Sweet Peanut Butter Oat Protein Bars

When I don't have dates to make protein/energy bars with, I pretty much write off the recipe. Dates are super binding and pull together an energy bar, keeping it together and allowing it to be at room temperature without falling apart. Today I made energy bars without dates and they turned out fabulous. I'm so psyched that they are delicious and stay intact. Granted, I had them in the fridge for a while so they will need to be kept in the fridge but they are nonetheless AMAZING!

I'm going to make these for pre-workout snacks and breakfasts on the run. They are a perfect grab and go snack and are packed with amazing nutrition-fiber, protein, healthy fat and whole grains. Children and adults will be nuts over these so you must make them asap! They are sweetened with maple syrup which gives them a kick without raising your blood sugar and then crashing.

1 cup of rolled oats (I used quick cook oats)
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of peanut butter
2 tbsp of chia seeds
1.5 tbsp of hemp seeds

I hand-mixed all of the ingredients instead of putting them in the food processor. I think hand mixing keeps the integrity of the ingredients and you can see exactly what is in the bars. Put the oats in a medium bowl and add the maple syrup and peanut butter and mix by hand. Add in the seeds and mix well. Mix until everything is evenly distributed. Press the mixture into a bread dish and refrigerate for a few hours. Cut into slices; I made 8 slices. After about 2 hours in the fridge, the bars are pretty solid. OMG, they are DELICIOUS!

Notes: add less maple syrup if you don't need alot of sweetness. Add different seeds like sunflower or pumpkin and add another nut butter if you don't like peanut butter. You can use another liquid sweetener if you don't have maple syrup. No bake and so great!!!