These coconut avocado grasshopper bars are allergy-friendly and full of healthy, real-food deliciousness. And they’re completely devoid of grasshoppers… 
 

The first time I had a ‘grasshopper’ anything, I was 9 years old. Grasshopper pie was announced as the evening’s dessert at the summer camp my little brother and I were attending, and I was intrigued and excited.

Mind you, if my mom had said, “We’re having grasshopper pie for dessert,” I would have freaked out. She was notorious throughout my neighborhood as the lady who served real food – such as mac ‘n cheese with actual cheese in it, or pizza that didn’t come out of a box – there might actually have been some grasshopper in her pie!

Thankfully I had no doubt that my camp counselor was going to let me eat a treat full of all the wonderfully forbidden food my mother had sheltered me from all my life.

Coconut & Avocado Grasshopper Bars #coconut #avocado #grasshopper #nobake #paleo #glutenfree #dairyfree #peppermint #chocolate #realfood #dessert

 

Coconut Avocado Grasshopper Bars.

These delicious coconut avocado grasshopper bars have a smooth, homemade chocolate layer covering a chewy mint bottom. The latter being the perfect conduit for concealing a healthy avocado, thus providing extra nutrition (omega-6 and potassium) and negating the need for green food coloring. ;)

Avocado. While I’m not the biggest fan of avocados on their own, I do not mind hiding them in foods, at all. They’re packed with heart healthy monounsaturated fats. They’re full of vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, too. And avocados also have minerals like zinc, magnesium, potassium, iron and copper.

The main reason I used them in these coconut avocado grasshopper bars though, was because they’re green. And grasshopper desserts should be green, right? Plus they give the coconut layer a nice texture.

Coconut. You can use whatever shred of coconut you want for this recipe. It really doesn’t matter since you’re going to be blending it all up anyway. Please do use unsweetened, though! I usually get Azure Standard’s organic shredded coconut.

Honey. I always use honey as the sweetener for this coconut avocado grasshopper bars. Since they’re no-bake, I like to do my immune system a favor and use honey, since it’s packed with minerals, anti-viral, and antibiotic properties.

If you don’t want to use honey, you can try another liquid sweetener, agave or like maple syrup, thought maple syrup might change the flavor a little. You could also try stevia drops, though I haven’t, so I don’t know how many you’d need. Feel free to play around with it!

These Coconut & Avocado Grasshopper Bars are allergy-friendly and full of healthy, real-food deliciousness. And they're completely devoid of grasshoppers... | RaiasRecipes.com

Coconut oil. Using coconut oil in the base helps it firm up and stay together in the end. Since there’s a lot of coconut in these coconut avocado grasshopper bars, you don’t need to worry about your coconut oil tasting coconutty.

Peppermint. I usually use organic peppermint extract for these coconut avocado grasshopper bars. I have had people use peppermint essential oil in them, and while you do you, I wouldn’t recommend ingesting essential oils.

If you have access to fresh mint leaves, those will also work for this recipe! You can just add them to the blender with the coconut.

Cocoa powder. If you wanted to, you could technically just melt a bunch of whatever chocolate chips you like for the topping. I usually don’t have chocolate chips on hand, though, so I make the chocolate topping out of honey, coconut oil, and cocoa powder. I love using Azure Standard’s fair-trade, organic cocoa powder, but it can be quite pricy! When I can’t afford it I usually use Aldi’s fair-trade cocoa. It’s not organic, but it’s good in a pinch. Feel free to use whatever kind of cocoa you love!

These Coconut & Avocado Grasshopper Bars are allergy-friendly and full of healthy, real-food deliciousness. And they're completely devoid of grasshoppers... 

More healthy no-bake treats.

If you’re on the lookout for more healthy and delicious avocado desserts, here are a few of my family’s favorites:

These Coconut & Avocado Grasshopper Bars are allergy-friendly and full of healthy, real-food deliciousness. And they're completely devoid of grasshoppers...  #coconut #avocado #grasshopper #nobake #paleo #glutenfree #dairyfree #peppermint #chocolate #realfood #dessertPost photos updated 7/20/16

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!

Coconut Avocado Grasshopper Bars

Free from grain, gluten, eggs, dairy, and refined sugar.

Ingredients

For the mint layer:

For the chocolate layer:

Instructions

For the mint layer:

Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with foil.

Place all ingredients in high powered blender (I use a Blendtec) or a food processor.

Blend until smooth. (You can puree it if you want, but I like mine to have little flecks of coconut still.)

Smooth mixture into prepared dish and stick in the freezer.

For the chocolate layer:

In small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey over low heat.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour over chilled bottom layer and return to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is hardened.

Remove from foil and cut into bars.

Store covered in the freezer.

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Coconut & Avocado Grasshopper Bars 3