a traveling Wife: Grain-free Granola [Whole30 and Paleo Friendly]







Grain-free Granola [Whole30 and Paleo Friendly]

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

This grain-free granola is chock full of protein and is plenty sweet to be eaten alone or on top of yogurt. No matter how you eat this, it can be made Whole30 and Paleo friendly. Enjoy!
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Happy New Year if I haven't told you already! I hope 2016 welcomed you with open arms. I'm excited to see where this year takes us and what adventures you and I get to experience.

While most people have decided to make some fitness improvements by working out and eating healthy, others are continuing on with their healthy journeys that they started years ago. I too thought about making some changes only because I was oh so bad during the holidays. Eat a cookie, gain a pound - that was pretty much how November and December went for me.

Grain-free Granola - both Whole30 and Paleo friendly
I spent a lot of time looking at Whole30 and how that might be beneficial for me. I even went as far to gather 30 days of recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was a very time-consuming process to really narrow down recipes that would help A and I succeed at Whole30. Come to find out, Whole30 is really not for us. Care to hear the story?


Who's to say that Whole30 or pursuing a Paleo lifestyle isn't for you? Despite my findings that I'm just not really into the whole Paleo / Whole30 lifestyle, I went ahead and made some grain-free granola that is both Whole30 and Paleo friendly. I urge you to give this a try and if you don't follow a specific diet, enjoy the granola on top of yogurt or ice cream!
If you don't know what Whole30 is, you can read all about it here. But basically, you can only eat real food. So no more sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites, and do not recreate sweets, junk food, or 'treats'. Before you roll your eyes and question what CAN someone actually eat then, you can definitely eat this grain-free granola!

Grain-free Granola - both Whole30 and Paleo friendly

Grain-free Granola [Whole30 & Paleo Friendly]
Recipe by a traveling Wife
Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients
  • 2 cups Unsalted Almonds
  • 1 cup Unsalted Walnuts
  • 1/2 cup Raw Sunflower Seeds
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
  • 1/2 cup Pitted Medjool Dates
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons Water (check instructions)
  • *Optional: 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (by adding this, your recipe will not be Whole30 compliant)
Cooking Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. Soak nuts in water for 1 hour.
  3. Add cranberries and dates into a shallow bowl and add enough water to cover dried fruit for 1 hour.
  4. Drain and rinse nuts until water runs clear.
  5. Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until well combined.
  6. Add one tablespoon of water at a time if needed to thin mixture out a bit.
  7. Spread mixture onto lined and greased (using coconut oil) cookie sheet.
  8. Bake for 60 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cookie sheet in the oven for an additional 60 minutes.
  9. Store grain-free granola in air tight container.
Grain-free Granola - both Whole30 and Paleo friendly
Have you tried Whole30?
What are your fitness goals for 2016?
What do you like to put granola on?

20 comments:

  1. Just made this and it turned out perfect! Thank you! I am two weeks into the whole 30 and need something cereal-y. Lol!

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  2. I've made this 3x now on my 2nd whole 30 and absolutely love it! I've used raisins instead of cranberries and swap in pecans for the walnuts and it's still delicious! Thanks for providing such a great recipe.

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    Replies
    1. YES! I love how easily this recipe can be customized. I'm glad you've enjoyed it and congratulations with your Whole30 completions. :)

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  3. How long can this be stored? Can you add cocoa powder to it and keep it whole 30?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I believe that 100% pure cocoa is Whole30 compliant. As for storage, I'd store for 2 weeks in an air tight container.

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  4. This recipe has saved my mornings on this Whole 30 diet, THANK YOU! I have it with coconut yogurt and berries every day. Clarification question, though: You say to drain the nuts, but you don't mention draining the soaked dried fruit. Do you drain that, or are you meant to include the water from the dates?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you - I'm so glad you are enjoying the recipe. You can drain the water from the dried fruit and add additional water later if needed to thin out. But if you use a shallow dish and just cover the dried fruit with minimal amounts of water, you won't need to worry about draining it. I hope that helps.

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  5. Do you also soak the seeds? Has anyone experimented with adding coconut?

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    Replies
    1. I do not soak the seeds. And yes, I think it would be great without the coconut. That's what is so amazing about this recipe - you can customize it however you'd like.

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  6. Do you soak the seeds too? Has anyone tried adding coconut flakes?

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  7. How many servings does this make?

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  8. Do you drain the water from the dates and cranberries before using?

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  9. Do you drain the excess water from the dates and cranberries as well?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can drain the excess water from the dried fruit.

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  10. Do you leave the almond whole and do you serve this with coconut milk??? It sounds delish. I am so tired of eggs.

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    Replies
    1. It's all going to go into the food processor, so whether you use whole almonds or not is your choice. The granola is such a nice break from eggs. :)

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  11. thought I'd leave a comment too,
    Currently preparing the nuts/berries as I type this. Super excited as I love granola but have also switched to a paleo/whole30 regime.
    thank you for the recipe!

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  12. Hi, I just made your granola and it's great! I followed the cooking time, and the next morning it's still a little bit soggy. Do you suggest I put it in the oven at 250 for a little more time, or just leave the bag open?

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