It’s back to school time for most of us moms… anyone doing a happy dance??  I have to admit I’m not!!  While I thrive on routine, I do miss my kiddos during the day.  And I hate waking up their sleepy little heads when the little hand on the clock is pointing to 5…

But I feel like I can make up for it a bit by sending them to school with healthy snacks, like these sunbutter hempseed energy bars.  I mean, if they’re going to be away from the house for 10-12 hours a day, the least I can do is wave them off with a yummy and energy-filled treat that won’t squish all over their lunch box.  How’s that for showing love?

These little dudes are perfect for those nut-free classrooms too, because they’re based on sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) so they fall within the nut-free regulations, woo-hoo!  They’re rich in healthy fats, fiber, and protein, so they’re super satisfying, and sweetly delicious… or deliciously sweet??  Both, actually!  And of course you know I’m a big fan of adding extra ingredients… everything from grated orange rind to dried cranberries to chocolate chips… it all works!

As far as holding up under the pressure of being carted around all day, these bars are tops.  I can guarantee you will not have an “unfortunate lunch-box event” (such as has occurred in our family in the past, but we won’t talk about it… it involved yogurt and that’s all I’ll say,) and that’s always a blessing.

But here I am talking like these are only for the school-going set… shame on me!!!  Please don’t let your offspring eat all these cute little bars by themselves- that would be a mistake for sure.  You’re gonna want ’em too: for breakfast, post-workout, afternoon snacking, with coffee… yup, they’re pretty much perfect for every occasion.

Maybe the best thing about these bars is that they take only about 10-15 minutes to whip up in your blender or food processor.  So you really have no excuse for not making a batch… or two… just to make sure there are some left for the kids.