Vegetarian

Soaked Granola is for Breakfast.

Soaked Granola takes 480 minutes to prepare.

Soaked Granola takes 120 minutes to cook.

Soaked Granola makes 32 servings.

The ingredients for Soaked Granola are:

4 cups of oats (rolled oats. Not quick/instant)
1 1/2 cups nuts/seeds (I use 3/4 c pecans, 1/4 c brazil nuts, 1/4 c uncooked quinoa, 1/4 c uncooked barley. Any combination of any types of nuts and seeds will do)
1 c dates and/or raisins (I use 3/4 c dates, 1/4 c raisins)
4 Tbs apple cider vinegar (or some other acidic medium like whey or yogurt)
5 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs vanilla
1/2 c honey (or other sweetener or omit all together)

Here is how you make Soaked Granola:

This is an over night process, but it is not difficult. It just takes some planning. First, put dates and raisins in a bowl and cover generously with warm water. Cover the bowl.Second, put all your nuts and seeds in a bowl. Cover generously with warm water. Cover the bowl. Third, put your oats in a bowl. Cover generously with warm water and add the apple cider vinegar (or other acid medium). Give it a stir to make sure its all incorporated. Cover the bowl. I used graduated size bowls, and covered each with a plate so I could stack the bowls on top of each other. Now, let sit and soak for 8 to 12 hours. I generally do it over night. After the soaking time is complete, drain the nuts/seeds. Discard soaking water. Put nuts/seeds in blender or food processor and pulse until chopped to your desired consistency. Put chopped nuts/seeds in a large bowl. Next, add dates/raisins to the processor/blender, reserving the soaking water. Add all the spices, salt, vanilla and honey, if using. Puree until smooth, adding some of the soaking water as needed to make a thin paste. Taste and adjust to your desire. Add to bowl of nuts/seeds.Now, line a colander with cheese cloth or a dish towel and pour your oats in it. (If you have more than one colander, feel free to do this step at the beginning before draining your nuts. I only have one colander though so I do this last.) The oats will have absorbed some of the water, but there will probably still be some extra. Rinse the oats as good as you can. Then gather up the ends of the cloth and squeeze as much liquid as you can from the oats. The drier they are, the quicker they'll dry in the oven. After you've squeezed the oats, add them to the other bowl of goodies. Mix everything together. You'll have to get in there with your hands to make sure its all mixed well. Now, if you have a food dehydrator, feel free to load it up with this granola goodness and dehydrate away. That will make it raw, if you are wanting that. I don't have one so I use my oven. I put it on the lowest temperature setting possible, which is "Keep Warm", and that's between 150 and 170 degrees. Place in oven and leave it alone. If you've ever dehydrated anything in your oven, you know it can take a little while. I check on mine after about an hour to see how its doing. Some times it can take 2 to 3 hours (or more) depending on the weather, and how wet the mix is to begin with. Every hour or so I prop the oven door open for about 15 mins to allow any moisture to escape. If you don't want the hassle of dehydrating in the oven, just turn your oven to about 250 degrees, and check every 20 minutes or so until your desired degree of crunchy is achieved. Keep in mind that it will firm up a little more as it cools. So if its super crunchy in the oven, it will quite possibly break your teeth once it cools. Once done, allow to cool completely and break up any large chunks. Store in whatever type of container you choose. I usually store half in a jar on the counter and half in a bag in the freezer for future use. Enjoy! Serving Size: Makes 32 - 1/4 cup servingsNumber of Servings: 32Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CSWEAT95.

The nutritional information for Soaked Granola is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 32
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 110.3

• Total Fat: 3.4 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 37.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 25.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.8 g
• Protein: 2.3 g