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Fruit and Nut Granola Workout Bars with Dates (Gluten-free)

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I have a slight obsession with dates. What some say that they are too sweet for them, but for me they make for a perfect ingredient that transforms anything into tasting more like dessert without added sugar! Roomie requested more homemade granola bars this week so I decided to try combining my favorite recipe with one I’d been eying on Pinterest, date bars.

Roomie declared these were the best bars yet and I’m excited to try a few variations on them. I admit I’m not a recipe expert and if you have a suggestion that will make these even better, please let me know.

Fruit and Nut Granola Bars with Dates

  • Makes: 12 servings
  • Time: Prep 15 minutes, Total 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup of Dried Fruit, chopped (I used dates and raisins)
  • 1/2 cup of Water
  • 2 cups of Old Fashioned or Quick Cooking Oats
  • 2 servings Vanilla Whey or Vega Protein Powder (May omit, but add an extra 1/4 cup of almond meal)
  • 1/2 cup of Almond Meal (or flour, gluten-free four, oat flour, etc.)
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Blue Diamond Almonds, whole or chopped (or other nut like walnuts or cashews)
  • 1 Egg (can use a vegan egg replacement or flaxseed egg)
  • 1/2 cup of Almond or Coconut Milk
  • 2 TBSP Honey
  • 2 TBSP Coconut Oil (melted)

Directions

Pre-heat over to 350F. Chop up dates or other fruit and add into a small sauce pan. Add water and heat on the stove top on high and heat until boiling. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine oats, Protein Powder, almond meal, almond meal, baking soda, Blue Diamond Almonds and salt. In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, honey and oil. Combine ingredients and blend well. In a greased 9×9 pan, pat down 1/2 of oatmeal mixture. Top with fruit mixture. Add the rest of the oatmeal mixture on top. Place in the over for 20-25 minutes or until desired crispiness. The top will get crispier the long you leave it in, so if you want crunch, leave it in longer. Let cool, cut and enjoy!

My favorite part is obviously the center of the bars. The dates and raisins are juicy and flavorful thanks to the boiling water trick. I’m excited to try a few variations on the bars. The are great for pre and post workout snacks since they have carbs and protein to energize and help repair your muscles. They also make for a great mid-day snack.

When making any granola bar, I use what I have on hand. Sometimes it’s coconut and cashews, other occasions I use cranberries and walnuts. What I need is crunch! I love using almonds, and Roomie prefers when I use them whole but I like the slivered ones.  Since I’m addicted to the heart healthy nut, we always have them on hand for recipes like this one. There have been studies that show people who eat an extra 100 calories a day from Almonds don’t gain extra weight than their counterparts who ate 100 calories less!

American Heart Association Says Blue Diamond Almonds are Heart Healthy

I started buying Blue Diamond Almond Milk after reading about it in a Hungry Girl newsletter. I never loved milk, so a milk alternative that was 1/2 the calories was an obvious swap. I picked up a jar of their whole nuts the other day at the store and realized they are now recognized by the American Heart Association as a heart-healthy food! Although we already all knew this, it’s nice to see the government is officially recognizing it.

Heart disease is our nations number one killer. Yes, NUMBER ONE and it’s preventable with a healthy diet and exercise. Frustrating, right? When food is labeled as heart healthy, that means it helps prevent heart disease and must follow specific guidelines to ensure its nutritional value like less than 6.5 g of fat and sodium levels below 480 mg per serving. When I had my blood taken this Spring, I had sky-high HDL levels which are the good kind of cholesterol. This, I’m convinced, was a direct result of having almonds daily as a snack. If you’re not a fan of plain almonds, Blue Diamond Almond varieties Whole Natural, Roasted Salted, Low Sodium, Sea Salt, No Salt, and Honey Dijon were also given the seal of approval from the AHA. Almonds are always a part of any diet plan I recommend to any of my clients but remember each one has 7 calories. Aim for a snack consisting of 10-28 nuts. As a lunch you can eat on the go, I pack 16 almonds, a Laughing Cow Mini Babybel and a Fuji apple.

If you have any questions about the new seal approval on Blue Diamond Almonds, I’ll be participating in a Twitter chat on Monday, May 21st at 9 PM EST. You can follow along using the hash tag #BlueDiamond.

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own. Join FitFluential yourself and start working with brands you’ve been buying for years!

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Health and Nutrition, Recipe, Snack 17

Comments

  1. Christa says

    May 16, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    If you like dates you definitely need to try Trader Joe’s Coconut Date Rolls if you haven’t. They are SO GOOD!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      May 16, 2012 at 5:48 pm

      Going there today! I just might pick some up! How have I not noticed them before??

      Reply
  2. Laura says

    May 16, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Hey Sarah,
    Have you calculated the nutrition info for these?

    Reply
  3. Alysha @Shesontherun says

    May 16, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    I’m so making these! I hope they are as good as they look.

    Reply
  4. Alysha @Shesontherun says

    May 16, 2012 at 4:47 pm

    One question: Do you have a substitute recommendation for the coconut oil?

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      May 16, 2012 at 4:53 pm

      You can probably omit it, but it wont have the same crunch. This was my first time using it.

      Reply
  5. Johanna B says

    May 16, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    I only buy Blue Diamond almonds. I get the Whole Natural ones and eat one serving (24 nuts and I do count them out) every day. Glad to see they’ve been recognized as heart healthy. My HDL is low. I’ve been trying to bring it up for two years and I’ve gotten it from a low of 24 to 43. That’s a big difference but it needs to be higher. Thanks for your post.

    Reply
  6. Maranda says

    May 16, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    These look great! I love dates and nuts, can’t wait to try this out. Any idea if they freeze well?

    Reply
  7. sara says

    May 17, 2012 at 2:20 am

    i cant wait to try these. i would love to know the nutritional info as well but i know they have to be good. i love almonds. ill prob try with craisens. the only time ive had dates was when they were wrapped in bacon! thanks for the recipe

    Reply
  8. Brittany says

    May 17, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    These bars look great! I love Blue Diamond Almonds as well.

    Reply
  9. Viviana says

    May 18, 2012 at 5:01 am

    Dates are my new obsession! And I feel like I don’t get enough potassium so those are great for that as well. Put them in Greek yogurt this morning with a tbsp of shredded coconut and 2 tbsp of granola…yummy!!I made your other bars last weekend and they were very good, I’ll give these a try this coming Sunday! Thanks Sarah:)

    Reply
  10. Paula @ Fit Chick Soon says

    May 29, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    Fab looking recipe, will be added to the list of one’s I want to do, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  11. Julie says

    June 24, 2012 at 2:14 am

    Do you have the nutritional information for these bars?

    Reply
  12. Sharon Mitchell says

    April 7, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    Why don’t you respond when someone is asking about the nutritional content of your recipes?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Almonds ill | Myequipmentren says:
    May 21, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    […] My Best Fruit and Nut Granola Bar Recipe Yet! | Sarah Fit […]

    Reply
  2. No Sugar Added Date, Raisin, Almond Protein Granola Bars | jordansward says:
    May 30, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    […] homemade granola bars with them so I could pack them for a work snack. This recipe was adapted from Sarah Fit and turned out pretty well (despite the fact that I burnt them. womp womp.) Cooking the dates and […]

    Reply
  3. Carrot + Date Bars says:
    August 18, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    […] I came across a granola bar with dates in it from one of my favorite health and fitness bloggers, Sarah -- from Sarahfit.com […]

    Reply

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