10.1.12

energy boosting


Hello, hello and a Happy New Year to one and all.

I bet you had too much of the sweet stuff over Christmas? Oh yes you did and don't deny it. Well, here is a perfect little recipe, especially ideal for this time of year when over indulgence is the word on everyone's lips. It's healthy, tasty, full of vital omegas and made with only natural sweeteners.

I read about it on Natacha's Piou Piou blog over the Christmas break and it sounded so good I had to try it straight away. De-lish-ous! It's one of those recipes where you can easily use whatever's to hand so there's no mad dash to the shops. For this second batch, destined for school snacks, I have varied the ingredients from the original. I didn't have much butter so used extra coconut oil, and since the Model's school have banned sesame seeds I used hemp seeds instead. Hemp gives a crunchy, nutty flavour but when unhulled it can get stuck in your teeth so you may prefer the sesames. I always cut down the sweetness dramatically in recipes but you must do as you and your conscience see fit ..

Use all butter if you wish but we always have coconut oil in the house and cook with it most days. Think about using different dried fruits such as apricots and perhaps a few prunes, although sparingly with the latter I think .. or suffer the consequences! Try adding coconut flakes (coconut is a wonder food due to its anti viral properties), different seeds even and guaranteed this will care for your bod far more than Messrs Mars and Hershey ever will. For weekends, I would chuck in a selection of chopped nuts but alas not for school lunch boxes as, like many schools I'm guessing, they are strictly verboten as well!

Beware though, when I first made these bars, the Boy asked whether it was intended for the birds!

Here is my adapted version of Natacha's muesli bar, which has also been converted into 'english speak'. And since the Model has taken a greedy shine to this recipe, I let her rename it. Start the day before you want to eat, because some of the seeds are soaked overnight .. not only are they easier to blend, they're also easier to digest that way!


raw nutrient bar

110g (1 cup) sunflower seeds
110g (1 cup) pumpkin seeds

110g (4 oz) coconut oil/butter mixed (proportion doesn't matter)
1 good dessertsp runny honey
110g (1 cup) chopped dates

55g (1/2 cup) pumpkin seeds
55g (1/2 cup) sunflower seeds
55g (1/2 cup) hemp seeds

Soak the first batch of sunflower and pumpkin seeds in a large bowl of water overnight.

Next day, rinse the soaked seeds thoroughly and leave to drain. Lightly toast the remaining dry seeds on the hob or in the oven. Put the coconut oil/butter into a medium pan, together with the honey and chopped dates and heat gently until the oil/butter has melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Put the drained seeds into the food processor and whizz till fairly mushy. Next add the oil and date mixture and blitz again. Add the toasted seeds and pulse briefly to mix but avoid turning to pulp.

Turn the mixture out into a medium baking dish, flatten with the back of a spoon and place in the fridge for several hours to firm up.

Keep refrigerated.



Anyway, that's enough virtuousness. Just before the Christmas holidays I was introduced tothis German delight. Have you had it before? It's herbal and warming and wait, there's more .. it's medicinal, don't you know?!

15 comments:

  1. Yum! I will try this Kate. Looks like something Lucy and I would love x

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  2. ohh this does look nice! Will try it next week. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. yum. I could do with a big slice of healthy right now x

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  4. Yum! (Just noticed that's three 'yums' so far, clearly a winner! And so easy to vary to personal taste. I'm thinking I might try substituting some Suma Pear and Apple spread in place of the honey, make it a bit more fruity, do you think it would work?

    Thanks for sharing Kate :D

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  5. Yes I did have too much sweet stuff over the holidays, how on earth did you guess Kate!
    That certainly looks and sounds delicious! I do love dates. Unfortunately I'm also too fond of Messrs Mars and Cadbury and ......! :)
    Vivienne x

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  6. just what i need as i am eating healthily with lots of raw at the moment. I will definatly give this a try.
    thank you for sharing & a Happy new Year to you
    Ginny x

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  7. need an energy boost right now, will most certainly give this a try x

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  8. That looks lovely - would love a bit now - have a free period (supposed to be marking hum) & it would be lovely with a cup of tea! Lovely to have you back x

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  9. It looks delicious, might give it a try.
    I like your new header.

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  10. Wow - they do look pretty darn good.

    I may just give these a try myself.

    Nina xxxx

    Sesame seeds......really?

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  11. This looks wonderful Kate and so nutritious too (which makes it even better after the usual indulgence of the holidays!)
    Thank you for sharing and hope you have had a wonderful start to 2012,
    Susan x
    P.S Your header is lovely!

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  12. That does look delicious, it really does, and the healthy tag is very appealing too. I tend to snack on chocolate, so maybe this might make a good alternative! Your cat looks sooooo sweet sitting in the Christmas tree, like a little sweet whiskery fairy! Vanessa xxx

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  13. This recipe looks delicious, Kate...thank you for sharing it, esepcially now that it's time to ditch the annual post xmas chocolate habit once again! I like the ingredients you've used, but it is also the kind that you can substitute with other things here and there...perfect!
    Helen x

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  14. Oh that looks soooo good...I'm bookmarking it for a return visit!

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  15. I made these a couple of days ago and - phenomenal! Used sesame seeds where you had hemp, just because I love toasted sesame seeds. The husband took some into the office and a few of the 20-something designers tasted it against their will (he can be quite persuasive) and they now all want the recipe. Big yum from us!

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There's nothing like a comment to stop me feeling like I'm talking to myself. If you leave one here I'll pop one back here too, so don't forget to come back and continue the conversation ..

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