Homemade Larabars

I discovered and fell in love with Larabars almost exactly a year ago while in Denver, Colorado, but they're so expensive (around $1.30 each!) that they are more of a treat rather than a go-to-snack. Their only ingredients are dried fruit and nuts, so they're super healthy and filling. I found recipes online a while ago to make them yourself and save a bit of cash while still enjoying a favorite snack, but a food processor is the key to the recipe. Since I didn't have a food processor, I was unable to make them.

Cut to me moving in with my Aunt in Chicago & her having a brand new food processor! Needless to say, I couldn't wait to try out making my own Larabars. My favorite flavor is Apple Pie, but I chose to start with the Banana Bread flavor because they seemed easiest to make. The only needed ingredients are dates, bananas & almonds!

I tried to buy dates at Trader Joe's after work on Wednesday, but was sad to find out that they didn't have any. Thankfully, not only do I now live close to Trader Joe's but also to Whole Foods (I still can't get over the fact that I can walk to Whole Foods!), so I was able to run there for some dates. There were 2 types to choose from, so I chose the cheaper one hoping it wouldn't matter. I ate one when I got home to try them out and became a bit worried because it tasted much different than I thought it would and a lot less juicy. I decided to put my nerves about the dates aside, however, and jump in to the recipe yesterday.

Oh She Glows is one of my favorite food blogs to read, and her recipes always look delicious, so I decided to use her Homemade Larabar recipe. It was obvious that it couldn't be too difficult considering there was a total of 3 ingredients involved. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to use the food processor since I had never used one before. I decided tested it out in the morning by chopping some almonds. After a few minutes of flops thanks to a safety feature I didn't realize where you have to have all parts of the processor perfectly in place in order for it to work, I finally figured it out. I happy to finally get it to work but was shocked at how loud it was! I literally jumped and screamed a bit...thankfully I was by myself so no one witnessed my freakout.

After mastering the food processor, I think making these bars literally took about 20 minutes. It probably would have taken even less time if I wasn't such a perfectionist about forming them in to perfect little rectangles. 

Here's a brief overview of the recipe, but check out the recipe link for ingredient proportions & more details!

1. Dehydrate the bananas in the oven 

2. Process the dates

3. Process the almonds & add to the dates

4. Form bars & refrigerate

I made them smaller than original Larabars because I wanted to be able to eat them before yoga or other workouts without being weighed down. This morning, I ate one before yoga (my first real class at the studio I joined!), and it was both the perfect pre-workout snack and sooooo delicious! It tasted exactly like the original but for a fraction of the cost! I'm so thankful for this recipe and excited to be able to have this favorite snack more often :) 

Yum!