Homemade Date Granola Bars

I have officially hit the weight loss plateau after a year. My trainer suggested that I change my eating habits. Okay, suggested might be a mild term. He laid out an entire meal plan for me.

Therefore, my next few recipe posts are going to be just me learning to cope with the meal plan. It consists of small and clean meals, heavy on protein to help my muscles repair and build.

One of the small meals consist of a protein shake and a granola bar after my work out. I like granola bars, but realize that the kind I like to eat aren’t necessarily healthy. Since they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary carbs, I decided to make my own.

Of course this step involves Pinterest. I searched for Healthy Granola Bars, and I came up with a link to tasty looking “Healthy Five Ingredient Granola Bars.” I already had 4 out of 5 of the ingredients so I decided to make them after a quick trip to the store for pitted dates.

These were fun to make and did not require much baking. I don’t like to turn the oven on in the summer since it is already so hot. I kick it up for twenty minutes or so to toast the oats, but that was not a necessary step.

Overall, the recipe was very tasty. My husband like them a lot as well (I made ten bars three days ago, and there are only three left now). However, when I calculated the calories per bar, it was 228 calories per serving. This is not horrible, but I prefer that it would be a little less. Therefore, if I make them again, I will cut them into 12 bars instead of 10. This would lower each serving by 38 calories, making them 190.

The original recipe from Minimalist Baker is below.

Healthy 5 Ingredient Granola Bars (No Bake)

Yield: 10 bars (or 12 smaller bars)

Ingredients

·         1 cup packed dates, pitted (soak in water and drain if they are dry and not sticky)

·         1/4 cup honey

·         1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural with Honey)

·         1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

·         1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Method

1. This first step is optional. Toast oats in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

2. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency. Mine turned into a ball

3. Place the oats, almonds and dates in a large bowl. I smashed my dates with a wooden spoon to chop and mix them throughout the mixture. Set aside.

4. Warm the honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix.

5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily.

6. Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let set in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.

7. Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. The original blogger says to keep them in freezer so that they stay fresh.