Orange Zesty Cinnamon Granola with buckwheat “groats”

Howdy Lovelies,

I’m baaaack! I know that occasionally you have had to wait long periods of time between posts, but please bear with me. My experience of blogging has taken me on an interesting journey of deep questioning about getting to the core of what my heart’s true calling really is. For now the blog is about wholesome plant based recipes, and hopefully one day I will have the courage to share more of the things that make my heart sing for joy. I am shy by nature, and so part of the process is opening up and feeling comfortable and safe (in myself) to share the things that really mean something to me to anyone who feels that the information is helpful.

When I started blogging back in 2014, I could barely cook! It has taken lots of perseverance for me to get through the anxiety of learning how to work with these sometimes-bizarre new ingredients, as well as recipe innovation and blogging about them at the same time.

The whole process has been intimately linked with my personal development work; learning how to act on my Universe, make friends with my inner critic, and living a life that I only ever dreamed of but felt limited by my need for other’s permission/approval.

These days’ recipes seem to come together a whole lot easier for me. Anxiety has been replaced with self-belief, and what used to be a nail biting experience is now an enjoyable and creative practice.

Recently, I received feedback from a family friend who confided that she found the recipes on the Feed Me Happy blog to be somewhat complex and as a result avoided trying new recipes altogether. I have a sense that my family friend is not the only person who has these reservations. I think it’s quite common to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of trying new recipes containing foreign ingredients, even when we have the best intentions at heart.

So, I have given it some thought and I wanted to offer a little insight into how to get started with plant based cooking:

Firstly, if you are really serious about trying something new then the first step is to, well, try it! It’s all about gradient. Choosing a simple recipe that doesn’t contain too many “strange” new ingredients is the first step to understanding the plant kingdom in your kitchen. Next step… Conquering the world!

The recipes on this blog are actually pretty simple, I believe it’s the ingredients that make a recipe seem all that more challenging… Chaga? Buckwheat groates… What the hell!? Set a goal that is achievable for yourself (maybe one new recipe per week/month?) and take it from there.

Also, there has to some desire to change over to a more earth friendly way of eating and living. Working with more plant-based ingredients makes me feel alive and aware. There are some pretty scary things going on in the food industry at the moment. When I create delicious nutritious meals using wholesome ingredients sourced from ethical farmers and distributors I feel more connected to myself, my environment and to the people around me because it helps me to more easily relate from a compassionate, heart-centered place.

Laziness…. Uh oh… Yip, I said it. I myself have suffered sloth like tendencies and so I know what unmotivated feels like. The struggle is real! I have found that setting an intention before cooking is an amazing way to bring your values and motives into perspective and encourage action! Want to form a healthier relationship to your body? Nourish your body with nutrient dense foods? Lose some weight? Feel energized for every day? Learn how to feed your kids brain foods that taste great? Setting an intention before starting to cook is an amazing way of bringing life and colour to your food experience.

I hope you enjoy the granola recipe below. The only strange-ish ingredient here is the buckwheat groates. I know, I know. It’s groates, not goats. You can find buckwheat at any natural or organic health food shop. It is a pyramid shaped grain that comes in hues of green and brown. The dark brown variety is called Kasha, which means is it has been roasted (unnecessary for this recipe seeing as you will be roasting the buckwheat yourself). Buckwheat adds a beautiful crunchy texture to this granola, and so far is my favourite way of enjoying the groat! It is deliciously gluten-free too, so eat up!

Get as creative as you want with toppings! I drenched mine in fresh Brazil nut milk, stewed guavas and macadamia nut butter, delish. Sliced banana would be delicious too with some hemp seeds for extra omega 3’s.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats
2 cups buckwheat
1 cup coconut flakes
½ cup almonds
½ cup brazil nuts
½ cup chia seeds
¼ cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
2 oranges (juice and zest)
½ t salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence

Note: Any nut of your choice will do, it is totally up to you. If you are sensitive to nuts, a combination of pumpkin and sesame seeds would also be delicious.

Also, if you are sensitive to the gluten found in oats you can use millet/rice puffs as a substitute.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a big mixing bowl: oats, buckwheat, coconut flakes, chia seeds, coconut sugar, cinnamon and the zest of two oranges.
3. Roughly chop your nuts and then add them to the dry ingredients.
4. Gently warm the coconut oil in a saucepan until it has melted.
5. Mix the ingredients together: coconut oil, honey, orange juice, vanilla essence, as well as the salt.
6. Coat the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, mixing well.
7. Lay out your granola mix as evenly as possible onto a big baking tray (you might have to use two baking trays).
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice from the 20 minute mark onwards.
9. Once the granola is toasty (you can go by the colour and smell) remove from the heat and let it cool.
10. Delicious, all set and ready to go. Enjoy as a power packed breakfast and I would love to know if you feel a difference in your energy levels!

<3