I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been silent for a month and I come to you with rabbit food? Well hear me out, I promise it’ll be worth it. This side of the blogosphere has been dark for the last month, because it’s been a pretty dark time for me. See, my stomach and I are having issues. The issue being that my stomach is an asshole.
We’ve been arguing for years, and in its seething resentment toward me, I’ve found that breads and pastas weigh like a ton in my stomach and the aftermath of eating chocolate is like a dull kick to the vagina. And if my stomach were a man I WOULD FIGHT IT.
After a few years of this nonsense, my stomach and I reached a stalemate and I decided to treat it nicely for a few months so we can come to an understanding. Which means I have a Russian novel of restrictions including no sugar, minimal fat, no caffeine, no dairy, no alcohol, onions, garlic, citrus and oh my god, I’m legitimately crying right now.
But because I’m a thug, I’ve been adapting to my new relationship with food just like Alcoholics Anonymous or people with bad haircuts: one day at a time. I’ve even found a favorite snack to quell my insatiable sweet tooth while my stomach mends: Larabars.
Have you heard of these? These Larabars? They’re gluten, dairy, soy and wheat free and non-GMO, with their primary ingredients being dates and almonds. And at almost $2 a pop in some stores, they aren’t exactly cheap. But I am, so I make my own. Depending upon what brand of ingredients you buy, the below recipe comes out to around $0.65-0.75 per bar. Go get a taco with those savings!
So, come. Follow me and let me teach you my frugal ways.
*You can replace the coconut with other dried fruits or chocolate or various nuts or anything you want! Use this as a starting place for your own date nut bars*
COCONUT DATE BARS
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) Number of servings (yield): 8Ingredients
Instructions
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15 Comments
These look excellent – will try them today!
Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Sara! Let me know how they turn out for you
These turned out excellent. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I’m so glad they worked out for you!
These look great!! I would definitely try them! I’m so sorry about your stomach.
I hope things get better for you soon!
Thanks Julie! I’m OB-SESSED with Larabars and can’t get enough of them. I have to buy them one at a time (or make a batch and hide the rest) otherwise I’ll eat them all in like, an hour. Which is probably why my stomach is upset with me. And if that stomach of mine doesn’t calm down soon, he better prepare himself for fisticuffs!
I thought you said your stomach was a girl
How is the nutritional value on these?
Hey Jason! While I don’t have the specific numbers, I can only go by what the nutritional facts on the back of the actual Larabar package dictate. Since these bars are made without cashews and coconut oil, the fat content is going to be slightly different.
Please remember that these are rough estimates per bar as stated by Larabar:
Calories: 210
Total fat: 10g
Potassium: 340mg
Sodium: 5gm
Cholesterol: 0mg
Total carb: 31g
Protein: 3g
How do you store these buggers/how heat tolerant are these? I’m always looking for a healthy snack to carry with me because I am The Worst about skipping meals/pretending like I won’t be hungry (and then I get ravenous and eat McDonald’s because, oh, that’s healthy). I live in South Florida so it’s a bit of a challenge to find a snack that I can just leave in the car or beach bag or whatevs that isn’t going to turn into a disgusting mess. Comments/suggestions appreciated!
(P.S. Have you tried these with flax seeds? I feel like those would be a delicious addition.)
You can just store them in the fridge! They should keep for at least a week to two weeks, but likely more. I couldn’t tell you for sure, because they would never last that long in my house
You could definitely add flax seeds to them! Or any other ingredient you’d like, honestly. Chocolate chips, dried apples/apricots/other fruits, cashews or peanuts…whatever you want! And it’s guaranteed to turn out awesome every. single. time.
I just made these into balls and put them in the fridge overnight. Cannot wait to share them at my box tomorrow morning at my crossfit box post-WOD!
Oh, I also added a little bit of coconut nectar. They really turned out GREAT. The measurements are perfect. Thanks so much for this!
I’m so glad you liked them! They’re great if you need something sweet and also want to pack in fair amount of healthy calories — especially when attacking a WOD
These are awesome! Made them twice now. One modification I made to this most recent match was to add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder to the mix… OMG! Heavenly!!
Oh MAN. Coconut powder is the best kind of addition! Next time I’m going to add some nibs and see how they turn out. I’m so glad you liked them!