Grain-Free Hazelnut Granola

We love granola, but lately we haven't been buying it because most of the store bought options are just loaded with sugar and unnecessary ingredients...kind of like store bought nut milk.

So today, while making our hazelnut coffee creamer, I decided to plan ahead and use the leftover pulp to amen some granola for our smoothie and yogurt bowls this week.

This came together in just a few minutes, other then the baking time, and it smells and tastes like fall.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

* 1 cup of hazelnut pulp (from making nut milk)

* 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds

* 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

* 1 TBSP coconut oil

* 1 TBSP unsweetened almond butter

* 1 TBSP maple syrup

* 1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

* 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (no sugar added)

Directions:

The pulp from the hazelnut milk is really wet so I preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside while I quickly blend 1 cup of presoaked hazelnuts (soaked 4-6 hours, drained and rinsed) in a blender with 2 cups of water then strain it through a nut milk bag to separate the pulp. Or use an Almond Cow like I do, which saves tons of time and gives you so much more milk.

Lay the pulp out on the baking sheet and spread it thin. Bake it for about 20 minutes stirring 1/2 way through to dry it out.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well with your hands. It helps if you melt the coconut oil and almond butter so you can drizzle them on top as a liquid.

Place back in the oven and bake for another 30 minutes stirring 1/2 way through.

Store in a glass container with a lid and use 1-2 TBSP on top of yogurt bowls, oatmeal, or smoothie bowls. It's a great way to add flavor, texture and diversity of plants to your meals or snacks. You can also use it on top of your favorite plant-based ice cream.

Change up the nuts and seeds you use and swap the pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon or get creative and go for a savory option BBQ seasoning, Everything But The Bagel Seasoning or Curry Seasoning.

*Note that the link I included to Almond Cow includes a 10% off discount, however, this is not a paid endorsement and I don't have any working relationship with the company.