"Bounty" Bars..

I stopped to think for a for seconds before typing the title to this post... Bounty bars isn't quite accurate... I'd never ever make a Bounty... they're not actual food...

Here's the ingredients list from a Bounty you'll buy in the shop:

Sugar, Desiccated Coconut, Glucose Syrup, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifiers, ( Soya Lecithin, E471 Lactose), Milk Fat, Whey Powder, Humectant, ( Glycerol Salt), Natural Vanilla Extract

It's not horrendous, relative to what could be in them...BUT I'm pretty strong minded. I don't eat refined sugars, grains or anything processed... It's important to make a decision and be prepared to stand up for what you believe in. For that reason... you're not going to find recipes containing any of these type of ingredients on GLBTK.

Instead, I bring you "Bounty" Bars.... they're nothing like the real thing... they're so much BETTER...

• 200g dessicated coconut
• 1 can full fat coconut milk (just use the thick coconut cream from the top half of the tin... reserve the rest for my next recipe!) 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tbsp organic vanilla extract

Start by lining a 9 inch square baking tin with greaseproof baking paper. 

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan.

Over a medium heat, melt all the ingredients together. Stir constantly as you don't want to toast/burn the coconut.

Once you have a thick mixture, spoon into prepared tin & smooth into corners. 

Place in the fridge/aside at room temperature to set for around 2 hours. 

When the bars are firm, cut into slices. You can eat them as they are & they're be amazing......but I'm a perfectionist so had to go one step further....

CHOCOLATE!!!! 

Right so... you have a choice... you can make my Paleo Chocolate which is ideal for sticking to your Paleo/clean lifestyle... OR you could just use dark chocolate (remember, the higher the cocoa solids, the lower the sugar content)... I know there's some sugar BUT dark chocolate really isn't the worst thing you could be eating so I'll let you away with it... I do accept that making your own chocolate is a little time consuming & tedious for a lot of people... 

Whatever you decide here is ok with me....

• 150g chocolate of your choice

Coat, drizzle or dip one end of the bars in your melted chocolate... it's entirely up to you.... either way, they'll taste amazing...

Leave to set on greaseproof paper, or eat straight away and get absolutely covered in melted chocolate.... Not that I've done this :)

Orange Chocolate Biscotti

Sometimes I want a biscuit alright??? We're all human, and get cravings for those things we really shouldn't be eating...BUT...I made a choice to eliminate refined sugar and grains from my diet, not only to achieve weight loss goals but primarily for health reasons. I don't want to fill my body with foods which are so heavily processed that they're more chemicals than actual food.

I do keep stressing than the recipes I post here for desserts should be used in moderation since most of them contain large amounts of nut flours which are pretty calorific. Even still...I love that I can make biscuits or dessert and not feel like I've undone my week of hard training, and still stick to not eating refined sugars and grains. I think it's for that reason that I've been so successful in changing my lifestyle... It's sustainable, and that's the most important thing when it comes to changing your habits. 

So back to the biscuits.... I LOVE this biscotti... and thankfully my friends all love it too so they're always willing to make sure that I don't polish off the lot! Moderation remember?! 

• 100g almond flour
• 25g coconut flour (or almond flour if you prefer)
• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp raw organic honey
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 75g chopped walnuts

This is super easy to make... 

Preheat oven to 170c (fan).

Throw everything into a bowl.

Mix until you have a stiff dough. 

Since it's a dry mixture (it's supposed to be!) you'll probably have to get stuck in with your hands to get the mixture to form a firm ball. 

Next shape into a slightly flattened log. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes & lower the temperature to 150c. 

Leave to cool for 20 minutes.

Slice at a diagonal angle, using a really sharp knife (otherwise it'll crumble and crack). 

Place the biscotti back in the oven (lowered temperature) and bake for a further 15 minutes. This dries them out, and gives you that crunchy crumbly texture that makes biscotti so delicious! 

The biscuits should be firm when you remove them from the oven. Don't over bake them as the do firm up more when they cool... over baking results in brick-like biscotti! 

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