buckwheat greenola

That's right, greenola. I was inspired by Go Raw's Spirulina Energy Bar, which I discovered on my recent cycling adventure between Whole Foods Market stores.

Loaded with vitamin B12, this is easy to make and to experiment with variations. It also goes great with my homemade almond milk.

Dry ingredients:

• 2-3 cups whole buckwheat groats
• 1 cup millet
• 1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup Spirulina (or less)

Wet ingredients:

• 1 apple, cored
• 1 date (optional)
• 1/2 cup pecans or your favorite nut
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup water

In a medium or large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients with a spoon. It won't look incredibly green yet. Don't worry, it will soon enough!

In a blender, blend all the wet ingredients together until smooth. Add more water if necessary to get it all to blend.

Pour the wets over the drys and mix well.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes, 1-2 hours is best. This is to let the seeds and grains soften and in some cases begin sprouting. Meanwhile, heat oven to 215. Prepare two baking sheets using parchment paper, silicone baking mats (I have these and they work great), or a little coconut oil.

Spread the mixture onto the baking sheets thinly. "Bake" (really, it's more like dehydrating) for 2 hours, then check it and stir a little to break apart the clumps. Repeat until it's all dried out.

Variations

• If you're pressed for time you can bake it at 300-325. I like keeping the temperature lower because that leaves more of the nutrients intact.
• If you're a raw foodie and have a dehydrator, you can use that instead of baking.
• Bake it overnight on your oven's lowest temperature setting.