Summertime means stress-free cooking, fresh flavors, and lots of sunshine!
These no-bake blueberry bars are so simple to prepare and are bursting with the fresh taste of summer. Not to mention they look spectacular!
As a Dietitian, I spend a lot of my time teaching clients how to identify sugar in foods and how to manage intake so it doesn’t get out of control.
The average person consumes over 129 lbs of sugar per year! That’s the same as 304 cups per year or 40 teaspoons per day!
Think there’s no way that you consume that amount? You may be shocked, sugar is in over 74% of processed foods!
Ritz crackers? Yep! Doritos? Mmm Hmm. Salad dressing? You betcha!
Many products marketed as health foods are full of sugar as well, among the biggest culprits are snack and granola bars. With some organic bars packing in over 25 grams of sugar (over 6 teaspoons), that’s more than a Snickers bar! Because of this, I always recommend that snack bars be made at home where the sugar content can be controlled. Not sure where to start? Well don’t I have the recipe for you!
No-Bake Blueberry Bars
2 cups blueberries, divided
1 cup oats
1 cup dates pitted
1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon orange juice or water (optional)
Line an 8×8 inch pan with foil. In a food processor, combine 1 cup blueberries, oats, dates, almonds, chia seeds, orange zest, and cinnamon. Process until mixture becomes sticky and holds together. Press into prepared pan and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. If desired, add confectioners’ sugar and orange juice or water and drizzle over top.
Recipe adapted from www.blueberrycouncil.org
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