Gallivanting down the cereal aisle, you may notice that there are SO MANY MORE to choose from, compared to five years ago. Sugar-packed confections, gluten-free alternatives, crunchy granola combos and super-bland, healthy options.

Despite all the new choices, cereal sales have actually dropped by 17% since 2009, according to Mintel market research. As it turns out, less people are eating cereal for breakfast, because they are put-off by the sugar. Many are not just opting, but demanding for breakfast foods that fit their health needs, like fruit, greek yogurt, kefir, egg bites and vegan bars.

Don’t worry (or do worry), sugary cereals have not been completely eliminated from the American diet. According to Mintel, milennials (and other age groups) are snacking on those processed cereals throughout their days.

We understand that snacks should be delectable, but they also need to be nutritious. Refined sugar can cause you to burn out in the middle of the day, bring on headaches, make you eat other foods and lead to serious health issues.

That’s why we created TWO totally nutritious AND totally tasty snack recipes using our favorite Pure Planet products. These will keep you on track, fill you up and best of all, please your sweet tooth. Enjoy!

Choco-Mint Spirulina Energy/Protein Bites

What You’ll Need

2 tablespoons Organic Pure Planet Coconut Oil (or use your favorite)

5 tablespoons Pure Planet Choco-Mint Spirulina

1 cup organic almond butter

1/3 cup organic cream honey

1/3 cup sweetened cacao nibs

1/3 cup ground flax seeds

Desired amount organic coconut flakes (optional)

Instructions for 3 Dozen

1. In a medium size bowl, mix almond butter, honey and cacao nibs with a wooden spoon.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture (or use a melon baller to measure) and roll into a ball.
4. Optional: Coat the balls with coconut flakes. 
5. Refrigerate (or place in freezer) in a tightly sealed container.
6. Enjoy!

 Power Popcorn

What You’ll Need

3 tablespoons Pure Planet Organic Coconut Oil (or your favorite)

2-4 tablespoons Pure Planet Spirulina (powder) or Choco-Mint flavor

1/2 cup non-GMO organic popcorn kernels

Himalayan sea salt (to taste)

Optional: Cayenne pepper (to taste) 

Instructions 

1. Melt coconut oil in a pan. Note: You can easily melt Pure Planet Coconut Oil by submerging in warm water until oil it is soft or turns to liquid. Caution: Container may be hot to to the touch, depending on water temperature. 
2. Add kernels in, cover and let pop. Caution: Do not leave pan unattended.
   
3.  Sprinkle spirulina on popcorn until there is a light green coat.
4. Sprinkle sea salt and optional cayenne pepper.
5. Enjoy!

Read up on the cereal snack trend:

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/sugar-cereals-health-effects#modal-close

Besides using it around the house, coconut oil’s health benefits have made it a fairly common kitchen staple.

While substituting it for canola or olive oils are its most popular use, there are a number of other ways to incorporate heaping spoonfuls of it. Check out these coco-tasty and kitchen-easy recipes.

Coconut Oil Coffee

Substituting coconut oil for your coffee creamer, is delicious, more heart-healthy AND free of chemicals and sugar. Plus, mixing the saturated fat with caffeine helps give a longer-lasting energy boost! On top of that, the creamy addition supports proper digestion AND is satiating. Just add a spoonful of coconut oil to your cup  and stir. If you want to step it up a notch, place already brewed coffee, coconut oil and honey in a blender, and froth!

Coconut Oil Popcorn

Another super easy (+ super tasty) coco-kitchen hack is to use it for popcorn! The perfect, all-American snack just got a lot healthier.

Coconut Mama has the perfect, simple recipe. What you’ll need is:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of organic corn kernels
• Sea salt

Simply heat the coconut oil until it is completely melted (don’t go over medium heat, because the texture will not allow the kernels to pop). Place a few kernels in the pan to test if the oil is hot enough to pop them. Once it is, add the remaining kernels. Cover the pan and shake every 10 seconds when you hear popping. Remove the pan from heat after the popping slows down to every 2 to 3 seconds.

Let your popcorn cool and then add some sea salt! Enjoy!

Corn Tortilla Chips

Chips are another guilty-pleasure snack! Healthy living is a compromise and all about moderation. Don’t fill your cabinets with bags of processed chips that list unknown ingredients, make your own with whole foods! Coconut Mama has a pretty easy recipe with only a few ingredients.

You will need:

• 1 pack of corn tortillas (preferably organic and non-GMO)
• 6 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
• Sea salt

The directions are pretty simple too:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt the coconut oil.
3. While waiting on steps 1 and 2, cut the tortillas into small pieces. Place those pieces on a cookie sheet or tray when done.
4. Evenly spread the melted oil across the chips.
5. Place in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
6. Rotate the sheets or trays, and continue baking until the chips are light brown and crispy.
7. Add salt once done.

You can eat them warm (just be careful) or cool! Don’t forget to store some away for tomorrow! Just be sure to use a Ziploc or airtight container.

Coconut Oil Spreads

If you have a food processor or high performance blender, you can really put coconut oil to use by making spreads. You can make coconut butter and other spreads for bread or crackers.

To make these, you will need to combine selected ingredients into the blender with coconut oil, and blend away! You’ll want to place them in the freezer for at least ten minutes afterward (depending on how firm you want the spread to be) and then place it in the fridge after that. Use spreads within a few days of making them, depending.

Here are some cool, coconut combinations (say that three times fast) from Healthy Happy Life:

Cinna-Banana Coconut Spread:

• 5 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 banana
• 2-3 dashes of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of maple or agave syrup

Strawberry Spread:

• 5 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 5-6 strawberries
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons of maple or agave syrup

Remember, when experimenting with coconut oil spreads: Blending coconut oil with slightly cold or chilled liquids might leave you with clumpy butter. Unless you’re into that, you should probably stick to room temperature or warm liquids.

Have fun and get cooking!