It is super easy to make homemade trail mix bars with Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix and Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates, your favorite nut butter, coconut oil (or vegetable oil), and a little bit of honey (maple syrup or agave will work too if you are vegan!).
These trail mix bars are packed with nutrients and contain much less sugar than store bought snack bars. Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail mix includes a blend of walnuts, black raisins, dried cranberries,almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate chunks.
The combination of walnuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds provides ALA Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, iron, vitamin E and fiber. Dark chocolate is an excellent source of cocoa flavanols, magnesium, and iron. Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates act as the binder and sweetener for these trail mix bars, while adding even more iron to this already iron rich recipe. Also each bar contains about seven grams of plant based protein, plus more protein depending on what type of nut butter you decide to use!
This trail mix bar recipe is a great way to use most of your bag of Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail mix,leaving a little bit left over to snack on. Once your Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix, and Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates arrive in the mail, you can make this recipe right away because you probably have the other three ingredients in your pantry!
Heart Healthy Trail Mix Bars
Servings 8
Ingredients
3 ½ cups Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix, divided
1 package Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates
½ cup nut butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey, agave, or maple syrup
Ingredients
3 ½ cups Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix, divided
1 package Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates
½ cup nut butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey, agave, or maple syrup
Special Equipment
Food processor or blender
8 x 8 inch pan
8 x 8 inch pan
Preparation
1. Add 3 cups of Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix to a food processor and pulse about 6 times until the trail mix is coarsely chopped. Pour into a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
2. Add the Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates to the food processor and pulse until the dates turn into a paste.
3. In a small saucepan over very low heat add the date paste, nut butter, coconut oil and honey. Stir until all of the ingredients are just melted then turn off the heat. Add the chopped trail mix and stir to combine.
4. Line and 8 by 8 inch pan with wax paper then pour the trail mix bar mixture into the pan. With a spoon firmly press down the mixture evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the top of the bars with ½ cup of Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix and press the trail mix into the bars with the bottom of the measuring cup.
5. Refrigerate the trail mix bars for at least 2 hours.
6. Lift the bars out of the pan using the excess wax paper on the sides. Place the bars on a cutting board and slice 4 strips vertically and in half horizontally.
7. Optional step wrap each bar in wax paper.
8. Keep the trail mix bars refrigerated up to 2 weeks.
2. Add the Nature’s Garden Pitted Dates to the food processor and pulse until the dates turn into a paste.
3. In a small saucepan over very low heat add the date paste, nut butter, coconut oil and honey. Stir until all of the ingredients are just melted then turn off the heat. Add the chopped trail mix and stir to combine.
4. Line and 8 by 8 inch pan with wax paper then pour the trail mix bar mixture into the pan. With a spoon firmly press down the mixture evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the top of the bars with ½ cup of Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix and press the trail mix into the bars with the bottom of the measuring cup.
5. Refrigerate the trail mix bars for at least 2 hours.
6. Lift the bars out of the pan using the excess wax paper on the sides. Place the bars on a cutting board and slice 4 strips vertically and in half horizontally.
7. Optional step wrap each bar in wax paper.
8. Keep the trail mix bars refrigerated up to 2 weeks.
Tips
You can also wrap these tasty little bars in wax paper for a snack on the go! After tasting your Nature’s Garden Heart Healthy Trail Mix Bars it will be easy to stop buying the processed snack bars at the grocery store.