OK, LET’S TALK SNACKS.

It’s a topic that comes in almost weekly on my  instagram Q + A sessions…. and one that HI, as a new mama over here this past year, have a whooooole new level of respect for.

Snacks. The good kind. The ones that actually help you bridge the gap between meals and keep you cruising along in your day….versus the ones that make you hungrier and blood sugar crashy. And the ones you can grab quick– out the door, in between calls, or when you’re nursing a baby and just have one hand to make something happen for yourself. 

I remember the days when I use to pretty much exist on snacks… the kind I thought were healthy (until I learned about what real food was). So many bars. Cliff bars, luna bars, protein bars, granola bars.

There’s something about them that still make me nostalgic.

So I did what I always do when I get that way:  take all the fun parts of the recipe I love… but just upgrade all the ingredients (the healthy graham crackers in the new cookbook came from the same motivation)

Because one look at the ingredients in most of the granola bars on the grocery shelf will have you running in the other direction, I love making a batch of these and keeping them wrapped in the fridge for a easy and much better-for-you treat.

Because when you can pronounce the ingredients in anything, your body can too. So that’s always how I roll.

Of course, use any dried fruit and nut combo that you like (or already have in your pantry). For the best texture, my favorite trick is using 2 different kinds of dried fruit, at least 2 different kinds of nuts and some sort of seeds. Chocolate chips or cocoa nibs would be a great addition here too. 

Vanilla Apricot Granola Bars 

Makes 8-10 bars or 12-16 snack bites

2 cups cashews

1 cup walnuts

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup large coconut flakes

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon sea salt

Melt the honey. Chop the cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and apricots (roughly or finely—the texture is up to you). Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well with a silicone spatula.

Add mixture to a medium sized parchment lined square baking dish and press down evenly with the back of the spatula. Freeze for at least 1 hour, then remove to cut into bars. Store in the fridge until ready to eat.

Photo by Carina Skrobecki for The Simply Real Eating Cookbook

Love this recipe? You’d love the cookbook then too. And be sure to check out all of these great resources if you need some more inspiration for more 5 ingredients or less and 15 minutes or less food in your life! From the free 28 self-care ideas in under 1 hour or less to the 2 week pantry meal plan, we’ve got you covered my friend.