I’ve been juicing a lot lately and more consistently which has led me to have an overabundance of shredded carrot/carrot pulp! I’ve managed to use it in quite a few different ways and this raw carrot cake granola cereal is the latest carrot inspired recipe!
I actually make what we call granola cereal (because we could never decide which one it was!) every week on Sunday mornings. I always let the kids pick which kind they want me to make and when I tell you this may be their favorite food EVER, it is not an exaggeration! They will even ask me every morning when they wake up “are we having cereal today?” in hopes that we will!
We’ve come up with just a few varieties over the past few months….chocolate cherry, peanut butter chocolate chip, blueberry chai, loaded oatmeal raisin cookie, pineapple upside down cake…the possibilities are endless! But their favorite HANDS DOWN in the strawberry version with freeze-dried strawberries. They’ll actually ask for it every time almost! But I’m able to convince them to try something different most of the time–as was the case with this carrot cake variation!
So enough about my kids, let’s get to the granola! For this version I deviated slightly from my original master recipe to make it even more healthy! I usually use quite a bit of Garden of Life Protein Powder (sometimes the plantbased meal replacement one or the Protein & Greens) and a hefty amount of melted coconut oil, but I eliminated the oil completely this time and cut WAY back on the protein powder, which you could definitely omit if you want to!
Even with the changes, what resulted was an absolutely DELICIOUS carrot cake granola cereal that my whole family liked better than the original master recipe. I love the fiber and protein you get from the hemp, chia and flaxseed, good carbs from the oats, bits of sweet from the raisins and a little crunch from the toasted pecans! Not to mention a little veggie from the carrots. It truly reminds me of carrot cake in a bowl! Ok, minus the cream cheese frosting but you get the idea. 🙂
Enjoy!
- 5 c. Regular Rolled Oats
- 1 c. Shredded or Flaked Coconut
- ½ c. Ground Flaxseed
- ½ c. Chia Seeds
- ½ c. Hemp Seeds
- â…“ c. Sucanat
- â…” c. Xylitol
- 1 T. Cinnamon
- ¼-1/2 t. EACH Nutmeg, Ginger
- ½ t. Sea Salt
- ⅓ c. Vanilla, Plantbased Protein Powder (such as Garden of Life--but this is totally optional!)
- ½ c. Roasted Almond Butter (with nothing added--no sugar, salt, oil, etc)
- ½ c. Water
- 2 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 c. Shredded Carrots
- 1 c. Raisins
- 1 c. Chopped, Toasted Pecans
- Place 3 cups oats, coconut, flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sucanat and xylitol in a blender or large food processor and process until mixture is a fine meal. Place in the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Add salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, remaining two cups of oats and protein powder (if using) and whisk everything together.
- Add vanilla, almond butter and water and mix on low speed until well-combined. You may have to scrape down the sides once or twice.
- Add carrots, raisins and pecans. Mix in on low speed.
- Serve with milk and refrigerate what is left.
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