Oh my goodness, you guys - I can’t even begin to describe to you how addictive these cookies are! The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is always a winner and when you put them both into a cookie then it creates the ultimate snack or dessert. I used dark chocolate to make these (most dark chocolate is vegan but make sure you check beforehand!) because it’s cheaper and easier to source than other vegan chocolate but you can use whatever type you wish!

Flapjacks have always been one of my favourite snacks and they were the very first thing I learned to bake as a child. The process of making them was very therapeutic; melting the butter and syrup in the saucepan, mixing in the oats, eating the leftover mixture in the bowl and on the spoon, and, of course, tasting the finished product! However, the flapjacks I made all those years ago weren't exactly what you'd call healthy, so I thought I'd have a slight throwback to my childhood and try and create a flapjack recipe that was as similar in method and taste as possible - the only difference being that these flapjacks are plant-based and are full of nutritious ingredients! Oats are the base of the recipe - they're full of complex carbohydrates and fibre, meaning they'll give you long-lasting energy and they'll keep your digestive system happy too! The bananas and date syrup are used to sweeten the recipe, so there's no need to use any unrefined sugar, and the coconut oil helps everything stick together while providing healthy fats. The result is a treat which is sweet and crumbly, bursting with juicy blueberries and finished off with a hint of banana. Believe me when I say that they're definitely my new favourite snack! 

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging recently - in fact, the last post I wrote was over two months ago! I decided to take a bit of a break due to various things that were going on in my life; I started a new job at The Lovely Room (which I adore!), moved out of my parents' house and into my very own home and I was just feeling quite stressed about everything. But now I'm ready to get back into blogging and I'm really looking forward to posting lots of recipes for you again!

Today I'll be sharing a recipe for my favourite flavour of bliss balls - lemon and coconut; I've mentioned before that bliss balls are a perfect snack because of the combination of dried fruit, healthy fats and protein that they provide, and I still hold to that. A lot of bliss ball recipes use nuts but if you need to avoid nuts then you can always replace them with seeds of your choice (sunflower seeds are a good substitution). Lemon and coconut is always a wonderful pairing, as evidenced by these pancakes and overnight oats. These bliss balls are incredibly delicious and they're a fab snack if you're in the mood for something with a refreshing flavour - plus they only contain four ingredients!

Ingredients

Buying pre-packaged granola is usually a mistake if you want to eat a plant-based diet filled with wholesome foods because they tend to be filled with unhealthy ingredients such as refined sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil and unethical ingredients like palm oil (for more information about why I avoid palm oil visit  and read this article). Even granola which is advertised as being 'healthy' is usually made with honey which, as a vegan, isn't an option for me. In fact, most of the time I'd encourage someone to just make their own granola at home because it's healthier and cheaper than buying it from a shop, you can choose exactly what ingredients to put in it and it's super simple! However, when Spoon Cereals asked if I'd like to try some of their Cinnamon Granola and use it in one of my recipes I was more than happy to oblige because their products are vegan-friendly and aren't full of junk. For example, the granola I was sent contains jumbo oats, coconut flakes, hazelnuts, maple syrup, rapeseed oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt; I love the taste of maple syrup and definitely prefer it to refined sugar, agave and honey, and even though rapeseed oil wouldn't usually be my first choice (I'm a coconut oil kind of girl) I see no issue in consuming it occasionally. I managed to control myself and refrain from eating the whole bag of granola in one go (seriously, it's absolutely delicious!) and decided to use it to make some delicious and nutritious no-bake granola bars which are full of healthy fats, carbohydrates and protein - a perfectly balanced snack! I thoroughly recommend having a look at Spoon Cereals' website and products because they're a wonderful British company who make incredible breakfast food.




Ingredients

Chia puddings make a perfect and balanced snack or meal due to the fact that chia seeds are full of protein, fibre and healthy fats; they're also a wonderful source of Omega 3 so they're a great addition to anyone's diet. I've written a post about how amazing chia seeds are here so if you want to find out more about why they're so good for you then definitely have a read of that! This chocolate chia pudding is rich, creamy and tastes utterly decadent, whilst at the same time being ridiculously good for your body, so it's a win-win creation! You could eat it on its own as a snack or dessert, or top it with coconut milk yoghurt for a filling and delicious breakfast to start your day with. Either way, it's certain to nourish both your body and soul and will also satisfy any chocolate cravings you may have!

Ahhh, chocolate. Almost everyone I've ever met absolutely loves the stuff and who can blame them? It tastes delicious and as I've mentioned before in this post it actually has the ability to boost your mood! However, most of the chocolate you can buy in shops is full of unnecessary ingredients that negate all the good work that raw cacao is capable of doing. Raw chocolate is much more beneficial to your health and I personally think it tastes far better than contemporary chocolate; however it does tend to be quite expensive and unfortunately it still isn't widely available. So why not make your own? All you need is raw cacao powder, coconut oil and a liquid sweetener of choice and you can create your own little bites of heaven. Raw cacao powder can be quite expensive if you're on a budget but it's cheaper in the long run than if you were to just buy lots of bars of raw chocolate, plus you can make so many other things with it such as baked oatmeal and pancakes! If you're in the UK I recommend this brand. Coconut oil is fairly easy to get your hands on nowadays - I've seen it in most supermarkets and big health food chains such as Holland and Barrett (in the UK) also stock it. This raw chocolate recipe takes about five minutes to make, contains a small number of pure ingredients and tastes absolutely incredible! Who knew that something this indulgent could be so good for you?