Sprouted grain granola offers satisfying crunch

Nutritious snack big on taste, benefits

By Aimee Blume

Special to The Courier & Press

If you are looking for a natural snack with an unparalleled nutritional profile, consider a version of granola made with raw sprouted grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

Raw granolas can be purchased at health food stores, but they’re pricey because the process of making them is time-consuming. If you can rinse seeds twice a day for two days, however, and own an oven and sheet pans, you can make your own for a fraction of the price, and tailor it to suit your own tastes.

It’s the sprouting of the grains that makes this product different from any other granola.

Grains, nuts and edible seeds are harvested and dried so that they will stay in suspended animation and not sprout. Usually, they do not come in contact with water until they are being cooked or eaten in a raw preparation.

If a raw, untreated grain, nut or seed is introduced to moisture and given a little time, it “wakes up” and begins to grow. First the moisture is absorbed and the seed swells. Then the first leaf or pair of leaves and a small white root begin to take shape inside. The root may take anywhere from 24 to 36 hours or longer to begin to emerge, looking for soil to burrow into. The dry kernel turns into a living, growing plant, full of nutrients and enzymes and biological activity.

In a grain, the starchy part, called the endosperm, is converted to sugar, which will feed the baby plant until its leaves open and can process food from sunlight.

Now is a great time to eat it, raw and alive, if you have the heart.

According to the Whole Grains Council at wholegrainscouncil.org, sprouted grains (or nuts, or seeds) are nutritional powerhouses, full of protein, fiber, vitamin C, essential amino acids and those enzymes that make the digestion and absorption of the nutrients more successful.

The sprouts must be eaten within a limited time frame, however, or the plants mature too far, becoming more like grass or leafy greens, without the protein and other benefits of a seed. Moreover, the delicate nature of the nutrition in sprouted grain means it can be damaged or destroyed by heat above 115 degrees. If heat kills the sprout, the life process stops and the benefits of eating a living plant are lost.

You can arrest the growing process again, however, without cooking the grain, by dehydrating it at a low temperature. Dehydrated sprouted grains (and nuts and seeds) can be turned into a delicious crunchy granola with all nutrition intact.

The process takes a few days, but a good-sized batch of this granola will last a long time and is well worth the effort.

There really isn’t a recipe so much as a method, although a sample recipe is given at left for guidance. Grains are sprouted for two days (the process is given in the recipe). Raw nuts and seeds are soaked for a few hours, long enough to swell and “wake up.” Dried fruits also are soaked for a couple of hours, to plump up and become tender. You may combine any seeds, grains, nuts or dried fruits you like, plus a little oil, a dash of salt and sweetener. Purists will want to stay with 100 percent raw, organic ingredients. But, just as putting lettuce on a Big Mac doesn’t make it healthy, if you have some nonorganic, roasted pumpkin seeds in the cabinet and want to include them, it is not going to negate the nutrition in the rest of the granola.

The version in the picture contains sprouted buckwheat, quinoa, millet and oat groats; soaked flax, sesame and sunflower seeds; walnuts, roasted pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, shredded coconut, golden raisins, currants, dried cherries, virgin coconut oil and agave syrup. Other appropriate sweeteners would be maple syrup or sucanat, which is dried, unrefined sugarcane juice. Agave syrup gives a nice sweetness while drying crunchy and not sticky, making it a favorite of granola makers.

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Sprouted Grain Granola

INGREDIENTS

You will need 2 glass Mason quart jars, 2 pieces tulle, 8 inches square rubber bands

Aimee Blume / Special to the Courier & Press The finished granola is crunchy, sweet and great with milk or yogurt and fruit.

Photo by Aimee Blume

Aimee Blume / Special to the Courier & Press The finished granola is crunchy, sweet and great with milk or yogurt and fruit.

2 cups dry, raw, untreated, organic mixed grains such as oat groats, wheat berries, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth and millet

1 cup mixed raw seeds such as sesame, flax, sunflower

1 cup mixed raw nuts

2 cups raisins, dried cranberries, currants, apricots, apples or other favorite dried fruits

½ cup oil (coconut or canola)

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

½ cup raw honey, agave syrup or maple syrup, or more to taste

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Anything else you like — sweet spices, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, peanut butter …

DIRECTIONS

1 Five days before the granola is needed, rinse the grains well and soak in cool water to cover overnight. Drain well and divide between the glass Mason jars. Using a rubber band, secure the tulle over the tops of the jars and set on a rack, upside down, so any residual moisture can drain.

2 Rinse the sprouts well morning and night for two days, returning to the upside-down position. On the third day, some grains should have begun to sprout. If not all have, that’s fine.

3 Soak the nuts and seeds in water for 2-3 hours. Drain

4 Mix all ingredients and spread on foil-lined dehydrator sheets or on foil-lined sheet pans, in layers of ½ inch or less.

5 Dehydrate or place in the oven on the lowest setting with the door propped open for 24 hours or longer, or until the granola is dry and crunchy. Store in airtight bags. Can be frozen for long storage.

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