I guess it's more of an intimidation, really. I've seen lots of whole food recipes featuring dates, and since we are trying to decrease the amount of added sugar in our family's diet, I thought it was time for me to give them a try.
Granola Bars, take two
1 package (usually 1 lb) fancy Medjool dates, pitted and smooshed in a food processor
1/2 cup natural chunky peanut butter
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup crisp brown rice cereal
1/4 cup unsweetened flake coconut
1 tablespoon flax seed
1 tablespoon chia seed
2 tablespoons hemp seed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
some chocolate chips (mini are better)
After pitting and smooshing the dates, add them to the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together. It becomes quite thick, so this is easiest to do by hand, I've found.
Press the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I put another piece of parchment paper over the top and used a roller to get them nice and compact and smooth. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, then cut, wrap in individual servings, and store in the fridge.
Homemade granola bars are great because you can add whatever you like. Dried fruit, nuts, seeds - just so long as you don't add too many things to overpower the stickiness of the dates. Otherwise you might end up with a crumbly mess.
I found some great recipes and ideas here, here, here, and here.
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Those look good. : )
ReplyDeleteSince we changed our way of eating at the start of this year (and have been losing mega lbs and feeling great in the process), I've been following the Skinnytaste blog and cookbook. Here's a recipe that I tried on the weekend when I was hosting a family dinner. We rarely have dessert but if we do, we have to go with low calorie and good for us and this recipe fits that description. It's made with dates also, and beans. White beans, believe it or not, and it was tasty and enjoyed by all. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/02/deep-dish-chocolate-chip-cookie-pie.html
Were they good. I just ordered some of the dates on amazon...how much was it for a lb for you and where did you get them. I paid just under $10..ouch.
ReplyDeletehi heidi. i thought they were good. my kids seem to like them, too. but maybe don't do a taste test between homemade and store-bought quaker chewy granola bars, you know? trader joes and sprouts are my sources for the dates. i paid between $4-5 for a pound.
DeleteK. we will be there this weekend and I want to hit up trader joes for some coconut milk and shampoo. I will add dates to the list.
ReplyDelete