Snack attack? Bake Emma Bardwell’s healthy, fibre-filled chickpea blondies
Top nutritionist Emma Bardwell’s new recipe book encourages us to nail our daily 30g fibre target with simple recipes that are utterly delicious
Any products in this article have been selected editorially however if you buy something we mention, we may earn commission. Image: Kimberly Espinel
Known for her straightforward advice and mouth-watering recipes, nutritionist Emma Bardwell is on a mission to make sure we’re all getting our daily fibre allowance.
“If you follow me on social media, you’ll have heard me wax lyrical about fibre’s role in gut health, mood, immunity, weight loss, blood sugar control and even how good your skin looks,” says Bardwell. “Yet, in the UK, 96 percent of us still aren’t eating the recommended 30g a day,” In fact, most people eat around 16g of fibre a day, barely half the recommended NHS amount.
That’s where Bardwell’s new book, The Fibre Effect, comes in. It’s packed full of easy fibre-filled recipes, using the type of ingredients you probably already have in your cupboards, and many of them can be done in a jiffy in in the air fryer.
There are also simple, everyday strategies to help incorporate fibre into your everyday life without having to overthink it, including a handy quiz and fascinating illustrated poo guide to help you work out how “fibre fit” you currently are, and the tweaks you can make to hit that important 30g a day.
Feel like making a start straight away? Try Emma Bardwell’s delicious chickpea blondies that the whole family will love.
Emma Bardwell’s chickpea blondies
Image: Kimberly Espinel
Makes 9 servings, each containing 4.5g protein, 3.5g fibre, 130 cals and 5 plants
- 1 × 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium banana
- 1 egg or 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 3 tbsp water)
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1⁄2 tsp vanilla bean extract (or paste)
- 60g ground oats or ground almonds
- Pinch of salt
- 40g dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 200 ̊ C (180 ̊ C fan)/400 ̊F and line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment.
Blend the chickpeas, banana, egg (or flax egg), peanut butter, maple syrup (or honey) and vanilla extract in a food processor until smooth. You can combine by hand if you don’t have a food processor; the consistency will just be a little chunkier.
Fold in the ground oats or almonds, salt and chocolate chips.
Spread evenly in the lined tin and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden at the edges. Cool completely in the tin before slicing into 9 squares; they will firm up as they cool.
Extracted from The Fibre Effect by Emma Bardwell (Vermillion, £16.99)
