Don't worry, it isn't an addiction to an illegal substance. Quite the opposite.
I am addicted to Nakd bars.
If you haven't discovered these beauties, you are missing out. They are super healthy, vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free bars of happiness and are just amazing.
There is a down side though. These bad boys come with a price tag. Racking up at 57p a bar, my addiction is working its way through my student loan. Which we all know is supposed to be spent on other things. Like clothes and shoes.
Grace, who is also afflicted with the same addiction, came to breaking point when she found herself eating 3 a day.
Something had to be done.
Luckily, the solution was simple and came by the name of Stanley.
Nakd bars have a very clear ingredients list on them, giving the percentages of what is in them, so we thought we could just copy it. And we did!
Out favourite flavour is the cocoa-orange, which tastes like a Terry's Chocolate Orange and with that in mind we decided to make a chocolate and strawberry one.
500gm pitted dates
200gm cashew nuts
100gm raisins
100gm fresh strawberries
100g, good- quality dark chocolate (the darker the better as there will be less sugar in it)
1) Grate the chocolate for 8secs, sp 8
2) Add the rest of the ingredients and gradually increased the speed to sp 9 and mix for about 1 1/2 minutes. You may have to stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl down a few times.
3) Empty into a lined tray and put into the fridge overnight, before cutting into bars.
These bars taste just like the Nakd ones and here is the good bit: they are much cheaper.We ended up making a kilo of mixture, which worked out to be £7.88. A kilo of Nakd bars would be £15.96.
So we basically made them for half the price.
Which means we can eat twice as much, right?
Feeling rich and frivolous in Sainsbury's because my loan had just come in (like Christmas to a student), I thought I'd splash out on some frozen yogurt. You know, the stuff that tastes like ice cream but is 'healthy' so you end up eating the whole tub in one sitting? Yea, that stuff.
The tub I bought was £3.49 and whilst totally delicious, I did think myself rather stupid when I realised I could make it much cheaper and probably nicer in Stanley. Which I did.
300gm frozen fruit (I used raspberries)
250-300gm yogurt (depends how thick you want it)
Pinch of sugar (optional)
1) Put everything in the bowl and mix at sp 9 until all smooth and lovely and then pop into a tupperware and into the freezer.
I used a pinch of sugar because my raspberries were very tart, you could use honey or agave syrup to make it healthier. In total, it cost me £1.63 to make.
And with that, I have to do work. Third year is tough!
