Gift Ideas #1: Homemade Chai Granola (gluten-free, grain-free, low glycemic index)

This Chai Granola, made with cinnamon and cardamom spices, is one of my most popular recipes. I make it with walnuts, but you can use almonds or a combination of nuts. The chia seed meal and applesauce create great clusters that you can break apart and eat as a snack or crumble for cereal. Soaking the nuts helps form the clusters, and breaks down the natural enzyme inhibitors which nuts contain, making them easier to digest.

Homemade gifts are a great way to show how much you care about someone. To make it easier for you, I've included recipe cards below to go along with this gift. The recipe will make about two and a half of these cute quart sized Ball jars. I got them at an Ace Hardware store in my town, but you can also buy them from Ace on Amazon. Double the recipe if you want to make six this size, and don't forget to sign the bottom of your recipe card :-)

I used paper with flecks in it, and thin woven fabric so that I could fray the edges. I attached the recipe cards with hemp after punching two holes in each card.

Download the image at left to print out your own recipe labels.

Chai Granola

gluten-free, grain-free, low glycemic index

Soak 4 cups of nuts for about 8 hours (I used walnuts in the photo above)

Rinse and strain.

Add to a bowl with:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup almond meal flour

1 cup applesauce with no added sugar

20 drops of vanilla liquid stevia

1/4 cup coconut sugar

In a separate bowl mix:

2 tbsp Chia Seed meal (I grind my Chia Seeds in a coffee grinder)

2 tsp cardamom

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine the two bowls.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees overnight, or until it's dry and crunchy.

Other questions? See my FAQ page here.
♥, Kelly