Delicious homemade fiber snack bars

Fiber is an essential part of any diet, but especially someone who suffers from acid reflux. Fiber keeps things moving along, and one theory is reflux occurs when food that is not digested rapidly- a big ol' steak, for instance- just sits there in your stomach. Fiber helps with that situation. So my problem is I'm always on the prowl for high-fiber snacks- particularly, fruit and nut bars. But they are so expensive! This led me to recently purchasing some dates with the vague idea of making bars and using dates as the thing that holds them all together. If I can't manage to act on an idea, there eventually comes a point at which I need to just wing it or drop it. So, I winged it.

Unlike I lot of things I just wing, this didn't just sit in the fridge waiting for me to decide I didn''t want to look at it anymore. They were good! But something else was going on- it seemed like for every one I ate, three disappeared. Out of the blue Abbey said she had nothing but these bars for dinner. That's how much she likes them! I think you will too. And think of all that healthy fiber!

Makes one 12x12 inch pan.

A handful of Medjool dates- 6-8 ought to do
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pepitas
1/8 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbl water or vegetable oil
3 tbl sesame seeds
1/4 cup of dried fruit of your choice
optional: 1/4 cup coconut flakes- toasted briefly in a pan is nice, not necessary

Pit the dates, if needed. Process the walnuts, dates and oats together until sticky but crumbly. Add a little water or oil if it's needed to help everything combine. You might have to push it down occasionally with a spatula. Include the optional fruit if it's big, like prunes or apricots. Transfer the contents to a bowl. Mix in the remainder of ingredients except the sesame seeds. Put 1/2 the sesame seeds in a 12x12 baking dish. Press the mixture into the bottom and flatten with a spatula. sprinkle the top with the rest of the sesame seeds and press into the bars. Chill for at least an hour, then cut into pieces the size of your choosing. Enjoy!