heavenly breakfast bar

im back in the swing of school and approaching the conclusion of my first week on the raw food diet. woohoo! its been delicious and i feel great so far. although i will admit that i am missing cheese and vanilla lattes quite a bit... beside that i am feeling really good about the switch over and have transitioned quite well over to "the raw side".

anywhooo, the roommates were gone this afternoon, i had no pressing homework, and therefore what must i do? cook, thats right! so i made a delicious spinach, onion, and sweet pepper crustless quiche for dinner and these breakfast bars.

i highly suggest them. heres the recipe for "breakfast bars" from veggiemealplans.com! (i think i might use this website more because they have a bunch of great vegetarian, vegan, and dairy free recipes- check it out)

Date Mixture:

1/2 cup diced dried dates

1/2 cup water

Flax Mixture: 5 teaspoons ground flaxseed

1/2 cup water

Dry Ingredients:

2/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup ground amaranth**

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped raw almonds

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds**

1/3 cup diced dried apricots 2/3 cup raisins

Lightly coat a 9"x9" baking pan with oil or cooking spray.

Prepare Date Mixture: Add 1/2 cup water and diced dates to a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dates are soft. (Mixture will be thick.) Allow to cool.

Prepare Flax Mixture: Combine 1/2 cup water and the ground flax. Set aside for five minutes to thicken. Mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add flax mixture to date puree, stir well, and pour into dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Press mixture into baking pan. Bake at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. You can eat them right after they cool but they taste even better after sitting at least one hour.

**i didnt have amaranth or sunflower seeds but the raw food diet suggests that you eat coconut so i though id add some shredded coconut in there too for a little crunch.

i wrapped them up individually and im excited to have something substantial to bite into for an afternoon snack!