Cashew Cookie Bars

Despite my love of food, I’m not actually that good at feeding myself. Feeding others is no problem – easy peasy – but taking care of number one isn’t high on my list of priorities. I’m a rather busy lady but it’s taken me a while to grasp that I need to replace the calories that I’m working out of my system. It’s starting to dawn on me (after several oh-my-gosh-i-feel-faint moments – whoops!) that I maybe need to start eating a little more between my bike rides, dance classes, acrobatic episodes and general dogs bodying.

Now, if this wasn’t enough to undertake, I want to eat right too. Empty calories aren’t my thing – they need to be functional, nutritious and oh so delicious. I discovered Nakd Cashew Cookie bars a little while ago and loved them so much that I was determined to try and make my own. Considering that the lovely people at Nakd cram a magical mix of dates and nuts into their soft chewy bars, I figured that it wouldn’t be too difficult to create my own version in the kitchen.

I did a little research and found that America has their own equivalent – Lara bars – which are pretty similar. The more I read, the more I thought “it doesn’t need to be this difficult! It’s just nuts and fruit…” so I threw caution to the wind. I ground up a load of cashews, snipped up several handfuls of sticky dates and got my hands rather dirty smooshing it all together. One of the great winners about these bars is that they are 100% bake free. No cooking required!

They can be a little time consuming to make but they are well worth it. The finished bars are just as yielding and sweet as the originals. I wrapped mine individually in cling-film and now keep one in my rucksac for a post-workout shot of protein. Keep them in the fridge and pop one in your bag or lunchbox for a healthy snack. One of your five a day!

Cashew Cookie bars
Makes 12 bars

Ingredients:
200g pitted unsweetened dates
200g unsalted cashews

- Line a loaf tin with Teflon non-stick baking sheet, greaseproof paper or cling film before you start (and you get super sticky fingers).
- Grind the cashews in a food processor or blender until fine. You want them to be the consistency of ground almonds or course sand though a few chunks or whole nuts in the mix are fine by me. If you don’t have a food processor, you could seal the nuts in a plastic bag, wrap in a few tea towels and then bash with a rolling pin. Free stress relief!
- Snip up the dates with scissors so that they are in very small pieces (as fine as you have the patience for – it will pay off later!). You could also chop them in the food processor if you have one that is man enough for the job.
- Combine both in a bowl and get your hands in to work the mixture. Scrunch it up in your hands, balling it together and then breaking it apart again to form a firm but slightly sticky mixture. This took me about five minutes but it depends how strong you’re feeling.
- Tip the mixture into your prepared tin and level with a spoon.
- Compress the mixture using the back of a spoon and then the bottom of a tumbler or end of a rolling pin. Keep pressing it down until it’s very solid and holds together.
- Remove the block from the tin (pull gently on the lining to help ease it out) then cut into bar-sized portions.

Herbacious Healing

Click the image for a full-size, readable-with-out-a-magnifying-glass version

Did you know that the lovely little jars of herbs and spices could do much more than just flavour and fragrance your meals? As a doctor's daughter, I'm naturally cynical of anything that claims a certain food or drink can work miracles or, equally, lead to a painful death. This is mainly because we get so much conflicting information on the subject of health and because our overly keen media likes to jump on any study that might scare people and drag it kicking and screaming into our consciousness.

Anyway, I found this article interesting (even if it is cods wallop*).

*Not that I'm saying that it definitely is, of course...

Calorie Confusion

Although diets are pretty popular, it's sometimes difficult to work out where your calorie intake will get you. If you're confuzzled, take a peek at this website.

Innocent until proven...?

I don't know about you but from time to time, as a healthy treat, I can sometimes be seen enjoying a small bottle of Innocent smoothie (usually the mango and passion fruit variety... yum!). Taste aside (though it is very good), I like Innocent. They're cute and friendly and their packaging is witty - you'll find, if you up end their small plastic bottles, that there's a message embossed into the plastic, the funniest I've seen has been "Don't stare at my bottom"! Smoothies are undoubtedly 'hip' and healthy, especially as they're advertised as one of your essential 'Five A Day'.

While watching The F-Word, I watched Janet Street-Porter (who isn't my favourite person, I must admit) take a closer look at smoothie products. Many sources brand smoothies as an all-round good food stuff - a great way to start your day, supplement your usual meals with an extra shot of nutrition, an easy on-the-go snack or smuggle more fruit into childrens diet. They are all fruit, after all, aren't they? So they can't be bad... Janet S-P found that many smoothie products (not just Innocent branded, I must add) have a surprisingly high sugar content - sometimes comparible with some soft drinks. "Ah but these are natural sugars!" I hear you cry and yes they are but they are sugar, none the less. Although smoothies do contribute to your 'Five a day' fruit and vegetable quota but one expert that was interviewed claimed that you would be better off eating the fruit itself as it is actually absorbed slower. When you drink a smoothie, the liquid is easily absorbed from the stomach and into the blood stream which can create a peak in blood sugar levels and then, quite quickly, a trough again as the body processes it easily. When I thought about my favourite Innocent 'Mangoes and Passion Fruits', each small bottle contains (according to the maker): 2 and 1/2 apples, 1/2 a crushed mango, 1/2 a banana, 1/2 a squeezed orange, 1/2 a crushed passionfruit and a squeeze of lime. If I ate that in one sitting, I'd struggle and I'd be stuffed but I can happily enjoy one of those in a flash. I'm not saying Innocent or any other company are doing a bad job but what I will say is, be careful with your smoothie in-take. They're yummy and easy but they're also high in sugar so take care.

I got talking to my housemates after seeing the programme and it prompted a really interesting conversation about sugar content in foods and drinks. We were all struggling to understand how our recommended daily allowance of sugars and fat actually affect our own diets.