By Amy Rankin and Photographs by Sean Calitz
Eat yourself gorgeous from the inside with this beauty-boosting breakfast bar recipe. It’s also wheat and dairy-free!
The raw cacao in these bars helps better your circulation, zapping those panda-like bags, while pistachios are a great source of vitamin E (vital for skin rejuvenation), which helps reduce the appearance of age spots and pigmentation.
Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
– 1 tsp coconut oil, for greasing tray
– 2½ cups rolled oats
– ¼ cup raw cacao nibs
– 100g pistachios, shelled and chopped
– 50g almonds, chopped
– 50g pumpkin seeds
– 50g goji berries
– ¼ cup coconut flour
– ½ cup coconut flakes
– 1½ cups almond milk (or coconut milk), divided
– 5 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
– 2 ripe bananas
Method
1. Preheat oven to 120°C and grease a large ovenproof deep-dish tray.
2. Place the oats, cacao nibs, pistachios, almonds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, coconut flour and flakes into a large bowl. Mix to combine and form a well in the centre.
3. Place one cup almond milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the dates and stir occasionally until the milk
is bubbling and the dates start to break down, forming a syrup. Pour into the oat mixture and stir to combine.
4. Mash the ripe bananas and, using a hand blender, blend in the remaining half cup of milk to form a thick liquid. Mix this into the oat mixture until everything is evenly covered.
5. Press the mixture into the dish and bake for one hour, then turn the temperature up to 150°C and bake for a further 20 minutes or until the edges are nice and golden, but the mixture is still chewy. Remove and allow to cool slightly before slicing into 12 bars.
SERVES 12. Per serving (106g): 1 212kJ, 14g fat (4g sat), 35g carbs, 45mg sodium, 8g fibre, 9g protein
Cook’s notes: To make the bars slightly sweeter, add half a cup chopped raisins or honey to the mixture.
Looking more granola-inspired breakfast recipes? Try this easy healthy chocolate granola recipe or why not whip up a batch of this youthful-glow granola.
