It’s Monday and my back is cramping in two very precise spots in the middle of my back, my shoulders are slightly sunburnt, my feet are weary from walking and a blister on the side of my foot that has been rubbing against my work shoes all morning is threatening to burst in an ugly way.

It’s been a fantastic weekend.

First, there was the QUEEN (!!!) bed that landed in my life for free (and by landed, I mean: was wrestled from my friend’s house into a truck just inches too small and coerced into the corner of my room by virtue of an ew amount of sweat and bad words). I’m saying goodbye to the twin bed I’ve slept on for the past five years and it feels oh so luxurious.

Then an amazing vegan Tex-Mex meal where Erik hogged the raw taco stuffed with sprouts, cabbage and mushrooms (we hate mushrooms) and I just watched in amazement (for the two seconds I wasn’t busy shoving spinach and corn tamales in my face).

Then a run to our favorite Mexican bakery where we accidentally left with an overflowing sack of way too many sugar-encrusted pastries for any reasonable couple of people.

Then to the beach where sun, sea and sand culminated in raw pink shoulders, white cheddar popcorn overindulgence and a lazy afternoon nap before finally putting to use long-anticipated tickets to Houston’s greatest summer concert.

Psychedelic dance parties/light shows two nights in a row = no grocery shopping or serious cooking for me. My fridge is at its all-time emptiest, which made me so grateful for my stash of these no-bake granola bars made earlier in the week with the other half of date paste that hadn’t gone into these muffins.

These granola bars have no refined or added sugar—just the pure, earthy goodness of dates. At their most basic, they’re essentially five ingredients–perfect for all you bare-fridge bloggers (i.e. none of you…) AND they taste kind of like brownies. Really grain-chewy, slightly fruity brownies. In the fridge, they condense into fudgy bars that rival my other favorite energy bars and you know that means business.

Boyfriend rating: 7/10

Erik’s comments: “These are perfect with apples. I can’t believe there’s no sugar in these! Make these again!!”