Homemade Almond Milk is so much better than the store-bought variety – but what to do with the leftover almond pulp? Daydreams of making granola with the pulp were swirling in my mind and I finally had the perfect opportunity on a blustery spring Saturday, sometime back in early April.  This Almond Flax Granola is nutritionally dense, including chia and flax seeds and it’s gluten and refined sugar free.  It turned out so delicious!

Rainy days are a good match for yummy smells coming from the kitchen.  Granola is a food we enjoy in warm weather with fresh fruit.  My efforts were not all lost on this rainy day.  A few days later the sun came out and along with it, granola for breakfast.

The dried fruit of choice for this nourishing mix was cherries, not only for their bright flavor, but for their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant qualities.  I added raisins too.  When it comes to dried fruit choose organic to avoid the preservative Sulphur Dioxide.  The flavor is so much better-the clean taste of the fruit comes through.  The fruit goes in after cooking though, so set it aside until later.

I like to pulse the almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped.

With 1 cup of leftover almond milk pulp, (I’m wondering if Almond Milk pulp can be frozen and used in later recipes?) and all of the ingredients gathered together, I mixed up a big batch in the biggest bowl I had.  After it’s well mixed, I spread it on 2 cookie sheets to roast low and slow.  Stay close by, a gentle stirring every now and then helps to maintain even flavor.

It wasn’t long before sweet aroma’s filled the house.  After some stirring and switching the trays, it was done to golden perfection.

With the addition of your favorite berries, it’s a healthy homemade convenience food that comes in handy on busy weekday mornings.  Gobble it up with your milk of choice or yogurt.

Happy Cooking!

Amy