Soft and healthy these lemon date energy bars are the perfect energy boost. Slightly chewy and with only five ingredients, these homemade energy bars are great to take on long exercise bouts.
A busy day often means poor choices in the food department. Struggling to give yourself actual food while shuffling kids around is stressful at best.
Which is why my biggest nutrition tip as a Certified Nutrition Coach is to make sure you have prepped, healthy snacks ready to go!
You'll love these date bars because they're:
- easy to make (only 5 ingredients and no baking)
- refreshing
- loaded with energy
- dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, vegan, whole30
- kid-approved
Don't overlook the importance of having healthy snacks on hand in grab-and-go situations. It's a lifesaver!
Likewise, focusing on snacks like this makes for super simple meal prep.
Ingredients You'll Need
These date energy bars have one thing in mind and that's energy! This means that their base is made up primarily of dried fruit. If you want to make them more fueling though read on.
Medjool dates: a natural sugar and a great energy boost! Dates don't freeze solid so this means the energy bars can be eaten even when they're pretty chilled.
Dried cherries and blueberries: sweeten the bars a bit more with some extra dried fruits. Any will work but these two make the energy bars really refreshing.
Walnuts: walnuts give the fruit and nut bars a bit of substance and a dose of healthy fats.
Fresh lemon juice: fresh lemon juice will give a more potent flavor to the energy bars.
How To Make Fruit And Nut Bars
- Process the walnuts in a food processor until mostly ground.
- Add in the dates, cherries, and lemon juice and blend until combined.
- Scrape the mixture into a bowl and add in the blueberries and collagen if using.
- Dump the mixture into a lined baking pan and smooth it out evenly.
- Pop in the freezer for thirty minutes.
How You Can Add MORE Fuel To Healthy Snack Bars
Want to make the date energy bars a bit more fueling and well-rounded? Add in collagen powder!
All the protein without the bloat.
I use collagen powder for amping up protein and boosting gut health.
Learn about the difference between collagen and bone broth as how to increase protein intake.
Honestly, as a busy mom collagen powder just makes it easy to eat more protein and not feel like I’m living off chicken and eggs.
And more protein means more energy, more natural beauty, and feeling your BEST.
Plus, in recipes like this, you can sneak protein into your kids as it’s one of the purest sources.
I grab my collagen from Perfect Supplements because they source their collagen from pasture-raised (grass-fed) cows. So, I trust it.
Grab some collagen powder and use code mamabear10 to save some money.
https://www.perfectsupplements.com/Perfect-Hydrolyzed-Collagen-p/ps-collagen.htm?Click=111051&a_bid=90cabe16
Important Teaching Tips
Because these homemade date energy bars don't have a binding ingredient, they do come out a bit sticky. Thus wrap each bar in parchment paper to store.
They can be stored in the fridge or the freezer and are best eaten chilled. Otherwise, when left at room temperature they're a bit too sticky.
Also, you can easily use any dried fruits to switch up the flavor! A few of our favorites are:
- dried strawberries
- chopped dried pears
- whole dried cranberries
The less you grind up the walnuts, the more sustenance the energy bars will have.
The bars are great for bumping up glycogen stores (like after a long run) but they don't have a lot of protein in them to stabilize the sugar crash. Add in collagen powder if you need more fuel.
Lastly, make sure to soak the dates in warm water for twenty minutes prior to blending them. The softer they are, the better they process into “date paste” without having to add much water.
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth & Fuel Your Body
The ultimate collection of high-protein, no-bake snacks for busy moms.
As a mom of three, I know the struggle of feeling exhausted and constantly reaching for sugary snacks. It wasn’t until I started increasing my protein intake with delicious, dessert-like snacks that I finally felt energized and satisfied—without having to choke down another chicken breast.
With the Strong and Sweet Protein Guide, you’ll get over 25 high-protein, snack recipes that taste like dessert and pack in 17+ grams of protein per serving. These snacks are perfect for fueling your energy and keeping those sweet cravings in check—without adding more stress to your already busy day.
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Grab your copy today and start enjoying snacks that power your day and satisfy your cravings!
Inside the Strong and Sweet Guide, you’ll discover exactly how much protein you need each day, how to choose the right protein powder, and enjoy over twenty-five easy ultra-simple snack recipes, each packed with 17 grams of protein or more.
Frequently Asked Questions About Date Energy Bars
The texture can be ultra smooth depending on how well you grind the walnuts or chunkier. However, it is pretty soft thanks to the dried fruit. This is also why it's best stored in the fridge or the freezer- to prevent it being too sticky.
Adding collagen to the fruit and nut bars will give them more protein, start by adding in ⅛ of a cup to the existing recipe. Likewise, adding in a tablespoon of nut butter or chia seeds will amp them up as well.
Other Dairy & Gluten-Free Snack Recipes You'll Love
- Chocolate coconut energy bites
- Banana cinnamon balls
- Superfood bites
- Triple berry protein fluf
- Peanut butter and jam protein balls
- Chocolate Chia Seed Protein Balls
- Banana cinnamon energy balls
- Protein bars topped in chocolate
- Macadamia chocolate protein balls
- Chocolate fudge protein balls
- Energizing protein bar
- No-bake bounce balls
- Cookie dough balls
- Salted caramel protein fluff
- Cookie dough overnight protein oats
- Easy, no-bake vanilla protein bar
- High protein snack recipes
Dairy-Free Fruit And Nut Bars
Equipment
- Powerful blender
- 8x4 baking tray
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 20 Medijol dates soaked in warm water for twenty minutes
- 1 cup chopped walnuts more walnuts needed for topping
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup dried blueberries
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
- Place the walnuts in the food processor and pulse until mostly ground.
- Place the dates, cherries, and lemon juice into the food processor and blend until fully combined. You may need to scrape the sides down.
- Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the blueberries.
- Line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper and put the bar mixture into the pan. Using another piece of parchment paper, press the mixture down evenly into the pan. Remove the top piece of paper and top the mixture with 2 tbs of walnuts pressing them down slightly with the spatula.
- Place the pan into the freezer for thirty minutes. Once mostly frozen, remove and cut into bars. Wrap the bars individually in parchment paper. T
- Place the wrapped bars back in the freezer to enjoy when needed!
Video
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
No bake energy bars are easy to whip together and absolutely tasty. All the dried fruits make them a great mid-afternoon treat because they're so full of energy and easy to munch on the go.
Thus, whip up a double batch of the energy bar recipe, wrap them, store them and never worry about what to munch on!
The Southern Thing
These sound so tasty and healthy! A great guilt free option for a sweet tooth!
fitasamamabear
Mm agreed! I find them really sweet so they're a great go to for me mid afternoon!
Shannon Burlingame
These look SOO delicious and I love how it only needs a few ingredients. 🙂
fitasamamabear
Agreed! Minimal ingredients are the best kind of snacks! Both from a health perspective and from a time one!
sarah
ummm... these sound absolutely delicious!!
fitasamamabear
Thanks! I always keep a batch in my freezer 🙂
Lauren
This looks so good! I love these, but we have a nut allergy in the family. Have you done any nut-free options? I might try substituting roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
fitasamamabear
Hey Lauren! They're pretty tasty! I haven't tried pumpkin seeds in this specific recipe but have used pumpkin seeds in place of walnuts in many others (like the magic energy balls). Give it a shot just add slightly more to make up for the mass difference.. and then let me know how they taste!
Danielle
Healthy, low fat snack. I try to make oatmeal my go to snack sometimes.
fitasamamabear
It's definitely healthy and an energy booster! I adore oatmeal so I'm with you there- specifically overnight oats! So easy and so tasty!
Natalie
wow they look so good!
Natalie
https://lucyandtherunaways.blogspot.com.au/
fitasamamabear
Thanks! Simple to make which is perfect 🙂
Nicole Kamai
I will have to try these!! They look so good!!
fitasamamabear
Thanks for stopping by Nicole! They are definitely yummy so I hope you enjoy them!
Brittany Ferrell
These look and sound so delicious! I really need to make these and for "on the go" as you mentioned because sometimes as a busy mom, I forget to eat!
fitasamamabear
I don't think you're the only one who forgets to eat as a mom! I keep these, energy balls, muffins and protein bars all in my freezer just because of that point! Haha yes, I am the crazy lady but it helps!