These vegan date bars are a delicious and easy energising snack for any time of day, made from puffed quinoa, almonds and dates. I often never use puffed quinoa, I never knew what to use it with, but now it has become one of the home staples. It is the perfect way of adding a little extra nutritional value to your food, including a good crunch element and not masking or overpowering the other flavours.

These are a raw recipe which means there is no baking require and they are entirely gluten free and vegan. Perfect on the go breakfast bar or snack for everyone to enjoy. I find them great for the 3pm slump when I am hunting down to the kitchen for any form of sweetness. The dates are a perfect substitute for sugar as they create the perfect amount of sweetness to satisfy the craving. It is the perfect snack to help carry over to dinner. (Then maybe have a another date bar for dessert)

Step 1

Soak the dates in bowl of warm water for 5 minutes, to soften them. Then drain the dates using a colander and pat dry.

Step 2

Then add your dates, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt to a food processor.

Step 3

Blend for 1-2 mins until everything is combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl in between blending. The date bar mixture will become sticky consistency.

Step 4

To the date bar mixture add the puffed quinoa, roughly chopped almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Step 5

Pulse the date bar mixture just enough to mix all the ingredients together. You can also use an eku spoon if you would prefer. Don't over mix it! you want to still have pieces of nuts and puffed quinoa visible

Step 6

Line a square 8x8inch pan with baking paper and press the date bar mixture evenly into the pan using your square turner to spread the mixture and make it compact. 

Place in the fridge for 2 hours to set and then slice them into rectangles and enjoy your vegan date bars!

create . eat . enjoy !