Button Poppin'

I wouldn't consider myself a health nut by any stretch of the means.  I am very conscientious of what I put in my body...sometimes more than others...but a health nut, no.  I abide by the "everything in moderation" theory.  I love working out {ummmm....love might be a stretch}.  I like it.  I do.  And I do it because it makes me feel pretty darn good.  I love eating foods that fuel my body.  Protein...fruits...veggies....and lots, and lots, and lots of water.  I love it all.  But I also love to indulge.  That phrase would be accurate.  I LOVE to indulge.  Who doesn't?!  I don't do it every day, but man, oh man.  I really, REALLY want to.  Restraint and I have become pretty good friends over the years.

I recently went on a "bad food" binge. Y'know...daily indulgences....the button poppin' kind of food.  Ice cream sandwiches covered in sprinkles for dessert...sweet tea for my drinks...and loads of carb laden foods for dinner.  "I don't regret a single bite or sip," said my 5-year-old taste palate.  I can only indulge for so long before my body....and my pants...start screaming for a break.  I'm far from a perfect eater and I'm okay with that. 

One of my favorite indulgences became this delicious S'mores popcorn concoction I found HERE.  I wanted to make a batch and give it to Mr. Spouse's student trainers.  That was my excuse anyway.  One bite in and I was hooked.  I could hear the butons start poppin' with every bite I took.  That's when the yoga pants came out.  This was so very easy to make and took almost no time at all.  My good friend, Restraint, had to be locked up for this indulgence....it was TOO good and too easy for me not to resist.  One bite and you'll see why, too.

S'MORES POPCORN

via Nest of Posies

1 box Golden Grahams cereal

2 bags lightly salted microwaveable popcorn {I used Pop Secret Sea Salt}

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chip morsels

1 bag marshmallows

I know this may sound crazy, but this was the first time I've ever had Golden Grahams.  Stop the world.  I've been missing out!!!!  

You'll need a couple of big bowls because this little batch isn't so little.  Pop your popcorn and divide the bags into both bowls.  

Now divide the Golden Grahams.  Pour half over one bowl of popcorn and half over the other bowl of popcorn.

Now do the same with the marshmallows.  Half of the bag into one bowl of popcorn/Golden Grahams and the other half in the other bowl.

Now mix it.  Mix it real good.  

Melt your chocolate.  You could dirty up your double boiler for this, but I wanted easy and went for the microwave.  About 3 ish minutes, stopping every minute to stir so that the chocolate didn't burn.  There's NOTHING worse than burnt chocolate.  Okay...maybe burnt popcorn.  Yes...that's probably worse.  So if you're melting it in the microwave, make sure to stop every minute and stir. 

Take a couple of large cookie sheets and cover them in wax paper.  Then pour out your popcorn mix evenly on top of them both.  

Then start drizzling the chocolate all over the top.  Just take a spoon and drizzle.

Drizzle some more.

And just {you guessed it} drizzle again.  And again.  And again. 

You might be thinking to yourself, "that's too much chocolate!!!"  and if you are, we can't be friends. 

 There is NO such thing as too much chocolate.

Drizzle until the bowl is empty.

Then lick the bowl. 

I popped the cookie sheets into the fridge for about 15-20 minutes to let the chocolate cool and harden.  

I could barely stand the wait.

So I snuck out to the fridge and took a few melted chocolate handfuls.  

OH.MY.BLESS.

It's as good....well, BETTER....than you could imagine.

Now you can see why my buttons were poppin'.  I don't really want to blame it on the 5 bowls I ate.  Surely that wouldn't have done it.  It might have been the additional batch I made after devouring the first one.  Jury's still out. 

If you're looking for a snack that will satisfy your desire to indulge, look no further.  Your 5-year-old taste palate will thank you :)