Apricot and Pineapple Squares

Happy New Year everyone!! I'm going to do my best to make my blog as awesome as possible this year, so I hope everyone will like where I'm going with it.

After the Christmas binging, I know I'm not the only one who wants to cut down on the unhealthy food a little bit. I still have some of my Christmas recipes to share with you guys, but thought a nice healthy treat to save unruly snacking would be more appreciated this week.

These are really simple squares (or balls if you prefer) that take minutes to prep. Ideally chill them for about 20 minutes before cutting up, but then they're good to go! Only a few ingredients make up these squares, and there's no refined sugar in sight. Plus the dried fruit increase your fruit and vegetable count for the day.

Dried apricots are a great source of dietary fibre, as well as being high in potassium (great for the maintenance of blood pressure and regulating water levels) and iron. They're also high in vitamin A, an essential antioxidant. The nuts provide healthy fats that will keep you fuller for longer. Cinnamon is possibly my favourite spice, and has been shown to help lower blood sugar levels and enhance cognitive processing :) I added dried pineapple to the mixture as they taste amazing, and they are a great source of manganese (helps to develop strong bones).

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 150g (3/4 cup) dried apricots, chopped
• 75g (3/8 cup) dried pineapple, chopped
• 150g (1 cup) cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or coconut milk)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 15g (3 tbsp) desiccated coconut, for sprinkling

Method:

1. Finely process the apricots, pineapple, nuts, cinnamon and almond/coconut milk in a food processor or high powered blender until the mixture forms a ball - try not to over process the mixture as it's quite nice having some chunky bits of nut and fruit to chew on.

2. Line a 20cm x 20cm tray with cling film, and sprinkle the bottom with half of the desiccated coconut. Tip the mixture into the tray and pat down evenly. Sprinkle the top with the remaining coconut.

3. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, then cut into 16 squares.

4. Enjoy!

Nutrition per serving (1 square):
94 calories, 12g carbohydrates (7.8g sugar), 4.8g fat (1.1g saturated fat), 2.2g protein