Taste the flavors of fall in this savory Pumpkin Gingerbread Granola. A delicious breakfast or healthy nutty snack! Grain Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegan!
Well, I made it to Monday. In case you missed it, Mom went home over the weekend. It should make for an interesting week {read I’m stressed} because I have a lot of appointments this week and I get tired easily. Oh well, what doesn’t get done just doesn’t get done.
Tomorrow I start knee therapy with my PT. The same one I saw for my ankle stress fracture and she’s excellent. The orthopedic told me I could start a few weeks ago, but after talking it over with my PT we agreed it didn’t make sense for me to start until I was closer to weight bearing.
Meanwhile, I’ve been working with my Pilates instructor twice a week. When I got hurt, my Pilates instructor & PT came up with a plan to tackle my weakness so they would not get even weaker while I was on crutches. Now that I’m a few weeks away from being crutch-free, it’s time to get all the kinks worked out and I’m sure she’ll be tackling my bad hip too. I’m really not looking forward to that.
My Pilates instructor started working my quad last week and holly pain! There’s a lot of weakness there. It’s incredible how quickly you lose muscle. I can’t imagine if I had waited until I was off crutches to start tackling these things. I think I’m going to need serious meds to get through this rehab.
Last week I had an 8 week checkup at the orthopedic and the consensus is four more weeks on crutches {insert crying face}. She was hoping to let me start doing some weight bearing, but after consulting with another ortho about it said this type of tibia fracture is in a bad place.
I will have serious repercussions on the knee and ankle if it doesn’t heal properly and given my track record with stress fractures last year they are being extra careful. I told her, I’m ready to be off the crutches now! Yeah, that didn’t change her mind. So I guess metal legs it is for now. Home stretch!
I’m also still doing neck therapy for the concussion. Unfortunately, I found out last week the ear balancing therapy my neurologist wanted me to do I can’t start until I’m free of metal legs. My therapist said the therapy requires weight bearing. I guess I’ll have to wait to deal with the head stuff until I’m free again. I really cannot wait to get rid of these darn crutches. Only four more weeks. Four. More. WEEKS. God help me.
And now for the star of the show pumpkin gingerbread granola! I warned you guys that an avalanche of pumpkin was about to begin. I have to give myself a little pat on the back for this one because it is totally yum. I’m not a cereal person, but I could certainly have a big bowl of this granola with almond milk anytime.
My other favorite thing to do is to sprinkle my yogurt with it. I really wish I had a bag of this goodness to give to you through the screen right now, but since the internet doesn’t let us share that way yet I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it. Happy Baking!
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Pumpkin Gingerbread Granola
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 10 dates pitted & roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup almonds raw
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds raw
- 1/2 cup pecans raw
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt
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Next add nuts, seeds and dates to the mixing bowl coating them well
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Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and using a spoon spread the mixture evenly to ensure it cooks evenly
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Bake 30-35 minutes stirring the mixture half way through
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Remove from the oven and allow granola to cool on the baking sheet 1 hour or more to harden
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Refrigerate granola in a container up to a week
Recipe Notes
Makes ~18 servings (~1/4 cup each), 142 calories each
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I’m not into cereal anymore but do still like Paleo granola once in a while, with bananas and almond milk it’s delicious! I’ll have to try this 🙂
I don’t eat cereal either, but granola I like having around for fruit or yogurt toppings.
i love paleo granola because it fills me up way more than regular granola since its filled with lots of healthy fats. i love the sound of this pumpkin and gingerbread combo!
I agree. Paleo is the way to go when it comes to granola, in fact, most baked goods I like better Paleo style.
Please do get on the whole food-through-the-computer-screen-thing. That would be lovely. I’m glad that your ortho and PT and pilates instructor are in such close communication. That will make the most incredible difference. Though I am very sorry to hear that you have another 4 weeks on crutches. But, if all goes well, hopefully you can then just transition pretty seamlessly back! And with all the work that you are doing, you will be able to take the strain of going back to weightbearing. I know that I lost a ton of pop in my foot from just 2 weeks in the walking boot. But you should be able to gain back proper muscle strength pretty quickly. Good luck iwht this week sans mom!
I’m hopeful it won’t be bad, but my bad hip is a factor. It gets nasty after immobilization and no movement. They already told me I may need the crutches on/off for a bit until I regain full strength. We shall see…
Wow, you know how to make someone really hungry in the morning! This looks amazingly delicious!
Thanks, Emily! It’s always dangerous to read blogs on an empty stomach.
you can do this. Home stretch it is! we are here for you. praying for quick healing and off those crutches! p.s. LOVE THIS GRANOLA
Thanks, friend. The granola is perfection! xoxo
I haven’t made my own granola yet! This looks yum love the fall flavors. Thanks for linking up with us today!
We need to swap! I’ll make black bean burgers and you make granola.
Absolutely amazing! My mom makes her own granola and I swear it’s the yummiest 🙂
Thanks, Jamie! I can never pass up a good granola.
Have you thought about getting a scooter instead of crutches? I know they’re totally dorky, but it made a big difference for me when I was healing from a stress fracture (sesamoid bone removal) a couple years ago. I think it would work for you because you put your foot/ankle off the back. I did wipe out a couple of times but I eventually got the hang of it. Hang in there!
I wouldn’t be able to use a scooter because I’m not supposed to bend my knee or put pressure on the knee. If I did have one, I would be that person wiping out all the time! They offered a wheelchair, but it wouldn’t help really because I have two stories. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Glad to hear you get to start PT, that will be a big step forward, and you know you are well on the road to recovery 🙂 This granola sounds delicious, I love gingerbread flavored things and I love granola! Win win!
This last stretch feels like forever!
OMG yes!! This recipe is fantastic, and I have all the ingredients. I had to give up having cereal in the house because I have no self control. But when it’s homemade I tend to be able to pace myself. Gotta try this! And PS thinking of you and hoping your day alone is going well!!
I don’t do cereal either, but oatmeal and granola I can handle. It’s good to know what you are and are not capable of.
I am so thinking of you!! I would be a total bit*h to live with off exercise for this long!!!! HUGE HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m still swimming, lifting upper body and working with my pilates instructor. There’s always a way to work around things!