by Angie Booth
This nutty granola is full of protein, fibre, essential fatty acids and minerals like magnesium. Buckwheat is a seed rather than a grain and actually related to the rhubarb family! You can use oats, millet or quinoa if you prefer them; I like to mix my grains up a bit though. ‘Activating’ the nuts (by soaking and drying them) is said to increase their nutrient value and make them easier to digest. There is some debate (and not much research) about how much of a difference activating nuts makes, but I definitely find them easier to digest if I soak them and I prefer the texture of dried nuts in granola.
You’ll need to plan ahead a little for this recipe due to soaking and drying the buckwheat and nuts. However, you can make a large batch in one go and it will keep well in an airtight container. Experiment by adding different combinations and ratios of the nuts and seeds and other ingredients depending on your preference taste and budget (less seeds and more wheatgerm will be cheaper, for example). The recipe below is my favourite combination.
Ingredients
- 2 cups buckwheat soaked overnight
- 1 cup each of chopped and activated cashew nuts and almonds
- 3 tbs cocoa powder
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup chia seeds
- 2 cups ground wheatgerm
- 2 cups sunflower seeds
- 2 cups sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 cups pistachios
- 4 tbs coconut sugar
- Himalayan sea salt to taste
Method
To activate the nuts soak them overnight in a bowl. The water should cover the nuts completely. Soak the buckwheat in a separate bowl.
Rinse the buckwheat and nuts and put into very low oven 50C for about 4-5 hrs until dry. Chop the nuts before drying them to help speed this up.
Once the buckwheat and nuts have cooled, mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
Serve with cashew nut milk (or milk of your choice), probiotic yoghurt, honey or date syrup, grated ginger and lime juice and a local, seasonal fruits.
