Boujee Budget Berry Bars

Are you tired of having to order all of your special ingredients online? I know I am!

I love these bars because I can find all of the ingredients at Target! I live in a small-ish town so I don’t have a lot of fancy grocery stores. And I don’t want to spend a ton of money regardless.

This recipe was modified from PaleoRunningMomma.com’s Cherry Berry Grain Free Granola Bars. And this is the second time I’ve modified it. Both times were based on the ingredients I could find quickly, wanting to cut out some nuts, and save money using ingredients I already had at home.

One thing about being Paleo, or Whole30 that frustrates me, is all of the nuts! So many nuts! Sometimes I just want some gluten free granola! So I bought some steal cut oats. There are many variations including gluten free.

You can cut these larger or smaller. Makes about 9-12 bars.

Here’s what I came up with: Use the salted cashews I already had at home. Use the whole grain rolled oats in place of the almonds. And substitute almond butter for coconut butter. I already had coconut flakes and coconut oil at home. These products last for a while and can be used for several recipes.

Important question: Why is it so hard to find dried fruit that does not contain added sugar? The best I’ve been able to do in a hurry is the freeze dried fruit from Target. They’re usually $3.49 a bag and I’ve used one bag for multiple recipes. Along with the dried coconut flakes, they help absorb the stickiness from the dates and coconut oil. This is a major plus!

Get out your high powered food processor (mine is a Ninja) and get ready!

Boujee Budge Berry Bars

• Servings: 9-12
• Time: 10 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

This recipe is so easy! I love how I only need my Ninja food processor, a large mixing bowl, and a rubber spatula. Plus there are extra ingredients to make more later! And you can swap out any fruit you want.

Ingredients

• 7 dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes ahead of time
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1 cup salted or raw cashews
• 1 cup steal cut oats (look for gluten free if needed)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried strawberries
• 1/4 cup organic coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (fine)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. After soaking the dates, place them in a large food processor and mix until gooey.
2. Add all nuts and oats then mix until crumbly. Don’t over mix. See pictures above.
3. Dump the date/oat/nut mixture into a large mixing bowl. Stir in coconut flakes, cinnamon, salt, and dried fruit.
4. In a separate bowl or Pyrex measuring cup, whisk together the melted coconut oil, almond butter, and vanilla.
5. Pour the liquid onto the dry mix and stir together with a rubber spatula until well combined.
6. Line an 8 x 8 square pan with parchment paper. Dump the mixture into the pan. Use another piece of parchment paper to press down the ingredients down until evenly flattened.
7. Place in the refrigerator over night to harden before cutting (or freezer for at least an hour).
8. Remove from pan and place on cutting board. Cut into preferred size. Place in sealed container and keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.