Granola Bars for Sensitive People
aka Oat Free Granola Bars
aka Spicy Pepita Coconut Crispy~Treats
OCTOBER 17 2022
The equinox has come, the light has changed. It is autumn.
And I long for warm, gentle spiced sweetness all the time. I also yearn for warm gentle sleep, uninterrupted by blood sugar highs, lows or excess caffeine.
As this busy season picks up, so does my sensitivity. I have found myself thwarted by my most selections lately; dark chocolate, my usual mistress, has been preventing me from falling asleep. The primary ingredient in most granola includes oats, which I find hard to digest if my immune system is even a little compromised. Trail mix is quite crunchy and exacerbates the jaw pain I already have from traffic-clenching.
Clearly this body is asking for some softer love. So I crafted this exceedingly simple recipe to meet my many fickle criteria.
They are luscious, sweet and fill me with energy. Their aroma fills my house with fall fantasies. Mercifully chewy texture.
If we want to get wild with micronutrients {one of my love languages}, pepitas, almonds and dried coconut offer up precious fatty acids and sexy minerals like zinc and iron. While coconut oil swathes our tissues in anti-inflammatory lauric acid to prevent overgrowth of gnarly bacteria. And all these warming spices stoke digestive fire to improve absorption.
So groovy.
Multisensory satisfaction with no mood swingy sugar crashes.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut
1 cup raw pepitas
4 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a glass pyrex or baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse pepitas and slivered almonds into a coarse flour.
Toss the pepita-almond blend into a mixing bowl and add shredded coconut. Pour in maple syrup, coconut oil and all spices. Using your hands, combine all ingredients into a cohesive ball.
Now taste test ;) If spice levels are to your liking, pour batter into your parchment lined pyrex. Gently press and shape into a rectangle about 2-3” thick, The trick here is first flattening down with your palms or the back of a large spoon, then cinching in the sides until you have a very tightly packed and relatively symmetrical sheet of wet granola. If you ever made rice krispy treats as a kiddo, you’ve got this.
Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until your granola is golden brown, aeromatic, and firm to the touch but not hard.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Once completely cool, use a large knife to slice into bars or squares. I found mine fell apart if I cut them too small, so I suggest cutting into larger bars, about 5 inches long.
The Garden of Keaton ~ 8702 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood 90069
The Garden of Keaton ~ 8702 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood 90069