I have been embracing the vegan lifestyle and I love it! Years ago I remember reading a magazine and the article was talking about new "energy bars" that were healthy and less calories than those power bars. They had amazing flavors like cookie dough and peanut butter cookie, you know, healthy. I stocked up on them because they were so good. Then I started to notice that on the days that I would eat one, I felt something was not right, (it took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I didn't want to stop eating these bars!!!). My throat would start to swell up! It got so itchy and irritated that I thought that I was going to have to go to the ER! I do not have any food allergies, but obviously something in these bars thought otherwise! So, no more delicious, guiltless energy bars for me.
That was a few years ago, since I knew that the bars were vegan I thought maybe I should give it another try. After all, I wasn't 100% sure the bars were creating a reaction (only 99.999%). And, hey, what else do I have to do, right?
While I was shopping that week I decided to go over to the power bar section of the store and look for the bars. There they were:
Luna Bars. So good! Just as I was about to grab a few to take home with me, I looked over to the box just to the left. There they were! I forgot these bars existed:
LARA BARS!
This is exactly what I wanted. These bars are SO good and they have an ingredient list shorter than my attention span. Dates. Dried Cherries. Almonds (or cashews). That's it. It depends on the flavor (some are better than others), but some contain other dried fruits and different nuts. Simplicity at it's finest. Lara Bars got it right. Fiber and protein all mashed into a bar that tastes like dessert!
The only thing stopping me from filling my cart with a months supply was the price tag. On sale these little bars cost $1.25 each. That is not bad if you want to get one here and there, but I want these ALL THE TIME! So, I bought a couple to hold me over until I could devise a cheap alternative. Even though the ingredient list was short, I wondered how they got perfection in a bar. Thank goodness for Google! A short internet search pulled up a plethora of homemade Lara Bar recipes! Yeah!
It took me longer to pull the food processor out of the pantry then it did to make these things! I took 3 boxes of dates (the .98 cent boxes), half of a small container of cashews, and a couple of handfuls of dried cherries (I don't do measurements!!). A little bit of vanilla (the recipe called for sea salt, but I forgot to put it in) and I processed the mixture until it wouldn't process anymore! I put it in a baking dish to rest in the fridge for a few minutes until I could cut them into bars. The final result was AMAZING! Soooo good. I wanted Mason to try one, but I just knew by the mood he was in (can you say...grouchy?) that even if he did like it, he wouldn't have admitted it. I could have given him a stack of Oreo's and he would have said he hated them (ahhh, pre-teen boys!), but I gave it a shot anyway. I was right. He was being difficult! I "think" he did actually like it because he didn't run to the sink in a dramatic fashion to spit it out, so I call it a success. And, if anyone needs more fiber in their life, it's Mason! I figured out the total cost, I got 8 bars out of this recipe for a total of .74 cents per bar! That sounds much better than $1.25 per bar, it's almost half the cost! The calorie content is about the same. Lara Bars have about 190 calories per bar, mine were about 205. This is not a light snack, but all the fiber and protein makes for a very filling snack. I can cut them in half, too, for a quick 100 calorie snack! Yum!
So, the moral of the story is Lara, not Luna!
Try 'em, I bet you will love them!!
