These choc, date and cashew energy squares are easy to prepare providing a boost of energy (from nourishing ingredients) to help fuel any active persons day.
This recipe was inspired by a challenge set by Runners World magazine (where I am a regular contributor) to create DIY no bake energy bars to fuel runners!
Ingredients:
2 cups of pitted dates (soak for about 1 hour to help with processing if you have time)
1 cup of rolled oats
½ cup of chopped dried apricots
2 cups of cashew nuts
½ cup of cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. water+ a dash of water for processing dates
¼ tsp. salt
Method
Pulse oats until finely ground then put aside.
Pulse dates in a food processor with a dash of water until they become a smooth paste.
Add ground oats, apricots, cashew nuts, cocoa powder, water and salt and pulse until everything is combined.
Line a 20cm x 20cm tray with glad wrap, leaving enough overhang on one side to wrap over the top of the mixture once in.
Pour the mixture into the tray.
Wrap the mixture with the glad wrap and firmly press into the tray and flatten with the back of a spatula.
Put into the fridge overnight and then cut them up into 16 squares.
These will keep in the fridge for approximately one week.
* Try adding 1 tsp of orange essence or orange oil to the mix to change up the flavour.
Nutrition per bar: 918 kilojoules, 25g carbs, 4g fibre, 5g protein, 10g fat