Keto Girl: September 2018

When I was growing up, my mom used to make these delicious 7 layer magic bars. It was one of the only things she could bake well.

The original recipe used chocolate chips, caramel chips, coconut, nuts and condensed milk.

Obviously, following a keto diet condensed milk is a no-no, as well as the chocolate and caramel chips. Unless you use no sugar added chocolate chips, that is. I don't think there is a such thing as no sugar added caramel chips, but if you know anything, please let me know!

Instead of the condensed milk, I decided to switch it up for some full fat coconut milk, which is more keto-approved. It is important that you use the full fat coconut milk, as it needs to be able to solidify in refrigerated temperatures. When making this, you will notice that when you take it out of the oven, it will still be quite liquid-y. This is normal; when you refrigerate the bars, the coconut milk with solidify and you will be able to cut the bars. Refrigeration is definitely the key step in this recipe.

A few changes you may want to make to this recipe:

If you like things more sweet, you may want to add a few tbsp of truvia or swerve (or another sugar alternative) to the almond flour/butter mixture.
You can also add some liquid stevia drops into the coconut milk before pouring it into the pan
Nuts - you can use any nut you desire. I chose walnuts because that's what I had on hand. But you can also use almonds, pecans, macadamia, pistachios, or any combination you desire.

These bars should be kept in the fridge or freezer. If stored in the freezer, you can either eat them frozen, as is, or you can microwave for 20-30 seconds to get a melty cake type bar. Note though, that if you do this, the coconut milk will liquidify - so you will need to eat with a fork or spoon.

Last note is going to be on nutrition. I cut this recipe into 12 bars - which gave it a calorie count of 272 and a carb count of 6.9 (3.4 net). Remember, you can always cut more bars to lower these numbers. I find that some days only half the bar is enough.

Alright, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup butter, melted2/3 cup walnuts, chopped (or other nut/s of choice)
1/2 coconut, shredded, unsweetened
1/2 cup no sugar added chocolate chips
1 can coconut milk, full fat

Directions:

1. Combine almond flour and melted butter, mix well until dough type mixture forms.