Better for you vegan Snickers Bars- Cos you are mean when you are hungry

If anyone is mean when they are hungry, it’s me.  I can turn from miss meek and mild (okay, for those who know me, I’m just using artistic license) to a sarcastic monster intent on world domination if I don’t get my dinner in a timely fashion. In fact, as my darling can attest, I can often be found shoving my face full of marmite toast if I think my next meal might be in the too distant future.

Anyhow, I digress. So, Snickers. Apparently the cure if you are mean when you are hungry. Umm, I’m not so sure.  I think it is maybe the cure if you are about to slip into a hypoglycaemic coma or about to not get diabetes or about to not be obese.  But I’m not so sure if it would be the thing I would reach for if I was just a bit peckish. Might have something to do with the 6 teaspoons of sugar; if you weren’t feeling tired and grumpy before you ate that bar, I reckon by the time the sugar high wears off, you might. In fact, by then you might be so ravenous you might have to have another one with a side of KFC and then lo and behold you are wearing elastic waist pants.

So as a super treat, I made these “better than your average snickers bar” bars from the awesome Betty Rawker. They are full of good fats from coconut, cashews and almonds. Have a fair whack of protein from the nuts and antioxidants from the cacao and use unrefined sugars in the form of dates and coconut nectar. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t eat these with gay abandon either, but you can feel a bit more confident that you won’t end up on the slippery slope to diabesity eating these puppies occasionally.   

So what’s in them?

Base Layer

·         2 cups cashews

·         2 TBS coconut oil

·         2 TBS maple syrup

·         Pinch sea salt

Caramel  Layer

·         1 cup almonds

·         8 medjool dates

  ·         1/2 cup  coconut nectar or another sweetener

·         1/2 tsp vanilla

·         2 Tablespoons coconut oil

·         ½ teaspoon of sea salt

·         1/2 cup chopped almonds

Raw Chocolate

·         1 Cup Raw Cacao or coconut  Butter melted

·         1 Cup Raw Cacao Powder

·         1/2 Cup Coconut nectar or maple syrup

·         Teaspoon of vanilla

How do you make em?

Base

Blend cashew nuts in a food processor into a it resembles a crumb like consistency. Add in the coconut oil, maple syrup & sea salt. Blend. Pat down into a rectangle on wax paper, freeze.

Caramel

Blend nuts into a fine powder in the food processor. Add in dates, maple syrup or honey, coconut oil, vanilla & salt. Blend into a sticky caramel. Spread caramel out over frozen cashew base. Press in 1/2 cup chopped almonds or other nuts. Freeze for 1 hour.

Chocolate

Melt cacao butter over a very low heat. Stir all 3 ingredients together, into a smooth melted chocolate sauce.

Cut cashew/caramel block into small pieces. Dip each bar into the chocolate, then set on wax paper and freeze to firm up. Wait till firm and then redip in the chocolate mix.

Store in the freezer, if they last that long!

Enjoy!