homemade lara bars.

i hate to admit what a protein bar junkie i am. or, i should say, what i used to be. in an attempt to add more whole foods into my diet and rid our kitchen of all ingredients i can't pronounce, or are unsure of their origin, i discovered Lara Bars. made only of nuts and fruit, these bars are grain/gluten/and dairy free and are a great source of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

and as much as i love these bars, and their assortment of flavors (chocolate coconut, and banana bread are some faves), i'm not in love with the prices. depending on where you buy them, they can get close to $2 a bar, which is well-beyond our grocery bill budget. after seeing the short list of ingredients (literally...dates, peanuts, cocoa and salt), i thought making my own would be a fun little project, and from what i estimated, cost me a little less than $0.35 a bar with this recipe.

the ingredient options are endless by the way. as long as you have a sticky base (i.e. dried fruits such as dates) to hold them together, you'll be set. these babies are super easy to make and travel well. wrap them up for a nice little snack, and enjoy.

homemade chocolate coconut lara bars.
ingredients
1 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt

directions
place all the ingredients together in a food processor*.

when the ingredients form a paste, they are done.

line a loaf pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan.

freeze for 15 minutes.

remove paper from pan, and cut into individual bars.

*we are currently food processor/blender-less in our house, and haven't bought a new one since we are saving for a Vita-Mix (or am i just dreaming that we are?), so i mixed mine together with our magic bullet. i wouldn't recommend it...it took a lot of time working/mixing/shoving the ingredients together.

xo.