Heart Healthy Granola

My first batch of granola was made with maple syrup, because I wasn't sure how well dates would work. The Chocolate Seed Granola was delicious, but seemed to take a long time to cook in the dehydrator, was more chewy than crunchy, and wasn't as healthy as I would have liked.

We were desperately needing more granola around the house for grab and go snacks, so I decided to give it another go... And this time I was feeling courageous enough to try it with dates.

I kept the same basic ingredients as the Chocolate Seed Granola, simply because it provided a variety of nutrients, and I liked the combination together. I decided to skip the cacao and make a more "traditional" batch.

I got all of my ingredients together and couldn't wait to add the date paste, but when I did, I was a little disappointed and fearing it wouldn't hold together as I had hoped. The mixture was very wet, almost as though I had just coated it with water. I was expecting it to be sticky, gooey, and clumpy. It was not at all. However, I kept my spirits up and moved forward with it, hoping for the best.

What turned out was THE MOST AMAZING granola I  have ever tried. I was shocked at how delicious and crunchy it was, and it took even less time than the first batch.

So good news! Dates work really well to bind and sweeten granola, and are a much healthier option than maple syrup, honey, or molasses. You can skip the "processed" ingredient, and instead use whole real food, that can be found in nature - dates!

Why are dates better?

• Dates have a much higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, and soluble fiber compared to honey, molasses, or maple syrup.

• Dates have 10 times more Calcium than honey.

• Dates have almost 4 times more Magnesium than Maple Syrup and 25 times more Magnesium than Honey.

• 1 cup of Dates has over 15 grams of fiber, whereas maple syrup, honey, and molasses each have less than 1.

What you need:

3 cups Rolled Oats

1 cup Raw Almonds

*1 cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

1/3 cup White Chia Seed

1/2 cup unsweetened Coconut

1/2 cup Quinoa Puffs

2 tsp of Cinnamon

1.5 cups Medjool Dates

* I used salted pumpkin seeds which gave this granola a delicious salty sweet taste. If you don't have salted pumpkin seeds, or any salted ingredient, consider adding a 1/4 tsp of sea salt if you would like the salty sweet combo. It seems to enhance all of the flavors.

Optional Add Ins:

Chopped Fruit - Bake or dehydrate with the mix, or add in dried fruit later. (I chopped 1 cup of cranberries and added that to the mix to dehydrate. Came out great!)

Chocolate Chips - Add later.

Anything else you can think of!

What you do:

1. Soak dates in warm water for 30 minutes. Puree until completely smooth in food processor or high speed blender along with 1/3 cup of the soaking water. Set aside.

1.5 cups Medjool Dates blended with 1/3 cup of soaking water - Date Paste

2. Combine all ingredients from Oats through Cinnamon in large bowl and stir.

3. Add date mixture and stir, making sure to coat all ingredients well. (It will seem like the mixture is "wet" and not sticking together as it would if using maple syrup, honey, or molasses.)

*4. Spread a thin, even layer on dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate on 115 overnight, roughly 12 hours. By dehydrating at this temperature, all the ingredients are kept raw. Makes about 10 cups.

Heart Healthy Granola

*If you want to speed up the process and don't care to keep your ingredients raw, you can bake in the oven at 250 degrees for roughly 35 minutes.

Notes:

Modify these ingredients to fit your family's needs. If you don't like coconut, skip it. If you don't like pumpkin seeds, add something else in it's place. Fit this recipe to your family's tastes!

This is a great snack to take on the road, pack in lunches, or add milk and make into a cereal. This is great for the older toddler as is, but if you want something for your younger tot, I would forgo the almonds and pumpkin seeds, and instead add more of another ingredient.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Info per 1/2 Cup

Calories: 221

Fat:  11.9 g (Due to Coconut)

Saturated Fat: 4.2 g (Due to Coconut)

Sodium: 5.2 mg

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Carbohydrates: 29.5 g

Fiber: 6.5 g

Sugars: 10.5 g 

Protein: 6.5 g

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