Granola Date Bars

I'm on quite the green smoothie kick. After having been out and about and eating out a LOT, I really felt the need to be "healthier" and eat/drink all of the greens. I've determined, however, that my current variety of green smoothie really tastes better without Greek yogurt (which is usually a source of protein in my smoothies, making them my breakfast) because it's so tangy and doesn't really fit with the grassiness of all the greens. So, without yogurt, my green smoothie is basically green juice (except I just blend them, I don't use a juicer, so they still have a whole bunch of fiber)... but ANYWAY, my point is that I'm gonna need more protein in breakfast because BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANT.

I love toast, but almond butter is expensive and harder to come by in countryville, and my family likes mainstream peanut butter. That's all well and good, and I love it too, but I don't necessarily like to eat it every single day. I did have the tail end of a jar of almond butter left from Christmas, though. Enter granola date bars.

These, I think, will work well as a supplement to my morning green smoothie or act as a nice snack mid-morning or afternoon. They have a variety of proteins, good fats, and grains, as well as some sweetness from the dates, honey, and dark chocolate. They're kind of like a Larabar mashed together with a Kind bar, so you get the date texture plus some crunch.

Granola Date Bars

Base/Crust:
1 c oats
1/8-1/4 c flax seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp. honey

Filling:
1 c (8 oz) dates
2-3 tbsp. almond butter
1/4 c almonds
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
3-4 tbsp. small nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruit, etc.
8-12 oz. dark chocolate

Before you do anything else, put the dates in a bowl and cover them with warm water and heat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Also line a small square pan (8x8 or 9x9) with waxed or parchment paper.

Base/Crust:  Put a dry sauté pan on the stove on medium-high heat. Pour in the oats and let them start to toast, keeping them moving. Add the flax seeds and toast some more. After about 5 minutes, add the cinnamon and drizzle over 1 tbsp. of honey. Combine well and keep toasting. Drizzle over the other tbsp. of honey and stir. After about 10 minutes total of keeping the oats/flax/honey moving, it should be about good. Press the mixture into the paper-lined pan.

Filling:  Drain the dates. Put them in a food processor and process until they're broken up and stuck to the sides. Chop the almonds while that's going, and when it's done, scrape down the sides and add the chopped almonds, almond butter, chia seeds, and cinnamon. Puree until it's fully combined and resembles a sticky dough.

Press the filling onto the crust now. It will be extremely sticky, so just try your best. Once it's sufficiently spread out, put it all in the oven for 10 minutes. This should dry it some, so that after 10 minutes, you can press the surface more to smooth it out, and it won't stick to your fingers as much. Put it back into the oven for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, you can mix together whatever small toppings you want. I used a combo of this and this from Trader Joe's. When the dates/granola are done in the oven, press the seeds etc. all over the top in an even layer. Really press them into the surface of the date mixture to get them to stick. Tap off any excess, and put the whole thing into the freezer for about 30 minutes or until it hardens.

Take the pan out of the freezer, lift out the block by grabbing the edges of the paper, place on a cutting board, and slice into bars. Line a larger baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each time. Coat the bottom of each bar in chocolate and place on the larger, waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. When all of them are done, drizzle more chocolate on top. Place in the fridge to harden.