Who Says You Can't Have Dessert For Breakfast?

Mexican Hot Chocolate Granola

When I set out to change my relationship with food... sweets more specifically... breakfast was one of the biggest obstacles for me (dessert was a close competition.)

What do you think of when you hear "breakfast"?

Well, I thought anything sweet or loaded with carbs... pancakes, mini donuts, bagels loaded with cream cheese, toast smothered in butter with a tease of jelly, cinnamon rolls.... 

And then I was introduced to REAL FOOD! 

Suddenly breakfast became eggs with avocado, green smoothies, toast with feta, strawberries and avo, or home-made granola. I must interject here how absolutely thankful I am for the real food revival going on in the blogging world! I am not very knowledgeable or creative in the kitchen on my own so I am indebted to the inspirational bloggers who lure me in with their satiating culinary creations. Which leads me to my deepest-gratitude for this recipe I stumbled upon for Mexican Hot Chocolate Granola from The Lemon Bowl! This a-MMMMMM-azing recipe falls right in hand with my newest obsession over chili-chocolate! A perfect marriage of flavors. 

I made a few slight changes to the original recipe based on my preference:

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup honey
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup cacao powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cayenne - optional
• 3 cups oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup flax seed meal
• 
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with oven-safe parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together first 8 ingredients: honey through cayenne.
3. Toss in all remaining ingredients (oats through flax seed meal) and stir until everything is evenly coated with chocolate mixture.
4. Spread oat and nut mixture evenly on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool on pan for 30 minutes then break up granola into bite-sized pieces.

Where I typically would only eat granola for breakfast with milk and/or yogurt, I now find myself swiping swigs of this mouth-watering granola as a snack throughout the day! The nuts and oats make it wonderfully filling while the spices make it as wonderful as a dessert! So... who says you can't have dessert for breakfast or any other time of day for that matter?! :0)  

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