Soaked Granola

 We are in a very busy season of life right now.  I'm always on the lookout for healthy, whole foods recipes that can be fast and used on busy mornings.  I found THIS RECIPE from Passionate Homemaking for soaked granola.  I've taken the basic bones of the recipe and adapted it to what supplies I have on hand.   It has come out delicious!  We can grab this in the mornings and have with raw milk or homemade yogurt and fresh fruit.

This granola has become such a hit in this house that I always double the recipe.  It makes a LOT, but I freeze it and the time I spend making it is more than paid for by having an easy breakfast my husband can grab on early mornings or when I just need a break.  I like the fact that I'm not having to stock the house with store bought granola (which is SO expensive!) or cereal.  Even the organic ones are full of rancid oils and additives that I prefer my family not be eating.

Here is my little helper, helping with the first stage (soaking) of the granola.  As you can see, I tried twice to get a real smile, but I guess these are a three year old's "real" smiles!

Making the granola is some work, but it is doable, as the recipe is broken into stages.  I have tweaked the recipe by drying my granola in my dehydrator (which can hold a double and even triple batch) and then using what I have around the house.  I like lots of nuts, seeds, and coconut in our granola, so I have doubled or tripled what the recipe calls for, keeping the dried fruits about the same.  Some things I have added to our granola are pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, hazelnuts, raisins, and hemp.  One time I ran out of my raw honey (big bummer!), so I have subbed in some sucanat or increased the maple syrup.  With lots of extra seeds and nuts, this is a great source of proteins and healthy oils (especially since I use nuts that I have soaked and dried).  Would love to hear what kinds of things you would enjoy putting in your granola!

Crock-Pot Oatmeal

I wanted to share this recipe from my sister Christy, over at Whole Foods on a Budget.  Crock-pot oatmeal has recently become my "go-to" breakfast for Monday mornings.  Prepping the night before and having breakfast ready and waiting on Monday morning is such a treat and helps me get a good start on the week, in this busy season of life!


You can read the recipe HERE.  I have found that this makes enough for me, my husband, and three year old with enough left-overs to warm up with a little water on Tuesday morning, so it's actually two days that I don't have to do any breakfast prep.  To get 2 days worth out of the recipe, I have tweaked it just a bit for us:

*I do a heaping cup of oat groats, probably closer to 1 1/4 cups and therefore add about 1/2 cup extra water.
*I add three apples, chopped into bite-sized pieces and place them on the bottom of the crock-pot, along with 1/3 cup raisins.
*With the apples and raisins, I have found that we need no extra sweetener.
*I like to add walnuts or pumpkin seeds to the oatmeal AFTER it is done cooking and just before we eat it.
*Every crock-pot is different and I found my oatmeal sticking a lot, so I have found that if my husband starts it cooking around 11, it does not stick as much.  Also, placing the apples in the crock pot first and then putting the oats in has helped reduce sticking.
*I also like to soak my oats to reduce phytic acid, which inhibits mineral absorption.  To soak, I place the oat groats in a bowl and cover with water.  I add 1 T apple cider vinegar and then I let it soak 6-8 hours; which means I usually start soaking around 4 in the afternoon.

Coconut Butter Cake

I tried this recipe a few weekends ago as a breakfast treat for us and it was SO yummy, I just had to share.

My fellow Nourished Living Network blogger, Patty, at Loving Our Guts, has this delicious recipe.  It is perfect for everyone, and especially those who need to be gluten free.  Very kid friendly!

This cake came out light and fluffy; I could not believe that it was grain free!  I happened to have some lemon curd on hand, so I did not make her frosting recipe, but instead topped it with lemon curd and frozen blueberries.

Divine!

(Featured on The Real Food Forager)

Warm Winter Breakfasts

We all love the smell of cobblers and crisps baking, especially in the winter!  One of our favorite breakfasts has become fruit covered with a crisp or cobbler topping.  Since it's winter time and cold and flu season has begun, I have been working hard to cut back on our sugar intake, since sugar only serve to depress the immune system.  So, I have started to make our breakfast cobblers and crisps without the addition of sugar, and do you know, no one has missed it!
Our culture is so used to very sweet tastes that I think a lot of us have lost the appreciate for the natural sweetness that occurs naturally in foods.  I have been enjoying our breakfasts without the sugar and find that the fruits I use make things sweet enough, especially for breakfast time.
Our breakfast tomorrow is a winter fruit cobbler.  Tonight I chopped up apples,  pears, persimmons, and some plums that we received in our co-op this week and placed them in a large pyrex dish.  Then I made a yogurt soaked biscuit recipe and place those on top.  Lastly, I sprinkled the cobbler with cinnamon, powered anise seed, and allspice on top.  This is able to sit out on the counter over night (covered with saran wrap) and can be popped in the oven first thing in the morning at 375 for about 40 minutes.  Before you know it, your family will awaken to the smell of all those delicious fruits baking and you can know that you are giving your family a nutritious start to their day.