Chocolate Almond Coconut Granola

It's been a while since I've been this excited about a recipe but... holy smokes, y'all.  I am in love with this granola!

I recently saw a recipe for Triple Chocolate Crunch Granola and knew that was something I needed to try.  But shortly thereafter, I was inspired by a very nice representative from Nuts.com* to develop a recipe using almonds.  I had the idea to make a chocolate granola, with almonds... and coconut.

For a coconut lover like me, that's essentially a trifecta of deliciousness.  Almond joy-ous, if you will!  Plus I keep hearing about all the health benefits of almonds and coconut oil, so I feel like it's an indulgence you don't have to feel too guilty about.

And while I had a pretty decent first attempt at this, I tweaked a few things and my second try was spot on.  I have been sneaking handfuls of this stuff every time I walk by the container.  It's addicting!

Honestly.  The photo session was like 30% shooting, 70% snacking.

Soo good.

I just feel badly for Mr. Vittles-- he's not big fan of granola, and he's REALLY not a fan of people crunching food in his presence.  It's a weird pet peeve of his.

I didn't realize how super crunchy this granola really is until The Mini was chomping away on some as her "after-dinner treat" the other night.  Pretty much her dad's worst nightmare.  I wasn't sure if I should be more worried about her tiny teeth chipping, or his soul being crushed with every bite.

So... uh, sorry, Mr. V.  But everyone else - you're welcome!

Chocolate Almond Coconut Granola

• 2 1/2 C. old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
• 1/2 C. sliced almonds
• 1/2 C. sweetened, shredded coconut
• 1/4. C. agave nectar
• 1/3 C. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 C. coconut oil (use unrefined for coconut flavor)
• 1 T. almond butter
• 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/8 t. salt
• 2/3 C. mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or nonstick foil, & set aside.

In large bowl, mix oats with almonds and coconut until evenly distributed.  Set aside.

In small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine agave, brown sugar, coconut oil, and almond butter.  Stir until oil and almond butter are melted, then add cocoa powder.  Mix until no lumps remain (mixture will be thick, like brownie batter).

Remove saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.  Add to oat mixture, and use clean hands to coat oats with cocoa mixture until evenly covered. (I know this is messy, but I recommend using your hands because you'll be able to coat the dry ingredients more thoroughly if you stir & squeeze the ingredients through your fingers.)

Spread granola evenly onto prepared sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, stirring well but gently every 10 minutes with a rubber spatula.  Remove from oven, and immediately sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.  Stir well to form larger clusters of granola, then spread back out evenly on pan to cool.  Place pan on wire rack until granola has cooled completely & chocolate has hardened (2-3 hours). Store in airtight container.

Recipe Loosely Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

*Note: I did not receive any free samples or compensation from Nuts.com when collaborating on this post.

Crunchy Granola Bites

Do you like granola bars?

I do, but unless you get some expensive organic brand, you probably don't like what you see on the side of the box.

You know, the likes of high fructose corn syrup...  partially hydrogenated oil.... artificial flavoring...

Ech.  Not ideal for a supposedly "healthy" breakfast or snack.

My friend, Super Mom Natalie, already shared with you her fabulous recipe for granola, but sometimes I want something that doesn't require a bowl.

Something I can easily grab and eat on the go.

Like a granola bar.  But without all that bad stuff.

So that's why I made these.  They are full of wholesome goodies like oatmeal, flax seeds, almonds, and pumpkin seeds, and wheat germ.

Also, if you're feeling crazy, they are easily customizable to whatever you're craving at the moment.  Raisins, cranberries, pecans, mini chocolate chips (I won't tell if you won't!), sesame seeds - anything your little heart desires.

But nooo hydrogenated oils or corn syrup in these bad boys.

And they're more fun than a granola bar because they are bite-sized.

Everything is more fun when it's mini :)

Crunchy Granola Bites

• 1 1/2 C. old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 C. flax seeds
• 1/4 C. sliced almonds
• 1/4 C. pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 C. shredded coconut
• 1/4 C. wheat germ
• 2 T. blonde coconut palm sugar (or light brown sugar is fine)
• 1 T. molasses
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. agave nectar
• 1 T. almond butter
• 4 T. Earth Balance spread (or butter)
• 2 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 - 1/4 t. salt (to taste)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin tin and set aside.

Combine oats, flax seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, and wheat germ on a rimmed baking sheet and spread into an even layer.  Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 6 or 7 minutes, until ingredients are lightly toasted.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, honey, molasses, agave, almond butter, and Earth Balance spread in a small saucepan on stove.  Heat over medium-low, stirring until melted, and bring to a gentle simmer.  Stir occasionally, lowering heat if necessary to prevent burning, until oats are done.

Empty oat mixture from baking sheet into a bowl, and stir.  Remove sugar syrup from stove, and add vanilla and salt.  Pour syrup over oats in bowl, and stir to coat mixture well.

Increase oven heat to 325 degrees, then divide granola mixture among cups of prepared mini-muffin tin (I used a small cookie dough scoop to distribute evenly).  Press mixture firmly into cups - you want the mixture to adhere to itself, otherwise you'll just end up with cups of loose granola!

Bake in pre-heated oven for 13-15 minutes until golden.  Let bites sit in pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on wire rack.

Original Recipe

Chocolate & Kahlua Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Do you ever just get tired of life sometimes?

Not in a creepy suicidal way or anything - just more that the prospect of waking up tomorrow and doing everything all over again is bordering on painful.

I get like that every once in a while.  Today is one of those 'whiles.'

This week has consisted of work, rain, boot camp, rain, make dinner, rain, eat dinner, shower, go to bed, rain some more.

I am sick of work.

I am sick of rain.

I am sick of exercising.

Perhaps due to the fact that I actually went to boot camp 2 days in a row this week.

Mr. Vittles was surprised, to put it mildly.

"Boot camp again?" he asked.  "Didn't you just go yesterday?"

"Yes," I said, "but it's either tonight or tomorrow morning, because there are no Friday night classes.  And I want to do my own thing Saturday and not worry about class."

"Ok..." he conceded.

Then, "Are you sure you're not having an affair?"

Joking of course.

I think.

(I would not cheat on my husband... but if I did, let's hope it would be a lot more fun than exercising until I'm sick to my stomach.)

Now there are a few different trainers that run the classes, but the one that runs Thursdays' is BRUTAL.

With a capital B.  For Butt-Kicking

His name is Darrell & he is short, spunky, built beyond belief, and gives the Energizer bunny a run for its money.

Ironically, he is also the inventor of the Fat Darrell sandwich.

??

Go figure.

Now with that fact in mind - when we were leaving class today, he praised us for our hard work but warned us "Don't eat too much ice cream on the way home."

Since he didn't reference the amount of ice cream I can eat AT home, I guess that means unlimited?

Sweet.  Good thing I made this fabulous ice cream on Sunday :)

Chocolate & Kahlua Coconut Milk Ice Cream

• 2 C. coconut milk (full fat is best, but I used the kind from the refrigerated aisle)
• 1/2 C. whole coffee beans
• 1 C. heavy cream
• 3 T. agave nectar (use more if you like it sweeter)
• 1/4 C. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 3 T. Kahlua liqueur

Heat coconut milk in medium saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer.  Add coffee beans and stir - remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes.

Strain mixture into a bowl, and discard coffee beans.  Add heavy cream, agave, cocoa powder and Kahlua to the coconut coffee- whisk until smooth.

Pour mixture through fine-mesh sieve (gets out any cocoa powder lumps) into the frozen container of an ice cream maker.  Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.  Either serve directly from container (will be soft) or allow to ripen in freezer in a freezer-safe container.  Makes about 1 quart.

*For those of you that were looking for a non-dairy ice cream - ha, I tricked you!  No no, just kidding - you can replace the 1 C. heavy cream with another cup of coconut milk.  It will likely get harder in the freezer than the one with cream, so just leave it out on the counter for a few minutes.

Original Recipe

Triple Citrus Margarita

Ok so as some of you may have noticed, V&B is now on Twitter.

Which is probably no big deal to you, but for me... huge.

You see, I don't tweet.  Or at least I didn't until last week.  Because I know nothing about it. 

And to be honest, I still don't really get it.  But I'm learning.

I signed up and then I was like.... ok now what?

I had to actually utilize the help section to see what I was supposed to even be doing.

I had to actually Google things like "RT" and "#FF" to see what those abbreviations meant.

Sad, I know.

My husband has a running comment about my blogging habits, where if I am on the computer for a while he'll ask if I'm 'vittling and bitting.'

Well last week I think I spent more time twittling than vittling.

Maybe it's karma for making fun of my dad, who for many years did not understand how to text message.

(FYI, he got over it, and now he goes crazy with the texts - "Enjoy ur weekendz, love 2 u both" was a text he sent to me & Mr. V last week.  Umm... what?)

Or maybe it's karma for laughing hysterically at my grandmother Yaya Vittles, who was about to open a large box from her children at Christmas and actually prayed "Please, Lord, don't let it be a computer - I'm too old to learn anything new."  (It was a CD player, not a computer).

And here I am...puzzled over Twitter.

Karma's a b*#$@^ isn't it?

At times like these, what really helps soothe the nerves is a nice adult beverage.

I'm actually not much of a drinker, however I am a sucker for margaritas.  One night a few weeks ago we were out with some friends and the margarita I ordered came with an orange slice in it.

It was delicious.

So when I found a margarita recipe a few days later that had not only a splash of OJ but also limoncello in it (why do you think I had limoncello available to make my strawberry shortcakes??) I was definitely intrigued.

I had to pick up a few items from the store, but I couldn't wait to make it.  And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. 

I tweaked the recipe to my taste, but the limoncello & orange juice are definitely a nice twist.  And although Mr. V doesn't typically like mixed drinks, he was surprised at how good this was.

A couple of these and... Twitter who?

Triple Citrus Margarita

• 3 oz. fresh lime juice (about 3 medium limes)
• 2 oz. limoncello
• 3 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 C. 100% agave tequila
• splash orange juice
• 1 to 2 t. agave nectar (optional)
• salt & lime zest of 1 lime, for garnishing rim of glasses (optional)

Set out two serving glasses.  If using zest, zest one of the limes and mix zest with salt on a small plate.  Cut a slice from the lime, and slit segment horizontally- place over rim of one of the glasses, and run around the edge.  Dip rim of glass into salt & zest mixture.  Repeat with other glass.

Place ice in cocktail shaker.  Add fresh lime juice, limoncello, triple sec, tequila, agave nectar (if using) and orange juice and shake to combine.   Serve in glasses straight up (or on the rocks), garnished with orange and/or lime slices if desired.  Serves 2.

Recipe Inspired by Gourmantine