This chocolate bar is naturally sugar free, gluten free and lactose free!

It’s a recipe that’s ever-changing when I make it because it depends on which nuts and seeds I have in the cupboard. I like to use sunflower and pumpkin seeds with Brazil nuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and goji berries.

It’s always better to take the time to soak and dehydrate your nuts and seeds, which is easier than you might think. In fact if you equate it to washing and drying your clothes you will see that you only have to initiate the soaking and dehydrating processes, and time does the rest for you.

Please note that the ingredients do not need to be precise, which is why I’ve used cups instead of grams.

Ingredients (always use organic where possible)

Coconut oil – 1/4 cup
Cacao powder – 1/3 cup
Himalayan salt – a grind or two will bring out the natural sweetness
Vanilla – scraped from pods, or a few drops of extract
Desiccated coconut – 1/2 cup
Nuts and seeds – 2 cups soaked and dehydrated
Goji berries – 1/4 cup

Method

Gently melt the coconut oil in a bowl over a hot pan of water.
Remove from the heat.
Stir or whisk in the cacao powder until smooth.
Stir in the vanilla and salt.
Add the coconut and stir.
Add the nuts, seeds and berries.
Stir until all of the nuts are coated in chocolate.

Empty the mixture into a lined baking tin and press flat with a spatula.
Sprinkle the bee pollen on top.

Allow the mixture to harden before cutting into squares.

Keeps for at least 12 days in an airtight container in the fridge. (By then I’ve eaten in all!)

Health benefits
Every ingredient in this recipe brings multiple health benefits which include:
Fibre, Proteins, healthy saturated fats (increases good cholesterol and lowers bad cholesterol).
Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants.
They also have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties; improve gut bacteria, gut health and aid digestion; and potentially anti-cancer qualities.
Bee pollen alone is a remarkable food. Click here for more information.

Why you should soak your seeds and nuts

Enzymes are proteins that cause chemical reactions throughout the body. They break down food, clot blood and are necessary for all bodily functions. Diets rich in enzymes cause the body to work more efficiently, which is why individuals who consume raw diets experience tremendous health benefits. All raw foods, including raw nuts and seeds, contain an abundance of enzymes, and these enzymes break down food and distribute their nutrients throughout the body.
However raw seeds and nuts contain nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances. The best way to destroy enzyme inhibitors is to soak raw nuts and seeds before consumption. Raw nuts and seeds are live foods that are likely to sprout or grow if you plant them. By soaking nuts and seeds, you awaken their life force, which will cause these inhibitors to break down. Each raw nut and seed requires a different amount of soaking time to eliminate inhibitors. Raw almonds and walnuts must soak for eight hours; pistachios and pine nuts must soak for two.

The picture shows the bar topped with bee pollen, which you can sprinkle on top at the end. However I prefer the taste without the bee pollen