Raw Granola: Only 48 Hours To A Tasty Breakfast

UPDATE:  It turns out that the amount of maple syrup called for in this recipe ended up being a problem.  After avoiding sugar as much as possible for over 3 months now, the effect is clearly felt in the system and it does not help... The cup and a half of syrup has a bad effect on the blood,  and alters my moods... So this recipe will have to be greately modified taking all the sugar out for the future...
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Raw granola. Hm delicious!  Healthy too, which is one of the reasons why I endured the 48 hour dehydration process.  I borrowed this recipe from the book Every Day Raw, but I know already that I will be modifying it in the future.  One thing I was not too happy about is that it uses one and a half cup of maple syrup to sweeten it.  It tastes delicious of course but it's way too sweet and I don't even want to think about the glycemic index (sugar in the blood)! -

Only 48 to 36 hours until breakfast...

I am grateful to James, he got me a dehydrator (this is the one he got me which is excellent)  two years ago, and slowly but surely I am getting better at pacing myself and preparing raw foods, once in a while, and taking my time with them.

I put raw dishes in the "impossible" category, or the "do not attempt unless you really want it"...  If you wonder why, well, here is the recipe:

Soak 1 1/2 cups of pecans, almonds and walnuts for 6 to 8 hours....  Right there, patience must be called too

Soaking nuts, like watching paint dry

Separately peel core and cut one apple, add the juice of half a lemon and half an orange, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, vanilla essence to taste (I am modifying a little from the book's recipe already), lemon zest and orange zest to taste, one teaspoon of salt, and yes, the infamous one and a half cup of good maple syrup (organic, the good kind!) -  Put in blender and make the mix into a chunky (not liquid) mix.

Differently from the recipe I added half a cup of raw pumpking seeds and cranberries and got them chopped together with all the other ingredients.  I prefer smaller pieces in my granola, don't like the sight of big seeds or even big dry berries, and I took away the raisins which were suggested because I thought it would be sweet enough like this.

I also added some nutmeg...

Nuts about to be choped, liquid already ready

I then put the soaked nuts in a food processor and got them to be chunky, not a paste but rather some paste some chunks (granola style).

Then I mixed everything nice and evenly and placed on dehydrator sheets.  Instead of dehydrating for 36 hours, I upped the heat to 115 so that it was ready in 48 hours.

Ready for the dehydrator

The consistency ends up being that of crispy cookies, which I then break into little pieces and save for several days of breakfasts.

There you have it.  I am going to enjoy a bowl with berries after practice today.