A little preparation on a lazy weekend afternoon can prevent a massive guilt trip midweek if you’re tempted to reach for a mid-morning or afternoon snack. If you’re in a hurry and start to feel your energy levels slipping away, an easy alternative would be to pop something convenient and devoid of nutrition into your mouth. But making sure everything you put into your mouth counts is a great way to fill your body with nutritious foods and enjoy the benefits that they bring.
This scrummy Berry and Nut Muesli Slice will give you the best of both worlds, with its sweet and truly nutritious qualities. While many snacks are synonymous with trans-fatty, sugar laden treats, there’s no reason you can’t create healthy ones. The great thing is that having a healthful snack in between meals helps manage your blood sugar levels and hormones. Insulin in particular can increase your ability to store fat especially if you skip a meal or allow yourself to get too hungry. No one wants to start gnawing off their own arm or reaching for an instant snack full of processed and artificial ingredients that will only make the immune system have to work twice as hard to process and leave a trail of toxic substances for your body to try and eliminate..
Healthy made over muesli slices, using only the best, most nutrient dense foods are the perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. If you’re wondering what’s in every mouthful, these scrumptious treats contain a truckload of nutrient-rich ingredients to keep you full and will undoubtedly satisfy the cheekiest sugar craving. Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients:
Almonds: Keeping recipes low in sugar, which is the Supercharged Food philosophy, naturally means that it’s best to use foods which are low in carbohydrates. (Remember just 4 grams of carbs equates to 1 tsp of sugar in our body…yikes!) The wonderful thing about almond flour is that it’s high in protein, manganese, potassium, copper, and vitamin E, as well as heart healthy monounsaturated fats. If you’re using a quarter of a cup of almond meal, this contains 15g fat (1g saturated), 5g carbs (3g fiber, 1g sugar), and 7g protein. Nutrient dense deliciousness in one single slice! Here’s a tip when cooking with almond flour; if you’re planning on replacing wheat flour with it in a recipe, just make note that you may require more eggs to provide more structure.
Goji Berries: Apart from being pretty in pink and delicious, Goji Berries contain 18 types of amino acids and all 8 essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein, which in turn is vital for some very important functions in your body. To put this into perspective it helps keep your skin glowing or hormonal glands in check, your nails intact and your hair ultra-glossy with mountains of va va va voom!
Another attribute of Goji berries is their rich source of carotenoids, (more beta carotene than carrots can you believe?!) of all known foods or plants on earth! They contain 500 times the amount of vitamin C, by weight, than oranges making them the second most potent source of vitamin C on earth. To round it all out Goji berries score an astronomical 23,500 on the ORAC scale (Blueberries are a mere 2400).
Seeds, despite the small packaging, pack a nutritional punch. Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, are packed with iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium. These four important minerals are arguably the most important minerals our body requires. Magnesium is used in nerve and muscle function, making it an excellent mineral to help calm tired and wired minds. Calcium, as we know, is integral to bone health, iron is necessary for the generation of new blood cells, which promotes the circulation of oxygen throughout the body. No wonder if you’re iron deficient you have a tired mind and body! And finally zinc is necessary for protein development.
Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of Vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps fight free radical damage. They are also a wonderful source of Linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), dietary fibre, protein and minerals such as magnesium and selenium. Sesame seeds are a rich source of manganese, needed for bone development and copper which assists in the production of connective tissue proteins, collagen and elastin (helping us achieve hot and healthy skin). Sesame seeds contain a unique antioxidant called sesamin, powerful anti-carcinogens which may assist with respiratory health.
Apricots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, potassium, iron, calcium, silicon, phosphorus and vitamin c. If you’re wondering about the difference in organic dried vs. conventional apricots, non-organic apricots are treated with sulphur dioxide, which stops the fruit from oxidizing and losing its vibrant orange colour. Sounds ok, but this chemical process creates sulfites, which is a common trigger for asthma in some sufferers. Deceptive as it is, it’s much better for your health to get those darker brown organic dried apricots that haven’t been processed or tampered with or better still dehydrate your own so you know exactly what in them. You can find out more about dehydrating here.
Now that you’re skilled up and raring to go the only other thing you need to remember is just to make sure that your baking powder is aluminum free and now you are ready to make your own tasty treats.
Berry and Nut Muesli Slice
(makes 12-15 slices)
2 cups almond flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup goji berries
8 drops liquid stevia
½ cup mixed seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
¼ cup pistachios roughly chopped
¼ cup dried apricots, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
Pinch Celtic sea salt
1 large egg
Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Line a baking sheet with baking paper
Combine baking soda, fruit, nuts and seeds, sea salt and almond flour in a bowl
In a separate bowl beat egg and add liquid stevia
Mix wet ingredients into dry
With hands form the mixture into a dough
Shape dough into a rectangular shape about 2 cms thick
Cut dough into slices
Bake for 15 mins
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