A Real Food lifestyle means we don’t fall for things like expensive boxes of sugary cereals or even fancy (still sugary) granolas, right?

But… but… CEREAL IS SOOOOO CONVENIENT!

I mean, how easy is it to pour a bowl of cereal, add milk, and chill for breakfast? For busy mornings, lazy Saturday mornings, late-night snacking, quick kids’ snacks, and more… let’s be honest here: CEREAL WINS.

Still, even with all its convenience, I just can’t bring myself to spend too much on a box that’s full of empty carbs, processed grains, unsoaked nuts or seeds, and sugar. Truthfully, bowls of cereal for breakfast are the ticket to a blood sugar crash around 9:00 a.m. No fun. :/

I also don’t enjoy making typical granola recipes because, they too, end up being full of high-carb grains and sugar and require a lot of work.

So what’s a girl to do when she wakes up jonesing for a bowl of cereal?!

It took me 3 days to figure it out…

But by golly, I made myself some cereal. Or rather, some No-Bake Chocolate-Orange Quinoa Granola that’s nut-free, oat-free, sugar-free, and prepared with a traditional soaking to reduce phytic acid.

My bowl of cereal had some pretty tough criteria to meet:

• No gluten or high-glycemic grains — including oats, which are in most cereals and granola recipes
• No nuts — I’m not allergic to nuts, but I know lots of you are and that makes most Paleo granola recipes a no-no for you.
• I did not want to heat up my house or spend hours stirring granola in the oven.
• No sugar, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc., of course.
• High protein, high-fat, lower-carb (This recipe is NOT ketogenic or low-carb, however it is NOT high-glycemic either.)
• No dried fruit (because dried fruits are a tiny package that pack a LOT of fructose, and fructose = high-glycemic carbs.)

A quick note about quinoa… I simply cannot eat no-carb or ketogenic. Due to past hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue (which are both healed!), my body NEEDS low-glycemic carb sources, like quinoa, sprouted brown rice, wild rice, and sweet potatoes. However, because this recipe is high in beneficial fat (coconut oil) and contains no sugar (thanks to Dietz Sweet), it does not affect my blood sugar negatively at all! If you prefer to use a whole sweetener, substitute an equal amount of coconut sugar.

This recipe takes some time due to the soaking/dehydrating phase for the quinoa, but it is worth it!

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No-Bake Chocolate-Orange Quinoa Granola {nut-free, oat-free, sugar-free, soaked!}

With slow-digesting, soaked quinoa, this protein-rich, nutrient-dense, no-bake granola satisfies those cravings for cereal without nuts, oats, or sugar!

Course Breakfast, Snacks

Servings 8 cups

Author Lindsey Dietz

Ingredients

• 3 cups quinoa (Here's how to cooked soaked quinoa in your Instant Pot in 4 minutes!)
• 1 cup soaked and dehydrated pumpkin seeds
• 2 cups finely shredded coconut (toasted)
• 1/2 cup fermented cacao nibs
• 1/3 cup Dietz Sweet or coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 cup Lily's stevia-sweetened chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. First, soak and cook the quinoa according to these instructions.
2. While the quinoa is soaking, you can also soak the pumpkin seeds. However, to save time and effort, I prefer to purchase pre-soaked/dehydrated pumpkin seeds here.
3. When the quinoa is finished cooking, allow it to cool.
4. Spread the cooked quinoa evenly on dehydrator trays*. If you soaked your own pumpkin seeds, place them on their own dehydrator trays.
5. Dehydrate the quinoa (and pumpkin seeds at the same time) until completely dry and crisp. This is the dehydrator I have.
6. When you're ready to assemble the granola, toast 2 cups of finely shredded coconut in a dry cast iron skillet. Set aside to cool.
7. Break apart the dehydrated quinoa and add to a large mixing bowl, along with pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut, cacao nibs, Dietz Sweet, and salt.
8. Next, melt the coconut oil. It should be melted but not hot. Pour it over the granola mixture, add the vanilla and orange zest and stir to combine.
9. When the granola is TOTALLY cool, you can add the chocolate chips, if desired.

Recipe Notes

*If you don't have a dehydrator, you can dry the quinoa in your oven (but then, this recipe is no longer "no-bake"). Line cookie sheets with parchment, spread cooked quinoa over the sheets, and dehydrate on your oven's lowest setting until completely dry and crispy. Then break apart and continue with the recipe.

Do you LOVE cereal? Will you try this no-bake granola?