Paleo Chocolate Orange Superfood Granola

I have always been a big fan of cereal, well mainly granola – it’s the perfect breakfast, the perfect yogurt topper and the perfect snack!  I have to say that it is the one and only grain based substance that I have missed whilst being Paleo, so I have quite a few different granola recipes under my belt but this one has to be my all time favourite.

This recipe requires you to ‘activate’ your nuts and seeds. Activating your nuts and seeds will remove most remnants of phytic acid and aid in activating the enzymes that assist in the digestion of nuts so it is most definitely worth the extra hassle.  You can activate them by soaking them in water with a teaspoon of salt for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. You will then be required to thoroughly rinse them, pat them dry with a clean tea towel (or some kitchen towel) and lay them out thinly and evenly on a baking tray.  To dehydrate them place them in the oven on a very low temperature (65-70 degrees), for 3-4 hours.  Be sure to move them around the tray every hour.

For information on activating nuts and seeds check out this article.

Makes: 10 servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed nuts activated (soaked, see more info above)
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/3 cup ground almonds
Zest, juice and pulp of 1 orange
1/4 cup maca powder
1/3 cup cacao powder
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp orange essence (optional but yummy!)
2 tbsp lucuma powder
1/2 cup mixed seeds (activated)
100g 90% dark chocolate (roughly chopped)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 °C.
2. Add all of the ingredients except for your seeds and dark chocolate into a food processor and blend until you have some fine crumbs and bigger chunks.  You will need to frequently scrape down the sides with a spatula.
3. Lightly grease a baking tray with coconut oil.
4. Transfer your ingredients onto the baking tray and add the mixed seeds.
5. Mix everything together and using a spatula spread the mixture thinly and evenly.
6. Place the tray in the oven for 30 minutes, be sure to rotate the mixture every 10 minutes or until the top layer becomes ‘browned’.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely (try not to eat any I dare you!).
8. Once cooled sprinkle in your dark chocolate pieces and transfer to an airtight container.  This should keep up to 2 weeks however it is not likely to last that long at all!

This is fantastic served with some good old coconut yogurt or nut milk of your choice, or even eaten straight up as a snack!