Paleo Bars - Paleo Snacks
Paleo snack bars made using chocolate? People reading this who strictly adhere to a Paleo Diet, would argue that chocolate is not truly part of the diet. And indeed, they are quite correct.
As we all know, chocolate comes from cacao beans which have been fermented and processed in some way, in order to make the finished product. The two main components of chocolate are the cocoa solids and butter, cacao solids being used in the preparation of dark chocolate.Paleo means feeling good and being disease free. This site has recipes (e.g. Paleo Baking) and valuable information (e.g. Paleo Pregnancy). Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution is a must-read and his 30-day 'getting started' guide makes it super easy. Do you just want the best recipes? The Paleo Recipe Book is hard to beat. There's plenty of inspiring and useful information on this site, so take time to digest the other articles.
Chocoholics would say that a chocolate, is a chocolate, is a chocolate! But real chocolate lovers know better.
They don’t like the heavily-processed, high-sugar, complete with colourings and flavourings, chocolates. Instead they are more likely to opt for a dark chocolate with a high percentage of organic cacao, and not too much sugar.
Now whilst this dark chocolate is not strictly Paleo, it has some benefits that in my opinion make it a worthy inclusion in a Paleo diet.
I believe that even the strictest Paleo adherents have the odd chocolate or sweet-tooth craving from time to time, and having a little occasionally is one way of fixing that crave. Besides, as I said, the sugar component of good, dark chocolate is very low.
Because cocoa butter is a healthy, saturated fat, containing minerals such as copper, manganese, iron and magnesium, it is a worthy inclusion in anyone’s diet.
Of course you can get all of these from leafy green vegetables, but we are talking treats here!
Whatever chocolate you choose to use, try to ensure that it contains no soy products or traces of wheat. There is usually a warning on the package about the possibility of the latter.
So, now that we have established some parameters and guidelines on the merits of chocolate eating, let me offer you a recipe that you can play around with.
Ingredients can vary. All you have to do is try to keep the amount of dry/nut/seed/ ingredients, proportionate to the oil and chocolate.
Experimentation is everything in Paleo. Add things that you know you will enjoy.
Paleo Chocolate Energy Bars
One of the things I like about Paleo is not being a slave to actual amounts of ingredients. I tend to prefer texture. Don’t think I have had one failure ‘cooking’ this way!
Best of all I can whip them up at the drop of a hat! So in this recipe (for want of a better word!) just go with your gut instinct!
Ingredients:
- Some shredded organic coconut.
- Nuts of your choosing - I happen to love hazelnuts and almonds and that’s what I tend to use! I also like to throw in some chopped organic apricots at times! I like the chewy texture.
- Melted organic dark chocolate.
- Some warmed organic coconut oil.
- A little organic honey if you have a sweet tooth. I actually enjoy the bitter taste of the dark chocolate!
Method:
- Simply grind the nuts in your food processor. They are better not to be too fine.
- Melt chocolate in a bowl, over a pan of warm water and add the coconut oil. Be careful not to heat the chocolate too much or it will simply harden.
- Now blend the chocolate and coconut oil and mix carefully with the nut mixture. Spread onto a ceramic dish and even out with a spatula.
- Section it out into portion-sized pieces before putting it into the fridge to set.
- Best left for twenty four hours or so, before cutting and storing. I prefer to store in a glass container. I also like to sprinkle shredded coconut over the top and press it down.
- Left uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours or so, this will provide a crisp topping.
Enjoy your chocolate paleo snack bars!