Chocolate orange 'Smoosh' bar (aka- Nakd bar/Larabar)

‘Nakd’ bars were something I was introduced to (by the boy) very early on, when veganism was still largely an intriguing curiosity to me.  Well, it could be said that if these bars were anything to go by then I’m in!!  I could barely believe I wasn’t eating chocolate, let alone raw fruit and nuts!

Nakd bars are, in effect, the UK version of the American Larabar. Soooo expensive to buy in the shops I noticed plenty of people were making their own versions and I wasn’t going to be left out. The Nakd bars make it even more straight forward in that they list the percentages of each ingredient on the packet itself so making it super simple to copy. However, in typical ‘me’ directly fashion I like to tweak things a little to lay my own mark. Also, I’m absolutely hopeless at following a recipe and prefer to play it by instinct and whatever takes my fancy (this works most of the time but I would be lying if I said all of the time- it comes back to bite me at times!)

The chocolate orange bar was my first taste and still my favourite to this day. To me, in the early days of my new appreciation of food and nutrition, the choc orange Nakd bar seemed the epitome of healthy decadence! 

See this post for my 'gateway to veganism' Nakd Bar Story :-)

Recipe: chocolate orange 'Smoosh' bar

Ingredients

(use all organic if possible):

• 100g pitted dates
• 60g cashew nuts
• 47g raisins
• 25g coconut flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 3g chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp orange rind
• 1 tsp orange extract

The ingredients add up to 250g and will make 5 x 50g bars. I often double or triple the recipe as these bars will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks (plus i'm usually making more to give to family members).

Method:

Put everything into a food processor and smoosh together until chopped up into tiny pieces and the bowl is filled with a fine sticky powder (and the air is filled with the heady smell of chocolate orange). If you prefer a smoother bar with less chunky nuts (the cashews in the pics are fairly chunky) then process these for a bit on their own first before adding all the other ingredients in with them.

To form into bars I press the mixture into a tin lined with baking parchment or cling film and use the flat end of a rolling pin to firmly pack the mixture down. You could also form into balls or rolls with your hands (although I haven’t tried this). Chill for a while before lifting out if the tin and cutting into bars. Store in the fridge or cupboard if eating within a few days.

The perfect mid-morning pick-me-up!  ……. Or for that matter mid-afternoon, mid-evening, lunch, dinner….

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