To my mind, no-one does ‘healthy but delicious snacks’ better than Donna Hay. I’m really not interested in mixing together linseeds and dates and other such stuff if the result is something you might have found in a health food shop circa 1974.
What I love about Hay and her recipes, is that there are no really contrived ingredients, no-one is pretending they are a substitute for broccoli, but if you want something a bit better than a sugar-laden cereal bar, she comes up with the goods.
I adapted these because I just didn’t agree with the number of dates she originally put in (200g) and although I think I have a sweet tooth, it’s evidently not that sweet.
Anyway. I cut these into squares. They freeze brilliantly. They are tasty and nutritious and the sugar hit from the dates and bananas is balanced by the cashews. I eat them when I want something a bit chocolatey and quick and they have also served as an emergency lunch – with a green smoothie – when I’ve had no time and had to go straight to an interview. I know this makes me sound really virtuous and you know what? I am during the week. At the weekend I can eat whatever I damn well please.
You need
225g cashews, raw (although might try them anon roasted)
120g dessicated coconut
300g ripe bananas (about three)
150g fresh dates, pitted
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
35g raw cacao powder
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons of cacao nibs
50g chopped walnuts
Method
Oven to 180C. Line a square 20cm tin with baking parchment.
Place everything, save for the walnuts and the cacao nibs, into a food processor and blitz the buggery out of it – Hay recommends 5 minutes I can’t remember how long I did it for. At the end, add half the cacao nibs and pulse a few times.
Shove the mixture into the tin, pressing down with your hands or the back of a spoon and sprinkle on top the remaining cacao nibs and chopped walnuts.
Cook for 25 minutes or thereabouts. Cool, the refrigerate and cut into required shape. Keeps for about a week in the fridge but as I said, I keep half, freeze half and they froze beautifully.
Pane Amore e Cha Cha Cha 
Thank you. Will make these as I know they are delicious, as I have been lucky enough to try yours. In the recipe it says fresh dates, have you ever tried dried dates?
As I mentioned earlier, the Chinese noodle dish was a big hit at the weekend and a delightful meal for my daughter’s 17th birthday for us to share.
I have now set up a folder to put all your fabulous recipes in !!!!!
Sharon
Hello Sharon! I either use fresh dates (which are insanely expensive) or ones in a packet that are soft. If you use really dry dates you should soak them in boiling water first, for ten minutes, then drain them. Glad you liked the noodle dish!