I had seen this while reading back issues of Health in High Heels and was really excited at the idea of making a granola that was a lot lower in fat than the usual granolas made from nuts and seeds. I had never sprouted buckwheat groats and was amazed how easy it was. They actually had little tails the next day. I read online that they actually taste best if you just sprout them long enough to just have the tiniest of tail. Fun! Lyn
Irresistible Gluten Free Granola
by Tera
These are GUIDELINES, not magic potions. A bit of this, a bit of that and VIOLA! you’ll have a masterpiece that everyone will be oooohing and aaaahing about! Here it is, you lucky little broccoli sprout, you!! (I don’t give this recipe to just anyone, ya know!)
Sprouting your Buckwheat Groats:
First, you’re going to need to soak the buckwheat. When I made it last time,
I soaked 1Kg (2 lbs). It filled up a BIG pot! You don’t need to soak buckwheat very long. An hour or so is usually enough. Then after you’ve soaked it a while, empty it into a colander/strainer and rinse it really well, because it gets kinda slimy.
In order to let it sprout, just rinse it 2-3 times a day, and in one or two days, your buckwheat will start to grow little sprouts. Sooo cute and probably better for you nutritionally.
Making your Granola:
Next you’re going to need a BUNCH of bananas. Last time, I used about 5 or 6 of them and just stuffed my food processor. The purpose is to make a gooey, sticky “dough” that will make your buckwheat sprouts stick together for an AMAZINGLY crunchy granola!
Here are the things I added to my blended bananas:
A few tablespoons of coconut oil,
Vanilla,
1 T of cinnamon,
About 10-15 dates, just to make that batter a teeensy bit sweeter.
Then, into the blended bananas, I added about 4 or 5 cups of soaked buckwheat. Probably about 1/3 or less of the soaked buckwheat that I had to work with. Blended it all up. THIS is the glue that sticks it all together.
Once that’s blended, dump it into a BIG bowl with the remaining sprouted buckwheat. Now you have your granola base, into which you can add ANYTHING YOU WANT!!
In the past I have put in finely chopped apple, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts and several handfuls of organic Thompson raisins. (My favorite!) You can be creative and add dried flowers, spices…
Let your imagination guide you.
Once you’ve mixed your granola ingredients evenly into the batter, just lay it out onto the mesh sheets of a dehydrator (no need for teflex sheets, because it’s so thick and chunky) then dehydrate at 105 over night. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you could always try blowing on it, or setting up fans and a gentle heater. Some say if you leave your oven on the lowest temperature overnight with the door open, that can work, too. Either way, here’s to your gluten-free grazing and your health!