What kind of “change” person are you? Do you seek out change? Do you avoid it as much as possible? Are you the kind of person who likes stability but secretly longs for change to happen? Can you roll with change or resist it? If you do a Google search for “dealing with change”, you get almost 11,000,000 results.
I remember when my work was getting ready for possible change with our new grant and they even had a speaker come in and do a workshop on change and how everyone deals with it differently. I think there was even categories for people, like owl and badger. What?!? Personally, I like the analogy of the River and The Rock. Sometimes I want to be the rock, steady and true, and sometimes I want to be the river, flowing on to whatever awaits downstream. And sometimes when I am not “brave” enough to make change myself, I secretly long for it to happen so I can “roll” with it.
Why the talk about change? Well, some of you know that I was laid off last year and debated leaving my “career” to try something new. But when presented with the loss of insurance and instability of branching out, I accepted a new position at the comfort my old place of work. This meant working under someone who had been there less than me and to quote her, “I learned everything I know from Shannon.” The downside to being at the same job for so long and not choosing to be in management because it means working summers.
Well, this week she gave her notice (I swear, I had nothing to do with it!). And now the question is, will I move up and take her job? In management. Something I said I’d never do. But if I don’t take it, the odds are someone with even less seniority than her (or none at all) will take her place. Did I also mention our executive director retires in 4 months? Ohh, what kind of changes will we see then?
Only time will tell. Decisions, decisions.
#walnuts #cashews #pumpkinseeds #shreddedcoconut #cacoanibs #honey #almondextract #cacoa #flaxseed #coconutoil #seasalt
So, onto chocolate!
Before I tried making actual granola, I would toss these ingredients in individual bags and just eat them as is with some coconut milk. I’m not too picky. But over time I decided I wanted to experiment with different flavors. I got bored too quickly after a few weeks of just nuts and seeds.
And you know how it is on the trail if you don’t find something appetizing anymore, you are pretty much screwed. You eat everything else first and then gag it down, dreaming about what you are going to gorge on once you get back into town or home.
I did a few searches and found this recipe by Julia over at The Roasted Root. I have made several versions of this recipe and this one is my favorite so far. Chocolate, duh.
I take my normal granola ingredients, like walnuts, cashews, and pumpkin seeds and put them in the food processor to break them down into crumbles.
You want them to be fairly small (like pebbles) but not so much that they turn into a meal (like sand).
I used cacao nibs from Big Tree Farms for their nutty flavor and the fact they won’t melt in a hot summer trail. If you have chocolate chips, that will work if you aren’t worried about your granola clumping more. Did you know nibs are a good source of fiber and magnesium? Yeah, chocolate!
Toss the nibs in with the shredded coconut, ground nuts and seeds and mix.
The original recipe called for 1 egg white but I took this an opportunity to try out making a flax egg so the vegan fam can enjoy this, too. I found a recipe here on Minimalist Baker and prepped it at the beginning of the recipe so it would be ready to add at this point to a separate bowl with the honey, coconut oil, almond extract, salt and cacao powder. The vegan folks in my life are okay with honey but you can use maple syrup if you prefer.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. You want everything coated so your granola will make clumps after you bake it.
Spread the mixture out evenly on to a baking sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about twenty minutes. Set your timer for ten minutes first and stir the mixture when the timer goes off. Then, set it for ten more minutes and watch as it approaches the end of the baking time for when the edges start to brown. If using maple syrup, it will take about ten minutes longer.
Remove the tray from the oven and allow it to cool for about ten minutes. Then using a spatula, lift the granola up from the bottom and break into those clumps we love!
Continue to let the granola cool completely and then store in an air tight container. Putting it away too quickly will cause it to soften in the container.
Serve your granola with a milk of your choice and maybe toss on some fresh fruit. For the trail, enjoy as is or with dehydrated or freeze dried fruit.
I use a tablespoon of coconut milk powder and add a small amount of water on the trail. You can also eat it straight up as a snack!
It’s a little more work than a bag of nuts and seeds but SO worth it!
If you enjoyed this recipe, head over to my Hiking and Backpacking Paleo Index for over 60 tasty treats to take on your next outdoor adventure!
Chocolate Paleo Granola
A chocolate filled grain free alternative to your regular granola, great for quick morning breakfasts and fuel for the trail!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Total Time
35 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, No Dehydrator Needed, Paleo, Soy free, Whole Food
Servings: 17 1/2 cup servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 2.5 tablespoon water
- 2 cups walnuts
- 2 cups cashews
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup cacoa nibs
- 1/2 cup honey maple syrup for vegan
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons cacoa powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- coconut milk powder for on trail
Instructions
- Prepare your flax egg by adding 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water and set aside.
- In a food processor, grind the nuts and seeds into small pieces like pebbles. A few larger chunks is okay. Mix together in a large bowl with the coconut and cacao nibs.
- In a small bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients with the flax “egg”. Add to the nut mixture and mix well.
- Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat sheet and bake at 320 degrees for twenty minutes until the edges begin to brown, stirring once at ten minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for ten minutes. Then, take a spatula and turn the granola up from the bottom to break it into chunks.
- Store in an air tight container.
- For the trail, divide into individual bags and add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk powder and dried fruit (optional). On trail, add a few tablespoons of water to enjoy as cereal.
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