Each week I teach classes back to back – sometimes up to 4 1/2 hours without a real break. Needless to say I need more than water to keep me going. I needed something low GI, low in bad fats, low in added sugar, but high in antioxidants and in flavour, that didn’t bloat or heaviness, I needed to feel sated, focused and energised. For a while I was using various protein bars but in truth, they failed the ingredients test in one way or another …then I came across this little wonder of a recipe on movenourishbelieve.com. I am very happy to move away from manufactured/processed foods anytime, so I was more than ready to give this a test run….and it passed with flying colours!
Sustenance Extraordinaire! Enjoy from Juliet! x
Cacao (not Cocoa! see below) Chocolate Cranberry Bar
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 5 medjool dates*
- 1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup cacao powder*
- 2 tbsp. boiling water*
- Place almonds and oats in food processor and blend until a coarse crumb.
- Add cacao powder, cranberries, and dates and blend again.
- While blending, add the boiling water, slowly, until the mixture becomes well incorporated.
- Press the dough into a lined slice tin and place in the fridge for 1/2 hours before slicing into bars.
*I have made this many times now, and thought I should share some of my preparation experience:
- firstly I have a little hand held processor, not a large heavy duty one…so I had to do the recipe in two batches dividing the ingredients by half.
- If you do not have medjool dates and you are using ordinary dates, then you will need a few more. I have been using 8 of the smaller dates (4 each batch).
- When seeking out your dried cranberries, make sure they are not sweetened with added sugar. If you cannot get unsweetened, get the ones that are sweetened with juice concentrate, not cane sugar.
- Also I found I needed more water than the recipe advises, even before I added extra cacao. I have used up to 1/4 cup or more in each 1/2 batch….when you are beginning try according to the recipe, blend and if it is too dry and ‘cakey’ add a little more and so on. You do not want it to be too moist – so go slow here till you get your ‘stripes’.
- And lastly I found that little bite size nuggety pieces worked better for me, rather than a bar size, which the original recipe describes. I waste less… and therefore it goes further. I can just take two pieces or more at a time, depending I whether I have one hour ahead to two or more……..
- Also it is wonderful to share ‘a jewel’ with students when they have worked hard!
Benefits of Cacao:
Aids in weight loss; Promotes healthy skin; High in Anitoxidants; Mood Enhancing; Provides Essential Vitamins and Minerals; Improves Brain Function; Quells Headaches; Promotes heart health; Aphrodisiac