So this post today may surprise you a little bit in terms of what we think of as ‘healthy’.
This amazing recipe is one of my favourite snacks as I have a slight borderline obsession with peanut butter and could eat it all day long. But most people think peanuts are terrible for you and they confess to me in a guilt-ridden voice about their peanut butter love.
Yes it maybe high in calories but I pay no attention to them and I happen to think (and research shows) that good natural fats are actually good for you (read more about that here).
Now it is worth noting that I recommend to only eat organic sugar free peanut butter where possible as peanuts can be sprayed with some nasty chemicals and therefore grow some rather unpleasant moulds on them. So best stick to organic and as we discussed previously refined sugars aren't great for you so again they are best avoided!
• Five natural alternatives to sugar
These Peanut Butter Fudge Squares are the perfect snack and treat as often it is snacking that stuffs up our health eating plans. We all tend to roughly know how to make healthy meals but it is that vending machine or 4 pm run to the shop or biscuit tin that often sabotages our good intentions.
So to overcome that, simply make a batch of these in less than 15 mins on a Sunday, chop into small squares and pop one into your mouth from the fridge when you need a treat. Boom! Healthy filling snack sorted.
And here is why they will do you GOOD:
• Full of good fats. Whether you use organic butter or coconut oil making you get good amount of fats that will keep you full for much longer.
• 100% natural. There is nothing bad for you in them just a few simple ingredients that you blend up and go.
• They will last for ages. They are best stored in the freezer and this means they aren't just laying round asking to be eaten all day long. Plus it means you have a tiny square of goodness for when your fancy a natural but tasty sweet treat.
• Perfect pre or post exercise treat. A little square of one of these will keep you going long and hard or help you recover from a sweaty exercise session.
• Delicious! They taste like the inside of a Reese's peanut butter cup which is always a good thing in my books...
So enjoy and if you feel like your struggling with sugar overload/addiction then make sure you head over to get my free recipe guide (with my favourite ways to use natural sweeteners) and join the waiting list for my Beat the Sweet 21 Day Challenge starting soon! Click here to join!
Ingredients
• 200g organic peanut butter
• 5 medjool dates (see notes)
• 150ml of melted organic butter OR coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2-3 pinches salt
Topping
• 2 tbsp cacao nibs
Makes one tray
Picture: Kezia Hall
Method
1 Grease a glass dish for the mixture to set in.
2 Melt the butter or coconut oil.
3 Blend all the ingredient together (except the cacao nibs) until smooth.
4 Taste and add more sweetness according to you taste.
5 Pour into grease dish. It will be a thick paste like mixture.
6 Smoothie until about 2 cm in thickness or to your preference.
7 Sprinkle the cacao nibs on top.
8 Place in freezer for about an hour until set.
9 Cut into small 3x3cm squares for the perfect snacking size!
Notes
If you don't have medjool dates then feel free to use 3-4 tbsp of raw honey.
If you can't have peanuts they you can substitute in any other nut butter like almond or cashews butter.
No cacao nibs? Then feel free to use dark chocolate chips or roughly chopped 75 per cent dark chocolate to sprinkle on top. This will mean there is some refined sugar in the square but a very minimal amount.
