Bridge The Gap Choc Raspberry Protein Fudge

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You know that thing, where it’s about 4pm and your stomach is having a bit of a growl and you think to yourself ‘yeah, I could go for a snack of some description, obviously something healthy and wholesome and shit’, and then you devour half the kitchen in a wild feeding frenzy, but still find yourself looking for something else? Yep, been there, many, many times and I’ve discovered what the missing something else is. Fat. Despite what we’ve been scared into believing for so long, fat is not the enemy, fat is in fact your satisfaction delivering, ‘something else’ fulfilling friend.

The tide of nutritional information and intelligence is turning, and we now know that carbohydrates have the biggest and most detrimental effect on blood sugar, causing it to spike and send your body into a snacking demanding spiral (refer to frenzied kitchen destruction above). I’m not a nutritionist or a scientist so I’m not qualified to go into the detailed science of it  here but if you're interested in some sensible, down to earth reading on the topic of sugar and fat I can recommend ‘What the Fat’ or the ‘I Quit Sugar’ series of books as a source of approachable information.

But the short story is, good fat is good for you, it provides sustaining energy without sending your blood sugar up the shitter like carbohydrate heavy foods will do. Fat snacks are where it’s at and this fudge has it in spades along with protein boost, both of which will scratch that bastard snack itch and bridge the gap til the next meal - which in my opinion is usually way too fucking big!

Get this stuff

100 grams chocolate protein powder - I use Bare Blends Dark Cacao Native WPI, it’s the only protein powder I like as it isn’t bastardised with any unnecessary nasties

1 C frozen raspberries, defrosted - I use frozen because it’s way more cost effective than fresh, especially as they’re only going to be mashed up

1/4 C coconut oil, melted

1/4 C almond butter or nut butter of your choice

1/4 C cacao

1/2 C shredded coconut

1 t pure vanilla extract

1 T granulated stevia (I used Natvia) or your sweetener of choice, you can sub in rice malt syrup, maple syrup or honey if you prefer

1/4 C cacao nibs - optional but they add a nice little crunch to the mix

1 T maca powder - optional but a good little superfood addition to boost energy and help with hormonal balance

Do this with it

Grease and line a tin or plastic container with baking paper.

You need to make sure your berries are defrosted otherwise frozen berries will make the coconut oil and nut butter seize up and create a big unhelpful lump of goo, so bung them in the microwave if need be to warm them through.

Operating a microwave is about as technical as this recipe is going to get, if you can coordinate a fork and bowl you’re petty well sorted. All you need to do from here is throw everything in a bowl and mash it all together really well so the berries are pulped and pureed and the ingredients are well combined and you have a gorgeous, gooey chocolatey concoction like this.

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It’s this kind of picture that makes me understand the male urge to motorboat boobs. At this point I’m never sure whether I want to just sneak away to a quiet corner with a spoon and eat my way through the mixture or bury my face in it. But if you can resist the temptation to do either of those the end result will be worth it.

Transfer the mixture into your prepared container, press it out flat with the back of a spoon then whack it in the freezer to harden and cut into squares once set.

Store in the freezer and enjoy whenever you need a little summink to get you through to the next meal or to scratch that after meal something sweet itch.