HEALTHY ‘BACK 2 SCHOOL/REALITY’ SNACKING

We would like to help all the moms you with ideas for healthy snacking for your child’s lunch box, which are packed full of nutrition, but also super tasty. Their bodies and brains are growing and are asking for good snacks to keep them going.

Our favourite has to be a mixture of nuts and dried fruit. Nuts contain such a massive amount of nutrition and are so undervalued. They are packed with vitamins and minerals, good fats to nourish your child’s cells, skin, and brain, and soluble fibre to keep their tummies happy. Paired with dried fruit they are the perfect snack. Dried fruit gives your child that bit of sweetness that they crave but also gives them large amounts of fibre and wonderful vitamins. The two combined are perfect.

There is nothing better than an evening of soup and cinnamon-sugar pancakes, are we right? But this year we’ve created a fantastically rich and decadent, yet healthy dessert to keep your family feeling great! And it is packed with nutrition (a pudding AND it’s healthy? Yup you heard right!). Our Almond Butter Brownie is out of this world – it’s based on our love for Almonds (which are one of the healthiest nuts around) and our second love of chocolate.

This brownie is:

• Gluten free
• Refined sugar free
• Vegan
• Packed with antioxidants (from the cacao powder)
• Good for those suffering from diabetes or any blood sugar imbalances
• Tasty to boot.

Almond Butter Brownie

• 175ml smooth Almond Butter (see our recipe for Cashew Butter https://capedriedfruit.com/caramel-cashew-butter/  in the archives and replace the cashews with almonds if you’d like to try making your own!)
• 80ml real maple syrup / honey / agave syrup / brown rice syrup
• 175ml unsweetened applesauce (use baby food for an easy substitute!)
• 7ml vanilla extract
• 125ml unsweetened cacao powder
• 125ml ground almonds
• 3ml bicarbonate of soda
• 2ml fine salt
• 100g bar of dark chocolate (at least 70%)
• a handful of shaved almonds, raw

1. Pre heat the oven to 180˚ Line a square cake pan with baking paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond butter, sweetener, applesauce, and vanilla.
3. Now add the cacao powder, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, and salt and whisk until combined and there are no lumps in the batter.
4. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt (either in the microwave or on a double boiler).
5. Pour the melted chocolate into the batter and mix until combined.
6. Pour the batter into the lined baking tin and sprinkle evenly with the shaved almonds. Press the almonds down slightly to stick to the batter.
7. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. A knife inserted should come out with a few crumbs – don’t overcook the brownie.
8. Now leave the brownie to cool completely before cutting into squares. They brownie won’t cut cleanly if it hasn’t cooled down enough. It’s a great idea to place it into the refrigerator to cool down even more. Then when you eat one – pop it into the microwave for 20 seconds and enjoy a warm ooey-gooey brownie. Yum!