Cinnamon Quinoa Granola (refined sugar free)

First of all, thank you so much for all the warm wishes about my cookbook. I spent the better part of yesterday smiling from ear to ear. I can’t wait to inspire you with many different types of squash recipes and I’m so grateful for all of you who have volunteered to be testers!

Now on to this powered up, energy packed granola.

Break­fast, meet banana bread in a health­ier, whole grain gra­nola form. It’s packed with all the impor­tant things needed to get your day started like pro­tein, healthy fats, and antiox­i­dants. Even bet­ter – this Cinnamon Banana Quinoa Gra­nola is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and refined sugar free so even those with food aller­gies can enjoy. I loved the idea of using just bananas and a smidge of maple syrup to sweeten it after being inspired by this recipe on the lovely Green Kitchen Stories blog. It opens up the door to a new way of using those over­ripe bananas! Sprin­kled on top of yogurt and fresh berries, or sim­ply soaked in vanilla soy milk as a hearty cereal, it’s become a sta­ple in my pantry.

Cin­na­mon Quinoa Granola

roughly adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

2 cups rolled oats, not instant
3/4 c dry quinoa
2 T chia seeds
3/4 c raw sun­flower seeds
1/4 c raw buck­wheat groats (or use addi­tional 1/4 c sun­flower seeds)
1 1/4 t cin­na­mon
pinch of salt
3 T pure maple syrup
3 T coconut oil, room temp (not melted, just scoopable)
2 medium sized, very ripe medium bananas, cut into small pieces

Pre­heat oven to 375 degrees. Com­bine all dry ingre­di­ents in a large bowl. In sep­a­rate bowl, mash together the bananas, maple syrup, and coconut oil. You should have some smaller pieces of banana left, but not many. Pour this mix­ture over the dry ingre­di­ents, stir in, and fin­ish by work­ing through with your hands so that all pieces are coated. Pour onto bak­ing sheet cov­ered in parch­ment paper and bake for 15 min­utes, stir, bake for another 15 min­utes, stir, and bake a final 15 min­utes. Remove from oven and let cool com­pletely. (This is what will make it clump together some­what.) Store in glass jar or plas­tic seal­able bag.