Now, I’m calling these breakfast bars but I actually eat them at all times of the day……morning, noon and night – whenever the snack cravings kick in! They are so quick and simple to make and amazingly, only contain six whole foods – bananas, oats, almonds, date syrup, cinnamon and pumpkin seeds.

I was chatting to a friend the other day about kicking the processed sugar addiction and she wondered why I don’t ever crave regular treats like ice-cream and chocolate (please note, before my healthy days, I never used to be able to go through the day without a sugar-laden biscuit or cake) She realised it must be because I always have a healthy sweet snack whenever my body tells me I need it so I’m never going without. Plant-based sweet treats fuel your body with much-needed nutrition so you’re getting your (natural) sugar fix whilst nourishing your body. After time, your body starts to realise this is where the good stuff is and stops craving processed snacks made from refined sugar. Our bodies are much more intelligent than we realise – given half the chance and by putting the right stuff in, your body will guide you to make healthier food choices and will-power eventually becomes a thing of the past.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 12-14 bars)

• 3 over-ripe bananas
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup whole almonds
• 5 heaped tbsps almond butter
• 7 tbsp date syrup (you can use maple syrup if you don’t have this but use a little less as it is sweeter)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup sliced/flaked almonds

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees. Place the whole almonds into a food processor for a few minutes until they are nicely ground. Then add the oats for a minute or so. Once you have a fine consistency, add the date syrup, bananas, almond butter and cinnamon and blend for a few minutes until you have a gooey mixture. Once all of this has mixed together, remove from the food processor and stir in the pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds until combined.

Line a deep oven tray with greaseproof paper covered in coconut oil and evenly pour the mixture in smoothing with a spatula. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Leave to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Date posted: 25th January, 2016