Mixed Nut & Seed Muesli

According to the internet, the main difference between granola and museli is that granola is sweetened and baked whereas muesli is unbaked and often not sweetened. So, I'm being liberal calling this muesli. But heck, if I started worrying about semantics and pleasing the food purists, I'd have a pretty hard time naming most of my vegan keto recipes! Anyhow, in my Canadian brain, granola is those crunchy baked clusters and muesli is not clusters, so this is muesli-like enough for me.

Granola, or muesli, and berries on yogurt is one of my favorite and easy go-to breakfasts. I rarely tire of it and am quite content to enjoy it day in and day out, especially during the workweek. Every now and then, I splurge on a store-bought keto granola, but I find it overpriced and it often contains prebiotic fibers and sweeteners that give me the toots. Also, most keto products aren't readily available where I live, so I usually have to order it online. This muesli is crunchy, lightly sweet, covered with warming spices, and contains a decent bit of protein without breaking the carb bank. Enjoy it on a high-protein low-carb yogurt with some low-sugar fruit for a nourishing breakfast. Enjoy!

Yield: 9 servings of ⅓ cup (38g) each, totaling 3 cups (340g)
Macros (per serving): 240 calories | 7g protein | 22g fat | 3g net carbs
Prep: 15 minutes | Bake: 20-25 minutes  | Cool: 15 ​minutes (longer before storing)
Storage: at room temperature for a month (or longer). Make sure to cool completely before sealing in a container.

---

Mixture 1 Ingredients:​

• ½ cup (80g) shelled pumpkin seeds
• ⅓ cup (33g) walnuts, roughly chopped
• ⅓ cup (43g) slivered almonds
• ⅓ cup (45g) blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped ✎
• ¼ cup (35g) shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) melted coconut oil or neutral-flavoured oil of choice
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) water
• 2 tsp pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, or cinnamon
• ½ tsp pure monk fruit powder or equivalent in stevia (optional or to taste) ✎
• ¼ tsp salt

Mixture 2 Ingredients:

• 1 cup (80g) unsweetened coconut flakes/chips
• ½ Tbsp (8ml) melted coconut oil or neutral-flavoured oil of choice
• ½ Tbsp (8ml) water
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, or cinnamon
• ½ tsp pure monk fruit powder or equivalent in stevia (optional or to taste) ✎
• heaped 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Note that if your oven retains heat very well, you may wish to preheat the oven to only 325°F (165°C). Conversely, if your oven does not retain heat well, you may wish to allow the mixture to bake at 350°F (175°C) for a few minutes before reducing the heat. ✎

For Mixture 1:

1. Put the nuts and seeds in a small mixing bowl.
2. Drizzle with the water and oil and then mix until all nuts and seeds are lightly coated.
3. Sprinkle the mixture with about a third of the spice blend, sweetener, and salt. Mix and repeat twice more until all spice, sweetener, and salt are used up.
4. Transfer the mixture to a non-stick or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and spread out into a single layer.
5. Put the mixture in the oven and reduce the temperature to 300°F (150°C).
6. Bake the mixture for 20-25 minutes.

​For Mixture 2:

1. Put the coconut flakes in the now empty mixing bowl and repeat the process given above in step 3.
2. When there is about 8-10 minutes left on the timer for Mixture 1, either add Mixture 2 to the baking sheet already in the oven, or add Mixture 2 to the oven on a separate non-stick or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake the coconut flakes, for 8-10 minutes. Monitor both mixtures to prevent burning. If you find that if the mixtures haven’t fully dried out, but are looking quite brown, you can reduce the heat to 150°F (65°C) and dehydrate them for for an additional half an hour. ✎
4. Transfer the baking sheet(s) to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before using. Cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

Enjoy as a topping on yogurt, smoothie, bowls, or in ways you'd typically enjoy muesli. ✎

---

Make It Nut-Free: if you aren't able to have nuts, you can omit the walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts and double the sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Macros (per serving): 230 calories | 8.5g protein | 20g fat | 3g net carbs

---

✎ Notes:

• I prefer blanched hazelnuts because the skin on unblanched ones tends to burn and fall off when toasted (taking the seasoning with it).
• If you prefer to use liquid monk fruit or stevia drops, you could mix this in with the water and/or oil before drizzling these onto the nuts/seeds/coconut. I have not made this recipe with a granulated sweetener, so cannot comment on whether or not it would work. I find granulated sweeteners more prone to burning, especially in dry environments.
• The objective with preheating to a high temperature and then reducing the temperature is to toast the nuts/seeds at a higher heat for a few minutes and then get them good and dehydrated at a slightly lower temperature. If you prefer to keep them at a higher heat and monitor them more carefully, that is also an option. I'd expect it to take about half the time at the higher heat. Be aware that if the mixture is not fully dehydrated, it may not keep in storage as long or maintain its crunch as well.
• If you have this with plant-based milk, as you might with museli, be aware that the portion size is rather small and the calories will add up quickly if you eat a lot of it. Using it as a topping on something with less calories and more protein is likely a better option for many.
• Macros for this recipes are calculated with national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the pumpkin seeds (Bob's Redmill) and pure monk fruit powder (Julian Bakery).
• Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.

---