

4 oz. sliced almonds

4 oz. raw sunflower seeds

4 oz. raw pepitas (i forgot to add those in the batch photographed above, oops!)

2 tablespoons good quality olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup, dark or grade b if you can get it

1 teaspoon salt

spread parchment paper on a baking sheet and pre-heat oven to 300. (i usually use sil-pats when baking, but i find that parchment seems to make this granola much crunchier and lighter and clean up is easier, so if you’ve got parchment, use that.)

dump the mixed nuts into a food processor and pulse a few times until the nuts are a nice rubble.  don’t pulse so much that you end up with too much dust at the bottom (though you’ll undoubtedly have some).  mix the nuts and the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl until everything is slightly shiny with the oil/syrup.  Spread the mixture out on your prepared baking sheet and bake at 300 for about 40 minutes, checking every 15 min. or so.  it’s done when it’s golden and smells so good you just can’t wait to taste it any longer.  let it cool completely before storing in a jar.