YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health (Spring 2014) | Page 12

HEIDI SZE, APD
Heidi enjoys helping people have fun with their food and eating, and
learning how to make the most nourishing meals for their body.
Cooking, food and travel are her passions, as is learning about
growing your own food and supporting sustainable practices. Heidi
believes every meal should be enjoyed, including homemade
ice-cream and pie! Find out more about Heidi at
www.n4foodandhealth.com

SNACK ATTACK

Enjoy three healthy snack recipes, from nutrition expert Heidi Sze.
I am a huge fan of making my own muesli bars and
snacks. It allows you to control exactly what goes into
them, avoiding any additives or excess sugar and fats.
They are incredibly fun and easy to make.
I like to make a full batch of muesli bars, wrap them in
glad wrap, and then freeze them individually. Then at
night, I will take a bar out of the freezer and pop it on the
bench, so it is defrosted and ready to eat by morning. You
can also take them out in the morning and they’ll be ready
for afternoon tea. They tend to take around four hours to
defrost, depending on the thickness of the bar.

Dark chocolate and
cardamom muesli bars
Makes

12 to 14 bars, depending on how
conservatively you slice them.

Method
1 Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 15cm x 25cm baking pan with
baking paper.

2

Warm the honey, tahini, ground cardamom and olive oil in a small
saucepan, whisking until smooth. Pour onto the oat/nut mixture.

4

Add the egg whites and stir to combine. Check for wetness here and add 1
tablespoon of water or so if required (you want the mixture to be moist but
not soggy).

5

Blitz/pulse the dark chocolate in the food processor until you have a mix of
fine and chunky pieces.

6
7

Fold the chocolate through the oat mixture.

8

1½ cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds (unsalted)
1
/3 cup walnuts (unsalted)
1
/3 cup cashews (unsalted)
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
¼ teaspoon sea salt
75g dark chocolate that contains 70 per
cent or higher cocoa
1
/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons hulled tahini (you can
use unhulled tahini but I, personally,
find the taste too bitter)
1½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
(green cardamom pods, bashed with a
mortar and pestle until you have a
powder of freshly ground cardamom at
the bottom. Pick out the pod skins and
discard)
1 tablespoon light olive oil
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon water

In a food processor, blitz 1½ cups of the oats until they are fine, then place
the oat flour in a mixing bowl. Add the almonds, walnuts and cashews to
the food processor and blitz/pulse until roughly chopped (a mix of fine and
chunky pieces is great). Add this to the bowl with the salt.

3

Ingredients

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden and the surface feels firm to
touch. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the baking tray
by lifting the baking paper and allow to cool on a wire rack. When
completely cool, slice into bars and then store in an airtight container, or
wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. I like to keep mine
in the freezer for the sake of freshness.

Pour into the lined baking tray, pressing down with the back of a spoon (tip:
moisten the back of the spoon with water) to ensure firm packing and a
smooth, even surface.

This recipe is inspired by “Oh She Glows’ Soft and Chew Granola Bars”.

12

YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SPRING 2014