Homemade Larabars (date and nut bars)

 

When we did the SCD Diet, I was thrilled to find that Larabars are legal (allowed). And my son loves them! However, they aren't organic and the nuts aren't activated, and I wanted to raise the vibration by making my own this way. So, I found someone's blog who had figured out many recipes for making all of the yummy flavors of Larabars. However, my son and I didn't really want all of the flavors, we just wanted some nuts, maybe some seeds sometimes and dates. So, here is my recipe for these yummy, nutritious treats:
First of all, it's REALLY EASY to make these!! Trust me, it really is!
All you need is organic medjool dates and any nuts or seeds of your choosing.
It is optional to soak and then dry the nuts in a dehydrator. This takes many hours and you have to plan ahead.
My son likes the nuts ground really fine into a flour, like you see in the picture. I like them chopped into bigger pieces so that I can crunch them when I take a bite.
So, grind the nuts (you don't need many, just a small handful) to the consistency of your liking in a food processor or coffee/nut mill. The ones you see above are made with raw peanuts, cashews and hazelnuts, and the one in the middle has chia seeds added to the mix.
Slice the dates in half and take out the pits. I have made these using a food processor, but I find it much less messy, loud, and much easier to just chop them by hand. I use a sharp serated steak knife and chop them into several small pieces each. Then, I smush the pieces together by hand. Once the dates are smushed together into a ball, put them into a bowl. Then, take about the same size pile of nuts and mix them into the dates with your hands. Work them in thoroughly and then form them into a bar shape. That's it!! It's so easy! I store them in the refrigerator. You can wrap them in plastic wrap to form nice rectangular bar shapes if you want, too. After eating the homemade ones, my son and I don't even like the store bought ones anymore! Enjoy!!
I also made some with organic dried figs and they were delicious! Tasted like fig newtons!
Here's a link to some recipe resources for other flavors: http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/06/18/homemade-larabar-recipes/