Gluten-Free Buckwheat Granola

On Monday, I mentioned that my guest this week, Boulder Realtor, Amy Menell, makes her own gluten-free (gfree) buckwheat granola.

I've also stressed in the last two posts that Amy manages to stay on budget when grocery shopping by avoiding impulse buys.

However, there she is above doing a quick snatch and grab at the check out. It's her favorite sugarless gum, Spry.

What can I say; the price on gum is nominal :)

Amy consults with a naturopath who has advised her to avoid gluten and increase her protein intake so that she doesn't grab for gluten-laden carb snacks.

I mentioned yesterday that she is one of very few people I know who noshes on turkey jerky mid-meal.

A couple of weeks ago, I featured Bonni Doherty, an executive fitness coach. Bonni advises her strength-training clients to eat as many as eight small meals a day and to make sure those meals include protein in the form of good fats & oils, like DHA Omega 3 eggs, sardines, tuna, nuts and lots of green veggies.

Strength-trainers and gfree individuals have similar dietary needs: minimal carbs, protein and phytonutrient-rich small meals often.

Amy's family isn't gfree, but she admits her family eats as she eats, because she's doing the shopping and cooking. That said, she doesn't deny the kids wheat-bread sandwiches or wheat-based treats like the Oreo cookies she bought.

I was interested to observe the ingredients Amy collected in bulk to make her own gfree buckwheat granola.

You may recall that I featured a couple recently, one of whom is gluten sensitive. I suggested two breakfast ideas for them: rice flour pancakes and quinoa with fruit and yogurt.

Quinoa, like buckwheat, and amaranth, is high in protein. In fact these 3 grains have more protein per 100g than soy and each has all the essential amino acids.

Buckwheat has the strongest flavor of the three, but I like what Amy does to make it nut-like crunchy and breakfast-friendly.

Her granola calls for buckwheat groats, your choice of seeds, and nut butter, which you can grind yourself at WFs (pic left) and lastly, coconut oil.

The top-shelf bottle in the pic below is $16.99, but I directed Amy toward the bottle shelf (literally) where the price on a 365-generic brand coconut oil is a third less.

Note: always check the bottom shelf; the prices on products at foot-level is often much less.

Buckwheat Granola

1) Soak raw buckwheat groats, and your choice of nuts and seeds in water overnight (add 2 tablespoons of salt to the water). This process boosts the digestibility of grains, nuts & seeds.
2) The following morning drain, then rinse and drain groats, nuts & seeds.
3) Melt enough coconut oil and nut butter to sufficiently coat soaked groats and nuts.
4) Toss drained groats, nuts and seeds into pot with melted ingredients, stir and coat.
5) Spread buckwheat mix onto a baking tray and pop into a slow oven (~170 degrees) for about 24 hours or until the granola has dried and turned crisp.
6) Store cooled granola in an airtight container such as a screw-top or vacuum-sealed glass jar.