Most cereals are bad news. They’re filled with grains, gluten, sugar, preservatives and sodium.
When I was younger, I loved cereal. A little too much. I would eat it with milk for breakfast, out of a ziplock bag for a snack, and then with milk again as a late night snack.
I was especially a sucker for those cereals with the freeze dried fruit in them – the fruit added a great touch of flavor and splash of color.
So the other morning, as I munched on a bowl of Caveman Granola, a light bulb when on over my head…Caveman Granola with built-in fruit! Fresh, organic berries are so plentiful right now, so I grabbed some raspberries from the market and went to work.
I’ve seen recipes like this done in the raw vegan space, however those require a dehydrator and about 2 days of drying time. I’m way too impatient for that. My solution was the simply cook the granola at a lower temperature for a couple of hours in order to dry the fruit out without burning it.
The flavor of the raspberries is out of this world! Go crazy and put extra fresh berries on top when you enjoy a bowl with some chilled coconut milk. Or eat it out of a ziplock bag for a snack. Or you could even enjoy it with coconut milk again as a late night snack…
2 cups raspberries
1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1½ cups unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds
2 cups Raw Pecans
1 cup pepitas
1 cup Walnuts
2 tablespoons Chia Seeds
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons raw honey, melted
½ cup Dates, pitted
1 Pear, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ a vanilla bean, scraped (halve the vanilla bean the long way, then scrape out the black crumbles from the middle. Discard the rest of the bean.)
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
zest from 1 Lemon
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Place the raspberries and coconut flakes in a large bowl. Set aside. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with coconut oil.
In a food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, pecans, pepitas and walnuts. Pulse until coarse, like gravel. Add the chia seeds, coconut oil, honey, dates, pear, vanilla extract, almond extract, scraped vanilla seed, ground ginger, sea salt and lemon zest. Pulse until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the bowl with the raspberries and coconut flakes. Gently mix until fully combined. Don’t worry if some of the berries get smooshed.
Spread the mixture over the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 90 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Once the granola has dried out, turn the oven up to 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden and toasty. Enjoy with chilled coconut milk and fresh berries!
Calories: 203
Fat: 17g
Carbohydrates: 9g
Sodium: 30mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 5g
Sugar: 5g