Chewy Almond Date Bars

Adapted from deliciousliving.com

Gluten, dairy, soy, egg free

Makes 12-16 bars

The first time I made this recipe I followed the recipe from delicious living and made it in muffin tins and it just came out a gooey mushy mess. Tasted great once I scraped it all out and put into a container but forget about serving this to anyone!

The second time I made this into bars, added more almond flour, added some chocolate on top and let it chill/sit in fridge overnight before cutting into bars.  It worked!

I love dates as a natural source of energy.  They are great to add to kid’s lunch boxes and to enjoy as a healthy sweet snack. I also love these bars and dates for a natural fuel source if you are training or doing any endurance or athletic event such as training for a triathlon or playing a high intensity sport such as lacrosse, soccer or football.  I rather see parents give this snack out to kids after a game rather than processed junk food.

Ingredients

For the date filling:

·        1 cup pitted chopped medjool dates

·        1/3 cup water (may need a bit more, I did not though)

·        ½ tsp grated orange zest (I just zested a whole medium size orange)

·        Dash salt

For the base/topping

·        ¾ cup almond flour (may need more-I added about ¼ cup more)

·        ¾ c. GF org. oats

·        1 ½ T. coconut sugar

·        ½ tsp. baking powder

·        ½ tsp. cinnamon

·        Dash salt

·        3 T. coconut oil melted

·        3 T. almond butter

·        ¼-1/2 dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1.      In a small pot, combine the dates and the water. Cover and bring to a boil (this happens fast) and then reduce heat to low. While heat is on low, take a potato masher and mash the dates until it forms a thick paste. You may need to add a bit more water.  This could take about 5 minutes but took less for me.

2.      Remove from heat and add in the zest and salt.  Set aside

3.      Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.

4.      In a food processor combine the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Pulse until crumbly.  Add in the oil and almond butter.  Pulse until the mixture holds together.  If crumbly you may need more water.  This should look like dense cookie dough. (for me it was too soupy and I added more almond flour to get the right texture)

5.      Take half of this mixture and line bottom on pan with it.  Top with the date mixture.  Over the date mixture, add the rest of the cookie mixture.  Sprinkle dark chocolate on top (optional)

6.      Bake for roughly 20 minutes. Mine was still too soft and added about 5-7 more minutes

7.      Let cool on counter and then chill in fridge for several hours to harden before slicing into bars.

Benefits

Dates: Dates grow on a palm tree like the coconut palm tree.  Dates are grown in the Middle East and in California, Texas and Arizona within the U.S. A single date roughly contains 23 calories and a 3.5 ounce serving of medjool dates would equal 4 of these large dates. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins and minerals. A serving will provide more potassium than found in a banana. The fiber is mostly soluble which is shown to decrease the body’s absorption of cholesterol.  Soluble fiber versus insoluble fiber slows down the rate of gastric emptying thus increases feelings of fullness and satiety thus useful to prevent overeating.  This fiber is also supportive for elimination. They are also rich in antioxidant and anticancer compounds.

Oats: the fiber in oats is rich in beta glucan which can help to lower cholesterol. Beta glucan is also known for supporting the immune system and right now is a popular supplement due to the corona virus going around.  Oats can go bad so make sure if buying from bulk bins that the turnover rate is high. Smell the oats.  They should smell clean, sweet, grassy. If they smell unpleasant, don’t buy them.  This is because of the fat content. I like to keep my oats in the fridge to maintain freshness.  Purchase organic oats due to the high pesticide/glyphosate content found on them in recent tests done by the Environmental Working Group.  If you have celiac, also make sure they are certified gluten free. Oats do not contain gluten, but they can have cross contamination.  If you have gluten sensitivity, the small amount of cross contamination may not be as much of an issue for you vs someone with celiac disease.

Almond Butter: For the U.S. Almonds are only grown in California and are otherwise grown outside the U.S in Mediterranean countries.  Almond may be fat and calorie dense, but they are also nutrient dense filled with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.  One of these phytonutrients called laetrile is known to have anti -cancer properties.  Almonds should smell sweet and nutty. If they smell sharp or bitter, they likely are rancid. You can make your own almond butter (using a high- powered blender such as Vitamix of Blend Tec) but if purchasing look for ones that have no added ingredients such as added oils and sugars.  Once opened keep your almond butter in the fridge to avoid rancidity.  The almonds that you purchase from the store are not raw even if they say raw.  By law in the U.S. they do need to be pasteurized (heated) or fumigated with a chemical called PPO.  This new regulation occurred due to two salmonella outbreaks in the early 2000’s that were traced back to almonds. However, you still can purchase raw almonds in California from roadside stands and online from small producers.  You can ask in your local health store if they know the method used to pasteurize their almonds as ideally you want to avoid ones that have been fumigated.  In addition to that, unfortunately, almonds lose some of their benefits during this pasteurization process.

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