Chewy Orange Chocolate & Ginger Plant-Based Bars.

This nutritionally balanced and complete recipe offers fiber-rich carbohydrates, plant-based protein, and heart-healthy unsaturated fats. These bars serve as a sweet snack, pre or post-workout bite, or healthy dessert! Making our own nourishing and delicious bars, using whole (unprocessed) ingredients, is a simple, and healthy choice compared to store-bought bars – which are often high in refined sugars, poor quality oils, and preservatives. Highly versatile, this bar (aka raw brownie!) recipe serves as a base for any flavour combinations you enjoy! Use lime instead of orange/lemon zest for example, or add dried cranberries or apricots – in replacement of some of the dates. Sticking to the ratio of half nuts to dried fruit, will result in a nutritionally and texturally balanced bar. If you try this recipe at home, I’d love to hear how it goes in the comments below!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 2 cups pitted dates – soaked in water for at least 30-minutes (making them easier to pulse into paste!)
• 1/2 cup dark cacao powder
• 1 heaping tbsp cinnamon (love the stuff!)
• 2 tbsp, fresh ginger – minced
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, pulse the almonds, cinnamon, cacao powder, and salt into a textured crumb. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the pitted dates (minus water) to the food processor, with ginger, and half of the orange/lemon zest. Pulse until it forms a sweet sticky paste.
3. Combine the date-paste with almond-based crumb, and bring the mixture together using your hands – until it forms a dough.
4. Press the ‘dough’ into a lined square cake pan, and top with the rest of the citrus zest.
5. Place in the freezer for at least 1-hour to harden before slicing into 10 bars. Enjoy! Note: Stores them  in the fridge or freezer.

Nutrition Tips:

• If you are allergic to almonds, opt for sunflower seeds or half sunflower seeds / half rolled oats instead.
• Consider swapping half the dates for prunes – which contain half the sugars, but are still sweet and sticky.
• For a smaller portion size, roll the ‘dough’ mixture into truffles or balls vs. bars.