By Mogo Nutrition Intern, Heidi O'Brien

I am excited to partner with Mogo Pilates to provide information and insight into all things nutrition. Mogo's mission is more than just DOING Pilates...its about FEEDING your mind, body, and spirit in every possible way.

Through the craziness of summer schedules and endless to-do lists, it can be difficult to find time to prepare healthy snacks for ourselves throughout the day. Here at Mogo Pilates, we love creating quick, healthy, energy boosting snacks to power us through our Pilates classes. One of our favorite recipes to whip up is a homemade LARABAR, for a quick healthy snack between sessions. Making a big batch of these delicious cashew cookies once a week makes snacking a breeze through our jam packed week!

Mogo Date + Cashew Bar Ingredients

30 Medjool Dates (pitted)

Dates are the sticky mold that holds these bars together. Their natural sweetness makes a decadent, chewy bar with all whole food ingredients!

1 1/2 cups Raw Cashews

Raw cashews (unsalted) give this bar a light crunch and keep you full throughout your workout! We chose to purchase cashew pieces instead of whole cashews simply to make the blending process quicker. Whole unsalted cashews will work perfectly, too.

Food Processor

The best way to create these bars is with the use of a food processor. This machine has powerful blades that easily chops and blends the ingredients together. For this recipe, we used a Hamilton Beach 8 cup food processor, but any will work!
QUICK TIP: Food processors are loud but they are very very strong! Do not get discouraged if the machine wiggles or makes loud noises, it’s working hard!

How to make homemade date and cashew bars

1. Pit approximately 30 Medjool dates and put them in the food processor. QUICK TIP: To pit dates, simply pull the date in half. A hard, nut like object will be in the middle. Throw that away and get to processing!

2. Blend the dates in the food processor. This may take a while, but be patient until the dates are fully blended and sticking together like a paste.

3. Add in a cup and a half of raw cashews, and blend until evenly chopped within the date paste.

4. Take out sections of the dough and roll into balls or flatten into bars. The size is up to you. QUICK TIP: add in chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or any other fun ingredients you want to spice up your bars.

That's it! These bars take minutes to make and are essential for the on the go schedule! Enjoy and stay tuned for more recipes and tips for a healthy and mindful life!