Being the only coconut fan in this house, I always feel safe with my stash of Bounty Bars at home – no one can steal them from me! The past two months has me nursing an injured foot, which makes stepping out of the house really hard, particularly for stocking up on junk food. So I made an attempt at home to make them added a healthy twist with goji berries. Goji berries contain all 8 of the essential amino acids and include Vitamin C, iron, potassium, zinc, among others. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory. Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for about two thousand years. With just three ingredients, this recipe is rather hands-on, a wee-bit messy and a lot of fun! The bars are quick to make as well, except for the time that includes soaking the goji berries to plump them up, and waiting for the bars to set in the freezer. Soaking the goji berries gets the most out of them as they are full of potency and become easy to digest. I personally find it hard to eat goji berries, but in this form, I can assure these bars make it much better and you will end up eating all of them. The dunking in chocolate is a lot of fun, and I recommend keeping newspapers all around – it will get messy! Note: Remember to always wash the goji berries before using. Goji Berries & Organic Dark Chocolate from: Sattvic Foods [yumprint-recipe id=’100′]For I am coconut, and the heart of me is sweeter than you know. Nikki Grimes
The Recipe
Serves Yields: 8 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Total Time: 6 hours
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh desiccated coconut shreds
- ⅛ cup dried goji berries
- ¾ cup chopped dark chocolate (70%)
Instructions
- Soak the goji berries in drinking water for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
- Remove the goji berries from the water and gently squeeze them.
- Blend the coconut and goji berries in a mixer until well combined. The mixture will turn a light orange colour.
- Take out the mixture and gently squeeze out excess water with your hands.
- Using your hands again, form small bar-like shapes and place on a lined tray.
- Place this tray in the freezer for at least two hours or until set firmly.
- Melt the chocolate in a bains-marie or microwave for a few minutes, until smooth.
- Remove the tray from the freezer.
- Using tongs, forks, spoons, wooden sticks or your fingers, dunk the bars into the melted chocolate and place back on the sheet.
- The chocolate will harden within 5-10 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.
