Home made Lara Bars.. PB&J and Cashew Cookie

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A few weeks ago I was perusing recipes over at theleangreenbean.

I saw a recipe for Larabars. I am a huge fan of these bars. The minimal ingredients and lack of preservatives make these optimal healthy on the go bars. I have tried most all of the flavors at my local grocery store and have been surprised by the likeness of what they are supposed to be... Of all the flavors I have tried the only one I have disliked is Banana Bread... I was not a fan. And my favorite is a tie between Peanut butter and Cashew cookie.

So as I checked out Lindsey's blog and a link she had to Enlightened Cooking  I decided I was going to try my hand at these amazing bars.

But as the weeks went by I just kept saying... I am going to make them but I never got around to it. UNTIL NOW!!!!

Brian was working late and my mother asked me if I wanted to go check out BJ's warehouse with her. (Its just like Costco) While we were walking around I came across dates... the main ingredient in most all Larabars. So I finally decided it was time to make these and quickly placed the 600lb bag of dates into the cart (ok I am exaggerating but it is a warehouse store after all).

So here goes nothing....  (you know I had to switch it up a little... hey that's just who I am)

PB&J

1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

 1. Chop dates.

2. Place all fruit into food processor. Process until fruit turns into a paste like consistency. ------------->

3. Transfer to bowl

                                                                                    

 4. Place peanuts into (uncleaned) processor. Process until nuts are nice and small.

5. Dump nuts into the bowl with the fruit "paste". Mix well (use your hands... its ok to get messy in the kitchen).







6. Once it is mixed well place into plastic wrap and shape your bars. This will make 3-4 bars. Once shaped, place the bars into the fridge. Keep them stored in the fridge until you wish to enjoy them.

These bars came out great.. I even got the approval from my mother... who is a very skeptical woman when it comes to healthy cooking.

If you want to try the Cashew cookie Larabars here are those ingredients

Cashew Cookie

 1/2 cup cashews
2/3 cup dates


Follow all the same steps as above.

How much healthier can you get? 2 ingredients... its amazing. I will be trying my hand at blueberry and the cherry pie bars soon. I recently bought both of those dried fruits at the store... Now its just a matter of when I want to clean the processor again HAHA... I love to cook but man I can be lazy.

Ciao and Lara love

Alexis