I have recieved the "But what do you eat?" question from an unfathomably large number of people, as I'm sure most people of restrictive diets have. Vegan, paleo, macro, raw, etc. Just eliminate all animal products, I eat everything else. They're usually still baffled. There's also the endless number of "vegan jokes" which have become just as funny to me as to my friends who make them. I could do a whole monologue. "Hello, i'm Natalie and I'm a veGAN.(Prounced vay-gahn.) I eat leaves and twigs that I generally collect on my nature runs through Tyler Park. Does your pet rabbit eat alfalfa? So do I! Let me know if he wants to come over for a lunch date. I know I could have just brought a peanut butter and jelly for lunch but tree bark seemed so much more appetizing, especially spread with dirt. If you have any SunChips bags to compost, give them to me, but don't be surprised if I sneak them for an afternoon snack, being biodegradable and all.
I like to think I add a lot of comic relief to an otherwise mundane school day.
So, what's the most typical vegan food that most everyone can relate to? Mmmm, granola. Yes, granola. It can be so simple. Rolled oats, canola oil, honey, a pinch of salt. But simple isn't always better. Granola can be so expressive, so personal. Raw, cooked, high in protein, fiber, fat. Superfoods, sweet foods, granola can be whatever you want it to be. I like my granola high in flax, gotta love those omega 3s. And I love the texture that shredded coconut gives. Feel free to edit and adapt these recipes in whatever way you see fit. If nuts or gluten aren't your thing, replace the almonds and pecans with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds, and nix the oat bran or sub in more ground flax. Whatever suits you.
The first recipe is a cooked granola that I loved. The second is my attempt to make it mostly raw. Most of my raw granola attempts in the past have just been...bland. But this one was good. The mulberries and cherries just worked. And it's not too sweet. So if you have a sweet tooth, you may want to add some more agave, honey, maple syrup, etc.
Granola
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup ground flax
1/3 cup hemp protein powder (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 cup shredded coconut or coconut flakes
1/4 cup oil - whichever you prefer. I think I probably used peanut oil because for some reason we have an enormous jug of it in the pantry. (My mom likes to buy in bulk.)
1/2 cup sweetener - for this I used honey and a little bit of molasses. You could definately use agave or maple syrup, depending on your preference.
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups dried fruit - for this batch I used dried blueberries.
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on it. Some like their granola more chewy, others like it crunchy. The granola will harden up a bit more after you take it out of the oven.
Almost Raw Granola
*if you want this to be really raw, you could of course adjust. Eliminate the rolled oats and oat bran, choose raw coconut oil, and choose a sweetener that's raw, like raw honey.
1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats
1/4 cup rolled oats (preferebly not that processed Quaker stuff)
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup ground flax
1/3 cup hemp powder
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sweetener + a bit of molasses
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 to 1 1/2 cups dried fruit (for this batch I used dried cherries and mulberries)
3/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbls vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1.) soak and sprout buckwheat a couple of days before hand.
2.) soak oats, almonds, pecans, and sunflower seeds the night before
3.) mix flax with a bit of water, and then mix all ingredients together, mixing the fruit last.
4.) dehydrate at 110 degrees, flipping the granola over after about 5 hours.
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