I love Larabars but after finding out they are on the blacklist, I decided I could probably just make them. The bars only have a few ingredients so I figured they couldn't be that difficult. When I went to the store to pick up ingredients I saw how expensive those medjool dates were and decided it wasn't worth it. I have just been doing without them for the past couple weeks. This past weekend I went to Costco and found the dates there for much less! So, I decided to buy them and give this a try. They turned out awesome! Better than the original I think since I could add whatever I wanted to them. I am calling the flavor below Chocolate Covered Raspberry :)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cacao nibs
1 cup pitted medjool dates
1 cup almonds
3 tablespoons raspberry jam (without added sugar) or 10 raspberries
2 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions:

Blend almonds first in either a Vitamix or a good food processor. Then add the dates one or two at a time. Add other ingredients and blend until almost smooth. Put mixture onto either saran wrap or wax paper (it's super sticky!) that has been placed inside a square or rectangular dish. Press the mixture down in the dish and form the shape of the pan. Put in fridge for about an hour and you are ready to slice it up! I am storing mine in Tupperware.

*This makes approximately 6 bars

*Healthy hint: So much good stuff could be added in here! Flax, different nuts, different berries, coconut, or whatever you think up! You can omit the cacao as well if that is not something you like. My only suggestion is to keep the ratio of dates and nuts 1:1. The first batch I made of these had more dates than nuts and it was too sticky and gooey.

homemade larabars