Four Seed Granola: Food Cooking Demo!

Today at Bauman College it was my day to perform the cooking demo and boy did I enjoy myself! I made a home-made granola with four seeds, in honor of the founder of our school Ed Bauman who said that seeds are one of the healthiest foods on the planet because all life stems from a seed. I just love that!

As I was telling Bianca and our friend Marissa (who is Annalisa's sister for my Santa Barbara followers) all about after wards I realized it's basically like a cooking show! Which is just so cool, oh I love this school. Unfortunately, since I will be switching over to Distance Learning I won't get to do another cooking demo, but I certainly can cook for my friends down in Santa Barbara!

Recipe
5 cups oats
1¼ cups oat bran
¾ cup ground flaxseeds
¾ cup raw sunflower seeds
¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw sesame seeds
½ cup juice-sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup apple juice, about 1 small apple freshly juiced
1/3 cup raw, unfiltered honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using a wooden spoon or plastic baking spatula. In a small bowl mix apple juice and vanilla extract together. Slowly pour in honey while using a whisk to make sure it mixes in with the other liquids. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well to evenly coat the granola. Gently lay granola in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. When cooled add in ½ cup juice-sweetened dried cranberries. Enjoy with any dairy free milk; almond, rice, oat, hemp, etc.

We had to present the nutrition information for the ingredients in our cooking demo so I figured I might as well pass them onto you guys. This is some healthy granola guys!

Oats: Old-fashioned oats are oats that have been steamed, then rolled and come out flatter than other varieties. They are a great source of soluble dietary fiber which helps lower cholesterol. Also, they are a very good sources of minerals manganese, selenium and phosphorus.

Oat Bran: The outer layer of the oat that resides underneath the hull. Oat bran is praised for it’s high quality of dietary fiber, specifically hemicelluloses, which can improve digestion.

Flaxseeds: They are an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Flaxseeds should be bought whole, raw and in bulk, stored in the refrigerator and ground fresh daily for use to prevent rancidity.

Sunflower Seeds: They are a wonderful source of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, vitamins B1, B5 and B6, phosphorus, copper, iron, folic acid and fiber.

Pumpkin Seeds: Also known as pepitas, pumpkin seeds supply minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. They are also great sources of vitamin A, vitamin B1, B3 and B3, protein, monounsaturated fats and phytosterols.

Sesame Seeds: They are a great source of protein, lignans, fiber, monounsaturated fats, vitamins B1 and B2, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium and phytic acid.

Cranberries: Great source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, manganese and copper. Dried cranberries are hard to find with out added sugar but special markets will carry juice-sweetened versions.

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

References: Michael Murray, Encyclopedia of healing Foods