Monday, June 11, 2012

Raw Buckwheat Cereal - Dehydrator Win!

Hey everyone! Hope your Monday is treating you well :) Lucky for me I have a short day on Mondays so I'm able to rest a bit between work and the gym. I also have time to post about my first successful dehydrator recipe! I'm checking off a few items on my summer list here, like experimenting with raw foods and my dehydrator as well as posting more recipes!

So as I teased yesterday, I made a Raw Buckwheat Cereal!


Truth be told, my intention was to make a Grawnola, but it didn't clump together. I'm actually really happy with how it came out otherwise, and I love that it is a yummy cereal! I may be weird but I find buckwheat groats to have a very distinct flavor (which I've never found to be too pleasant) but I was determined to make a recipe that I liked!


This recipe is packed with nutritious additions and tastes amazing. It is slightly sweet without being overwhelming and the cinnamon is a perfect addition. It also makes the house smell amazing!

Raw Buckwheat Cereal

Ingredients:
1 cup raw organic buckwheat groats
3/4 cup raw almonds (whole or chopped, whichever you prefer)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut "chips" (the large shredded coconut)
3 tbsp raw agave 
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
heaping 1/4 tsp cinnamon
small pinch sea salt

Directions:
1. Put buckwheat groats in a large bowl and cover with filtered water. Soak buckwheat groats 8-10 hours or overnight (I just soaked overnight!).
2. Put almonds in another bowl and cover with filtered water and soak overnight. 
3. In the morning, rinse buckwheat and almonds thoroughly with filtered water. The buckwheat groats will get a little slimy after soaking overnight, try and rinse as much off as possible. 
4. Put buckwheat and almonds into a strainer and let drain while preparing the wet ingredients.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine agave, coconut oil, almond and vanilla extracts. cinnamon and salt. Mix thoroughly.
6. Add buckwheat, almonds, raisins and coconut to wet mixture and stir until evenly coated.
7. Spread cereal evenly on dehydrator sheets. Try to keep the layer less than 1/3 inch thick. You can cover the dehydrator try with parchment paper to help with clean up.
8. Dehydrate at 104 degrees for 12-15 hours until buckwheat is crispy and the coating is dried. It took me a little more than 13 hours.


Store in an air tight container in a dark, cool place. I used this huge mason jar!


I've only tasted it dry so far and it is delicious! I'm really happy with how it came out and I can't wait to try a proper bowl of cereal for breakfast tomorrow! The sweetness is very subtle too. If you don't have a dehydrator you can always just bake it in the oven at a low temp. Just keep an eye on it :)

Not too bad for my 400th post! I'm so excited to have reached this milestone and am so grateful to everyone for reading and commenting! The reason I started blogging was to be involved in the community of vegan bloggers and I'm so happy and thankful to feel so welcome here :) 

Let me know if you try this recipe :) I hope you all are having a great day and enjoy your evening! I have a training session in a bit and today is fight training day :) See you tomorrow!

22 comments:

  1. Sarah!! what a great recipe!! that looks so delicious! I love all the almonds and raisins! mmm....and i'm a huge buckwheat fan -- although, I must admit, that's only because it's one of the 4 grains i can eat on the BED...haha...this would be perfect to top ice cream or almond yogurt!! yummmm dehydrator success! and 400 posts yay!!

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    1. Thanks Caralyn! OMG yes it would be so good sprinkled on ice cream! Banana soft serve actually! Yum! :) Thanks!

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  2. Congratulations on your 400th post! And wow that buckwheat cereal looks pretty good! Ill have to try it myself. I also used my dehydrator recently for some raw kale chips and it was a success, so yay we're getting better ;)

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    1. Thanks Alex! Definitely give it a try, it is really good! Haha yay for dehydrator success! We'll have to keep experimenting too :)

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  3. What type of dehydrator is it? Am in the market for one, and looking for some recommendations!

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    1. I have a Nesco dehydrator. I mainly got this one because it had pretty good reviews and is cost effective. I want to get an Excalibur one day though! The Nesco will definitely do the job though if you are looking for something to experiment with for now!

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  4. Woo hoo! Congrats on your first dehydrator recipe, and 400 posts! I'm curious to see what it tastes like when you enjoy it with plant/nut milk. I've even heard of making thick green smoothies and sprinkling in granola (eating with a spoon) - you could do the same with this! I'd probably be eating it by the handful. :)

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    1. Thanks Ingrid! Ooooh that is such a good idea with the smoothies! I bet it would taste great on the carrot cake smoothie and the blueberry muffin smoothie :) We'll see how long this big batch lasts!

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  5. Awesome! Glad you're having fun with your dehydrator and found a way to enjoy the groats. Buckwheat cereal is a fave around my house. I like it sprinkled on blended fruit or coconut yogurt.

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    1. Thanks Nikki! I definitely enjoy the groats, I'm finally a believer! I'm sure I'll think of fun ways to eat it ;)

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  6. Oh I BET this smelled awesome while dehydrating. mmmm. I wouldn't want to wait the hours and hours for it!
    I like Ingrid's idea of sprinkling it on top of a smoothie. It'd probably be awesome on yr carrot cake one! Buckwheat groats definitely have a specific taste but I like them. This sounds like it'll definitely get you into them.
    Congratulations on 400!

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    1. The house smelled amazing! The cinnamon and coconut scents really filled the air. So good!

      That was the first thought I had when I read Ingrid's comment! The carrot cake smoothie with some cereal sprinkled on it would be delicious! I'm definitely enjoying the buckwheat in this preparation!

      Thank you! Hope you feel better soon!

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  7. Really beautiful. You can add it to the list of items available when you open your Etsy bakery.

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  8. Yay dehydrator! One day I'll get one. :) And actually, I totally agree with you about the buckwheat having a distinct flavor - I like it in some contexts, and other times not at all. That looks like the perfect amount of sweetness too! And happy 400th post, that's a crazy awesome landmark. :)

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    1. I definitely recommend the dehydrator when you can, it is so much fun to play with! This recipe is perfect for buckwheat, it really mellows out that flavor a lot!

      Thanks! I can't believe it's been 400!

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  9. Yum! I so have to get a dehydrator. I just recently "became" vegan after being vegetarian for a year and I have learned that there are appliance that I will almost HAVE to invest in if I want to make all of the rockin grub I see on food blogs. LOL! I've already started with a food processor. :)

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    1. Hey Des! Congrats on joining the vegan party :) A dehydrator is a great appliance to have but a food processor was definitely a great choice for your first investment! You'll be able to make a lot of great things with that!

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. Happy 400th post and congrats on the dehydrator success! It looks really good!

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  11. Yes! Sweet success! This looks absolutely delicious. I need to buy more buckwheat groats (groceries are a little sparse since being away) but this looks like a prime candidate for when my stocks are replenished :)

    Gabby @ the veggie nook

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    1. Thanks Gabby! Let me know what you think if you try it! I'm always curious to know what other people think of the recipes ha!

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