Energy Bars!

These little energy bars are perfect for the active family!  I’m actually super excited that I made them. I had several reasons for trying my own energy bars!

• We love to go hiking
• My husband and I are headed out for a 22 mile trek in the desert with teenagers from my church (and I wanted some healthy food to take along for me!)
• I’m headed out for a 17 mile run this morning, and I’m tired of fueling up on processed energy bars!  ACKK. You read that right!. 17!  My running partner is trying to kill me!
• I went to the health food store and spent $1.49 on a bar (Larabar) that had 2 ingredients! Cashews and dates.  I thought to myself.. how hard can that be?  Not hard at all!

I used for this Energy Bar recipe

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 8-9 dates
• (Then I added a drop.. just a drop of agave to make it more appealing for the kids. You could also add honey)

Blended it all up in a food processor.  Because My food processor is quite small, I only turned it on for short bouts and came back to it. I didn’t want to ruin my food processor.  Once all combined, I pressed it into chunks.

After we decided we liked it, we began to experiment by adding:

• non sweetened coconut
• sesame seeds
• Hemp seeds
• pumpkin seeds

What I love: They are gluten free, full of fiber, they are non-dairy, vegan, and they pack a bunch of calories and healthy fat right into a tiny little bar.  Not for your average snacking- but perfect for hiking and long stretches of time when you don’t want to carry much food.

Need more snack ideas? Don’t forget to enter the giveaway !