As much as I love bacon and eggs for breakfast (and I really do!) sometimes I need something different to start the day. Pre-paleo, cereal was my favourite meal. A good granola is perfect - I could eat it all day long. It has a crisp and crunchy texture that really wakes your taste-buds in the morning. It’s also a convenient brekkie to have on stand-by for when you’re running late for work. This paleo granola really hits the spot for a morning nutty fix.

This is our first attempt at a paleo granola made with a tasty combo of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. All you need is to grab a bowl and spoon and you can enjoy the taste of cereal without joining the dark side of evil cereal grains. Even if you weren’t a cereal fan like me, I think you’ll love it!

The nuts are the main ingredient in this dish and it’s completely up to you which you want to choose. Walnuts are great for texture while pecans have a touch of maple flavour which is just right for crisp, winter mornings. We also added a handful of seeds and some desiccated coconut.

Nuts, seeds, dried fruit and dessicated coconut

Once the nuts are gently blended together, you start to see the paleo granola taking shape. The secret is not to pulse too much. You don’t want the mixture to be fine like breadcrumbs as it will turn really powdery once cooked. Instead the mixture should be a variety of whole nuts and broken pieces. This helps hold it together and it gives you those crunchy, nutty clumps.

Pulse briefly for a chunky texture

Adding butter, nut butter and honey helps bind the ingredients together and it forms a sticky mixture with little clumps.

Tasty mixture

Spread on a baking sheet and cook for 12-15 mins. Already the mixture has a slight caramel taste thanks to the nut butter and honey.

Ready to be baked

After baking in the oven, it has a rich aroma of freshly toasted nuts with a hint of sweetness. Wait for it to cool slightly then you can try it. Tastes so good. It’s like cat nip for humans

Golden paleo granola

Once gently broken you can add a handful of dried fruit and the granola is finished. We decided to add the dried fruit at the end as we didn’t want them to become too hard or dry in the oven. Serve with a  good quality coconut or almond milk or try it as a topping for some fresh fruit or just enjoy it as it is.

Finish with dried fruit

 Ingredients

• 1 cup of nuts and seeds (we used pecans, walnuts, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
• handful of dried fruit  (we used raisins and cranberries)
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1 tbsp grass fed butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• splash of vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius, 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place nuts and seeds into a food processor and pulse gently until the nuts begin to break up.
3. Melt the butter, almond butter and honey in a saucepan and add vanilla extract.
4. Place the desiccated coconut and melted butters into the food processor.
5. Pulse gently again until the mixture is combined.
6. Line a baking tray with a non stick baking sheet and spread the mixture evenly.
7. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. It should be slightly golden when done.
8. Once cooled, gently break up the mixture, spoon into a bowl and add the dried fruit.
9. Serve with almond milk, coconut milk or eat on it’s own.

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