2-on-Tuesday: Homemade Fruit & Nut Bars

Recently while online searching for healthy ideas and treats, I saw a recipe post for Fruit & Nut Bars from FitSugar.com similar to the popular Larabar. With my pursuit of fitness and healthy nutrition crossing the one year mark, this grabbed my attention.
You CANNOT make this recipe without some sort of kitchen food processor. The base of the recipe can be built on and changed up to suit your fancy! So, get to it and #playwithyourfood!

3 Ingredient Fruit & Nut Bars

10 Pitted Dates (I used Medjool Dates)
1/4 cup dried Cranberries
1 cup "raw" Almonds (always raw nuts not dry, roasted)
**Optional: Hershey's Cocoa Powder or Ground Spices

• Secure lid and hang on to your processor. Process all three ingredients for about 2 minutes!
• The mixture will have bits of nuts, but the fruit will be combined.
• It's at this point, you can add ground spices or --my fave-- Hershey's Cocoa Powder and pulse a couple of times to incorporate.
• Pour mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and begin kneading. Form into a 1/4" thick rectangle approximately 7" long, which will be sliced into bars, later. Mixture will quickly come (press) together inside the plastic wrap.
• Once shaped, keep wrapped in plastic wrap and place in fridge until firm.
• Slice into bars and store in fridge for a chewier texture!

Continue playing with the recipe choosing different ingredients...

1. Keeping the dates, but substituting dried Apricots (instead of cranberries) and raw Cashews for thealmonds, process. 
2. Once the mixture has been kneaded and formed, press sunflower seeds into the top, re-wrap and place in fridge until firm!
3. TRY dried pineapple and coconut with raw nuts like pistachio or macadamia for an island flavor!
4. OR, instead of bars -- pinch off enough to roll into balls for a quick pop-in-your-mouth sweet & healthy fix!

Let your creative juices flow to concoct what sounds good to you! There are no rules! 

2-on-Tuesday: Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Nope. I did not come up with this recipe. I think I saw it on a Paula Deen show, years ago. Regardless, it's a pretty good recipe using Splenda in the place of flour and sugar. That's right! Because there is no flour and the sugar comes comes from a sweetener (a smidge from the peanut butter), it's a great recipe for diabetics, too!


1 C  Peanut Butter (or your favorite nut butter)
1 C  Splenda or Stevia
**carefully smoosh the above ingredients together, then, add...
1    Egg
1 t  Vanilla
**and mix

• Take batter and roll into 2" balls onto parchment paper lining your cookie sheet.
• What would a peanut butter cookie be without the crisscross fork pattern? An unrecognizable cookie, that's what! Be sure to dip the tines of your fork into the Splenda before pressing the cookie.
• Bake 350 degrees  for 15-18 minutes

Whatcha think?

~"Sam"