Healthy Chocolate Cereal Recipe (Healthy Cocoa Pops)

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MY HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CEREAL

My healthy chocolate cereal recipe

In this post, I’ll be sharing my favorite healthy chocolate cereal recipe with you! This cereal is in between a cocoa pops sort of recipe, and a granola recipe – and let me tell you… it is delicious! I’m so freaking obsessed.

I just posted a new “What I eat in a day” video on my YouTube channel, where I showed you how I make this recipe – But I still wanted to type the recipe up on the blog here for you so that you could follow it easily.

This recipe was definitely inspired for my love of cocoa pops/ chocolate cereals (who doesn’t love Coco Pops?), and I really wanted to make a healthier alternative that was yummy, healthy and filling. Even though it is a little bit more granola-ish (not a real word, lol) than regular Coco Pops, I still wanted to keep this recipe super simple (and so there are no nuts and seeds in this one).

This healthy chocolate cereal is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free.

I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do!

Liezl Jayne XO

Be sure to watch my YouTube video, where I show you how easy it is to make this recipe.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

-3 cups dry rolled oats
-*1 cup puffed brown rice
-*1 cup puffed quinoa
-**75g dark chocolate (I use 100% unsweetened)
-1/3 to 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup (1/3 cup recommended)
-2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
-1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
-Pinch sea salt

SERVES 6-12 bigger servings / OR up to 24 small servings.

Recipe yields roughly 6 cups cereal.

*OR ALTERNATIVELY use 2 cups of either puffed brown rice or quinoa (instead of a mix of both). I often just use 2 cups of puffed brown rice.
**OR ALTERNATIVELY use 75g of dark baking chocolate or dark chocolate chips.

TAKE NOTE: Make sure the chocolate you’ve used is suitable for baking. If you’ve used sweetened chocolate, you may need add your sweetener to taste. You can do a quick taste test when the all of the ingredients are mixed, or after 5 minutes baking (recommended) when the chocolate has melted and has been stirred in. You can add up to 1/2 cup pure maple syrup if you like your cereal very sweet, or 1/3 cup if you like it slightly less sweet (recommended).

THE METHOD

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 180 C/ 360 F
-Melt the coconut oil by placing the coconut oil into a small bowl, and placing that small bowl into a larger bowl filled with hot water
-Wait for the coconut oil to melt, just take care not to burn your hands and not to get water into the coconut oil in the small bowl
-Finely chop the dark chocolate (just careful not to cut your hands, I find it easier to use a big chopping knife)
-Add the rolled oats, puffed brown rice, and puffed quinoa to a mixing bowl
-Add the chopped dark chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sea salt
-Add the 100% pure maple syrup and mix immediately
-Add the melted coconut oil and mix immediately again
-Add the cereal mix to a baking tray
-Bake in the oven for 5 minutes
-After 5 minutes, remove the baking tray from the oven and toss the cereal to get the melted chocolate mixed in properly
-After mixing, place back into the oven for another 5 minutes
-After another 5 minutes, remove the cereal and mix again, then bake again for another 5 minutes
-Remove from the oven and mix every 5 minutes until ready
-Takes 15-25 minutes to bake (depending on your oven, or desired crispiness)
-Once crispy to your liking, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely
-Once completely cool, store in an airtight container to keep fresh
-Makes 6-12 bigger servings (eaten as cereal) / OR up to 24 small servings (eaten as granola)
-Serve a portion with fresh berries, banana slices, almonds, plain yogurt or milk of choice (optional)
-Eat and enjoy!

MADE WITH LOVE BY LIEZL JAYNE XO

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Healthy Chocolate Cereal Ideas:
-Serve a portion with fresh berries, raw almonds and unsweetened milk of choice
-Serve a portion with fresh banana slices, raw cashew nuts and unsweetened milk of choice

Healthy Chocolate Granola Ideas:
-Add a small serving on top of plain yogurt of choice with fresh berries and raw almonds
-Add a small serving on top of plain yogurt of choice with fresh banana slices and raw pecan nuts
-Add a small serving on top of plain yogurt of choice with fresh fig slices and raw cashew nuts

JUST SOME SIMPLE IDEAS! XO

CALORIE BREAKDOWN

Basic Calorie Guidelines:

-Batch should yield roughly 6 cups cereal (average)
–1/4 cup cereal is roughly 85 calories (eaten as granola)
–1/2 cup cereal is roughly 170 calories (eaten as cereal)
–1 cup cereal is roughly 340 calories (eaten as cereal)
-Calorie guidelines do not include milk, yogurt, fruit, nuts, etc.
-All toppings and extra ingredients will be additional calories
-Calories of cereal may vary depending on brands of rice, quinoa and chocolate used
-Calories estimated for 100% unsweetened dark chocolate
-Calories estimated for unsweetened pure puffed rice and quinoa cereals

Photos by Liezl Jayne Strydom – for liezljayne.com