Jenny Bars

We love love LOVE LaraBars! I love them because the only ingredients are real fruit and nuts (only 3-5 ingredients depending on the flavor). I also love them because they are convenient to carry in my purse and healthy for the kids. They love them because they taste yummy. I sound like a cereal commercial.

What I don't love is the price tag. They used to sell them at my Costco, but no longer. I was searching online for a way to buy the bars cheaper in bulk and inadvertently stumbled upon a plethora of homemade recipes. I decided to try it.

I used this woman's recipe as my template, but there are many others to choose from. I took pictures of my process, but hers are better, so check out her page.

I bought all of my ingredients in bulk at Whole Foods.

I processed 1 cup of dates with 1 cup of dried cherries and set aside. In another container, I processed 1/2 cup of coconut, 1/2 of raw almonds and a handful of Chia Powder. Then I slowly added the fruit mixture, blending between additions. Be careful, your food processor my overheat like mine did. My template said to add water if needed, but I didn't seem to need it.

Then, I pressed the mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 pan. These bars looked too thin to me, so I repeated the process and pressed the second batch on top of the first. Next, I put the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then cut into bars.

I made another double batch of apricot bars and the put all of them in the freezer.

Last, but not least, add your name!

These are the PERFECT snacks for my family to pack for work, school and errand running without costing a fortune. SUCCESS!!