These little wonder bars are the love child of my need for a daily chocolate fix and my love of all things pumpkin spice and autumnal.
I mean it would be rude to not have some sort of pumpkin ode at this time of year really, wouldn’t it? Plus these are created by utilising my most favourite cooking method – shove in a food processor – then shove in fridge/freezer. All done in under 5 minutes. My kind of baking….
Plus they contain tons of healthy things to help your body SING its way into the winter season:
- Cinnamon – fabulous for helping stabilise your blood sugar and linked to helping treat type 2 diabetes*
- Coconut oil – wonder source of metabolism-boosting fats and to help fill you up and aid in weight loss **.
- Raw honey – another great source of living enzymes and anti-bacterial goodness – also said to support healthy stomach acid production too.
- Chocolate – full of magnesium and…..well….it’s chocolate??
- Pumpkin – a source of plant based vitamin A (although questionable how much of plant based vitamin A we utilise – read more here) and other yummy antioxidants and healthy carbs.
*(study – further research needed)
**(source)
These are the perfect thing to have stashed in your freezer for when you want that little something after work or in the afternoon or before a workout when you need a little something to see you through.
And of course, these Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Bars are complete refined sugar-free! Yes you know I am not a big fan of refined sugar, I don’t consume it regularly and it tends to be one of the first things I suggest my clients look at replacing with more natural alternatives. Refined sugar is proving to be problematic through more and more research that is coming through (read more here). It can contribute to inflammation, poor blood sugar balance and can exacerbate various health issues.
And if you know that you’re little bit addicted to sugar and need some help then click the image above to download you complete guide to natural sweeteners PLUS more recipes like this one!
(Need ingredients? Get raw honey here, coconut oil here)
Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip 5 Minute Bars
Ingredients
- 200 g pumpkin puree
- 40 g choc chips 85%
- 50 g coconut oil or organic butter
- pinch salt
- 150 g cashews
- 3-4 tbsp raw honey
- tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- a few pinches of nutmeg & ground cloves
Instructions
- Place everything except the choc chips in a food processor and blend until very smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
- Then taste and adjust sweetness to preference.
- Then pour into some greaseproof paper in a dish. Flatten and shape into a rough rectangle about 1-1.5cm in thickness and place in freezer until set (about 1 hour).
- Once set simply melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over boiling water and then use a spoon to drizzle it over now frozen bars. Place in freezer and cut to size - roughly 5x5cm.
- These will last in freezer for over a month.
Notes
Feel free to use freshly cooked or canned pumpkin puree or simples ome cooked butternut squash also would work well.
You could also shape these into balls or pour into cupcake cases.
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