In our quest to eat only the types of foods we believe will improve our overall wellness, my wife and I have found it particularly difficult to handle snacking. Many will say that if you are eating meals properly, there should be no need for snacking.

From a nutritional standpoint, I’m completely on board with that statement. But I also like to eat. And sometimes, I’m in a hurry.

I need snacks.

So we started out buying some snacks that we felt were reasonably healthy and conformed to our nutrition goals. We have really enjoyed LÄRABARs. They are relatively tasty (considering what you’re eating) and they’re made out of only things that Carly and I want to eat.

The only problem is that they’re stupid expensive. We believe that nutrition is so important that you should be willing to spend money on it. But there’s no reason to spend more money than is necessary. So we decided to see if we could create the LÄRABAR experience with our own ingredients.

It turned out to be incredibly simple. Below is the recipe (if you can call it that) and a picture of what I made. Carly has also tried making them into little balls, which is a bit easier. These take 15 minutes to make a batch of, and are delicious and healthy!

Ingredients

[Anything with a link is an affiliate link to Amazon for a product I like.]

In the case of my last batch, I used a cup and a half of each.

• Equal parts:
  • Pitted dates
  • Cashews
• 2-3 Tbps warm water, depending on batch size
• Himalayan salt

Recipe

1. Using a food processor, pulse cashews into small pieces. [Note: consistency is important. You’re looking for small pieces, NOT powder/nut flour.] Set aside.
2. Put dates in food processor and pulse dates into a paste.
3. Fold date paste, cashew pieces, a large pinch of salt, and 2 Tbps warm water in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
4. Add an additional bit of water if mixture is powdery or not sticking together
5. Spread mixture out about 1/2″ thick on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper
6. Sprinkle a few pinches of sea salt over the top of the sheet
7. Place in refrigerator and let chill for 1 hour. This is just to make cutting individual bars easier. If rolling into balls, there’s no need to refrigerate first.
8. Remove the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Cut out bar-shaped pieces.
9. Store in refrigerator until ready to consume.

Below is a picture of the last batch of bars I made. We keep these in the refrigerator, although I’m not sure you would have to. These make a great, filling snack, and are full of the healthy fats that we want to be eating.