I have been on a quest forever trying to find protein bar that my son will eat.  No bits or pieces or crunchies and the texture has to be just right, not gritty.   Although not perfect I did find a bar that he is eating at least for one night.   It was super easy to make and although I used a simple recipe I changed up almost all of it as I went

Keep in mind when I tell you the ingredients that it will all be by sight, touch and taste for you as that is all I ended up doing.  I was actually amazed I accomplished an edible food the way I just threw things in and tasted here and there.

What I am proudest of today is I made Date Paste………Yes you heard that right.   It was easy and simple.  I usually try to simplify things by using pre-made stuff such as date paste, but I couldn’t find it anywhere so I bought a package of dates (after eating 3 or 4 or more) I put them in some water to soak.  then using my immersion handheld I turned them into paste after pouring 1/2 the water out.

I threw all the ingredients into the food processor and pulsed it till crumbly but when you pinched it, it held together.    then I added enjoy life chocolate chips and pulsed just until mixed and put it into a glass baking pan and pressed it down (press the heck out of it as the harder you compact the dough the more sturdy of a bar you will get) and put it into the fridge to set.  Cut and enjoy.

1/2 cup date paste, 1/2 cup almond butter, 1/2 cup coconut flour, 2 tsp vanilla, 1.5 cups almond flour,  1/4 cup honey.

Was that it?  Yep that was it……….. This is what it made.

Doesn’t seem like a lot and you can add flax-seed, chia, nuts, coconut flakes almost anything you want to add for more nutrition.  As for me I was going as simple as I possibly could as my son likes things simple. and I do too.

I am happy just for the fact I tried something new.   I made date paste.  Now I won’t be so afraid to cook with it in the future or frown on things that use it.   My only problem is leaving enough dates to make the paste.  if it were not for the fact they soaked in water they may have been eaten before I actually made them into bars.  I love dates!

Sugar free note: (make sure you buy dates with no added sugar and if you don’t like honey you can use agave or omit)