Raw Adaptogenic Chocolate Chaga Buckwheat Crunch
I’m always looking for new ways to pack beautiful, healing, ingredients into my breakfast. I tend to reach for a smoothie bowl of some sort most mornings, on top of which I sprinkle the various creations I have on my shelves. I love plenty of crunch in my breakfast and I love to have a good mixture of different things. That’s why 'I’m always making different “grawnolas” and buckwheat crunches. If I don’t have at least 3 different types of crunchy sprinkle on my breakfast, I feel like I’ve let myself down a bit.
Similarly to my Choco Maca Buckwheat Breakfast Crunch, this raw, gluten-free breakfast recipe was inspired by one of my favourites from the wonderful book The Raw Alchemist by Shanti Allen and Lesya Pyatnichko.
This buckwheat crunch is a powerhouse. Some of the stars of the show include:
sprouted buckwheat
raw ccao
chaga mushroom
maca root
walnuts
hemp
And the list goes on, my friends.
So what do we mean by adaptogenic? Adaptogens are magical plants which support our energy levels and mood. They literally help our bodies to adapt to and regulate whatever stressors we may be dealing with. They effectively scurry around our bodies and help to recalibrate whatever is out of whack. In doing so, they have a rejuvenating effect on our overall wellbeing and immunity.
Incredibly, you could take an adaptogenic herb in the morning and then again in the evening and it could do totally different jobs, depending on what it “senses” your body needs.
Russian toxicologist Nikolay Lazarev first began using the term “adaptogen” in 1957. He said that adaptogens generally consist of four ‘N’s:
Nourishing - They bring nutritive strength.
Normalising - Like faders on a mixing desk, they raise what we need more of (energy) and lower what we are dealing with too much of (stress hormones).
Non-specific - They can work on multiple parts of the body at the same time. Whichever part needs them.
Non-toxic - fortunately!
According to the Pukka website, adaptogens are able to:
Improve overall wellbeing
Increase energy
Optimise organ function
Reduce stress response
Increase inner strength
Improve blood sugar levels
Optimise protein synthesis
Reduce inflammatory cortisol levels
Improve cholesterol ratios
Regulate the hormonal balance
I try to include various adaptogens in my diet each day, so having something I can include with my breakfast that is made of an array of these tasty herbs suits me perfectly! The key is to find a variety of adaptogens that you genuinely like the taste of otherwise they will just sit at the back of your cupboard. Trust me, I know.
The ingredients with adaptogenic properties that I have included in this recipe are:
maca root
chaga mushroom
hemp - not always classed an adaptogen but many consider it to be one.
You could include your favourites and mix it up a bit.
Chaga is a beautiful medicinal mushroom which came into my life fairly recently, through the wonderful Myshrooms, who make and deliver delicious snacks made with medicinal mushrooms. See my recent Myshrooms musing. They also sell mushroom extracts and this is an excerpt from their website, about chaga:
Chaga is part of folk medicine in many parts of Europe, China, and Canada. It's an incredible adaptogen because of the Betulinic acid it contains, packs a universe of antioxidants and is the highest natural source of melanin.This Chaga is wildly harvested in the Great Khingan region in the very north of China….What can you use Chaga for?
Increase energy and resilience
Strengthen immune system
Reduce stress and fatigue
Support gut and immune system
Manage inflammatory conditions (e.g. psoriasis).
Buckwheat is the main ingredient in this recipe. Although it acts like a grain, it’s actually an incredibly nutritious seed and once sprouted it becomes even more so! Sprouting increases its levels of proteins, fats essential amino acids B vitamins and certain enzymes, but it also breaks down phytic acid which is an anti-nutrient. This allows your body to take in more of the nutrients on offer! For more info on buckwheat and how to sprout it, check out my recent recipe for Lemon Baobab Buckwheat Brittle.
If you’ve read many of my previous breakfast recipes, I know I’ll sound like a bit of a broken record here when I say this isn’t that sweet, as granolas go. But to me it is way sweet enough. The raisins add a lot of sweetness for me and we have both maple syrup and dates in the mix.
I’ve snuck some walnuts in there because they’re both delicious and great for your brain! Yes, that’s right, they look like brains AND they nourish them. That’s because they’re rich in a type of plant-based omega-3 fatty acid called DHA, which has been shown to protect brain health in newborns, improve cognitive performance in adults, and prevent or ameliorate age-related cognitive decline.
You’ll surely not have missed that there’s also a good helping of hemp seeds in this recipe, another brain food! Rich in omegas 3 and 6, B vitamins and full of protein. What better ingredient could you want in your brekkie or a pick me up snack?
Bare in mind that you’ll need to give yourself a couple of days head start on this recipe, so you have enough time to sprout those little buckwheat tails beforehand!
As with all new herbs or mushrooms that you haven’t used before, I recommend spending some time doing your own research to check whether they are right for you. We are all different and some ingredients may or may not be suitable for you.
Ingredients
Chocolate paste
6 tbsp raw cacao
2 tablespoons carob (I use roasted which is obviously not a raw ingredient), or sub more cacao
1 heaped tablespoon mesquite powder
1.5 tablespoon red maca (I tend to use more if using yellow maca because I don’t find the flavour as strong)
1/2 cup dates (soaked in water until soft if not already squishy)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted with about 6 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional ingredients
3-4 cups sprouted buckwheat, rinsed well so they aren’t too slimy!
1/4-1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup hemp seeds
3 tablespoons coconut flour
3 teaspoons chaga mushroom powder (I get mine from Hybrid herbs)
Pinch of salt
Method
Turn on your dehydrator and prepare two trays with non-stick sheets.
Begin by blending all of the ingredients for the chocolate paste in a blender or food processor until you a lovely smooth and silky texture. (I highly recommend having a little taste at this point. YUM.)
In a separate mixing bowl, combine your buckwheat, raisins, cacao nibs, chopped walnuts, hemp seeds, coconut flour, chaga powder and pinch of salt. Mix well to combine.
Using a spatula, pour your chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl and give everything a good mix so that there are no dry bits. I find I have to spend a few minutes doing this, pressing down quite hard with the spoon and really checking the bottom of the bowl.
One you’re happy everything is well mixed, split the mixture across your two trays and spread it out as best you can. The mixture well dehydrate in the position you put it in the dehydrator, so you want it to already look like the kind of chunky granola you would like to eat.
I spend some time over this as well. I find the best way to do it is to use the side of a spoon and gently chop into the mixture to spread it about. I also use damp hands to help it along. Find whatever way works for you. You’re aiming for something that looks like the photo above (the last one).
Place the trays in your dehydrator at 115°F/46°C for around 24 hours. To test if it’s ready, take out a small piece and allow it to cool down for a minute before you try it. The buckwheat should be really crispy with just a slight softness to the chocolate.
Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container. It should keep for several months as long as no moisture gets into the container.
Enjoy as a cheeky snack during the day or sprinkle over your breakfast.