As you have gathered by now I try not to give my kids too much refined sugar. When I say refined sugar let me clarify that I mean the white or brown stuff you get in bags from shops and add to recipes. But you have to be realistic that there is sugar in so many foods out there and, in moderation, I don’t think its that bad to give a bit here and there to your kids. As an adult I prefer “full fat Coke” to the horrid diet stuff as I would rather have sugar in my food than artificial sweeteners. This following recipe is free from refined sugar but, as it contains lots of dried fruit, I can’t really claim it’s sugar free as dried fruit is very high in fructose which is the sugar found naturally in fruit. As with things containing refined sugar this is something I give in moderation to my kids but I prefer to give them dried fruit than a chocolate bar – but The Boy would clearly rather eat a Kit Kat! This is great to help kids with their digestion and is a great afternoon snack to give them energy. The best bit though is that it requires no baking at all which is a winner for me!
200g any dried fruit (I used raisins, apricots and cranberries)
50g desiccated or shredded coconut
80g ground almonds (see below for nut free substitutes)
3 tbsp Coconut Oil
50g desiccated or shredded coconut
80g ground almonds (see below for nut free substitutes)
3 tbsp Coconut Oil
Place the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with water. Leave it to soak for an hour and then drain the liquid away. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz it until it looks like breadcrumbs. Spoon the mixture into a well greased, lined or silicone cake tin or flat square tin and press down hard. Sprinkle more coconut on top if you like. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight in the fridge. Once chilled cut into slices and serve. These can be kept in an airtight container for a few days. If you want to be naughty you could add in some chocolate chips (spoon them in after the other ingredients have been blitzed) or even spread some melted chocolate over the top and let set.
If you wanted to make this nut free then you can use the following ingredients as substitutes for the ground almonds: uncooked semolina, ground rice, or ground polenta.