Recipe - Date Bars!

Thank you to everyone for your kind and supporting comments on my last post about Zeus. So far, he's doing better it seems. He's basically acting like his old self, but he's still drinking a lot of water (likely from the hypercalcemia). He goes back to the oncologist Thursday for more blood work and treatment. We've been staying at my mom's this week and he's enjoying himself... there are 4 other dogs here. He's eating more but that might be out of competition rather than wanting to actually eat it himself - lol. But, hey, whatever works, eh? In addition to his medicine, I've been giving him a few things:

• Chlorella tablets
• Water mixed with Vitamineral Green and Liver and Bile Purification Powder (fed with a syringe). I have some Green Mush and I think I'll switch the Vitamineral Green with it. 
• I ordered E3 Live, and it'll arrive Wednesday. I can't wait to introduce that to his diet.

Here's a great recipe that I'll be making around the holidays. I included it in a recent email newsletter.

When I was a little girl, my mom used to make date bars for dessert. Oh how I loved them! It was a simple little recipe / mix from a box (Betty Crocker I think), and it was one of my favorites. I remember how they were warm from the oven with a sweet squishy date center and a crumbly bottom and top. Mmmm! So, I decided to come up with a healthier raw version. This one is warm from the dehydrator with a squishy, sweet raw date filling surrounded by a slightly crunchy top and bottom from ground nuts. Perfect! When I shared it with my mom, she couldn't believe how closely it resembled the old version.


Date Bars
Recipe by Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com
Yield 1 8X8 glass baking dish

Date Filling Ingredients:
25-30 medjool dates, pitted*
1/4-1/2 cup soak water (from the dates)

Crumble Ingredients:
1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup Rapadura** (optional)
2 tablespoons raw coconut oil
pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Date Filling Instructions:
Place the pitted dates in a bowl with water to soak them for about a half hour. *If your dates are large, you can use 25 and if some of them are smaller, then use a few more. Once the dates are soaked, place them in a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade, along with 1/4 cup of the soak water. Process until smooth, adding a little more water as needed. Set aside in a bowl, while you make the crumble.

Crumble Instructions:
Place all of the crumble ingredients in a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade, and process until it starts to stick together a bit when pressed gently between two of your fingers.

Assembly Instructions:
Take a little more than half of the crumble mixture and press it firmly into the bottom of your glass baking dish. Spread the date filling on top. Then, sprinkle the remaining crumble on top of the date filling, and very gently press it.

If you have a dehydrator, now is a great time to use it. Place the Date Bars in it and dehydrate them at 115 degrees F for about an hour. Enjoy! Store leftover Date Bars in your refrigerator.

** Rapadura is not raw. It's organic, whole cane sugar that adds a lovely depth of sweetness to the recipe. If you'd like the recipe to be all raw, simply omit the Rapadura.