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Tate has always called granola, “grin-ila”, which I just can’t bring myself to correct him, not yet anyway.

Anyway, I dont know why, but I’ve been craving coconut and chocolate lately. Maybe seeing the Samoa Girl Scout cookie stuff around since my daughter is a Brownie, but wanted to make something for the kids anyway so thought I would try something new. I totally winged this so there might be a lot of random ingredients as I kept adding as I was going.

This is what I ended up with, and Scott, my dad, and Tate loved it.  Scott said it tasted like a “Whatchamacalit” candy bar. Do you remember those, or am I just dating myself?

Okay, so my goal with the chocolate on top was to drizzle it across the bars, but since I added coconut into the melted chocolate, it didn’t quite “drizzle”, but my family didn’t complain.

When I was at Whole Foods the other day I saw Bob’s Mill Quick Cooking Gluten Free Oats I thought, oh I can make something the kids like with that! I had never see the “Quick Cooking” kind and as much as my kids are liking Udi’s gluten free granola these days, I really wanted to make something they could have instead.

Here’s what you need and you could easily double this but since I wasn’t sure what I was making or how it would turn out. So, I just wanted to make enough for the family to sample.  Next time, I will double for sure.

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (I get mine from Whole Foods. It’s a great snack too!)
• 1/2 cup gluten free oats (Bob’s Mill Quick Cook Gluten Free Oats)
• 2 tbsp raw coconut palm sugar
• 1/2 cup dark honey (I used about half this)
• 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tbsp flax meal
• 1/2 cup egg whites (only because it’s easier to use the pour eggs sometimes. I used TJ’s free range eggs)
• 1/4 sunflower seeds
• 1/4 roasted flax seeds
• 1/4 dark chocolate chips

The seeds are optional as you could do any seeds or nuts that your family likes.

Mix all ingredients together but the honey. Set aside. Warm honey and then stir it all together. Pour over parchment paper and spread flat on cookie sheet. Cook on 350 for 15-20 minutes. Watch as the thinner parts may cook faster. Allow to cool, carefully pull off of the paper, and try not to devour all at once!

For the topping, I just melted some dark chocolate chips in a coffee cup, then added some shredded coconut, and spread it evenly over the cool bars. You could skip this part too. The bars were great without it, and since there are already chocolate chips in them, but that’s up to you!

I’ve had many people ask what they can do for their kid’s birthday celebration or class treats at school because now days so many kids have allergies to dyes, gluten, sugar, etc. and we don’t ever want to leave anyone out, right? Not to mention, do we really need even more sweets at school? Another rant, another day. Anyway, this is something easy I do for my kids school birthday celebrations and guess what, the kids love it because it’s fun, and yummy! We also have done it with bananas, green apples, etc. This crockpot is awesome for in the classroom or at a party, especially at $13. But we’ll also, at home, we’ll just use a coffee mug, add some chocolate chips, heat in the microwave 45 seconds and you’re good to go! This truly is the easiest, and probably the healthiest dessert!

Clearly before school and digging into the chocolate…

Now in the past I’ve done this for Alice’s (my 2nd grader) class. Turns out it’s a little different doing it for 3-4 year olds, and a little messier. In fact, Tate wanted to be the helper in his classroom, so needless to say, he was a wreck with his shirt and pants completely covered in chocolate. Unfortunatenly, not too long after we got home, we had to make a trip to the ER (Tate hit his head and needed just a few stitches), so between the blood from his head, and the chocolate all over his clothes, he looked like something out of Chainsaw Massacre when we walked into the hospital. Oh, and don’t let your 3 year old with slippery fingers carry the crock pot to the car. Turns out, the pot insides will shatter, all over the parking deck. What a day. Phew.

Happy almost 4th birthday Tater!