Fruit-and-Nut Breakfast Bars

Easy to make and very tasty, these bars are pure fruit, nuts, and seeds—no pasty fillers. Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: Makes 8 bars

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  orange juice
• 1/2  cup  whole Medjool dates (about 5), halved and pitted
• 1  cup  whole raw almonds with skins
• 1/2  cup  dried apricots
• 1/4  cup  dried plums (prunes)
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/4  cup  raw sunflower seeds

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Pour orange juice over dates and let soak 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place almonds, dried apricots, and dried plums in a food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Add salt and dates with orange juice and pulse until mixture starts to stick together. Add pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, pulsing a few times just to incorporate.

3. Using wet hands, scoop mixture onto a work surface and form into a log about 1 3/4 in. wide and 1/2 in. thick. Use your palms to flatten into a bar, and cut bar into 8 equal pieces.

4. Arrange pieces about 1 in. apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Using a heatproof spatula, turn bars over and bake another 8 minutes, or until nuts are toasted (but before fruit begins to burn). Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per bar.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

210 (56% from fat)

Protein:

6g

Fat:

13g (sat 1.4)

Carbohydrate:

22g

Fiber:

3.5g

Sodium:

76mg

Cholesterol:

0.0mg