Don’t worry there’s no Coca-cola in it. There is, however, plenty of piña (unsulphured, low-sugar), and lots of organic coconut, plus macadamias, almonds, cashews, and a potpourri of organic grains. Need I say more?

A note about Saigon cinnamon:  when I was growing up in Vietnam, I remember my mother bringing bunches of bark back as gifts.  It made no sense to me when America already had jars and jars in every store.  What I didn't realize until recently is that Vietnam grows a uniquely powerful type of cinnamon called cassia.  Most grocery store cinnamon comes from Ceylon, Mexico, or Indonesia.  Cassia has much richer oil content and a hotter, sweeter taste.  

Ingredients: oats (org), barley (org), Sucanat (org minimally processed cane sugar), honey, canola oil (expeller pressed), sunflower seeds (org), flax seeds (org), sesame seeds (org), peanuts, cashews, almonds, oat bran (org), wheat germ, coconut (org), fried garbanzo beans, pecan meal, raisins, oat fiber, rye (org), almond extract, Celtic sea salt, cinnamon, fennel seeds, fenugreek, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, cardamom powder, curry leaves, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, cloves.

Some of the challenges involved dicing both the bananas and the chocolate to a size which prevented their taking over or losing their distinction (or breaking the food processor). We added a little molasses and cut back on the raisins to counter the sweetness. Then, just last week, we happened on a stash of the earthiest organic chocolate imaginable—Dagoba chocolate with raw hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Wow!