Last year I stumbled upon a delicious raw energy bar in our local supermarket that just set my taste buds on fire! It was kind of tropical, kind of heaven in food form. It was only because they were on a special offer (buy one get one free) that we actually picked it up. Without the offer, they are, to me, super pricey and not something that I would buy every day. But I wanted one every day! They were so incredibly moreish, but when the special offer finished, we stoped buying them as often.
But then I got to thinking, why don’t I just make my own! Our local fruit market has passion fruit for a reasonable price, the dates are pretty cheap here and oooh, I could flesh it out with some oats to really get the benefit. So I set to work making my own energy bars that I could have every day with a great price tag attached to it. If you love passion fruit, if you love coconut, if you love nibbling on an energy bar that makes you feel like you could close your eyes and you’re on a tropical island (I’m getting carried away here) then this is the recipe for you. It takes literally 10 minutes to prepare and make and you are set for some really healthy snacks that you keep in the freezer and break out when you feel peckish.
Tropical Passion Fruit and Coconut Energy Bars
Recipe yields 10 bars (approx 160 calories per bar)
Ready in 10 minutes
34 dates (if using medjool, use between 16 – 18 as they are much bigger than run of the mill dates)
1 cup of oats
1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
The pulp of 3 ripe passion fruits
Directions
De-stone your dates and throw everything in the food processor. Blitz for around 3 minutes until all the mixture starts to bunch up. It will happen, don’t be tempted to throw more liquid in there. Just keep the food processor going and the coconut will break down and create the moisture needed to bind it all together.
Line a freezer proof dish with parchment paper and then transfer the mixture into it. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the mixture firmly into a rectangle/square shape about 1cm high (or you cold always just roll them into energy balls if you prefer them that way) then pop in the freezer.
I just grab a sharp knife and slice a bar when I want one. Keep it in the freezer for as long as you can keep your hands off it!!
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, I’m going to grab a bite of it now!
