These Chocolate Coconut Bounty Bars are made with only 8 ingredients (including sea salt & vanilla). They’re dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free, and paleo. It’s also a great recipe for those who make their own dairy-free nut or seed mylk and looking for ways to use the pulp. But you can also make it without the pulp.
After making another batch of almond mylk last week I was trying to come up with a new and exciting way to use up the leftover pulp. I dread putting food to waste, so I often use the pulp in blondies, macaroons, or crackers, or freeze it for future use. This time I thought why not mix it with coconut, then dip it in chocolate for a healthy version of one of my favorite candies back in the day, Bounty bars! (Don’t worry though if you don’t make your own almond mylk and don’t have any almond pulp on hand; you can still make these delicious bars. Just see the note at the end of the recipe.)
Why Create a Healthier Version?
Let’s take a look at the ingredients that go into the traditional Bounty bar:
Isn’t it interesting how the #1 ingredient listed is sugar? Sugar comes in many forms and we can see 4 of them here: sugar, glucose syrup, invert sugar, and glycerol. Refined sugar can have various harmful effects on our systems. It sends our blood sugar levels on a roller coaster ride, eventually leading to type-2 diabetes, inflammation, weight gain, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL (good) and increased LDL (bad) cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, and lowered immunity. Sugar is also acidic, so consuming it in large amounts would affect the body’s PH. To correct this PH imbalance, the body then draws on its mineral stores. For instance, to protect the blood, calcium would be drawn from the bones and teeth, leading to tooth decay, weakened bones and eventually osteoporosis. No wonder why there are so many people these days in North America suffering from bone loss and tooth decay compared to other populations and earlier times!
There are also other ingredients listed above raising concern, such as soy lecithin, salt, and “natural” flavors. Most of the soy grown in the US is genetically modified, so unless the label says organic soy lecithin, it probably came from a genetically modified soybean. Salt refers to table salt (sodium chloride), which has been processed to purify and strip it of all the trace minerals you find in unrefined sea salt and then supplemented with anti-caking substances. Natural flavors really aren’t that different from the artificial ones. The FDA has not fully defined what the term “natural” means, so those “natural” flavors often actually contain several hundreds of synthetic chemicals!
Natural flavors really aren’t that different from the artificial ones. The FDA has not fully defined what the term “natural” means, so those “natural” flavors often actually contain several hundreds of synthetic chemicals!
The Outcome:
How about making your own clean Chocolate Coconut Bounty Bars without all the refined sugar and heavily processed ingredients, using only the best Mother Nature has to offer? The main ingredients here are shredded coconut, coconut oil, coconut cream, almond pulp, raw cacao powder, and pure maple syrup.
Health Benefits:
The saturated fats in coconut oil will give your skin that glowing youthful look and help boost your metabolism, promote weight loss (if needed), and support the immune system.
Saturated fats were considered to be evil, unfortunately; but recent research (1,2) has proved that they do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease as previously believed. Plus, a high percentage of the fatty acids in coconut oil are medium-chain, which means they will be metabolized differently. Medium-chain fatty acids go straight to the liver from the digestive tract, where they are used as a quick source of energy or turned into ketones, which can have therapeutic effects on brain disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s (3,4).
Almonds are also a great source of healthy fats (monounsaturated), as well as biotin, vitamin E, manganese, copper, zinc, vitamin B2, fiber and much more! The process of soaking the almonds – which is required for making almond mylk – helps further increase their nutritional profile by reducing the enzyme inhibitors that are naturally present in nuts and seeds, significantly improving digestion and absorption.
Raw cacao is a rich source of flavonoids (disease-fighting antioxidants), in addition to iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and many other minerals and vitamins. It also acts as an anti-depressant by increasing the levels of serotonin (i.e. happy hormone), dopamine (i.e. feel-good hormone), and oxytocin (i.e. the “love” hormone).
Pure maple syrup will still raise blood sugar levels, although to a lesser degree than refined sugar, since it has a lower Glycemic Index. So it should be consumed in moderation. Maple syrup is preferred over white table sugar, also because it contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients like trace minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the good, the bad, and the ugly, let’s get to the best part, which is the recipe! Can wait for you to try these delisious Chocolate Coconut Bounty Bars! Don’t forget to leave a comment below or tag me in your photos @nutriholist #nutriholist if you do.
Chocolate Coconut “Bounty” Bars
Yields 12 bars
Ingredients
Coconut Filling
- 1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup almond pulp (from making almond milk) {see note for substitutions}
- 1/4 cup coconut cream (full-fat coconut milk could also work)
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (or vanilla extract)
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
Chocolate Coating
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
Directions
- For the Coconut Filling: Add all filling ingredients to a food processor and process for about a minute to fully combine
- Line a 5×7 inch container with parchment paper, spoon in mixture and press down firmly with a spatula or your hands. Transfer to the freezer and let it firm up for about 15 minutes
- Remove from the freezer, cut into rectangles or squares and transfer back to the freezer for 1 hour or longer
- For the Chocolate Coating: Melt the coconut oil in a small pan over low heat if it is solid. Once melted, remove from heat, add cacao powder to the oil and mix well with a spoon until completely dissolved (no clumps remaining). Add maple syrup and sea salt, stir to combine and let the liquid chocolate cool down
- To Assemble: Take out the coconut bars from the freezer, dip them one by one in the liquid chocolate and place them back in the container. I like to repeat this step one more time to get a thicker chocolate coating. The chocolate will harden after a few seconds since the bars are cold. Enjoy and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer 🙂
NOTE: If you don’t have any almond pulp, you can still make these delicious bars! Either use almond meal (finely ground almonds) instead and reduce the amount of coconut oil to 3 tablespoons OR remove it altogether and increase the amount of shredded coconut to 2 cups.
So loving this recipe, so easy and healthy!
Yaaayyy, so glad to hear that Natalia 🙂 Thank you!
Absolutely delicious and a new family favorite. So easy to whip up right after making a batch of almond milk!
Hi Niki, so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this recipe 🙂 xo