Lara Bars... ever heard of them? They're so good, mostly because the ingredients are simple and even organic depending on which bar you choose. It's rare to find a sweet treat without added sugar and these hit to spot for our family for several weeks... until we realized we were spending way too much on them. We decided to try our own version for two reasons. Cost and health. After much trial and error (read: Jake spending many hours in the kitchen using different techniques, ingredients and ratios) this recipe came into being. Kuddos to my husband for his patience and persistance. I am not nearly as innovative or ambitious in the kitchen as he is. The end result turned out to be far better than Lara bars. Sorry Lara, whoever you are.
3 cups pitted Dates
1/4-1/2 cup Cocao Nibs
1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
2 heaping TBSP Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
1/4 cup ground up Chia Seeds
1 scoop of chocolate whey protein (optional for an extra protein boost)
Step One...
Mix in food processor for 3-5 minutes until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. When it's done mixing it should be like a very thick dough that can easily be packed into a ball.
1 cups chopped dry roasted almonds or raw almonds (or any other kind of nut you like)
1/4 cup of shredded coconut
Step Two...
Using your hands, knead the dough into the chopped nuts. Spread the coconut shreds on the counter and roll dough out onto the shreds until you reach the desired thickness. Personally, I prefer them pretty thin. Take a knife or pizza roller and cut into bars then put them in the freezer. The fridge works too but we all prefer them from the freezer.
I hope to post photos of the process. The best tip I can give is letting the food processor do it's thing for long enough. If you stop the processing too early you're stuck with a crumbly mess.
*We buy 5lbs of dates at a time, make them all at once and that lasts our family of four about a week.
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