I am something of a snacker. I marvel at people who stop at three meals a day. This past year, thanks to becoming a mother, I have had less time to cook than ever before, but it has been vital that I feed myself well. In the kitchen, this has put the spotlight on a handful of things that I had never given much thought to before: traybake dinners prepared during a baby nap, meals that can be cooked with one hand, and ready-to-go bites of energy that can perk you up when dinner seems a long way away.
I use ingredients such as nuts, seeds, dates, maple syrup and nut butters to make filling little snacks, and now I try always to have a stack to hand in the fridge or freezer. It’s a comfort to know I am never far away from something energising and homemade.
Both the chocolate chip bites and sesame green olive bars are very simple, requiring just a little toasting, chopping and mixing. They also keep well out of the fridge, which makes them perfect for journeys and days out.
The brownie bites take a little more time (still no real cooking), but look more polished – I’d happily serve them to friends for dinner.
Brownie energy bites with maple pumpkin praline
If you are using the usual dried dates you get packed in rows or bricks as opposed to fresh ones, then soak them in boiling water for 10 minutes first.
Makes about 30 bites
200g pecans
100g cashews
4 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla paste
½ tsp fine salt
175g pitted fresh dates or standard dried ones soaked for 10 minutes
1 tbsp coconut oil
For the praline
50g pumpkin seeds
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp maple syrup
For the coating
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder
1 tsp maple syrup
1 In bowl of a food processor, pulse the pecans and cashews until you have a rough powder. Add the raw cacao or cocoa and vanilla powders and salt. Pulse to mix evenly.
2 Add the dates and coconut oil to the food processor, then blitz, scraping down the sides of the bowl here and there. The dough should ball up, have a glossy appearance and come together on your finger. If it’s still a little powdery, add a teaspoon of water and blitz again until it comes together, but not so it is too sticky and wet.
3 Scoop out the brownie bite mixture in heaped teaspoon-sized portions, then roughly roll into balls. Put on to a tray lined with baking paper, then chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
4 Make the praline by toasting the seeds in a frying pan until they smell nutty and start to pop. Add the salt and maple syrup, then toss well. Allow it to cook for 1 minute, then tip on to a plate. Once cool, roughly chop or blitz in the food processor until you have chunky crumbs.
5 To make the chocolate coating, combine the coconut oil, cocoa powder and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Whisk over a low heat until it melts, then thickens slightly, taking care that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool.
6 Once the coating is cool, dip the bites into it. I do this gently with two forks, using one fork to fish it out and lay it back on the tray. Top each bite with a little of the pumpkin praline before the coating sets. The bites will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Sesame and green olive bars (main picture)
My new addiction. I was sceptical about a savoury bar, but these are as moreish as they are balanced: salty olives and nori, buttery sesame seeds, toasted oats, crunchy puffed rice and a hint of sweetness. If you are struggling to find brown rice syrup, you could use runny honey, but they won’t set quite as firm – so be sure to store the bars in the fridge.
Makes about 16 bars
2 sheets of nori
150g rolled oats
100g green olives, finely chopped
125g toasted walnuts, finely chopped
4 tbsp sesame seeds
30g unsweetened puffed rice cereal (I use a brown rice one)
2 tbsp chia seed
A small pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
250g brown rice syrup
100g coconut oil, plus more for greasing
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the nori on one baking tray and the oats on another. Bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the nori has darkened a little and crumbles easily in your hand and the oats smell toasty.
2 Grease a 20x30cm baking tray with the coconut oil. Mix all the dry ingredients, including the olives, together in a large bowl and set aside.
3 Combine the rice syrup and coconut oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Stir for a minute or two until it melts and thickens a little – this will take about 4 minutes. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir until everything is well mixed.
4 Spread the mixture into the tin and press down firmly: this will help your bars stick together. Chill for a few hours before cutting into bars – I go for about 16, but you could make them bigger or smaller as you wish. These will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Chocolate chip cookie power bites
I make these in small, two-bite rounds as they are quite filling, but you could set them into a baking tray and cut into bars if you prefer. I use a 50:50 mix of almond butter and tahini, but you can use any nut or seed butter you like: just make sure the oil, which tends to settle on the top, is well mixed in.
Makes about 30 bites
100g rolled oats
50g pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp chia seeds, ground to a powder in the food processor
50g chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla paste or the seeds from a pod
5 tbsp nut butter or tahini
3 tbsp coconut cream
Sea salt, to taste
1 Toast the oats in a hot oven or a pan until they smell buttery and are just beginning to brown at the edges.
2 Combine the toasted oats, pumpkin and chia seeds, chocolate, maple syrup and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Toss until well combined.
3 Add the nut or seed butter and the coconut cream, and use your hands to really work the ingredients together. Adjust the mixture as necessary, adding more peanut butter if it won’t stay in a ball shape, or more oats if the mixture is too sticky.
4 Each bite should be about 1 tbsp in volume. You can shape them into balls by hand, or press into a mini muffin tin, as I do. Store in the fridge or freezer for up to a couple of months.
- Anna Jones is a chef, writer and author of A Modern Way to Eat and A Modern Way to Cook (Fourth Estate); annajones.co.uk; @we_are_food
