Have you ever bought a ‘healthy’ snack bar and been disappointed to find it is not actually healthy and instead packed with sugar and additives and tastes like cardboard? Well here’s a solution: make your own! With the help of a food processor or blender you can whip up your own tasty treats in under 15 mins!

These snacks are free from refined sugar and can easily be made gluten-free and vegan. These work out to be inexpensive compared to shop-bought varieties and you know exactly what has gone into them!

I love slicing these up into bite-sized squares but if you prefer, you can slice these up into larger bars. These make super healthy portable snacks or make delicious petit fours after a meal when you just want something a little sweet.

These maca cacao bites are packed with nutrition, flavour and texture. You wont be disappointed! They are crammed with nuts, cacao powder, dates, chia seeds, goji berries and sugar-free chocolate drops.

You can boost the protein content with optional protein crunchies or use puffed quinoa to keep these vegan Alternatively, rice crispies give a lovely crunch. You can further boost the protein content by adding protein powder (plant-based varieties like soya, pea work well as does whey) or simply add rolled oats (gluten-free if required) or coconut flour instead.

These bites also freeze well and if popped in a pretty box or jar, they make a lovely gift.

Makes: 24

Preparation time: 15 mins

Setting time: 2-3 hrs

Ingredients:

• 130g nuts of choice. I used a mixture of cashews, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts in the ones pictured
• 2 ½ tsp cacao powder
• 1 ½ tsp maca powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp protein powder  (soya bean, pea or whey work well)/ rolled oats gluten-free if required)/ coconut flour
• Pinch of salt
• 100g dried dates, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 3 tsbp goji berries
• 3 tbsp sugar-free dark chocolate drops
• 3 tbsp whey protein crunchies / puffed quinoa / rice crispies
• 2-3 tbsp water

Method

1. In a food processor, add the nuts, cacao powder, maca powder, protein powder/ oats/ coconut flour and pinch of salt. Pulse to a flour-like consistency.
2. Add the chopped dates, chia seeds, goji berries, chocolate drops and protein crunchies/ puffed quinoa/ rice crispies.
3. Add 2 tbsp water and mix to bind the mixture together. Depending on the dryness of the dates, you may need an extra tablespoon of water.
4. Press the sticky dough into a lined baking tin to a height of about 2cm high (I just press the mix to one end of a rectangular baking tin!). Level with a spatula.
5. Leave to set in the freezer for about 2-3hrs before cutting into squares.
6. These squares keep well chilled in the fridge for about 2 weeks and also freeze well. Enjoy!

Don’t forget you can find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.