Energising Fruit & Nut Flapjacks

With the festive season coming to a halt, it's about that time of year where I'm sure many of you will be setting up (if not done already), your New Years resolution to ween yourselves off the booz and unhealthy indulgences, and get that beach body on its way!

Well if you're anything like my family and I, you'll be missing the fruity mince pies and those sweet, warming Christmassy smells and flavours little! This recipe was in fact developed to help my mum ween herself off those calorific mince pies which tend to become part of her daily tea-time routine around Christmas! 

Best thing about this versatile recipe, (as with most of my recipes) is that it requires minimal effort, and uses the simplist of ingredients that you'll more than likely have laying around the kitchen! Apart from the additional potent nautural energiser powder 'Guarana', which I decided to use thanks to Creative Nature Superfoods that is! (But that can be resolved by following the link, or looking down the free form isle in Tesco's or Ocado! ;) )

Guarana comes from the seed of a Portuguese climbing plant of the maple family. It is commonly used in energy drinks, herbal teas, and even weight loss pills in South America due to its natural caffeine content being twice of that found in coffee seeds! This little addition ensures these fruity, moist, flapjacks work great as a morning breakfast snack, or as a pre-workout energy booster!

Ingredients:

150g rolled oats

1 large (120g) banana 

16g (1 tbsp) virgin organic coconut oil or grass fed butter

2 tsp (8g) xylitol (or natural sweetener of choice - honey/maple syrup/stevia)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp (3g) Creative Nature Superfoods Guarana 

1/2 tsp baking powder

About 300-350ml water (or preferred milk/liquid of choice)

Optional add-ins:

35g sunflower seeds

30g crushed almonds

15g dried sweetened cranberries

15g dried sweetened blueberries

15g dried sweetened ginger chopped into small pieces

1. Pre-heat fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl before gradually adding the water (or liquid of choice). Add just enough to produce a 'cake batter' like consistency

3. Line an 8" square baking tin with grease proof paper and grease with some grass fed butter or coconut oil.

4. Pour the 'batter' into the middle of the tin, shake just a little so it spreads evenly. Don't worry if it doesn't quite reach the edges, it will expand a little in the oven!

5. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and leave to bake for 25mins (give or take a few mins depending on your oven! You should be left with a golden brown top and a SLIGHTLY gooey skewer once cooked.)

6. Carefully remove the grease proof paper and leave to cool on a cooling wrack before cutting into 12 slices and devouring with a cup of tea! 

Makes 12 slices

Macros per slice:

162 kcals, 6.9g Fat, 19.1g Carb, 4.3g Protein, 1.4g Fiber

*Feel free to make these as naughty or nice as you like! Add or sub in some chocolate chips as a little treat, or unsweetened dried fruits/nuts to keep it nice and healthy!