Delightably Healthy Date & Nut Bars

I love making date bars! They are quick and easy, no baking required and are full of nuts, seeds, oats and delicious Medjool dates, which lend a lovely caramelised flavour. These bars are great for a mid morning or afternoon snack, a post workout pick me up or just when you need that little bit of a boost in your day.

Nuts and seeds are packed with protein and healthy fats (mono and polyunsaturated and omega 3) which can help you to feel full and are packed with health boosting nutrients. The dates provide you with an energy boost along loads of fibre to keep your gut bugs happy. I make these and keep in the fridge for when I'm low on energy or when in need of a sweet treat.

Ingredients

• 300g Medjool dates

• ½ cup mixed nuts, i used almond, walnut and hazelnuts as that’s all I had but you can use your favourites)

• ½ cup mixed seeds, I used pumpkin, sunflower, chia and flaxseeds

• ½ cup oats

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

• ¼ teaspoon ginger powder

• 100ml water

• Salt

Method

1. Soak the medjool dates in water for 10 minutes, remembering to take out the seeds before hand. Keep 100ml of water from soaking them.

2. Using a food processor, blitz the nuts, seeds and oats till they are all broken up into small pieces. Careful not to blitz too much so that they become powdery. Add the cinnamon and ginger powder with a tiny pinch of salt.

3. On the stove over a medium heat, add the dates and 100ml water and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the dates to the dry ingredients and blitz in the food processor till the mixture blends together and becomes sticky. If it’s a little dry, you can add a little more water.

5. Line a small/medium sized tray with baking paper and add the date mix. Pat down the mixture till it is around 1.5cm thick and nice and compact.

6. Put in the freezer for 2 hours to allow it to set. Once set, cut the mixture up into snack size pieces and keep in the fridge to keep them fresh and easy to grab.

Tip: When storing in the fridge, use the baking paper from when you set the mixture and line each layer of the date bar so that they don't all stick together.