I need to eat something every 2 hours or so to keep my energy up, especially when I am training. I am always looking for what I call clean treats. that is treats that do not have sugar, food additives or dyes. I find most commercial snacks even the so called “healthy” ones tend to have too much sugar.
I created my own snack that consists of only dried fruit, raw nuts, raw seeds and some spices. Here is the recipe so you can create your own.
Tools
- food processor Pyrex
- 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish
- 4 cup glass measuring cup.
- wood mallet/meat tenderizer
Ingredients
- 2 cups nuts and seeds
- 10-12 dried or fresh dates (do not get the pitted or pieces. The ones that are partially dried are best)
- 3/4 lb dried apricots
- 1 lb raisins
- 2 tbs cocoa
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp clove
- 1/4 tsp chili pepper
Preparation:
- Measure out 2 cups of nuts and seeds. I use about 1/3 cup of brazil nuts 3/4 cups of almonds and 3/4 cups of walnuts. I then use enough sunflower seeds to bring it up to 2 cups. You can use whatever combination you like. The nuts and seeds add fat and protein to the snack.
- Grind the seeds in the food processor for 30 seconds, just enough to break them up. Put the seeds into the Pyrex dish.
- Take the pits out of the dates and cut into quarters. Put them in the measuring cup. I used to buy pitted dates but some still had pits in them and tended to jam up the food processor. The un-pitted have more moisture and make the finished mixture hold together better.
- Add the apricots to the measuring cup.
- Pour in raisins to bring the fruit up to the 4 cup level.
- Put the fruit mix into the food processor and grind for 30 seconds, just enough to break up the fruit.
- Add the ground nuts, the cocoa and the spices. Grind until the mixture starts to get thick (about 1 minute). Do not grind too long as it will get too sticky.
- Transfer to the baking dish.
- Use the mallet to pound down the mixture. Not too hard, it is in a glass dish.
- Cover and put into the fridge.
After the mixture has chilled it will be easy to cut into squares. This is a great snack to take to training as it is filling and is a great energy boost.
Try to get the best raw and organic products for this snack. You can try with different dried fruits. I sometimes add some dried cranberries that give it a nice flavor. Play around with different spices also. I like the chili because it give it a little bite. Adding some ginger or nutmeg gives it a great taste. I like to use Navitas Naturals Certified Organic Kosher Raw Cacao Powder. Remember not too much cocoa or spices as it will make the mixture too dried and crumbly.
For more nutrition information see our post on Teri Tom’s book Martial Arts Nutrition.
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