I make these bounty bars for my family as a good source of fats. They satisfy both my husband who is on a ketogenic diet and my little toddler who constantly needs his power snacks! Healthy saturated fat contained in the coconut oil is a great option for little ones and will provide them with more sustainable energy for longer, keeping them away from “empty calorie” snacks.
Ingredients for Coconut Bounties:
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered Erythritol with Stevia
1 cup coconut cream – (you can make your own by popping a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight and keeping the solidified part!)
1/4 -1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
Roast the desiccated coconut for about 6/7 minutes on 175C until slightly browned. Leave it to cool.
The day earlier prepare coconut cream – please see the description below on how to make it at home.
Use a food processor (i.e. nutribullet) or coffee grinder to break down granulated erythritol/stevia into a fine powder.
Mix together roasted desiccated coconut, coconut cream and extra virgin coconut oil, add 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and powdered erythritol. Stir until smooth thick consistency is formed.
Leave the mixture in the fridge for about 1h until it gets harder and stickier for moulding. Using your hands, roll the mixture into small bar shapes (approximately 10/12 bars) and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leave it in the fridge for another 3h (best over night).
Melt dark chocolate (about 140g) on the low heat (I use 90% dark chocolate as it is low in sugar or when my husband doesn’t notice I use his very special dark chocolate with erythritol) and add coconut oil. Once melted, mix it well and take it off the heat to cool.
Use your hands to coat the bars or if they are hard and solid enough you can use a wooden stick to hold a bar when coating with melted chocolate. Optionally you can sprinkle the bars with grated hazelnuts or macadamia.
Leave the bars in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until chocolate is fully set, before serving. Bounty bars will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Enjoy!
COCONUT FAT TO THE RESCUE WHEN OUR ENERGY LEVELS ARE LOW
Whether coconut fat should be considered a good fat causes many controversies! It is proven that extra virgin coconut oil (about 90% saturated fat) raises HDL “good cholesterol levels”. We need good cholesterol for optimal brain function including learning, memory and membrane repair. Coconut oil is also rich in MCT (medium chain triglycerides) which are metabolized differently than other fats (these fatty acids are shorter than other fats); MCT is moved to the liver where they are used as a quick source of energy or stored and converted into ketones which provide the backup fuel and optimal energy for the brain when the blood glucose is low.