Pin pointing exactly what I have given up for lent this year is a little difficult. Apart from a blanket ban on the DailyMail.com (which has been hard!) I have tried to shift my snacking away from chocolate to more natural alternatives. So whilst I haven’t had a single mini egg or twix I have allowed myself plenty of bananas, dates and the healthier end of the snack bar spectrum. But the problem is, quite frankly, I would rather a twix, most healthy snacks I have found just aren’t so darn delicious! And that’s fine during lent, I’ll manage, but after Easter has come and gone I would quite like to feel my habits have changed, even if just a little.
So over the past few weeks I have been searching for a healthy snack that I really enjoy and will keep eating. Something that I will eat and then not go straight back to the vending machine felling deprived and have my twix. And now, as we approach the end of Lent, I think I have found it in Nakd’s Cherry Bakewell bars; I can honestly say that I actually enjoy them and will keep eating them as an alternative to my beloved twix (at least some of the time!).
Recently my housemate has taken to making Deliciously Ella’s ginger balls at home so I thought why don’t I give my Nakd bar a go, after all the ingredient list is only four long (dates, cashews, raisins and flavouring). My only move away from their recipe was to include dried cherries instead of the raisins. I presume that they include them for cost reasons, but really, a cherry bakewell without any cherries is a little cheeky!
So here is my recipe, they take 15mins to make and really are delicious. Just don’t eat them all at once, perhaps have a banana after your third, I can’t pretend they are that healthy!
Recipe
Makes 10 bars
100g cashew nuts
150g pitted medjool dates (about 8)
35g dried cherries
1/8 tsp almond extract
*Or roll them into balls, which are perhaps easier to take to work with you!