Homemade Cashew Milk with No-Waste Granola

As one does with the advent of the new year, I made a resolution for 2019 to waste less. I've finally begun to address my wasteful habits in the kitchen, the area of my life in which I spend the bulk of my time, and consequently generate the most waste. And what better place to start than with a super crunchy, no-waste granola recipe?

This recipe actually results into two delicious and breakfast friendly components: Cashew Milk and Cashew Granola. The fact that the waste generated from the cashew milk is repurposed in the granola is just the cherry on top of this two-for-the-price-of-one recipe sundae! I hope this recipe inspires you to get creative in the kitchen and sparks a journey to waste less in your own life, however seemingly small your actions may be. 

*This recipe requires a high powered blender and a nut milk bag or cheese cloth, just as a heads up!

Homemade Cashew Milk

• Prep Time:0
• Cook Time:5 mins
• Total Time:5 mins
• Servings:4
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted cashews
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt

• Step 1

  To make the cashew milk, simply put all of the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth. The color will have changed to a milky white and the mixture should look homogenous.

  

• Step 2

  Strain your cashew milk through a cheese cloth or (if you're fancy) a nut milk bag into a large mason jar. There should remnants left from your cashew milk. This is the "pulp" that you will use in your granola. As for the cashew milk, you can pop a lid onto your mason jar and store in the fridge for sipping with lattes and topping off cereal bowls of granola throughout the week.

  

No-Waste Cashew Granola

• Prep Time:10 mins
• Cook Time:25 mins
• Total Time:35 mins
• Servings:4
• Medium

Ingredients

• Pulp remaining from cashew milk
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup cashew butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the leftover cashew pulp from making the cashew milk, squeezed as to get rid of any extra liquid with the oats, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

  

• Step 2

  In a small microwave bowl, combine the cashew butter and maple syrup and microwave for 15-20 seconds and stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and pour into your cashew pulp/oat/salt/cinnamon mixture.

  

• Step 3

  Line a baking tray with parchment (to stick to my waste-less intention, I used a silicon reusable baking mat). Spread the granola onto the cookie sheet, careful not to break it up to much, as we want to keep those delectable crunchy clusters! Bake the granola for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and carefully flip the granola, trying to keep the pieces relatively intact to guarantee the formation of clusters. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned and the cashew-esque aroma begins to permeate throughout your whole kitchen.

  

• Step 4

  This step is very important!! Once you remove the granola from the oven, let it cool COMPLETELY without breaking it up. This creates maximum crunchiness and keeps the granola in large clusters. Once the granola is cooled, you can break it up to your desire and store in a mason jar for up to 2 weeks.