Guilt-free protein snacks - "Bounty" bars

This is my best recipe ever. Low effort, low carb, guilt-free awesomeness.

 These taste amazing!

Now, first of all, I really feel the need to talk about whey protein, because I have been exposed lately to a diet and exercise program that virtually obsesses over protein powder (I'm not going to name and shame), and I feel it's important to discuss the dangers of protein overdose. Let's bein by having a look at how much protein we should be consuming (source: betterhealth.vic.gov.au) 

• 0.75 g/kg for adult women
• 0.84 g/kg for adult men
• Around 1 g/kg for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for men and women over 70 years

You need to look at the tub of protein powder you're using to see how much is in each scoop/serving. Please keep an eye on your intake. The dangers of consuming too much protein, long term, is severe. It causes permanent damage to the kidneys, can cause gout, and may damage your liver. The tell-tale sign that you're consuming too much protein is that you feel crappy (like you would if you were doing a liver cleansing detox) because your liver has to work harder to process it all.

Now that I've done that little PSA, on to the recipe.

This recipe makes 6 large bars, or 12 smallerones (the size of each half of a bounty bar)

You'll need:

4 scoops of vanilla protein powder (25g scoop - I use Musashi SLM womens toning protein with extra fat metabolisers)
1 cup desiccated coconut
3-4 tablespoons coconut milk ( I used reduced fat)
dark chocolate (more than 70% cocoa has more antioxidants and much less sugar)

Each bar: (this is the count for 12 bars, double it if you make 6)
4g carb
8g fat
7g protein
3g sugar
1g fibre
15mg sodium
120 calories

Mix the protein powder and coconut together in a bowl, then use the coconut milk to bind it together. It should feel sticky, but not wet, and should form a ball when it's all bound together. If it's too dry, add more coconut milk, if it's too wet, add more coconut.

Break the ball in half, then break each half into 3 pieces. You can break each of the 6 pieces in half if you're doing 12 small bars.

Break the dark chocolate into pieces in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Bring it out and stir it until all of the lumps have melted and the chocolate is smooth. If it won't melt/is crumbly, you heated it on too high for too long and you have to start over. This is called "seizing" chocolate. If your microwave is super-powered, you might prefer to melt it on a double boiler.

Form the filling mixture into bars using your hands. You want it to be square or round, but flat, not ball-shaped.

Dip the bottom of the bar into the chocolate, then set it on a tray covered with baking paper. Continue until all bars have their bottom side covered with chocolate, making sure to set them a few cm apart on the tray.

Using  tablespoon, pour chocolate over the tops of the bars, using the spoon to make sure the sides are covered. Don't worry if it pools around the bottom of the bar a little. You can use a knife to scoop it up and use on the next one, or simply cut the excess away from the edge later.

When all of the bars are completely encased in chocolate, put them in the fridge until the chocolate is set.

Once the chocolate is set, you can take them off the baking paper and neaten the edges by cutting the excess chocolate away with a sharp knife.


Eat them....in moderation. No more than 1-2 or the larger bars per day, and it's better to have them either 1-2 hours before exercise, or within an hour after to get the best benefits from your protein powder.

Enjoy!