food to glow

This Chocolate Chip Cashew Butter Blondies recipe is what you need when a craving for something sweet strikes and you want something baked – and quickly.

To be honest that doesn’t often happen to me. I’ve not got much of a sweet tooth. I will however eat you under the table when it comes to savoury treats (Kimchi Nachos! Cheesy Jalapeno-Ranch Kale Chips!). 🙂 But cravings for sweet treats don’t come along that often.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy blondies, chocolate, cakes etc when eating them occasionally, but it’s not something I will crave as such. I didn’t grow up getting loads of cakes and sweets. My dear mother wasn’t a baker, except on birthdays and at Christmas. I can be grateful that she wasn’t a 1970s Martha Stewart-type as I’m sure I would have totally gone overboard on them if she did reward us, comfort us, and treat us with a steady stream of home-baking.

But still, if she baked these Blondies…Most of my own baking is for the classes that I teach and the groups I cook for at the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre here in Edinburgh. My daughter Rachel used to come in from school, smell cake and forlornly say, “that’s for Maggie’s, isn’t it?” I was a cruel mother. At least my own mother didn’t torture us with cakes we weren’t allowed to eat.

When developing or tweaking recipes, whether sweet or savoury, I think about how much people on chemo often want foods that comfort. Some will feel guilty when they reach for a cake or scone (which they shouldn’t feel guilty about, of course); most will have almost zero energy to bake; many will not know how to make their home-baking more nutritious.

I am always so pleased when I can give our centre users something that comforts, nourishes and tastes great. And, just as important, that they can easily make it at home with only a few modifications. So, for this recipe instead of cashew butter, peanut butter might be easier to find. Instead of hand-mixing, use electric beaters. No oat flour or blender to make it? Use wholemeal flour.

As we sit eating our lunch in the centre (usually three courses, and always vegan or vegetarian) I am usually grilled about how to make the foods they already enjoy more nutritious and still be acceptable to their family. Mostly I suggest just looking at their favourite recipes and seeing how they can add a bit more veg and fibre. This is less intimidating than, “here, have all of these brand-new vegetarian recipes”. But I also encourage swapping some of the less overtly health-promoting ingredients for more healthful ones. Or, going splitsies with them: say, half mince (ground beef) and half lentils in a bolognese sauce.

Today’s recipe doesn’t shy away from calories. I’m not touting it as an uber-healthy bake (plenty of those on here already, I think). But these blondies are fibre packed and contain less added sugar than traditional blondies. You can go even lower in sugar by choosing very dark chocolate but they might not appeal as much to the family. But it’s your call. I go for 70% cacao content.

What I’ve aimed for here is comfort, higher fibre and easy.

If you are eating a mainly real food, plant-centred diet a square or two of these chocolate chip cashew butter blondies will be a lovely sweet complement. And maybe even get you some compliments. PS, Rachel, if you are reading this (and even if you aren’t), I will bring some blondies to you this weekend. Promise. 🙂

RIPE FOR PINNING!!