by pediatric dietitian, Ashley Smith of Veggies and Virtue

These bars are made without exotic ingredients but rather the everyday essentials from the pantry with superfood status! These are an awesome on-the-go snack that will fuel your family for sports practice, in the afternoons until dinner, or as a hearty addition to any lunchbox!

What You Need:

• 1 cup pecans, raw
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup (1 scoop) Sneakz Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
• ¼ cup hemp hearts
• ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup dried fruit (recommend dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, bananas, and/or apricots.

How To Make Them:

1. Add pecans to food processor. Pulse until a fine pulp.
2. Add melted coconut oil, honey, Sneakz protein powder, vanilla extract, and salt to pecans in the food processor. Turn food processor on until a large ball forms from mixture.
3. Add oats, hemp hearts, and pumpkin seeds to food processor. Turn on until well-combined and mixture is evenly moistened.
4. Lastly add mixture of dried fruits to food processor. Pulse until fruit is lightly chopped and evenly dispersed in mixture.
5. Spread out large piece of parchment paper over a 7x11 baking dish. Transfer contents of food processor to pan lined with parchment paper. Firmly pack mixture into pan until evenly distributed. Place pan in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, or long enough for coconut oil to harden. Slice bars to preferred size, making small cubes for smaller kids (and hands). Cover bars and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Enjoy!

Makes one, 7x11 pan.