Ingredients
For 6 bars
? 1 cup pitted dates
? 4 tbsp raw cacao powder
? 2 ripe bananas
? 1 &1/2 cup raw almonds, unsalted
? ½ cup raw cashews
? ½ cup raw hazelnuts
? 1 tbsp coconut oil
? 2 tbsp raw agave nectar
Benefits
I love to explore new culinary theories, healthy “diets” or just new ways of healing my body through nutrition. I am extremely in tune with what my body needs due to my constant struggle with keeping it healthy on an day to day basis. I am also completely aware that a lot of these trends or healthy lifestyles aren’t necessarily scientifically proven nor that they can benefit everyone. Every body is unique and everyone reacts differently to what they put in their bodies due to additional & individual factors. Let’s also not forget the psychological factor which I am convinced is essential for having a healthy mind and body. So I’ll say this again, you do you 🙂 .
I’ve of course known about Raw foodism in Paleo and Vegan diets, or just straight forward Raw diets for a while now and I suppose it’s time I research this a little more seriously.
I’m pretty much against drastic diets, or eliminating essential foods to our meals in the sole purpose of loosing weight quickly. Unless a specific intolerance or allergy to a certain type of nutrient or food, I think that the human body should stick to living how it was designed to when created. That said, because of what we do to our planet and to ourselves, we are unfortunately forced to re-learn how to live properly and take care of our bodies. If you do your research on almost all healthy food trends you’ll see that none of this has been invented but dates back to our ancestors and civilizations that to this day are healthier than most of us.
But back to Raw food. I realized when making these Raw bars and when studying this lifestyle that I have what they would call a ‘High Raw’ diet, meaning that I eat raw everyday with the exception of some cooked food or at least one cooked meal per day. It all makes sense to me because I have created a lifestyle for myself that consists of consuming high fiber and high energy nutrients BUT with as less sugar and “bad fats” as possible. Don’t get me wrong I’m not talking about eating a raw fruit at every meal after having eaten a juicy steak or lasagna – I’m talking about eating entirely raw (and for me meat-free) and detoxifying my body from processed and fatty food. It not only gives me much more energy for my upcoming day, but eliminates the bloating, bad digestion, skin problems, fatigue, mood swings and sugar cravings. It also just simply makes me feel better about my body which is super important for my well-being.
So what is a Raw diet ? In a few words it consists of eating mostly or all unprocessed and uncooked food in order to get all the nutrients without the dangerous additives. Unfortunately when cooking our food a lot of its vitamins and enzymes (which allow digestion) are destroyed making the food maybe tasty but less nutritive and harder to digest. Eating processed food is pretty much not really knowing what you are putting in your body and is probably the cause to a lot of our health problems. Cooking food can cause fermentation in the body during digestion that can lead to inflammation, bacteria and autoimmune reactions.
So does this mean we have to stop cooking our food, no. But it doesn’t hurt to cleanse our bodies from time to time, maybe for a short period of time to reset the clock and give ourselves a break.
This recipe is more for a mid-day snack or great to start the day because it is high in energy, like Energy balls are. They are made with two layers, one that is more solid with raw nuts and dates and one that is more creamy and smooth with banana and homemade almond butter. Each mixture is with raw cacao powder which gives it the gourmand fudgy aspect while staying 100% healthy! Yes chocolate can be healthy ! 🙂
I find this recipe to be a great trick for a healthy breakfast diet, being the most important meal of the day and can often be also the most fattening one. Eat one of these with a cup of tea or coffee and a glass of freshly pressed orange juice and you will start your day off with much more energy and less fat without taking away the satisfaction of yummy morning comfort food. It’s also a great on-the-go breakfast for the busy people out there who tend to skip breakfast due to lack of time (you know who you are 😉 ) . These can be made in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week without any problem.
Method
1. Place the pitted dates, 2 tbsp raw cacao powder, cashews and hazelnuts in the food processor and mix until well blended.
2. Spread the mixture in a small baking pan an press it down with a spoon then set in the refrigerator.
3. Place the almonds in the food processor and mix to obtain a creamy butter (it should take about 10-12 minutes, pausing every minute to not overrun the machine; the texture will go all the way from coarsely chopped, to crumbly, finely ground and butter).
4. Add the bananas, agave nectar, coconut oil and 2 tbsp raw cacao powder to obtain a smooth cream.
5. Pour the banana cream on top of the date base and spread evenly.
6. Cover with a plastic foil and place in the freezer for 30 – 45 minutes.
7. Remove from the refrigerator, cut in squares, sprinkle with raw cacao powder and serve.
