Today I have a mountain of work to get through, I am sat at my desk in the office looking out the window at glorious sunshine thinking that I need to get a move on and get outside, I have four blog posts to type up and staring at the dog playing in the garden is not getting me anywhere fast !
I am not going to bombard you today with all four, but will post them daily and as my mind appears to be elsewhere today I think it may pay to proof read them a few times before posting! The first recipe that I was suppose to be writing is for jambalaya from the cleaning eating book, its the last recipe from the book and makes sense to get this delicious recipe on, but I have been side tracked, lured away by the delicious goodies that I have found in Dale Pinnock’s book ‘The Medicinal Chef‘ and I just have to bring you this recipe first.
As you know I am trying to eat cleanly, this is so easy with day to day meals and even snacks, you eat more food than you normally would, you are not hungry, you have so much energy and I have noticed a difference to the condition of my hair and skin, so all fabulous results so far, but I love to bake and I love to snack on yummy naughty things and I have found the answer to all my prayers in Dale’s book, these fabulous fridge cakes which I have renamed ‘no bake cacao slices’ as I felt that the delicious cacao needed a mention really hit the mark, they are the complete cure for any chocolate cravings and I have to say that they are the most delicious thing I have ever had! I could honestly eat the whole bar! Cacao is a top source of antioxidants, and it contains an abundance of magnesium and iron.
There are a few rather expensive ingredients in this recipe, but due to how good they are for you, it is well worth the outlay. These cacao slices are good for depression, stress, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and constipation, how can something that tastes so naughty be so good for you.
I found all the ingredients were available on Ocado and I know that I used cacao drops instead of cacao powder and I think I used the wrong goji berries, but it all worked out in the end and proves my point about always making baking your own and using what you have to hand. The strangest ingredient was the coconut oil, it was just like the Annie Sloan wax that I use on furniture in my workshop, but it smells amazing and is the healthy replacement for butter etc and every part of me said that this recipe was not going to work, but it did.
So even if you don’t fancy completely dipping into the clean eating pool 100% but fancy a healthy alternative to your usual naughty snacks and treats why not give these a go, so simple to make, you could have fun making these with Children and when something this delicious, sweet and dense is so packed with nutrients that will keep you going for hours you can not go wrong.
A couple of warnings… these cacao slices are ADDICTIVE, but at least they are good for you and also they are obviously not good for any one with nut allergies, but if they are Ok with coconut you can always leave the other nuts out, it is also gluten free.
So go on, feel like you are being naughty while all the time knowing that the halo is shining brightly.
Buon appetito
7 tablespoons of mixed seeds (flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.)
3 handfuls goji berries
1 handful pitted dates (find nice big juicy ones)
4 tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons coconut oil
For the topping
1 tablespoon nuts (pecans, brazil, walnuts, hazelnut, almonds, etc.) roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, etc.) roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of mixed seeds (flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.)
Place 7 tablespoons of the mixed seeds, goji berries, dates, cacao powder, desiccated coconut and cinnamon into a food processor and pulse a few times to create a stiff and coarse mixture.
Place the coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over another pan/bowl of freshly boiled water (bain-marie), the heat from the water will melt the oil quickly, I already had a small saucepan dirty that I had used for a previous recipe, so just used this, it saved on the washing up, LOL ! Once the oil is melted, add it to the rest of the ingredients in the processor. Process all the ingredients on full speed until they have completely combined into a firm paste.
Line a 20cm rectangular cake tin with baking parchment, turn the mixture into the tin and press down firmly to completely fill it. Sprinkle the reserved seeds, nuts and dried fruit over the top and press down lightly. Place in the fridge for 3 hours or until set. Then slice and enjoy.
Note : Hubby decided to interfere and thought that it would be better to put the reserved seeds, nuts and dried fruit in the bottom of the dish and put the mixture on top to stop you losing the topping whilst cutting and eating, it worked like a dream, but I am not sure that it looked so pretty as Dale’s did in the book, so its up to you which way you choose to do it. For picnics and lunch boxes I think Hubby’s way is best, if you want them to look lovely, my way is best 🙂
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