Passover Is Here…What To Eat? Passover “Granola”, Of Course!!

In a few days, many of my Jewish friends who observe Passover will be putting aside their bread based food items and begrudgingly switching over to matzo, or any food that is an unleavened grain, for an entire week! For some, this is no big deal. Listen, you can still eat sweet potatoes and quinoa ( depending on how observant you are), which would be fine in my book. However, this is the time of year Jews go scouring their recipe books for new ideas so they don’t feel like shooting someone by day 3 of matzo with peanut butter and jelly.

Last year I made a matzo brei “pizza” with roasted peppers, olives and parsley. That went over pretty well, but this year I decided I wanted to create something sweet, snack-y and highly portable. 

This recipe is really cool and easy to make. It is easily stored in mason jars and can be a fun gift instead of a bottle of wine to bring to the houses of guests who invite you over on Passover.

SIDE NOTE- You do not have to be Jewish or even know what Passover is to make this awesome “granola.”

You can use any nut or dried fruit you like. I used dates and cranberries because where I was grocery shopping at that moment only had a few select dried fruits that did not have sulphur dioxide in them. Read here about why I chose only to eat dried fruits WITHOUT this compound in them.

This granola is also relatively low in sugar because I used coconut sugar, which is still sugar but is considered a low-glycemic sweetener and has inulin in it, which supports overall gut health, blood sugar balance, obesity and immunity levels. There is also dried fruit and honey, which adds to the sugar content, so if you are super concerned about sugar you can leave the dried fruit out…you can also leave the honey out, but I am not sure how the taste would be without that…it’s up to you. It’s meant to be a snack eaten in moderation. Enjoy it!

PASSOVER “GRANOLA”

3 crushed whole-wheat matzos

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

dash of cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (I used cranberries and dates, but you whatever you like)

DIRECTIONS
Stir together matzos, walnuts, oil, sugar, honey, and salt. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes, until toasted, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool. Break into smaller pieces. Stir in dried fruit.