Thursday, January 8, 2009

Kate-style Lara Bar

Hi there, I'm back! Sorry for going so long without an update - I just haven't been making anything blog-worthy of late. After a year as a vegan, I'm finding I have lots of go-to recipes and products that I know I like (and repeat often). I'll try and be a more active blogger, though, as long as I have something worth sharing.

And I think this is *totally* worth sharing - home-made Lara-style bars. This afternoon I found myself craving a cherry-pie Lara bar, but my local grocery store was out of that flavor. I've been wondering for a while about making my own - with such simple ingredients, how hard could it be? Well, not hard at all. I decided to put a twist on mine and use half figs and half dates for the base, since I find the date flavor overwhelming sometimes in the real Lara bars. Plus I love figs.
I threw an equal amount of pitted dates and black mission figs into the food processor and let 'er rip until a big sticky ball formed (this took a few minutes). Then I took about one tablespoon of the base and kneaded in with my hands about two tablespoons of chopped dried cherries and one tablespoon of shredded coconut. Squished it all up and pressed it into a bar shape.

I like it even better than the real thing! Lots cheaper, too.

I put the extra ball of date-fig base in the fridge, can't wait to try out some more combinations.

5 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

DELISH!!

Anonymous said...

I love these kinds of bars--I whip up my own version (I called it a LaRaw bar!) at least every couple of weeks. Now I'll have to try yours out, too!

And re: your comment on my blog, "chia is the new flax." It's got the same health properties of flax seeds, but more--higher in Omega 3's, and higher in protein! I have about a tablespoon in my smoothies and use it now instead of flax for health benefits. It's a bit smaller and absorbs liquid more, with a milder, nutty taste.

Amira said...

Yeah, thanks so much for this post
I live in australia and after seeing all the delish looking larabars on everyone's amazing blogs I have been craving like crazy and now I can totally make my own
Your a genius thanks heaps!!

jessy said...

these are brilliant, Kate! i stopped buying larabars because of all the stupid wrappers that don't biodegrade - never thought of making my own! totally gonna have to try it!

happy new year! it's good to hear from you, too! yay!

Bianca said...

That is so neat! I've wondered about how easy they would be to make, considering each bar only has a few ingredients. And since yours is nut-free, it's probably much lower in fat.