I’m super excited to share with you this week’s post. You may have seen a few months back I posted this Salted Caramel Macadamia Slice video here, the very first we made for the blog. It was a real event for our little team, and something I’d wanted to share for a long time. So the past few months we’ve been busily working away, creating a host of new recipe videos to share with you again. The next one up is this incredible Chocolate Mint Slice, and it’s the absolute business. I hope you love it! Think…
- Full of chocolate + minty deliciousness
- Packed with iron, protein, B12, and a host of other nutrients
- Divinely flavoured with a double hit of fresh mint and peppermint essential oil
- Freezes beautifully
- The perfect treat to pull out for unexpected guests
- Looks lovely with its three colourful layers, yet is so easy to make!
If you love chocolate + mint, you are going to just adore this slice. I hope you give it a try, and watch the video too. If you enjoy it, please do give it a “like” over on YouTube and leave a comment below the video. And if you’d like to see more recipe videos, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel here. We’ve got another few coming before the year is up, with the next few recipes all equally as delicious.
Spirulina – an iron, protein and B12 superstar
Back to our recipe at hand, the key star here has got to be our Spirulina. If you haven’t tried Spirulina before, it’s a blue-green algae (a type of seaweed) grown in fresh waters. It is one of the most nutrient dense and diverse foods on the planet, with incredible levels of iron, protein and B12, nutrients which are often questioned in plant-based diets. Algaes and seaweeds aren’t consumed much in the Western world (bar a few rolls of sushi), but they truly are the source of some incredible nutritional benefits, and well worth adding to your diet.
Spirulina contains a whopping 67% protein, second only to protein powder (where the protein has been extracted and concentrated). This essentially means that from a whole foods perspective, Spirulina is the number one protein containing food on the planet, well ahead of animal sources such as chicken/beef at around 20%. Spirulina’s iron content is also equally as impressive, with 12mg per one teaspoon serve. This equates to 150% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) for men and post-menopausal women, 120-150% of the RDI for children, 67% of the RDI for menstruating women, and 44% of RDI for pregnant women (during which women need a lot more iron due to the growing fetus). So if you know you are iron deficient, spirulina is one food I would definitely recommend including in your diet.
PS in case you’re wondering, the funny blue and orange things in my ears are actually earplugs. High speed blenders can be very loud so I always recommend wearing a set when blending on high. I recently bought a second set for Mila in fact, because she loves to join me now cooking too!
Spirulina is also a rich source of a particular form of vitamin B12, which can be more challenging to obtain from a plant-based diet. Other B12 containing foods I often recommend include tempeh, miso, seaweeds such as nori, nutritional yeast and fortified organic soy milk. Spirulina is reported to contain up to 15mcg of B12 per single teaspoon serving, which on its own would equate to over 5 times the adult RDI. There is however some debate over the precise bioavailability of this B12, and levels can also vary significantly depending on the source. More research is needed in this area, but until then, this mineral-packed food is still something I highly recommend you giving a try (especially when it tastes so good in this slice!).
When most people think of Spirulina, they think of adding it to smoothies, and this is certainly a great way to use it; the GO Superfoods Spirulina that I’ve used here does make the perfect partner to my go-to green smoothie. But this spirulina also pairs beautifully with chocolate flavours, so if you’re making anything raw and chocolatey it’s the perfect addition- I’ve been loving it in my Cacao Coconut Bars and Raw Afghan Brownies as well. As the cherry (or spirulina!) on top of the cake, it matches perfectly with minty flavours so this particular slice is just sublime. I know the commonly held conceptions of spirulina don’t tout its usage in desserts but, particularly when using the GO Superfoods brand (which has a really mild flavour and is not at all overpowering) it can be the clincher for making a sweet treat both nutritionally wholesome and absolutely delicious!
This slice only contains three easy key steps – blend the base, blend the topping (adding spirulina to one half), then drizzle with chocolate and top with fresh mint. It’s one of my current freezer favourites that’s for sure!
I hope you give this delicious slice a try, and would love to hear how you go. Remember to watch the video up top, give it a like and leave a comment over on YouTube here, and subscribe to my channel here if you’d like to see more. If you make this slice, share a picture of yours over on Facebook, or tag me in on Instagram with @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics. I always love seeing what you come up with, and hearing how you go with my recipes.
Hope you enjoy this one. Have a wonderful weekend, and til next week, stay happy and well.
PS If you like this recipe, pin it on Pinterest, share it on Facebook or Twitter, or post it to Instagram. And if you’re not already subscribed to my weekly recipe emails, make sure you do that here! Be sure to subscribe to my new YouTube channel here too.
Please note – if you are wanting to meet any of the specific dietary requirements below, please read my recipe notes.
Ingredients
Base
- 1 c oats
- 1/2 c desiccated coconut
- 1/2 c cacao powder
- 3 tsp spirulina powder
- 1 1/2 c dates
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 4 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 14 drops peppermint essential oil
- 1/2 c walnuts
- 1/2 c cacao nibs
- 1/4 c fresh mint thinly sliced
Filling
- 5 c desiccated coconut or use 1 and 2/3 c of pre-made coconut butter
- 1 c cashews
- 1/2 c water
- 1 tbsp coconut nectar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 25 drops peppermint essential oil
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp spirulina powder
Topping (optional)
- ¼ c coconut oil melted
- 2 tbsp cacao butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut nectar
- Pinch sea salt
- 1/2 c cacao powder
- Fresh mint to top
Instructions
- Base: Blend all base ingredients except peppermint oil, walnuts, cacao nibs and fresh mint until sticky.
- Add peppermint essential oil and taste to desired level (eg less if you prefer – I like it at these measurements, but it is strong).
- Add walnuts and cacao nibs and pulse on low until the mixture is combined but still retains some small chunks. Then stir through finely sliced mint leaves.
- Press firmly into a tray lined with baking paper then place in fridge to set.
- Filling: Blend coconut in a high speed blender or food processor until it forms a creamy liquid coconut butter, then add cashews until completely blended into a liquid butter also.
- Add remaining filling ingredients except spirulina and blend until super creamy and smooth. Pour half over the chocolate base, smooth down until flat, then place in freezer to set.
- Add spirulina to the remaining half of the filling and blend again, then pour this green layer on top of the white layer and smooth down nice and flat again. Place in the freezer for a few hours to set completely, or the fridge overnight. Slice into bars once set.
- Topping: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, leave to cool slightly, then drizzle over the slices. Top with fresh mint, and place back in fridge for the chocolate to firm before serving.
Recipe Notes
- This slice is naturally wheat free, and only contains a small amount of gluten in the form of avenin from oats, which is generally very well digested and tolerated (even by those with Coeliac disease). However to make these completely gluten free (and paleo as well), you can swap the oats for buckwheat, quinoa flakes, walnuts, almonds, or a combination of these. Buckwheat and walnuts are my top pick, although I do love this oats version as is, as it’s nice and light and offsets the richness of the topping.
- To make this nut free, use sunflower seeds in the base instead of walnuts, and watermelon seeds in the filling instead of cashews.
- When you’re using essential oils in food, it’s important to make sure they’re high quality and food grade – I personally use and love these ones here.
- If you don’t want to make the homemade chocolate topping, and easy alternative is to simply melt 50g of dark chocolate (dairy free) and drizzle on top (I love these ones here and here). Alternatively you can melt this chocolate coconut butter here and drizzle.
- This slice freezes so beautifully well, simply place in a sealed container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months (omit the fresh mint on top). You can also keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- I like the texture of this slice served from the fridge as opposed. For your frozen leftovers, simply remove 15 minutes before serving.
- If you’d like to learn more about the incredible therapeutic benefits of plant-based essential oils, and how you can use them in your life, check out my introductory workshop here.
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