I have to admit that I’m a bit of a snack food junkie. As a general rule, if it has chocolate, I’ll eat it. Then I’ll eat some more. So it’s a beautiful thing when I can find a snack that’s healthy and has that oh-so-yummy cocoa flavor that I love so much. One of the most incredible things I’ve found lately is chocolate granola. Yeah, that’s right… chocolate freaking granola. Can life really get much better?
There’s a new company out of California (where else?) called Cocomo Joe that makes it. They have about thirteen different food products, and they were kind enough to send me some samples. On the day they arrived via UPS, it was like magic. I’d been working for a few hours and was just contemplating how nice it would be to have a snack when the driver pulled up and handed me the box. Even though I smile a lot, it had been a while since I’d smiled so brightly.
The first bag I ripped open was the Salty Chocolate Granola. Intrigued by the blend of flavors, I’d been looking forward to tasting it since I read about it on their website. They did not disappoint. Now if you’re a nominal chocolate fan, meaning that you think that Hershey’s makes the best chocolate in the world, organic chocolate may take some getting used to. But if you give it a chance and let your palette dance a bit, you’re probably going to find out that you’ve really been misjudging what really good chocolate tastes like. I kid you not, as a lifelong chocolate lover, the best chocolate I’ve ever had was organic and raw.
Each of the products that Cocomo Joe offers is vegan, gluten-free, has mostly if not entirely organic ingredients, and works for a paleo diet. The granolas are really good in milk, in fact, the Milk Chocolate Granola in milk is downright incredible. Once you finish spooning out the granola, you’re left with some of the best chocolate milk you’ll ever taste.
They also carry a number of granola bars with predominate flavors like Cranberry and Green Tea. Although I do recommend that unless you want a really good work out, open the Joe Bars with a pair of scissors as they are almost impossible to open with your bare hands, a fact that becomes a tad bit aggravating when you’re hungry. Nevertheless, they’re really good granola bars, but not the most astounding of their products.
Now, even though I’m a die-hard chocoholic, the snack that really blew me away was the Healthy (Really) Caramel Corn. The one ounce bag is a real tease so I recommend you get two of them, but this stuff has organic air popped corn, organic coconut nectar, organic coconut sugar, organic virgin coconut oil, sea salt, and organic vanilla extract. If you can’t tell, Cocomo Joe is a bit crazy for coconuts. And like it says on the bag, it’s crazy good. It blows Cracker Jacks out of the water. (One small proviso… there’s a little package in there with the caramel corn. It ain’t a prize, ya’ll. It’s silica gel to keep it fresh. I recommend you don’t eat it.)
So if you see Cocomo Joe in your grocery aisle, especially the Healthy (Really) Caramel Corn, you’ll be a really happy hippie if you indulge a bit. If they don’t have it where you shop, you’ll need to make a request because online ordering isn’t available just yet from their website at www.cocomojoefoods.com.
