Making raw granola from sprouted buckwheat

It’s been about 18 months, maybe longer, since I last made a batch of cereal.  But it’s so easy to do with a dehydrator, and so tasty, not to mention jolly good for you!
I used sprouted buckwheat to make my cereal.  I bought the buckwheat in Tesco’s and have been using it to make veggie-burgers etc.  But it can be easily sprouted to become more nutritious, more enzyme packed, and much better for the digestion.  Sprouting a grain allows it to make its own enzymes, which aids digestion and means that your pancreas doesn’t have to work quite so hard. Keeping the grain raw instead of cooking it means that none of those precious enzymes, or any of the vitamins and minerals are destroyed.
I sprouted the buckwheat by soaking it over night in water. Then letting is sit in a colander for 2 days, thoroughly rinsing 3 times a day. 
The making of the granola only took me 5 minutes of work. I put the buckwheat into a large bowl and mixed in some olive oil, a cup of honey, some crushed almonds, a cup of ground sesame seeds, a cup of ground linseed (or flax), then threw in some dried cranberries, a few goji berries, raisins, and a few pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  It was so delicious that I could have eaten it like that!
I dehydrated it on a very low heat using my excalibur dehydrator, using the setting for ‘living foods’.  It took over 24 hours to totally dry out.  Dehydrating means that the food feels like its been cooked, but has the same nutrient content as if it was still raw.
We ate a bowl of our gorgeous granola in fresh almond milk, so it was a totally vegan breakfast.  And there’s lots left over. Yummy.
This is the sprouted buckwheat. You can see the little shoots that have appeared…

Next I added all the other raw ingredients…..

Then I dehydrated it for a long time… (you can see Kale Chips dehydrating too)…..

To make yummy raw granola, with fresh almond milk….

Nothing like Mum's home cooking

Don't we all love our Mum's home cooking? (It's true that my Mum is an exceptional cook - I'm not sure my own kids would say the same about their Mum!) Anyway, today I spent the morning cooking up Rosie's first batch of baby food. She's only just started having her first few tastes of real food; banana being her favourite so far. She's not having very much every day, just a spoonful or two, but I think it's important that what she does eat is healthy and good for her. And helps her poop! (That's always important - remember your five a day folks!)

So I cooked up various vegetables and fruits and made her some main courses and some desserts. The main courses are all a base of potato, carrot and parsnip, and then I have added cauliflower to some, broccoli to others, courgettes to some more, and asparagus to the other. I made two types of fruit desserts. The first is steamed apple, pear, and strawberry mixed with banana. And the other is banana and raspberry puree. And I must say, they all taste yummy! Let's hope Rosie agrees!