Healthy Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Paleo Low Carb Chocolate Macaroons! Can you say YUM?! So you may’ve noticed that I LOVE coconut + chocolate! When you are working with a gut disorder and trying to heal your gut at the same time you know gluten and sugar do not help with healing at all so I wanted to make a recipe that I could eat weekly as a dessert if you will after lunch each day and this did the trick! If you love an almond joy then look no further!
My mom loves coconut too and probably one of my fondest memories with my mom and coconut was with my niece, Alandra, who traveled out to the East Coast to compete in figure skating. She had a competition in Monsey, New York which is where I remember tasting the most decadent coconut macaroons on this planet! This was the first time in my life that I had enjoyed the gooey, definitely not dry, flavorful chocolate coconut macaroon. I remember driving back on the freeway taking bites as we were driving back from Monsey to Connecticut wishing I had bought more than 3! The memories.
When I was diagnosed with SIBO I knew I could add in some coconut to higher my fat to help me hold on to weight. I had been dropping weight pretty rapidly and knew I needed to add in some healthy fats. Prior to my SIBO diagnosis I had a lot of disordered eating I needed to heal from. I would purposely stay away from high fat foods because not only are higher fat foods high in calories but I always ate the traditional “body building diet” which I also believe caused a lot of my gut imbalances. More on that later… Lets go back to the Coconut!
Coconut + Chocolate = WINNING COMBINATION! Coconut is low carb and high fat with a massive amount of health benefits.
Here are a few coconut health benefits:
Helps prevent obesity by speeding up metabolism
Improves heart health by providing healthy short chain and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) that are essential to good health.
High in dietary fiber rivaling other fiber sources such as psyllium, wheat bran, oat bran, and rice bran.
Low Glycemic Index
Reduces sweet cravings and improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.
Improves digestion and many of the symptoms and inflammatory conditions associated with digestive and bowel disorders, by supporting absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids while also providing beneficial dietary fiber.
Quick energy boost that provides a super nutritious source of extra energy. in addition, coconut contains no trans-fats, is gluten-free, non-toxic and also contains antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-parasitic healing properties.
Coconut helps to aid and support overall Immune system functions.
Healthy Chocolate Macaroons
3 cups coconut
6 egg whites
6 tbsp. clover honey
2-3 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
2 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. almond extract (could also use vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
With a hand mixer beat egg whites on medium until they form loose peaks.
Melt coconut oil and mix in cocoa powder.
Whisk in clover honey, almond extract (think almond joy) and salt until evenly incorporated. Gently fold in cocoa mixture and egg whites.
Fold in the shredded coconut but do not overmix.
On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spoon mixture into even mounds, roughly 2 inches in diameter.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
As the edges are light brown, remove and cool.
Cool and store in refrigerator and ENJOY!
