Raw granola

Jinu Abraham, executive chef of the Heritage Hotel in Auckland, believes at least 50 per cent of our breakfast diet should be raw. This recipe, based on one served at the hotel's raw bar, has a lot of unusual ingredients but they are readily available at health and wholefood stores. Don’t be put off by the activating, sprouting and dehydrating required, it’s easy once you get in the swing of it and the health benefits are well worth it.

Dry ingredients

40 g	Oat groats, raw, *see note below
50 g	Almond powder, make raw almond powder from activated whole almonds, *see note below
120 g	Buckwheat groats, whole, raw and dehydrated, *see note below (Main)
1 Tbsp	Sunflower seeds, activated and dehydrated, *see note below
1 Tbsp	Pumpkin seeds, activated and dehydrated, *see note below
25 g	Raisins
25 g	Shredded coconut
25 g	Dried cranberries

Wet ingredients

3	Oranges, freshly zested and juiced
1 ½ Tbsp	Raw coconut nectar
1 Tbsp	Coconut oil, extra virgin, cold-pressed
1	Vanilla pod, use the seeds only
½ tsp	Ground cardamom
½ tsp	Flaky sea salt

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together and massage to ensure the wet ingredients mix well with the dry.
2. Dehydrate for 24 hours at 41C using a dehydrator. The granola can also be dehydrated in an oven on a very low temperature (70-80C) for 2 to 3 hours. Ensure nuts and seeds are well spaced out in the dehydrator or on an oven tray so they can dry fast and even. If dried correctly the granola will keep for 8 weeks in an airtight container.
3. Serve your granola with coconut yoghurt or plain yoghurt. Add extra freeze-dried fruits if you like.

* Pantry notes

• In order to make this recipe you will have to do your own activating, sprouting and dehydrating - go to ourHow-to articlefor more information.
• You can buy oat groats and buckwheat from health food stores such as Wise Cicada, Huckleberry Farms, IE Produce and East West organics.
• You can buy activated sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds but it is cheaper to do it yourself.
• If raw almond powder is not available, you can make your own by grinding activated dehydrated almonds or it is fine to use almond meal.
• You can choose to use non-activated nuts and seeds if you prefer.