Donuts! Who doesn’t like walking into a donut shop and smelling the freshly made goodness that is covered in ooey gooey chocolate or even glazed or like the more modern donut creations, caramel, bacon, chocolate chips and basically every other sugar coated substance you can think of!
Who can resist right?? But then you start to think of WHAT they are made with and HOW they are made… You think about the sugar content, you think about the artificial sweeteners used in the glaze or fillings, you think about how each one is dunked in hot oil and fried up and then coated in sugar! (I know, not pretty!) When you are wanting to keep healthy and follow a nutrition plan, those are all the things you will want and NEED to stay away from (once in a while it’s ok but, not everyday and not even once a week)
Way back when I was a trainer, I had clients who had a very hard time even just thinking about eating foods that were considered “healthy” and thought they couldn’t even have a taste of a dessert if they were trying to lose weight. So, I would come up with creative ways they could consume healthier desserts and not walk away with the guilt. These donuts were the perfect combination of chocolate with just enough sweetness but were packed with protein so they would be doing themselves a favor by consuming these, even if they got a snack attack at midnight.
These are so yummy and so full of chocolate goodness that you will feel like you are consuming a guilty pleasure but, rest assured, these are WAY healthier than any donut you will buy at any shop!
Serves: Makes 6-12 donuts
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Almond Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 C unsweetened natural applesauce
- 4 Tbsp 100% cacao powder (I use dark chocolate)
- 1/2 Cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
- 2 1/2 scoops of chocolate protein powder
- 1 Tbsp sweetened coconut shreds (can use unsweet as well but, donuts won’t be as sweet)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 365°F and lightly spray your donut pan with non-stick spray. (I used a larger donut pan for mine but, if you have the mini donut pans, those will be perfect)
- Beat your eggs and mix well with the apple sauce and milk. Next add in your flour, baking powder, cacao powder and your protein powder and mix well, until all the lumps are gone and you have a smooth batter. Now add in your coconut shreds and fold in.
- Using a small ice cream/cookie batter scoop or small spoon, fill your pans. Only fill each slot about 1/3 full.
- Place your pan in oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick. When the toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Tips & Tricks: I used a larger donut pan so mine only made 6 large donuts, feel free to use a mini donut pan as well. If you choose not to use the sweetened coconut flakes, then your donuts may not come out sweet at all, you can add in a tsp of brown or coconut sugar as a substitute to the coconut flakes.