No-Bake DOVE® Fruit Trail Mix Bars

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I’m back! How has your week been going? Mine has been a little on the hectic side, and I keep telling myself to just take one day at a time! I've been trying my hardest to make little choices every day that will be better for me and help keep me going – like eating salads, going to the gym twice a week, things that I can do that will help keep my body going – besides the instant gratification of coffee that is!

Of course I still need some delicious things to eat as well, and I found these DOVE® Fruit chocolates at Walmart and bought some – they are made with dark chocolate and real fruit – there are some with whole cranberries, blueberries, and cherries! Depending on what store you are in, they can be found either in the candy aisle, a display pallet, or I even saw some smaller sized bags while in the checkout. 

When I began snacking on them I thought, ‘why not make a no-bake trail mix bar?’ I had always talked about making a no-bake bar before that I could have on hand for a good snack, and decided to play around with some ingredients until I made something that I liked – and of course I had to test it out on my friends and family!

Surprisingly the kids loved it, even though it’s not as sweet as a lot of pre-made bars are. My friend Carolyn liked it as well, and we got to talking on Monday and decided to have a VERY last minutes girls’ night in at my house and we both invited a couple of friends. 

 Wayne took the kids out to dinner and to visit their grandma for a couple of hours, and I quickly set up some snacks – a meat and cheese platter, veggie and fruit tray’s , a coffee and tea station – and of course lots of tasty little DOVE® Fruit bites for them to try!

We definitely had lots of fun girl conversation with many of laughs as we talked about life and our own personal triumphs and tribulations (crazy birthing stories, married life, maintaining balance in life, etc.) and nibbled on the snacks I set out for everyone.

 I set up a little backdrop with paper doilies that I folded (like a fan) then opened up and taped them to the back of a couple of poster boards. It made a fun a quick little background. I also hung a couple of paper lanterns and called it good!

I also sent home little DOVE® Fruit packages to help everyone get through the next couple of days!

It was one of the most impromptu events I had ever held and even though I was a little worried about it, it turned out to be just what I needed for the start of a busy week.

If you’d like to try and make these bars, here’s the recipe I came up with. Each batch makes about 10 snack sized bars – so if you've got a family of 5 like me that will sneak them you might want to make a double batch!

 No Bake DOVE® Fruit Trail Mix Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups of Quick Oats

½ cup of creamy peanut butter

½ cup of honey

½ cup of slivered almonds

2 tablespoons of Flax Seed

½ cup DOVE® Fruit Whole Cranberries

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl, and if you’d like you can knead the mixture with your hands so it combines better.

Spread onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper, pressing evenly until the mixture is approximately 1 inch thick. Cut into two inch bars and place into zip bags for a quick and easy snack on the go!

Have you tried the DOVE® Fruit yet? You can also find more recipe ideas on the DOVE® Fruit social hub and you can also download a coupon to save on your DOVE® purchase!

~Melissa