CAROBY NUT AND SEED BAR
Eeek! Can’t stop breaking off bits of chocolate when I’m at home and realising that bars of the stuff are surreptitiously disappearing — time to redress what's turned into an addictive relationship with chocolate. A couple of times a year (maybe more like 6) I find myself NEEDING chocolate. It’s usually because I’m over-tired, stressed about work, and I’ve got into a bit of a cycle with it. I can literally feel the caffeine buzz, and even if I go for a less intense cacao bar then it’s the sugar that I’m feeling.
Anyway, this all means it’s time to take a break and perhaps find a different satisfying snack to take its place. Enter: the caroby nut and seed bar. It’s been a while since I used carob — being a chocolate snob, it was years before I even touched the stuff. But when I used it in the cult Hemsley+Hemsley black bean chocolate brownie and realised I preferred the taste to that of cocoa, I knew I was onto something special. Carob powder looks like cacao, but without the caffeine or the bitterness. It’s not as rich as cacao, but used correctly it gives you a delicious mocha taste. These caroby nut and seed bars are quick to make — though you do need a food processor to get the texture right, unless you are strong as an ox and as fast as a fox.
This is a no-bake kind of bar that holds its shape and can be transported to work or the gym or wherever else you need to go really easily. However, it’s definitely not a raw bar. I find raw ingredients much harder to digest, so instead I lightly toast the pumpkin and sunflower seeds as well as the buckwheat or oat flakes before blending with the almond butter, raw honey and carob to get a rough textured mix that I can then press down into a pan, cool and slice into little squares ready to enjoy. I do little squares because this bar is compact, high in protein and nutrient-dense (it’s chock full of everything... except chocolate), so you don’t need to or want to be overdoing it. It’s very satisfying if eaten slowly and mindfully, i.e. not when checking emails or running for the bus!
This recipe is also very easy to play around with — try maple syrup instead of honey and cashew butter instead of almond butter. If you want to make your own nut butter from scratch, go for it, since you’ve got the blender out already. If you can’t do nuts, then sub some tahini (sesame paste) and some coconut oil — you want a stiff mixture (hence needing a blender) to make this. If the mixture is too wet, it won’t hold.* You can also spice or flavour this: try toasted fennel seeds, or ground ginger or ground cinnamon. Also lovely is a dash of orange or rose extract. I’ve yet to try mint, but let me know!
INGREDIENTS
2-3 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
3 tbsp carob
170g almond butter or cashew butter
⅓ cup sunflower seeds
⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup buckwheat flakes or rolled oats
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
METHOD
In the food processor, add 2 tablespoons of honey, the carob, vanilla extract, salt, and almond butter.
Line a 14-centimetre square dish with parchment/baking paper.
Toast the buckwheat or oat flakes in a dry pan on medium-hot until fragrant and golden around the edges — keep it moving, otherwise the little bits will start burning. Tip into the food processor.
Add the sunflower seeds to the pan and toast them until golden, while keeping them moving. Add half the seeds to the blender and set the other half aside.
Add the pumpkin seeds to the pan and toast them in the same way until golden, while keeping them moving — the pan will be really hot now and the pumpkin seeds will inflate and start popping when ready. Add half to the blender and set the other half aside.
Pulse the food processor a few times, then scrape down the sides and pulse again — do this until you have a rough texture.
Add the leftover sunflower and pumpkin seeds and pulse again until they are broken up. Scrape the sides and give one last pulse.
Turn the mixture out into the lined pan and start to press down firmly and evenly all over until the surface is flat and even.
Cover and pop into the fridge to cool (or leave on the side), then take a knife and slice into 1-inch bars. Store in an airtight container for a week, or store extra in the fridge and enjoy for weeks to come.
East by West tip: *Played around with the recipe and it won’t hold at room temp? Just add some more buckwheat or oat flakes, or keep your bars in the freezer until you need them, Make sure no water gets into your dish or it will spoil easily and won’t keep as long.