Sprouted buckwheat, banana & cocao nib granola

My sister has sent me granola from Australia twice and both times when the granola nears the end I am depressed. The Australians call the activated buckwheat granola Buckini's. I like the sound of that. 

So I tried to make something similar. Not close to as good as the Aussie version but close enough. 

Buckwheat is gluten free, in fact it's a fruit not a grain. The health benefit of anything sprouted is what you awaken the otherwise dormant nutrients locked in the sprouted ingredient. So basically you're boosting the nutrient content. While making it much easier for your system to digest. 

If you don't have the patience to sprout the buckwheat (trust me it's super simple), you could use just dried regular buckwheat. Just not sure if it will turn out really hard. 

I recently found out about the super food lucuma. It's a natural sweetener, low GI,  that is often used in Central America. The added benefit is that it contains good levels of the cancer fighting B vitamin Beta-carotene, iron, zinc as well as calcium and protein. It's the first time I use it and for me, it was a mild enough sweetness with no strange long lingering after taste. 

I bet adding some hazelnuts to the mix would also bring about another level of yummy. 

Ingredients: 

4 dl sprouted buckwheat*

2 tsp ground cardamon or cinnamon 

1,5  banana - over ripe, mashed

1,5 tbsp coconut oil, melted

pinch of salt 

1,5 dl pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or half of each  

1,5 dl walnuts or pecans 

2 tbsp lucuma - optional

1,5 dl shaved coconut

1 dl chia seeds or flax

1 dl mulberries

2/3 dl cacao nibs

optional - 2 tbsp maple syrup (if you like your granola sweet)
yocuma

1. Pre-heat your oven to 150C. 
2. In a bowl add the sprouted buckwheat, mashed banana, coconut oil, salt, cardamon or cinnamon and mix (and maple syrup of you want extra sweetness). You want to mix it thoroughly. 
3. Add the nuts and seeds and the flaked coconut. 
4. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper. 
5. Spread the mix out so that you allow for as much browning of each ingredient as possible. 
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40min. Each 10min you want to give it all a stir, so that you get everything roasted and toasted without burning. 
7. Allow to cool completely before transferring to a container, then add the chia/flax, mulberries, cacao nibs and mix or shake around to spread those last yummies evenly through the granola. 

This granola will keep out of the fridge for about 1 week. So eat up!! I can highly recommend eating it with coconut or sheep yoghurt and some fresh fruit of the season. 

* Sprouting buckwheat is real simple. Add the dried buckwheat to a bowl and cover with water for 8 hours (over night), place a plate over the bowl so its not air tight but covered. Rinse thoroughly and then return the semi wet buckwheats to the same bowl. Again cover with a plate. Leave for another day.