Fruit & Nut Chocolate Bark | Plant-Based Iron

Published by

Jasmine

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Look, dessert probably isn’t ever going to be your main source of iron but I eat chocolate, especially during my period, so there was plenty of space for something like this to support my iron levels (plus it’s high in magnesium to help ease cramps). When you’re looking to target specific nutrients, it’s always a delicate balance between including efficacious ingredients and making sure the end product tastes good. Before starting to develop this recipe, I’d never bought dried apricots in my life! But this turned out to be a favourite of mine…

INGREDIENTS

Pumpkin seeds

Dried apricots (I used dried and rehydrated)

70%+ dark chocolate

Freeze-dried strawberries

Cashew nuts

Optional: salt

TIPS & NOTES

Usually I’m pretty casual around substitutions, but for this iron series; I’ve selected every ingredient with a purpose. The apricots, pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts and dark chocolate are all sources of iron and the Vitamin C from the strawberries unlocks that iron and makes it more bioavailable so your body can actually absorb it. These ingredients also all contain magnesium, which many of us are depleted in; it helps with any sort of body cramps, including painful periods (maybe that’s why so many of us crave it around cycle days 26 to 2?)

Fruit & Nut Bark

  • Servings: approx.10
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

An iron-friendly and magnesium-rich sweet treat

No special equipment or advance prep needed but 1-2 hours required to set the mixture 




Ingredients

    

  • 90g of 70%+ dark chocolate
  • 80g of dried apricots (chopped)
  • 12g of freeze-dried strawberries
  • 50g of cashew nuts
  • 50g of pumpkin seeds
  • Optional: 1/4 of a tsp of salt



Directions

    

  1. Boil the kettle

  2. Take a saucepan and a bowl of a size where it sits around the rim and fill the saucepan with water (to around 2/3s full) and bring to a rolling boil before reducing down to a simmer
  3. Break the dark chocolate into the bowl and position it over the saucepan, stir occasionally to melt down the chocolate (this should take 5-10 mins)
  4. At the same time, lightly toast the cashew nuts and pumpkin seeds over a low heat in a frying pan for 5-7 mins until fragrant – allow to cool slightly then give them a chop
  5. Add almost all the apricots, freeze-dried strawberries, pumpkin seeds and cashew nuts to the dark chocolate (save a little as a garnish) and mix until completely coated
  6. Take a small tray, line it with greaseproof paper and pour over the mixture – use a spatula to pack everything together so that when the chocolate sets, it sticks into clusters
  7. Add the garnishes and refrigerate for 1 hour minimum
  8. When everything is completely set, break apart the bark into clusters (approximately 10 pieces)

    9. 


Let me know if you try this fruit and nut bark!

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