Fruit & Nut Bar Recipe | Healthy Home Snacks

Following her delicious homemade humous recipe, dietitian Laura Tilt has returned with more home snacking tips and culinary inspiration for part two of her exclusive three part series for Sportsshoes.com’s #NoFunStandingStill AT HOME initiative.

The world has changed and as staying at home has become a new way of life, many of us are finding our eating habits have changed too. Whether we’re procrastinating or using food as a comfort or a distraction, most of us are finding ourselves snacking more than normal.

Laura’s philosophy? It’s fine to snack at this time and we can do this in a way that is healthy and guilt-free.

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FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES OF HEALTHY SNACKING

Leave snacking guilt at the door and make choices that support our mood and energy levels at this time by:

• Checking in with yourself before you snack – are other emotions driving you to snacking?

• Switching up your environment to promote easier, healthy choices

• Prep, prep, prep ahead

• Combine foods containing fibre and protein to keep mood and energy on an even keel.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPE: NO COOK PRESSED FRUIT AND NUT BARS

• A perfect pre-run/exercise snack

• An excellent source of energy from natural sugars

• Nuts help to slow down the release of energy to keep energy levels of an even keel

• Easy to make and great fun to prepare with the kids.

• Stores easily in fridge and freezes well

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PREPARATION TIME

10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 200g soft pitted dates (see alternatives below)

• 200g cashew nuts (see alternatives below)

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tbsp water, a little melted coconut oil or a tbsp of tahini to stick everything together - ALTERNATIVELY soak your dates first for 5 mins

Optional flavourings

• Orange zes

• Cocoa powder

• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

• Chocolate chips - handful - add after mixing and just press in

• Goji berries

Alternatives

If you can’t get hold of cashews you could use almonds or a mix of nuts, and if you can’t get hold of dates you could use raisins or figs or a mix of all three.

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Method

1. Line a baking tin – Laura is using a loaf tin for this quantity. Double the amount if you want to use a square baking tin.

2. Put the dates, salt and either a tbsp water, a couple of teaspoons of melted coconut oil or tahini into a food processor and blend until you have a sticky paste. Scrape down the sides of the food processor. Then add the nuts and process until they're all blended together. Add your flavouring and blend again - but briefly. If the mixture is not sticking together, add another spoon of water until the mixture starts to stick together.

3. Transfer the mixture into the lined tin and spread out evenly. Press the mixture into the tin and put in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Alternatively, you can roll the mixture into balls

4. Remove from the fridge and slice into bars or chunks. They will keep in the fridge or you can freeze in individually wrapped portions.

SportsShoes.com’s #NoFunStandingStill AT HOME initiative features exclusive advice and workouts from our ambassadors and experts, helping runners and all fitness enthusiasts to stay motivated, fit and active – at home. Tune in via @sportsshoes Instagram for our latest livestreams covering everything you need to know from stretching and mobility to nutrition and motivating playlists.

For more recipes and diet advice, check out the Nutrition section of our Training Hub.

Keen to learn more about fuelling for performance and adventures? Then check out our Nutrition category for more handy tips, advice and recipes.