Date + Nut Bars: Paleo or Nah?

Putting aside for a minute the fact that our Paleolithic ancestors neither used food processors nor made mini-chocolate chips, let's talk a bit about whether or not these magical Date + Nut bars from PaleoGrubs will fit into your meal plan if you're trying to stick to the Paleo diet.

Or maybe like some of my clients, you like to eat 'Paleo-ish'. That's a real phrase I have actually heard many times. Basically, it means "I want to eat healthy, whole-foods with lean meats, minimally processed ingredients and kinda low-carb. But if something would be SOOO good with parmesan, go ahead and add it." I like these people because it means they are realistic and they really value delicious food.

So looking at the ingredients here, almonds are obviously good to go. Shredded, unsweetened coconut - good on that one too. Again, not sure if our ancestors shredded their coconut but in most circles, coconut is like manna from heaven in the paleo diet, so we're good to go on that one. Now what about chocolate - is chocolate paleo? Based on my intensive research (i.e. 15 minutes on Google), pretty much everyone agrees that chocolate isn't really Paleo, but OH MY GOD, how can you go on without chocolate??? Life wouldn't be worth living, so it would be better to go 'Paleo-ish' on this one. Everything in moderation.

So what about dates? Basically, dates are the sugar bowl of the health community. They are blended into everything from coconut milk to make ice cream (a fantastic tip from my friend Natalie Gresh of Honored Wellness) to batter to make carrot cake (though I can't imagine that without cream cheese frosting - definitely not Paleo.) So, again in moderation, we're good. And lastly, dried cranberries. Well, we went this far, might as well throw those in as well.

And here you have it, super easy, super tasty energy bars that don't taste like chalk and won't have you running to the Brita every five minutes. These are very reminiscent of my favorite LARABAR. If you have a food processor and some plastic wrap, these can be yours for a fraction of the price.

Date + Nut Bars

Adapted from PaleoGrubs

makes 8 2-inch bars

1 cup roasted, unsalted almonds

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup dried, unsweetened cranberries

3 tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor.

2. Pulse together until the mixture starts to stick together in balls.

3. Line a small baking or sheet pan with wax paper.

4. Spread out the mixture, pushing down to make dense bars, about 1/2 inch thick.

5. Let the bars set in the fridge for about an hour.

6. Once set, cut the bars into whatever size you like - bars or bites.

7. Wrap in plastic wrap and they stay good in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

#healthy #personalchef #dairyfree #glutenfree #Charleston #paleo #energybars