I decided to change things up a bit and try my hand a savory snack. When I want to nibble on something throughout the day, savory treats are sometimes necessary, but not as often available to to me unless I dig into veggies or something like avocado toast. I wanted to create a quick grab a handful and go type of snack and this was a winner! Not only is this great for snacks but it also pairs well with salads, soups, {especially my Curried Sweet Potato Soup}, raw vegan pastas + more! And this recipe came together a lot easier than I had expected. I kind of just winged it with all of the herbs and spices, I felt pretty bad ass that the flavor profile was on point I’m not going to lie.One of the reasons I also had the idea for a savory granola was to be able to get my mom to eat my Curried Sweet Potato Soup. She always tastes a teaspoon full, but complains that it’s lack of texture is unappealing. I tried making it chunky (just skipped the puree step), but the flavor was different, and not as enjoyable!

Adding this granola to the soup allowed for the crunch factor that she was missing, and was all that I needed for her to finally eat some of my damn soup! It’s so good, try it out! If you don’t have all of the spices on hand, wing it like I did and just have fun! I was focused on it having more of an Italian flare, but you could easily sub in Indian or Mexican spice blends, or try your favorite curry combination. So long as you have around the same ratio of the other liquid and dry ingredients, I am sure you will succeed!I decided to change things up a bit and try my hand a savory snack, and this was a winner! I went all out in this recipe and included these two new ingredients that I thought would work well in a savory snack (and they did!)

The Go Raw Super Simple Sprouted Flax Snax are made from all organic flax seeds, sesame seeds  and tomato powder. I’ll be honest and say that I expected much more flavor from these. These were too mellow for my liking on their own, but once they were graced with the flavorings of this granola, they fpund that pop that they needed! Flax seeds are high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytochemicals called lignans. As I have been learning of in my functional foods course at my university, research has indicated that flax may reduce risks of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and even lung disease.

The Go Raw Sprouted Watermelon Seeds were a first to me. I had no idea that a snack like this was sold in stores, and I was curious to know, well, why. A simple taste taste showed me just why these babies were palatable?, reminding me of salted sun flower seeds, but nutritionally speaking, I had to do a small bit of research on them. I found out that they are surprisingly nutrition powerhouses. They are protein-rich (1 oz. (about 1/8 of a cup) contains 10 grams of protein), contain important amino acids (e.g. glutamic acids and tryptophan), are a good source of minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, manganese and copper), B vitamins (e.g. folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and pyridoxine), and essential Omega-6 fatty acids. The question now is how the heck they harvest these? I guess we’ll never know, and ain’t nobody got time for that so thank you Go Raw 😉

Make sure you tag me on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan or twitter @sweetsimpleveg and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of my recipes, I love to see your photos!PS: I am having so much creating custom text images (like the first on this post) for my blog and I think that sharing the resource I use would be beneficial to any of you out there who would like to start a blog or add that umph to one that you are already running. These are great for Pinterest and driving more traffic to your site, from my experience.

I am in no way affiliated with this website, I am simply sharing something that I have been loving over the last few months and have been utilizing on my blog, instagram, and even for school projects! It’s called Canva, and they have templates, free images, basically anything you need to create designs for your blog, social media accounts, covers, flyers, posters, invitations, etc. You can use their pre-made templates and images, or customize your own from scratch. Most are free, but some of the images aren’t. The only thing I ever paid for was a menu that I designed for a food service project at school, and we aced it btw 😉

I hope this helps! <3

‘Cheesy’ Balsamic Savory Granola with Watermelon Seeds & Sun Dried Tomatoes (gluten-free)

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• Author: Jasmine Briones / Sweet Simple Vegan
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ground chia seeds + 6 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup Go Raw Watermelon Seeds
• 1/2 cup Go Raw Super SImple Flax Snax, crushed*
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Mix the chia seeds with the water and set aside to thicken, about 10 minutes. Line a large baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Once the chia seeds have thickened, mix them with the balsalmic vinegar and coconut oil, Then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
4. Preheat oven to 300F and line a large baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
5. Bake for15 mins, stir, then return to the oven for another 10 mins.
6. Cool completely before serving.

Notes

Go Raw Flax Snax measured crushed

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Category: Snack
• Cuisine: Vegan

Make sure you tag me on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan or twitter @sweetsimpleveg and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of my recipes, I love to see your photos!

Disclaimer: Go Raw was kind enough to provide product for me to try and review on my blog, but all of the opinions shared are my own, I would not share a product with you all unless I loved it! Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan 🙂 

Info Sources: Organic Power Foods | Mayo Clinic | Web MD