energy bars

Hey, look, I have time to blog!

I really, really loved the Wiel Pistachi-Oh! bars when I first tasted them. The ingredients all sounded so simple and healthy, unlike so many of the crazy, chemical loaded energy bars that can be found out there. However, the price tag is a little high to consume them on a regular basis. Upon mentioning this to a friend, she remarked bluntly, “well, why don’t you make your own?”

Why didn’t I think of that?

So, here is my imitation recipe, at a fraction of the cost per bar. They are a little softer than the store-bought ones, but I kind of prefer that. It may be due to the fact that they are fresher, too. If you wanted, you could try a higher nut-to-date ratio. If you’re looking to carry them around, throw one in a Tupperware container, and you’ve suddenly reduced the waste that you would have created buying individually wrapped bars too. Or, if need be, wrap in plastic wrap, but you will risk crushing your bar. I think this would also make a good pie filling/tart filling/date square filling or other additive to baked goods. You could try cooking the bars a little, but I didn’t notice any spectacular difference to them when I did this.

Date and Nut Energy Bars

note- all ingredients were measured before any sort of chopping.

– 3 cups of pitted date

– 1 cup cashews

– 3/4 cup shelled pistachios

– 2 tsp cinnamon or 1tsp cinnamon and 1tsp allspice

– about 2 tbsp of lemon juice (add a little less if the mixture looks too moist already)

1.) Put the dates in a large bowl, and cover with hot water. You could, if you wanted, chop them first, but this recipe will work without chopping.

2.) Chop up the cashews and pistachios very fine.

3.) Drain the dates once they are softened, mash up, add the nuts, and mix well. Add in the spices and lemon juice, and mix well again.

4.) Spread so that it’s a little less than, or about a centimeter thick in a tray, preferably lined with wax or parchment paper, so that you can remove the bars easier later. My tray I used was some obscure size, maybe 10 by 6, or 11 by 7 (I’m aware that those aren’t metric units…), but I think an eight inch square tray would work. Let sit several hours, then score, remove bars from tray, flip them over, and stack them up like you were curing soap, so that all sides dry a bit.