DELICIOUS DATE BARS 

Struggling for snacks on the go? Skip the chocolate bar and bash together some of these simple and delicious date bars. They are super easy to make, full of good stuff and you can customise them depending on your goals. Careful though, they're addictive and calorie dense so eat in moderation. 

This particular recipe is aimed at those looking for increase muscle size through a caloric surplus. For me, these serve as an energy-dense snack when I’m darting between clients without time for a meal. I pack them with oats, nuts and seeds to give a good whack of quality fats and carbs. Wash one down with a protein shake and you've got a pretty complete snack. They'd also be ideal in your backpack on a trek or long bike ride!

But the beauty of them is their simplicity. You can pretty much put anything in them and tailor the carbs/fats to your specific caloric goals. You could always add dark chocolate, desiccated coconut, flax seed, other dried fruit ... and so on! Don't like peanut butter? Switch it out for almond or cashew butter. 

If your goal is fat loss, be specific with your ingredients, measurements and portion size. As always, ensure that they fall within your caloric guidelines as calories are King. Keep an eye on my blog for a low calorie alternative in the future!

INGREDIENTS  

For these ones, you’ll need:

1. 230grams of Medjoul dates

2. 60 grams of oats

3. 30 grams of walnuts

4. 10-15grams of seed mix

5. 1 generous tablespoon of peanut butter

INSTRUCTIONS  

1. Pitt the dates and pulse them in the food processor. This is a bit annoying as they are generally pretty sticky so you need to give them a good shaking every-so-often. Don’t go overboard here; just blend them until they’re in small pieces.

2. Whack all of the other ingredients in there and give it a bit of a blend.

3. Tip it all out onto a board and mix it all up before shaping it into a big bar.

4. Chop into small bars, pop them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.