Paleo Granola.

Our new neighborhood has a pool, and it’s really fun to be able to walk there with the girls! It only takes a few minutes, but somehow on the way home everyone suddenly realizes they’re comPLETELY starving and can’t possibly obey basic safety rules/sit in the stroller/survive. So pool snacks have become a must for us. (It also helps ease the pain of getting out of the pool if there’s an applesauce squeezy pack and a bag of paleo granola with your name on it!)

Side note: when I’m swimming I totally crave the pool snacks of my childhood, namely Better Cheddars (do they even still exist? Round, better than Cheez-its but not as good as Goldfish..?) and peanut butter cheese crackers (which I am now Southern-enough to occasionally refer to as Nabs).

I love to have something granola-y to snack on (post-pool, pre-dinner, mid-Netflix…). I have a few standbys (like this awesome granola and these chocolate chip granola bars), and I love this paleo granola for a super nutty, grain-free option. My dear friend Ashley introduced me to this recipe when she brought me a bag, and it’s been in the rotation ever since!

There are a wholelotta ingredients, and so if you’re making it for the first time it’s a little pricey. I can get everything I need at Trader Joe’s, which tends to be more reasonable cost-wise (hmm, except I haven’t found the coconut there), and you can make a few batches once you’ve made the initial investment! If you have a grocery store with bulk bins, you could also just get as much as you need of each ingredient.

This is my three-year-old’s favorite type of recipe to help with, because she can taste every ingredient!

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then pour on this syrupy mixture of melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla.

Pour the granola mixture onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (have I mentioned these perfectly sized parchment sheets lately? LOVE.) and press it down. It won’t fill the whole pan to the edges, but you want it to be flat so when you flip it you’ll end up with some nice chunks.

It bakes at a low temperature for a long time, and gets so brown and toasty. The almond meal and honey make a wonderful cement to hold the nuts and seeds together, and it’s hard to believe there’s no sugar (just 1/4 cup of honey in the whole batch). I don’t eat paleo (obviously), but I’ll eat this grain-free granola any day of the week! And if you are avoiding grains, you know that sometimes you don’t want eggs for breakfast again, and a bowl of granola hits the spot.

We recommend trying it over yogurt! And wow, that girl needs her mom to do her nails again. #butitssohard

Paleo Granola.

• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 75
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: about 5 cups of granola

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Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1.5 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups raw sliced almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I heap it up a little because I love sweet/salty combinations!)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250.
2. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
3. Combine the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla in a measuring cup and stir, then pour over dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine.
4. Line a baking sheet with sides with parchment paper, and pour granola onto the parchment. Press down firmly (it won’t reach all the sides of the pan, and that’s okay).
5. Bake until toasted (it will be lightly toasted on top and darker on the bottom), 1 hour. Remove from the oven and gently stir (I like to leave as many big chunks as I can, so I try to flip it in sections with a spatula instead of stirring). Bake 15 minutes more, then cool completely on the pan.
6. Serve as is as a snack, with milk like granola cereal, or sprinkled over yogurt!

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Notes

Thanks to my friend Ashley for the recipe!

Sometimes I can’t find raw sunflower seeds, so I use the roasted salted kind and just reduce the salt slightly.