Homemade "Lara" Bars

I've recently found myself all too often spending $2+ on Lara bars...as they are really the only healthy snack food you can buy in any close proximity to my work-place. They only have 2 or 3 ingredients, such as cashews, dates, and coconut. I thought to myself over the weekend, "I could easily make 10 of these for the price I'm paying for 1 or 2." And not only was that accomplished, but (if I may brag for a moment), they came out much better! It really is so simple to make our own snack foods, whether they be raw like this recipe, dehydrated (still raw of course, but a bit more time consuming), or something baked, such as homemade granola bars (which can also be made grain or gluten free, depending on your diet/taste/digestive status). My one problem with these is exercising self-control...while they are undoubtedly healthy, they do contain a good amount of sugar (dried fruit), so its important not to go crazy! Check out the recipe:

Homemade "Lara" Bars

Adapted from loveveggiesandyoga.com

Ingredients:

1 cup organic dried fruit (whatever you want, I used dates, currants, and cranberries)

2/3 cup nuts and seeds (again, any kind will work, I used walnuts and almonds because thats what I had around)

Variations:

As with any recipe, you can play around with this! I added cinnamon, a bit of raw cacoa powder, and shredded coconut. Experiment with your favorite spices!

Steps:

Grind nuts/seeds in either a Vitamix or food processor, remove and set aside.

Next, grind dried fruit 

Add ground nut/seed mixture to fruit, and grind together until it forms a paste (also, add whatever other ingredients you'd like at this point)

Last, lay out mixture and form into bars/balls/whatever you want. Wrap individually (or not, although they do stick together a bit), and refrigerate.

Its that simple...Enjoy!