Snack Bar

These date balls, which I make each year for Diwali, are nutty and fudgy—without any chocolate. In years when the celebrations for Diwali and Thanksgiving are close together, I like to make a double batch to add to our Thanksgiving spread. They fit right in. 

Bound together with honey and nut butter, these just-sweet-enough bars are sturdy enough to throw in a beach bag and substantial enough to power you through til sunset.

Combine puréed dates, peanut butter, and puffed rice into these no-cook treats and gloss with a generous coating of chocolate for a (healthier-than-store-bought) candy bar whenever a craving strikes.

My older daughter can put away some of these oatmeal cookie bites like it’s her job. Gymnastics helps her keep active, which means she’s often super hungry, and I love to have these on hand for when she needs a snack.

These easy to make, customizable bars are packed with enough virtuous things that you might almost forget they’re dessert. Pack them in lunches, take them on road trips, or serve them for family movie nights—everyone will be happy.

A combination of nut butter, dried fruit, and lots of seeds makes these chewy homemade granola bars downright irresistible. For a crispier bar, toast them in the oven after baking.

Customize this addictive crunchy snack to your heart’s content with your favorite sweetener and ground spices.

The combination of rice syrup and almond butter make these bars less sweet, with a toothsome, more substantial savory quality than most other versions.

Fresh and candied ginger team up to make an uplifting, zesty treat that can be prepared in any season. This quick yet impressive dessert lends itself to endless reincarnations, using various dried fruits and citrus zests, or even cocoa for chocolate lovers—see the recipes that follow for ideas!

The whole family will love these nutrient-packed bars as a grab-and-go breakfast or afternoon snack.

We can't stress it enough: Pack the mixture as tightly as possible into the loaf pan. This is essential for the slices to hold together when cut.

I'll eat just about anything with "sticky" in the title, which prompted me to create a sticky energy bar my raw foodie friends and I can savor together. I've cast sesame seeds in a lead role here because I'm tired of seeing one of my favorite ingredients marginalized atop hamburger buns and everything bagels—they have a terrific earthy-nutty flavor and a delicate crunch that goes well with so many dishes. Moreover, their nutritional profile will leave you star-struck. Sesame
seeds are a very good source of manganese and copper and a good source of protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, and dietary fiber. Further, they contain two special types of fiber, sesamin and sesamolin, which are members of the lignans group and can lower "bad" cholesterol and help prevent high blood pressure. And did I mention chocolate? Namely, raw chocolate drizzle? Sesame seeds plus raw chocolate drizzle equals crazy good.

Copious amounts of kale were sacrificed in my pursuit of a kale energy bar. On my umpteenth attempt at puréeing the leaves into gooey-green glue, inspiration struck: why not incorporate the kale in crispy kale-chip form? It only took one batch to know I had a winner. The trick to getting great bars is to make sure that the kale is super-crisp, which is a cinch so long as you dry the leaves thoroughly– I'm talking layers of clean dish towels or many turns in the salad spinner, a mere minute or two of effort, before baking. If water remains on the leaves, the kale will steam, not crisp. I don't know about you, but the prospect of steamed kale bars doesn’t do it for me. But crispy, toasted seed-enhanced bars? Yes and yes!