Bec’s Bee Nutty Bars

March 4th 2022

Squidgy, crunchy, fruity and nutty, and no baking required!

One of our type 2 diabetes mentors shares her recipe for a healthy but nutritious treat!

Makes 12 bars

Vegetarian 

Ingredients

• 200 g mixed nuts (higher fat nuts E.g. pecans, walnuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, are better as they will cut more easily)
• 100 grams dark chocolate (75% cocoa or higher) broken into chunks
• 90g butter
• 50 g set honey
• 50g almond flour/ground almonds
• 30 g shelled hemp seeds/hemp hearts
• 30 g pumpkin seeds
• 15 g sesame seeds
• 15 g Chia seeds
• 15 g flaxseed/linseed
• 15 g desiccated coconut.
• 10 g dried fruit, E.g. Goji berries or raisins, to decorate (optional)

You will also need:

• Frying pan or similar 
• Wooden/ silicone spoon
• Rectangular baking tin roughly 25 cm x 16 cm
• Sharp knife
• Parchment paper
• Aluminium foil

Method

1. Prepare your container by lining with parchment paper.  (Tip: scrunch up the paper and then smooth it out. This will make the paper fit into the corners more easily).
2. Prepare the nuts by chopping them by hand or whizzing them briefly in a herb grinder. If you have harder nuts (eg almonds) chop them more finely.
3. Combine the butter, honey and dark chocolate in the frying pan and heat very slowly, stirring all the while until everything is melted. Then simply add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly, making sure everything is coated in the wet ingredients.
4. While the mixture is still hot pour into the container and press down firmly with a fork.
5. Take your time, making sure to press the mixture into the corners and ensuring everything is as level and compressed as possible.
6. Mark out the lines for the 12 bars, and then press the dried fruit evenly into the top of each bar.
7. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight and then lift the hardened mixture out of the container by the parchment paper and cut into 12 bars.   Tip: put your knife into a jar of very hot water so you can cut the bars with a heated knife, making a cleaner cut. 
8. Wrap each bar in foil and refrigerate.  They should keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and each bar should last for a few hours in your bag if you’re out and about. 

Note: this is a very flexible recipe. Swap ingredients around and leave out things that you don’t like/have, as long as you have a similar proportion of melted to dry ingredients.