Recipe: Chunky Pumpkin Grain-Free Granola

Well before the leaves begin to change in fall, and long after the first snow arrives, I'm thinking of everything pumpkin. While there are many Paleo pumpkin spice muffin, latte, and custard recipes out there, I wanted something different: pumpkin granola.

Plenty of
crispy clumps

The recipes I found included very little pumpkin puree and largely relied on pumpkin pie-type spices to communicate 'pumpkin' to the taste buds. I wanted enough pumpkin in the recipe that I would get some Vitamin A with each nibble. Admittedly, my wish list when I created this recipe was perhaps overly ambitious:

• Real pumpkin flavor from nutritious pumpkin puree, not just pumpkin pie spices
• The crispy and crunchy texture of traditional granola, but with Paleo-friendly ingredients
• A broad nutrition profile, including anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting spices
• A flexible recipe that is easy to make, easy to scale, easy to store, and will help you take advantage of ingredients you already have at home
• Doesn't require expensive ingredients
• Chunky pieces of flavorful granola for more convenient snacking 

This recipe is most nutritious using raw nuts and seeds. I would not recommend using roasted nuts for this recipe. If the raw nuts are labeled as 'activated,' this means they have already been soaked and dried at a low temperature. These already activated raw nuts will not give you a crispy granola, but will instead be too chewy.  I prefer to put all of the nuts and seeds in a large bowl, cover with water, and soak for at least two to three hours, but preferably overnight or for up to 24 hours. Be sure to change the water and refill the bowl at least once during soaking.

I do a lot of my baking with roasted nuts and seeds. Why do I need to use raw?
Nuts and seeds are roasted to bring out flavor but also to extend their shelf lives. These foods are most nutritious, however, when they have been activated. We activate nuts and seeds by soaking them. The exposure to water during the soaking process starts the germination process, which changes and improves the nutritional content of the nut. Depending on the type of nut, raw nuts may have a higher amount of enzymes, vitamins, or minerals. Soaking the nuts and seeds is the key to this recipe.

Seriously, do I have soak the raw nuts and seeds first?

Nuts and seeds become tastier, easier to digest, and more nutritious if soaked before eating. These ingredients contain natural enzyme inhibitors such as phytic acid to prevent the nut or seed from breaking down before the plant has a chance to germinate. However, the same protection that keeps nuts and seeds intact also keeps our bodies from absorbing many of the nutrients in nuts and seeds. These enzyme inhibitors bind to nutrients such as calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, chromium, and manganese, and ultimately prevent many of these key nutrients from being absorbed. Once the nuts and seeds are soaked and dried, they develop a richer flavor and crispier texture than raw or roasted nuts alone. We can absorb up to 20% more zinc and 60% more magnesium once phytic acid is removed. Phytic acid also interferes with our own digestion enzymes that are required to break down proteins and starches effectively in the stomach and small intestine(1).

Fine. You win. Now, what types of nuts and seeds taste best for this recipe?

You can really use any type of nut or seed that you enjoy except for peanuts (peanuts are legumes, not nuts). Ideas for nuts: almonds, macadamias, pistachios, Brazil nuts, pecans, and walnuts.  Seeds: consider raw hemp, chia, flax, sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin. The secret to great granola clumps is to have a variety of sizes of nuts and seeds in your granola. You can choose to use whole, sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds, for example. Quinoa, a seed, adds texture and a great crunch. 

Can I substitute other sweeteners besides honey?
The stickiness of the honey helps the granola stick together in clumps as it dries. If you do not like honey, molasses is also a good choice and adds nutrients. If you need to make this recipe sweeter, consider adding some chopped, soaked dates with the pumpkin and spices. Replacing the honey or molasses entirely will yield less clumpy granola.

Chunky Pumpkin Grain-Free Granola
Yields one gallon-sized container of shelf-stable granola. You will need a dehydrator or a low temp oven for this recipe.
Prep Time	Cook Time		Dehydrating Time
20 minutes	5 minutes		12-18 hours
Ingredients
3 cups raw and unsoaked nuts such as almonds, pistachios, macadamias, brazil nuts, pecans, and walnuts		2 cups raw and unsoaked seeds such as hemp, chia, flax, sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin
5 TBSP coconut oil		1/4-1/2 cup honey, to taste
1-15 oz. can of plain pumpkin puree		2 TBSP kelp powder
6 TBSP nutritional yeast		6 TBSP coconut, shredded
1 TBSP vanilla		1 tsp salt
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice OR 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp clove, ½ tsp allspice		1 tsp turmeric
Directions
1. Soak seeds and nuts with 1 tsp salt for up to 24 hours. Drain. Place in large mixing bowl.
2. Warm a saucepan on low heat.  Add coconut oil and honey. Stir until melted and combined, then turn off heat.
3. Add pumpkin puree, kelp powder, nutritional yeast, coconut, spices, vanilla, and salt to saucepan. Stir until combined.
4. Taste. If not sweet enough, add more honey or dates. Adjust spices as desired.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture over nuts and seeds. Stir until mixed well. Mixture will be very wet.
6. Prep your dehydrator. You may wish to use the solid or mesh sheets over the trays. You can also trace the shape of the trays to make cutout parchment paper tray liners. Otherwise, the granola may dry stuck on the dehydrator trays.
7. Spoon pumpkin mixture on to trays. Smooth mixture across trays until about 1/2-3/4" thick. Leave a little space between clumps to expedite drying.
8. Dehydrate at 105 F for 12 to 18 hours; check progress after 8 hours. When done, the pumpkin mixture should snap apart like a cookie, and the nuts will be very crispy. Your patience will be rewarded.
9. Allow trays to cool. Break up granola into pieces as desired and store in an airtight container.
Source: www.PrescriptionPlate.com  Recipe and content copyright Amy Ward ©2014

(1)Br J Nutr. 1985 Jan;53(1):47-53.Reduction of the phytate content of bran by leavening in bread and its effect on zinc absorption in man.Nävert B, Sandström B, Cederblad A.