THE MIGHTY FLAX SEED BREAKFAST BAR

SUMMER

Making the case for the tiddly flax seed: you can eat it and wear it. That’s pretty special isn’t it. If you’re eating them, they’re nutrient rich, packed with Omega-3, a great source of dietary fibre, they can help sort out high cholesterol, possibly bring your blood pressure down and they’re high in protein. AND this little seed can be cultivated into a fibre crop from which comes linen. All inside the humble husk of the flax seed. Impressive.

Nigella has a delicious recipe full of flax seeds that I’ve played with a little bit (well, I’ve added actual chocolate instead of cocoa nibs - so, actually I’ve probably down-graded it depending on your perspective!) It’s the sort of recipe that you can easily substitute ingredients, no pumpkins seeds, use sunflower seeds, no cornflakes swap for a different cereal (you just need a little crunch).
Read on for an easy, delicious and powerful start to your day.

INGREDIENTS

250g x Medjool Dates (or any dates will do)
2 tsp x Ground Cinnamon
75g x Goji Berries (dried cranberries would work)
75g x Pumpkin Seeds
150g x Brown Flaxseeds
50g x Cocoa Nibs (or 25g Cocoa Nibs and 25g chopped dark chocolate instead!)
25g x Chia Seeds
25g x Cornflakes
100g x Porridge Oats

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4, and line the bottom and sides of a baking tin (roughly 20cm x 25cm) with baking parchment.

• If your dates have stones in, take the stones out and tear them up and put them into a small saucepan. Then, add the cinnamon and cover with 325ml cold water, bring it to the boil and let it bubble for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and squash it with a fork. It should be squishy, like a thick purée.

• Then, put all the remaining ingredients go into a large bowl, add the date mixture and mix until everything is combined. It’s messy. I’m warning you!

• Push it into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until firm and set, and golden on top and darker around the edges. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into pieces.