Chef Laura Lea is a Certified Holistic Chef and food writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Her company, LL Balanced, provides you with easy, nutritious and family-friendly recipes that will make healthy eating a pleasure and restore balance to your life!
You can learn more about Chef Laura Lea and LL Balanced here. You can also purchase a copy of her cookbook, The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook, here which contains 120+ delicious and healthy recipes!
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A BLOG AND RECIPE FOR RAWNOLA BY OUR FRIEND AND CONTRIBUTOR, CHEF LAURA LEA WITH LAURA LEA BALANCED.
Author: Chef Laura Lea
RAWNOLA = Raw Granola = your new kitchen BFF when you’re craving granola and don’t have the time or inclination to wait for a batch to bake.
It never ceases to amaze me how a few simple, real-food ingredients can come together to make something absolutely delicious and decadent! But this recipe is incontrovertible proof of such a phenomenon, I promise ya.
If you’ve watched my Instagram stories, you know that I am an avid fan of granola. I absolutely love the crunchy, clustery kind in particular, and I find myself reaching for granola at some point most days. Of course, I choose the healthiest options I can find, which also taste amazing—granolas that are free from refined sugar and vegetables oils, and which contain around 6 grams sugar/serving or LESS. THIS Purely Elizabeth is my favorite store-bought option, but I also have a deliciously addictive Apricot & Olive Oil Granola recipe in my cookbook!
6+ months ago, I found myself with none of the above options and an intense hankering for granola. I’d seen “rawnola” recipes enjoyed by some vegan bloggers, which simply contained oats and dates. I thought I’d give it a whirl, but since my tastebuds can’t leave well enough alone, I “doctored” mine up with flavor: a little extra fat and texture from unsweetened coconut flakes, as well as dashes of cinnamon, vanilla extract and sea salt.
The result? A shockingly satisfying no-bake mixture that fulfills my granola criteria of health + flavor!
I was immediately smitten, and I’ve been making this rawnola on and off since the original batch. I’ve doubled and tripled the proportions listed here, and it always get scarfed up!
Note: this is not a crunchy granola. It’s soft, with a chewy texture that I adore. If you want a little crunch, feel free to throw in some nuts or seeds of your choice. Along those lines, get creative! Using the basic original proportions, toss the rawnola with chocolate chip or dried cranberries, or use almond extract (I LOVE this) instead of vanilla. You could also add tablespoon or two or cacao powder for a chocolate version.
If you give my rawnola a try, please share pictures of your creations with me on Instagram @lauraleabalanced #llbalanced!!!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RECIPE: RAWNOLA
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