Are you Team Best Bite First or Team Best Bite Last? I am practically the president of Team Best Bite First. Ryan, on the other hand, is 100 percent Team Best Bite Last. As I’m sure you can imagine, this makes for some contentious food sharing experiences.
I’m all about eating a slice of cake from the angle where I’ll get the most icing, scooping up the bite of ice cream that looks like it’s saturated with the most cookie dough and strategically reaching into a bag of trail mix so I’ll get a handful that will include the most number of M&Ms possible. I choose to front load the good stuff!
Ryan saves the best pieces and best bites of a dish for last as his “grand finale.” I cannot get behind this only because the first bite of anything is always the best bite, so why not make it the very, very best bite and double up on the goodness? I don’t want to be taking the best bite of something when I’m feeling full and not as excited about a dish as I was in the very beginning.
This only really annoys Ryan when we opt to share a dessert at a restaurant. Thankfully marriage is all about compromise and learning to live with the stuff that irritates the heck out of you so now Ryan will slice off his “best bite” and put it off to the side of the plate where it sits safely away from me in quarantine waiting for him to eat it at the end of a meal. Meanwhile I go right in for the kill and take down the best bites immediately and tell him about all the goodness he’s in for when he finally decides to join me and eat the really good stuff.
But what if every bite of a meal or a snack was the best bite? If you decide to give today’s recipe for Paleo Coconut Crisps a try, every bite will be the very best bite!
Today’s recipe was born out of my desire to eat the best bites out of a big batch of Paleo granola I made on Friday night. I followed this recipe for Paleo granola and quickly found myself picking out the bites with the most crispy coconut pieces. They were the best because they were slightly sweet and almost melted in my mouth.
Fast forward to Sunday night and the Paleo granola I made on Friday night was all gone. I found myself craving more of those crispy coconut pieces and headed into the kitchen to try my hand at creating a coconut-only version of the recipe.
The end result was a perfectly toasted batch of Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Crisps.
Though it no longer felt like I was eating granola when the coconut pieces were done, it felt like I was indulging in some kind of melt-in-your-mouth sweet treat. The best part? It was made with five simple, clean ingredients and sweetened only with maple syrup. I couldn’t get enough of this one and knew I had to make another batch to photograph so I could share it on the blog with you guys today.
Whether you’re Team Best Bite First or Team Best Bite Last, I think this is a recipe you’ll love!
Paleo Coconut Crisps
Print
Paleo Coconut Crisps
- Prep Time: 2 min
- Cook Time: 8 min
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A deliciously crunchy and slightly sweet Paleo treat. Enjoy it by the handful or as a crispy topping for everything from smoothie bowls to Greek yogurt!
Ingredients
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until small chunks begin to form. The mixture should be moist and slightly sticky.
Spread coconut mixture out evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes. Gently stir the coconut and place back into the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes or until coconut begins to turn light brown. (Do not walk away from the oven while your coconut is toasting! It can burn very, very quickly, so definitely check it at the lower end of the time noted above before allowing it to remain in the oven.)
Remove from the oven and allow coconut to cool and crisp up a bit before eating.
Notes
Please note that the recipe calls for unsweetened coconut flakes and not shredded coconut. You definitely want to use the larger flakes in this recipe! (They are sometimes called coconut chips but make sure that the only ingredient is coconut.) Unsweetened coconut flakes can be a little trickier to find but they’re almost always stocked at my local Whole Foods. You may also find them on Amazon or Thrive Market.
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I am totally Best Bite First! Always have been ? Those coconut crisps look amazing!
LOVE this concept of best bite first vs. best bite last. Your story of you and Ryan is hilarious! Can I be one best bite first and one best bite last?
You’re prob the smartest of all of us to front load AND back load the best bites!
I am team Best Bite Last all the way. But, I’m not on team coconut so this recipe does not appeal to me.
Team best bite last!! It helps me remember just how delicious whatever I’m eating is and I’m excited the whole time I’m eating it.
Ha! I like your rationale at least!
Is there a sub for the almond flour? #teamlastbite !
Team last bite for sure! I remember reading that where you are in your birthing rank coincides with this behavior..I just can’t remember if I found it to be true or not for me… 😉
This sounds delicious! And I am such a coconut fan it couldn’t get any better!
Can you replace the almond flour with something like coconut flour? Tree nut allergy in our house!
Those coconut crisps look amazing!Love your great post!
Ha! Me and my husband definitely do the “quarantine zone” for bits of a meal. That’s usually because Steve eats so much faster than me and I like to savour and try out a bit of this with a bit of that as I’m eating the food. So maybe you could say he is best bite fist but then just doesn’t stop so I have to protect the good bits that I really want, then take my time while he is free to eat his little heart out with the rest.
So sorry to tell you but Ryan is correct and you should always save the best piece for last. You can eat the rest of it in order from second best to worst if you like, but #1 best is last.
Best bite first! Once I have had the best bite, it is easier to convince myself that there is no need to finish the entire thing. (Unless, of course, it’s just that good…)
Wow, this looks so good! I bet it would be really good mixed in with some holiday spiced nuts as like a trail mix! This is so funny about the best bite thing! I’ve been team best bite last my whole life. I can remember as a child, I would eat the edge pieces of a waffle first so that I could have the buttery soft middle last!
Your story about ryan sectioning off his best bite from a dessert you’re sharing made me laugh. I think I used to be a best bite last person BUT with several fast-eating family members I switched so I could get my best bite! Lol
I think we’re the only ones holding down the fort on Team Best Bite First! Ha!
This is very interesting – I know this post is meant to be funny but actually, on a more serious matter I read in the Intuitive book that usually Intuitive Eaters go for best bite first because like you said, that’s when hunger is at its peak and that’s when you enjoy your food more whereas dieters more often than not go for Best Bite Last because you’re sad to end the meal and want to keep the best experience for last.
It makes sense though since stopping when you’re full is much easier when you’ve already had the best bite!
Not saying that Best Bite Last are all dieters but just thought I’d weigh in 🙂
Oh that is interesting!!
The recipe looks amazing, will make it on the weekend.
Hope you love them!!
What unsweetened coconut flakes do you use? I cannot find any that look like these, unless they are the coconut chips?
I buy Let’s Do Organic coconut flakes from Whole Foods or Thrive Market — they’re also on Amazon here: http://bit.ly/2QB3Hvh I actually noted in my recipe notes above that sometimes they are called coconut chips as well! Just be sure coconut is the only ingredient and you prob have the right thing!
These are sooo addicting! I don’t know why it took me so long to try these, so quick and easy! Trader Joe’s also has unsweetened coconut chips if anyone is looking!
Thank you, Stephanie!! So glad you enjoyed them!