Oat Free Granola

Well hello there! I know it's been awhile since I've posted and to be honest I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking in the past four months. I suppose if you count the newest "bun in the oven" as cooking then I have been cooking 24/7. Other than that I have been a very sick pregnant mama and food  has really been the last thing I could possibly think about with exception of a few basic things that were easy and that I could keep down.  So I figured you didn't need to read recipes about toast and apples. 

The good news is that I am finally starting to feel better and have been doing a LITTLE bit of cooking so I will have some new recipes to share.  Now these recipes are all likely to be VERY simple and quick because....well that's where I am at in life right now. This baby has been wiping me out and I need quick and simple. Anyone else in a stage of life that simple and easy needs to be the answer right now?!?

One thing I have needed is simple breakfasts for both my girls and myself.  I have been buying boxed cereals for the past few months and it has been glorious and easy.  I am not a big fan of the amounts of sugar in store bought cereals (even the healthiest of cereals) and typically try to avoid them but ultimately I was on survivial mode and couldn't think about all the small details. We all survived and are just fine, which is always a good reminder to myself to not get obsesssed with perfection. Feeding a family is hard. Growing babies is hard. Raising little ones is hard.  Remembering grace is important. 

This cereal recipe happened because I was all inspired the other day to make a big batch of granola to have available for our family for the week.  I starting pulling everything out and realized I didn't have any oats. Shooooot!  I was determined to still come up with a cereal so I got creative and this is what was created in my cereal making adventure.

Oat Free Granola

6 Rice cakes crumbled (I had some leftover apple cinnamon flavored ones that were quite tasty)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 TBS Blackstrap Molasses
4 pitted Dates
1 tsp Vanilla


1. Mix rice cakes, nuts, seeds, and shredded coconut together.

2.  Add coconut oil, syrup, molasses, dates, and vanilla to blender and blend until smooth.

3.  Drizzle wet mixture over dry mixture. Stir until everything is coated.

4.  Spread cereal on baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

5.  After cereal is cooled add a bunch of "extras."  I added hemp seeds, chia seeds, and goji berries.

6.  Serve with milk of choice.

**While this cereal was tasty it didn't make a whole lot.  I would probably double it next time or add oats to stretch it a little further. 

**This was also tasty with some chopped fresh bananas and frozen blueberries.