Nutty Chocolate Fudge Protein Bars!

I've fallen in love with exercise lately. And, with that, my dietary needs have changed too.
So I've been working on making some of my old recipes healthier, and coming up with new ones.
So what's today's healthy and delicious vegan treat? Nutty Chocolate Fudge Protein bars!

There are various vegan protein bars commercially available nowadays, but if you're looking to save a little money and avoid refined sugar and scary processed ingredients, this is the recipe for you!
These are easy and quick to make too, so what are you waiting for?

1. Throw the following in a blender. Blend intermittently, stopping to stir at intervals of 1 minute or so, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs...

• 3 rounded tablespoons (Tbsp.) of whole almonds
• 1 rounded Tbsp. cashew nuts
• 1 rounded Tbsp. brazil nuts

2. Remove about 1/4 to 1/5 of this mixture and put in a bowl. Put to one side for now.

3. Add these to the nut mix in the blender and continue blending as before. Aiming again for a fine breadcrumb texture...

• 60g protein isolate (I used soya, but pea, rice, hemp or other proteins would work too)
• 1 teaspoon (tsp.) vanilla extract
• 2 heaped Tbsp. cocoa powder.
• 2 rounded Tbsp. oatbran
• 2 rounded Tbsp. oats
• 2 rounded Tbsp. peanut butter
• 3 Tbsp. Agave nectar

4. Scrape all the contents of the blender into a large bowl and add 7 Tbsp. of unsweetened soya milk.

5. Knead the mixture thoroughly with your hands, then tip into a large rectangular dish (or several smaller ones), lined with greaseproof paper.

6. Press the mixture down until it is roughly 1-1.5cm thick throughout the dish. Then using a rolling pin to flatten and compress it more evenly.

7. Drizzle a little extra agave nectar over the top and spread it out as evenly as you can. Just enough so the surface is sticky. You can use a spatula for this, but I actually found it easier to use a square of greaseproof paper.

8. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and chunks of dark chocolate. Instead of dairy-free chocolate chips, I find it cheaper to just buy cheap dark chocolate and chop it up.

9. Refrigerate for 20-40 minutes, until cool throughout, and firmer.

10. Cut into squares or rectangles. These can be a bit crumbly, so avoid making the sides of each longer than about 5cm.

You can wrap them in greasproof paper or clingfilm (or just in a tupperware box) in the refrigerater.

And most importantly, enjoy!

Jen x