I am a HUGE fan of granola…big fan! So when I decided to eat more Paleo based, my granola obsession went out the door. No more oats, no more oatmeal, no more granola! 😦

What is a girl to do without the wholesome taste of granola?!

…she goes to Pinterest to get ideas to see what she can make on her own!

I found several different recipes of “paleo approved granola” and melded them together to come up with and make my own. Several similarities throughout my research – nut and coconut flakes are used throughout…and so will my nut’nola creation!

What the heck is nut’nola?!

That is my take on the fact that this is not your everyday granola. No no no. Since oats are our the door, what better to take their place than nuts and seeds. Hence…the “nut” in the name 🙂

I am a big fan of DIY and homemade everything…so I was ready to start testing my own renditions of recipes I found online.

The hubs wanted to go to the only whole foods market in town last weekend, so I decided to hit up their self-serve snacks/dried fruits/baking/nuts/flours/sugars/etc. wall and make up a recipe as I went along! So many choices of nut, seeds, and The Cran-Cherry Nut’Nola was born!

 

Cran-Cherry Nut’Nola

• 2 cups coconut flakes (I used big, fancy cut pieces)
• 2 cups walnuts (I bought whole and rough chopped them myself)
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2-3 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil and set aside.

Add the coconut, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl and mix them together.

Melt the oil, honey, and vanilla together and then add to the nut/seed mixture. Mix well!

Layer the mix on the prepped cookie sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until the nut’nola is lightly toasted – mix the nut’nola once in the baking process.

Once done baking, take out of the oven and add the dried fruit, then allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

This recipe makes roughly 25-30, 1/4 cup servings – depending on the accuracy of your ingredient measurements and mix-ins :
     160 calories
     12.8 fat
     10.1 carbs
     3 protein

This Cran-Cherry Nut’Nola is by far the best nut/seed based granola I have ever tried! It is great by the handful (or carefully measured 1/4 cup serving – too good!!) and will be awesome as a topper for my smoothie bowls!

Add in different dried fruit to your liking! The possibilities are endless…and I plan on varying my recipe each time I make it…which will be often 🙂

 

 

What do you like to eat with your granola?
Have you ever tried nut’nola or the like?
Let me know what you think!

I am joining Confessions of a Mother Runner, A Wisk And Two Wands, Running on Happy, and The Fit Foodie Mama for Meatless Monday.  I am also linking up with Marathons & Motivation and IlkasBlog for their Sunday link up! Check out the Delicious Dish Tuesday, What’s Cookin’ Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, and FoodFriDIY.  Thank you for all the amazing link ups ladies!