Nutritious "Mounds" Candy Bars...Mmmm....

Could it be? A candy bar that could be...healthy?Yes, my friends! Let me introduce you to my friend, Mr. Coconut Oil.Chalked full of healthy goodness, coconut oil should be your friend too. You can read about it's immune boosting abilities here. It can be a little more on the expensive side but, hey, it's cheaper than going to the doctor!

And this recipe calls for a lot of it. I can just feel myself fighting off those germs now! :)

I can't claim this recipe as my own. It comes from Kimi who is very dedicated to healthy eating. Okay! Let's get started. I even took pictures, you should be so proud!

“Mounds” Candy Bars-makes 12, large

1 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup of honey (raw is nice)
1 teaspoon almond extract
36 almonds, left whole or chopped (your choice)

1-Melt the coconut oil and honey over low heat until just melted. Whisk to combine. Add the almond extract and coconut flakes.

2-Now take out your muffin tins (you will need a 12 compartment muffin tin). In each compartment, place three almonds, or divide the chopped almonds) Then, divide the coconut mixture, making sure you get an even mixture of coconut flakes and coconut oil. Place in a freezer (make sure it’s on a flat surface), and freeze until hard (about 30 minutes)
Now it’s time for the chocolate! You will need:

3/4 cup cocoa powder (not dutch cocoa)
1/4 cup of honey (I used a scant 1/4 of a cup)
1 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-Combine these ingredients in a 2 cup glass measuring glass and place in a pot of simmering water. Heat until everything is just melted, and remove from heat. Either whisk briskly, or use a hand blender to combine well (the hand blender is the easiest way to do this).

4-Take out the frozen coconut flakes mixture, and divide your chocolate mixture over it (about two tablespoons per muffin compartment).

5-Put back into your freezer, and freeze until hard (again, about 30 minutes). To get them out, simply slide a butter knife down one side, and pop it out. This is very easy to do, as long as you do it directly from your freezer.

Then, enjoy! (and keep them frozen, they melt fairly quickly)

The only changes I would make would be to cut back on the almond extract a little and next time I'd chop up the almonds (I left them whole this time). I think it would be easier for the children to eat if they were chopped. But overall, very good! And NO SUGAR! woo hoo!

Now, may I introduce you to my cast of characters? I know you all just LOVE knowing what it's like to try and do things with 4 small children running under foot, right??

"The Helper"
Lilly is always at my side seeing what she can do to help. I decided that she could not only help but we could even work a little school work into this. She had to put 3 almonds in each compartment and then at the end count the total. She's awesome.


"The Sneak"
Luke was sneaking around the whole time taking an almond here, licking a spoon over there. He even tried some of the coconut oil all by itself, which I imagine was rather...oily. Ick.


"The Troublemaker"
And Brad...was being Brad. I'd have to stop every 10 minutes because someone was yelling "Mom! Bradley's playing with the scissors!" "Mom! Bradley's in your bathroom (usually eating toothpaste or something)!" That's how it goes, people.

"The Sleeping Beauty"
And Kate helped just by sleeping the whole time. Which at this stage in the game is all a mom could want!

And one last picture, I promise. Did you see the cupcakes I made for Lilly's birthday? I saw them in a magazine and thought they looked so springy and cheerful that I just had to make them. Sunflowers!


Next up, my favorite smoothie recipes!

Thanks for reading!
~A