As of today, right now, I'm actually going to take some downtime over Christmas, ok well it's my version of downtime but what I actually mean is a little bit of time out from normal work, whole plus, my blog and crazy kitchen experiments so that I can dedicate some hard-core time to reading a huge pile of coaching books that have been waiting so long for me to get stuck into...and also to writing to my 'fit-food' e-book which still has a long way to go and I'm giving a seminar on the 17th January!!… so there's no going back now, it needs to be ready for that date.... ahhhh!

I have another one or two recipes scheduled, and who knows I may pop up again before New Year... i'm just not scheduling anything in at this moment in time. Taking the pressure off but let's see if i can keep away, ha ha.

So today... we're in last-minute-treats mode. As it happens this is the box of treats I gave my colleagues at the Spine and Wellness Centre last week. Those who follow me on Instagram will have seen it already :-)

Sp quick and easy to whip up.... just process, press and slice!

If you are not such a fan of a pronounced almond flavour you could use anther extract and add other crushed nuts to the top... hazelnut would be good, opt peppermint or how about chocolate orange maybe with some zest or coconut sprinkles on top? For a nut free version, use desiccated coconut in place of the ground almonds.

Package up in cellophane with a few pieces of swirly ribbons and you're good to go! These treats will keep well right through the christmas period and don't need to be refrigerated. They are pretty robust too, so perfect for travels to friends and family!

P.s sorry the photos look 'fuzzy'. The have such a short depth of field because it was a really dull day and I struggled to get enough light so had to open the aperture as wide as it would go! (techie talk over now).

Recipe: Raw chocolate almond slices

Makes approx 20 squares

Ingredients:

300g dates
70g coarse ground oats (or other equivalent GF flours)
100g ground almonds
50g cocoa powder
½ tsp almond extract (or other see notes above)
Blanched flaked almonds pressed into top- optional

Method:

Process the dates to begin to form a paste, then add the remaining ingredients and process until fairly smooth, the mixture should become a sightly sticky dough.

Pack into a brownie sized baking tray and press down very firmly (use the flat end of a rolling pin to pummel down!). Decorate with almonds or as desired.

Chill for an hour or so and then slice into squares.