Eat Right: Oat Date Bars

Why we love it

This basic bar recipe yields 10 naturally sweet, filling snacks that can go from home to hike without the wasteful packaging of store-bought bars. Made primarily from dates, these tasty treats are dairy-free and low in fat and sodium with no added sugar.

Oat Date Bars

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup chopped pitted dates, divided

• ½ cup water

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats

• ½ cup whole wheat flour

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan.
2. In a blender, combine 1/3 cup of the dates and water and blend until very smooth. Add egg and blend just until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined. Add date-and-water mixture and remaining 1/3 cup chopped dates. Stir until moistened.
4. Scrape into prepared pan, level the top with a spatula and bake until firm and lightly browned around the edges, about 17 minutes. Cool in the pan and cut into 10 bars. Bars keep in an airtight container for about a week. They can also be individually wrapped and frozen until ready to eat; allow about 2 hours for them to thaw.

Nutritional Facts

Servings Per Recipe: 10

AMOUNT PER SERVING:

Calories: 100

Calories from fat: 15

Total fat: 1.5 g

Saturated fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 20 mg

Sodium: 50 mg

Total carbohydrate: 21 g

Dietary fiber: 3 g

Sugars: 8 g

Protein: 3 g