Third Trimester Date Bars

It’s widely known that dates hold a certain magic during pregnancy. They are high in fiber, potassium and magnesium (all great for you at any point, but especially beneficial during your third trimester.) Not to mention, there are tons of anecdotes about dates helping soften the cervix and even make for shorter, easier labor. Yes, please.

I created this recipe to help satiate my sugar cravings between meals, and to have a really simple and delicious method of getting more dates into my diet in these final weeks of pregnancy. I am obsessed with how these turned out, and keep a bag in my fridge for a quick bite- I also plan to pack these in my hospital bag as a fresher alternative to a prepackaged protein or granola bar. If you love peanut butter Clif Bars or anything labeled “sweet and salty”, you will LOVE these bars.

Ingredients

1 cup dates

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup nut butter (peanut or almond)

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oats

1 1/4 cups puffed rice cereal

In a food processor, blend dates and sea salt (soak dates in warm water for 20 minutes if they are hard or if you live in a cooler climate).

In a sauce pan over low heat, combine your nut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in the blended dates, oats, and rice cereal. Mix until smooth. Press into an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper, let cool in the fridge, and slice into bars.