Raw Coco Bites

In my opinion, one of the best and easiest ways to stay healthy is to have healthy snacks on hand all the time, so that sudden sugar cravings can't catch you off guard, resulting in you raiding your cupboard for those old sweets left over from Christmas (come on we've all been there). 

So, I wanted to make something that I could put in a little tuppawear and take around with me (to work , on journeys etc) or that I could keep in the fridge for my afternoon sweetness fix. If you have a crazy sweet tooth like I do, but still want to eat nourishing, natural wholefoods, these coco bites are for you! They’re also so so quick and easy to make, with very few ingredients, so you can whip them up on a Sunday afternoon and your sweet snack for the week is sorted.

They also look really cute so are great to serve with cups of tea when friends pop over, or put in sweet little packages and give as gifts. 

Ingredients:

12 medjool dates
125g almonds
3 tbsps coco powder/raw cacao powder
Coconut sugar to roll the bites in (optional)

Method:

Soak the dates for half an hour to an hour so that they’re really soft for blending.
Remove the stones (do not forget to do this I’ve made this mistake before and it was a terrible experience).
Blend the almonds, but not so much that they form a smooth flour, you want to have them a sort of gravel-like consistency.
Add the dates to the blended almonds and blend until they form a sticky paste.
Add the coco/cacao powder to the mixture. Obviously, the more cacao you add the more chocolately they will be so feel free to add more! Nothing can ever be too chocolatey I feel..
Roll the mixture into bite-sized balls and then roll them in the coconut sugar if you like, but this is completely optional. I made half with and half without and both tasted great. I’d say if you have less of a sweet tooth, go without.

Let them set in the freezer for about half an hour and then enjoy your natural little sugar kick!

Super Datey Flapjacks

I’ve always had a major love for flapjacks. They’re just so simple but so sweet and yummy too (I have a serious sweet tooth..). They’re also so so easy to make and great for popping in your packed lunch or as an afternoon treat with your cup of tea.

These beauties that I whipped up last weekend are free from refined sugar and taste amazing. They’re packed with oats to give you a natural energy burst and the dates make them so sweet and sticky. Although dates are a completely natural and unprocessed sugar source, they are high in fructose so I wouldn’t recommend eating these everyday. That being said, a treat now and again won’t kill you and if you’re going to have sugar, it’s best to keep it as natural as possible, so in my opinion these datey flapjacks are the perfect treat!

Ingredients:
 

150g medjool dates (remember to remove the stones!)

2 tbsps coconut oil,

3 tbsps date or pure maple syrup,

1 tbsp almond butter, 150 g rolled oats. Feel free to add any extra dried fruit/seeds you want, I just kept mine simple.

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Line a baking tin with baking paper or spread on some coconut oil.

Put the dates in a food processor and blend until they stick together to form a sort of paste.

Heat the coconut oil, almond butter, syrup and blended dates together in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the coconut oil and almond butter have melted and the blended dates have mixed in well with the syrup.

Add the oats and any dried fruit/seeds you're using to the pan and stir them in so that everything is mixed in well with the liquid.

Spoon the mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven and slice into squares.

Then leave them to cool for half an hour or so, so that they Harden into crunchy but sticky bites of datey heaven. If they're still a bit soft when they've cooled down, put them in the fridge for another half an hour to harden up.
 

 

Happy Easter Weekend and happy baking!!!