RunSingTeach

I have an addiction to buying nutrition bars. It is a complete waste of money as I often buy them and never eat them.(I am drawn to the pretty packaging and the colors!) I buy Raw Revolution, Clif, ProBars, lots of other nerdy green things, and of course, Larabars. I am not particularly into the raw lifestyle but when I was first exploring new diets several years ago and cut out gluten for a while, I tried these. Yum, who wouldn’t like a bar that tastes like chocolate peanut butter cookie or pecan pie?

However, the expense was crazy and so once again inspired by Chef Katelyn and by reading the packaging of this lovely yummy product, I decided to take a hand at creating my own. There will be no picture on this first round of recipe trying because they aren’t blog pretty worthy, but they turned out pretty tasty and I am also able to make them smaller than a typical LB. I often feel full before I finish a typical bar, so I appreciate this portion control.

Here is what I used and how I did it:

Sarah’s Choco-Cranberry Bars

• 2 cups of pitted dates
• 1 cup of cashews
• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks
• 2 tbsp of chia seeds
• 2 tbsp of flax seeds
• 1 tsp of cinnamon

1.  Pulverize the cashews into small bits in the mini-prep. Remove and do the same thing with dates. (I had to do multiple batches of dates)

2. Combine in a large bowl with hands. Add extra chopped dates if needed for “stickiness”

3.  Add seeds to the mixture (these are optional but add texture and nutrition)

4.  Add “extras” to the mixture (these are what give them their “flavor”

5. Spread out on a flat sheet and flatten to even texture, desired thickness. Cut into evenly distributed pieces.

6. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. EAT!