CHOCOLATE & COCONUT PUFFED RICE BAR
- 100g coconut oil, melted
- 90g hazelnut butter (I used Meridian’s Cocoa & Hazelnut Butter)
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 1 tbsp protein powder (I used Vegan chocolate flavour)
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 100g raisins
- 20g puffed rice (I used Nature’s Store wholegrain puffed rice)
Melt the coconut oil in a pan. Once it’s a liquid, take it off the heat and add the hazelnut butter and agave syrup. Stir until the nut butter has also turned to liquid. Add in the protein powder, coconut flour and flaxseed. Stir until you have a smooth paste. Add the raisins and puffed rice.
You should now have a sticky, sloppy mixture.
Line a small brownie tin and pour the mixture in. Flatten it to the edges and pat it down. Put a sheet of greaseproof over the top and put something on top to weigh it down (I used a large punnet of blueberries, it could be a 1kg margarine tub, some yogurt pots) This is just to insure the puffed rice stays flat and compact when the mixture sets in the fridge. Put it in the fridge and leave it a good hour. I generally forget about it!
When you’re feeling peckish, pull it out and I cut this into six portions (the picture shows one portion chopped in two). Keep them in the fridge, in a tupperware, lined with the same greaseproof paper.
One of the better snacks on the 90 Day SSS Plan was the ‘No bake chewy bar’. This bar is inspired by it but I’ve changed the proportions and added in different ingredients. Still it’s a good, sweet snack that has pretty healthy ingredients and the protein powder is good if you’re training.
Of course the other inspiration for this bar is the popular children’s treat – Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Bar. This is a healthier, cleaner version for adults. Although my son really likes these.
I had to mess around with the proportions as I made one batch that wasn’t moist enough and it crumbled as soon as you touched it. I ended up crumbling it on top of yogurt like granola! Of course this is great one for adding your own personal touch. Make it more naughty and put M&M’s in it. Or change the raisins for any other dried fruit chopped up small. I used hazelnut butter because I like the praline like flavour you get with the hazelnut and chocolate combination, but you could use almond or peanut butter instead.
The possibilities are endless but definitely make sure the mixture going into the fridge is sufficiently wet that you don’t get the crumbly mess I had!
This is a great snack to have in the middle of the afternoon to get you from lunch to dinner. I always like something sweet when I have got in from the school pick up and this is so much better than shop bought alternatives, like a bag of Maltesers for instance.
Ooh but crushed Maltesers in this bar would be nice wouldn’t it…hmmm….
the things on my plate 