Guest Host: Dev's Crazy Green Cakes (vegan & gluten free)

These two-a-day gluten-free snack bars are high in protein and other nutritional goodies, and are inspired by the tasty but expensive spirulina balls that I used to buy at the local whole food store. They are sweet yet salt all at once, so there's an Eastern taste to them. No oriental delicacy here though; these have all the finesse of a green-black house brick!

 

Stack on the left is Dev's Crazy Green Cakes
V & GF Health Bars

This recipe is also motivated by my desire to eat a whole host of specific foods every day for a healthy vegan lifestyle, including seaweed for iodine, ground linseed for Omega 3 and cranberries to ward off cystitis. It took so long to add everything to my breakfast cereal or dinner that I started skipping items, so an all-in-one bar is a real time-saver on busy days. Originally I would mould circular cakes from this firm dough by pressing balls of it into a small cookie cutter, then I'd coat them in a crumb of blended nuts and seeds that I'd held back from the first grinding stage and I'd place each in a cupcake case. Now I'm too lazy – I just blend up the dough then press it into small snack bars, wrapping them totally in the cupcake case. Now that they're fully wrapped they withstand the rough and tumble of a work lunch box too.

For 16 Green Cakes:

Separate 16 small paper cupcake cases and have ready to fill.

In a sturdy food processor, grind up;

45g almonds

65g pumpkin seeds

20g shelled hemp seeds

50g ground linseed/flaxseed

Add and blend in until there are no big bits of fruit

25g seaweed flakes – I've used 'nori sprinkle' or atlantic kelp flakes

20g spirulina powder

15g dried cranberries

170g dried apricots

Now blend in the wet ingredients to form a stiff dough

50g blackstrap molasses

50g light tahini

approx 50ml water, adding a bit at a time - adjust the water quantity as necessary to amalgamate the dough without any sogginess.

To form the bars place a 35g spoonful of dough into each cupcake case, then press the dough into a small rectangle. I do this by pressing through the paper case as I fold over the sides, which stops my fingers getting covered in the swamp-creature dough.

Now you have enough bars to last a week. Keep them refrigerated.

© Dev Preston, 11 Oct 2012

Thank you to Dev for a great posting and I hope the first of many. I shall be testing a bar later and updating this post with a review. Will Twitter the moment I do. Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Friday is an excellent one. ~R~

Update: I am sat with my coffee watching the Sock Stealer and E Dev's dog having a staring competition..lol. I am also trying out my sample of Dev's Crazy Green Cakes. And the texture is very like the Nak'd Bars you can by in the stores. But the flavour is something else...very salty/sweet..and I like it. And knowing it's choc full of goodness you feel quite saintly eating it..lol. In all seriousness...I've enjoyed it. A really good recipe Dev..thank you. ~R~