healthy living :: sticky nut bars

our family is trying to turn a new leaf and really change our lifestyle. our goals are to eat healthier and be more active as a family. i've recently discovered a few great food blogs and have committed to try at least 1 new recipe every other week. (ever week if i can manage)

about 2 weeks ago i discovered a blog that has really captured my attention. green kitchen stories is a relatively new blog and i've gone through the entire backlog of recipes an printed out ones i'd like to try. here's how they describe the content of their blog: "Here we mostly eat and cook vegetarian food with a minimum of sugar, gluten and milk products. It’s all very good, organic and … green." i've tried 2 recipes so far and both were great. one of my favorite things about the recipes is that they are super simple. very few ingredients....quick and easy!



i just made their recipe for sticky nut bars last night and boy, oh boy am i in trouble! this little snack bar is so, so yummy! if you like salty and sweet, this bar is for you! you can click on the link above to see their recipe, but i'll post what i did below. i have to say that mine didn't hold together very well. (not that it affects the taste at all!)

1 box dates (of course, i couldn't find fresh dates in my town, i'm sure fresh would have made a HUGE difference. when i make them next i'm going to hunt down some fresh ones!)
2 tbsp water
2/3 cup peanut butter (i just used skippy natural because it's what we had on hand)
1 cup mixed nuts (i used walnuts, pecans, and almonds)
(i skipped the coconut because i'm not a huge fan)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried fruit (i used golden and regular raisins)
1/2 tsp salt

in a small saucepan, stir together dates, water and peanut butter and place over low heat. add the rest of the ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are coated. add some more nuts if the mixture feels too moist and some more water if it is too dry. i spread the mixture out on a sheet pan with parchment paper instead of a spring form pan. put in the fridge for half an hour. cut them into squares before serving. store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
if you don’t like them sticky you can instead make them as cookies, by baking them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 350°. (i think i might try this option next time to hopefully get them to hold together a little better) mine are not nearly as pretty as there's, but my stomach hasn't complained one bit!