Andrea did it! She survived! That’s one great big Check Mark on the list of “Things To Do Before You Die” list: Have a baby in France. Baby Ira is ridiculously handsome already, which in my opinion is a rare thing for baby boys… I mean, they can be cute as in Old Man Cute, but Ira is the real-kine legit cute with out the old man face. And they’re both doing really well.
Our family also survived…. a less impressive feat than having a baby, but a feat none the less: both our girls’ b-days, cousin Chloe’s b-day, Christmas, a trip to Flagstaff, the husband had a month off school (come on, all women know having a man around the house 24/7 is ten times the work and effort than kids are…) and this was all in just a months time. Thus the near month absence from blogworld. Eden, now 2 yrs, believes that “fêtes” are daily routine and won’t stop requesting cakes, candles and cadeaux. It’s time to tell her the truth how life really works.
Needless to say, I didn’t indulge in the usual myriad of deserts and heavy foods that come along with the Holidays and celebrations, but I was also happy to find I didn’t miss it or want it. FINALLY I’ve gotten to that point where my body not only stopped craving things with wheat, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and soy, but I think it would be gross to eat the things I’m not supposed to. Strange how our pallets change as our minds do.
Along with the change of pallet, I can’t handle sugary treats too well. The smallest amount of sweetener is plenty, and as a general rule the bitter the better.
This adaptation of the classic “Muddy Buddy” Chex cereal treat was a no-brainer to put together and it satisfied all my desires during the holidays. Well, most desires…. the food ones anyway. It’s a crunchy, dark chocolate, light in your belly, ever so slightly sweet snack. Invest 10 minutes tops and you’re there.
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 ounces your favorite dark chocolate **
- 16 oz crunchy almond butter
- 1 box plain rice Chex cereal
- 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
- powdered sugar to taste (about 1 cup)
- In your biggest bowl, pour out the box of cereal.
- In a double boiler* melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Then add your chocolate and let it slowly melt. Tend to the chocolate with a rubber spatula so it doesn’t burn.
- When the chocolate is about half way melted, add the can of almond butter. This is the hardest part; I loath scraping almond butter from the jar!
- Continue to gently melt on medium until all is incorporated and melted.
- Immediately pour over the cereal and stir with the spatula (harder tools for stirring tend to crunch and destroy the cereal.) until it’s evenly covered.
- Now throw in some powdered sugar to add sweetness and make it it easier to handle. Start with just under a cup of the sugar, mix the cinnamon with the shallow cup of sugar first to make stirring easier and the seasoning even. Pour into the cereal. Keep stirring, tasting, and adding bits of sugar until it reaches your desired sweetness. It probably won’t look fully white/gray like traditional muddy buddies, we don’t use that much sugar, so it’s still brown.
- Eat right away while it’s warm, but be sure to save some in the fridge too as it’s GREAT cold and hard.
- *No microwaves, it ruins the chocolate. If you don’t have an official double boiler, put a glass bowl above a sauce pan with an inch of water; or try one smaller sauce pan inside a larger sauce pan, with the small bit of water in the bottom pan. Don’t let the water boil like crazy and get inside the chocolate mixture, it’ll ruin the texture and taste.
- **I can have Theo chocolate, so I used a bar of 85% dark Theo and then added one ounce of 100% dark unsweetened Schafferer cooking chocolate. Mercy mercy mild! But use whatever combo or brand of dark chocolate you like most.
Oh man, can I just poof into the future and be where you are right now? How would that be to not crave the bad stuff. I’m feeling extra weighed down with bad foods this year and even more anxious than usual to get back to eating right. Got to keep my body healthy for those future babies!
I welcome any treat that won’t push me off my wagon.