I am not a morning person. And I know roughly 97% of America can relate. I’m usually a give-me-coffee-so-I-can-be-human kind of girl. No, that’s not entirely true. The complete truth is, I literally stumble around for the first 15 minutes I’m awake. (I once tripped getting out of bed and fell into my open closet, then managed to knock the sliding closet door off it’s hinges as Itried to get up.) So, after I stumble dazedly about for a bit, THEN I get my coffee and become human.
Making breakfast is a struggle for me. I used to grab a protein bar or piece of toast with some peanut butter on it and eat it on the way to work. Then I stopped eating protein bars and bread. Then I had a kid and had even less energy to put toward breakfast. I’m not so keen on trying to make breakfast when I can barely function as it is. What to do, what to do…
Oh, I KNOW! Eat chocolate and peanut butter. For breakfast. (And although I think cold breakfast is generally not the best option, I think not eating at all is much worse.)
Apparently, these are called Charlie Brown Bars (maybe because of the peanuts?), but I’ve been making them for ages. I saw them on display in the fancy dessert case at a certain store that sells “whole foods”, and guess most of the world eats them for dessert. To each their own. The great thing about it is you can use whatever nut or seed butter you like, and eat them whenever you want. They are packed with fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and calories, so you might have to watch your serving size.
*Please note due to the coconut oil, these bars need to stay cold or they turn to mush. Delicious mush.
Ingredients for Bars:
- 1 1/2 cups nut or seed butter (no sugar, unsalted is best)
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup unsalted nuts or pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 3/4 cup coconut crystals or erythritol (I prefer to powder mine in a coffee grinder first)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 30 drops liquid stevia
- Pinch of salt cinnamon to taste
Directions for Bars:
- In a small saucepan, melt nut butter and coconut oil together over low heat, then add vanilla extract and stevia
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine nuts, seeds, coconut, erythritol, and cinnamon and mix
- Pour melted coconut oil and nut butter mixture into bowl, and mix with a non-stick spatula until combined
- Spread mixture into 9×13 pan and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or until very firm)
Ingredients for Chocolate Topping:
- 3 oz 90% cacao chocolate
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 15 drops stevia
Directions for Chocolate Topping:
- Melt chocolate and coconut oil in your home-made double boiler
- Add vanilla and stevia
- Once melted and stirred well, pour into the pan of chilled nut butter mixture
- (Optional and delicious step: Spread a layer plain nut butter over the pan first, then pour your chocolate over it.)
- Allow to harden in the refrigerator for an hour, then cut into serving sized pieces and store.