Fruit and Nut Bars (Lara Bars)

Our family loves lara bars. But the are costly, especially when all 4 of us want one... almost every day. So we got a food processor (which I could not live without) and make our own. Here are a couple of our raw ball/bar recipes. Honestly, we usually just make-up our own with whatever we have.

Lemon Raw Bars (Taydem's first love)
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine nuts and dates in food processor, process about 2 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and process 1 minute. Press into small bowl/pan and cut or form into balls.

Coconut Cream Raw Balls
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Combine nuts and dates in food processor, process about 2 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and process 1 minute. Roll into balls. Optional: roll to coat in coconut flakes. *we love these frozen

Brownie Balls (emily's favorite)
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tesaspoon coconut oil
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine nuts and date in food processor, process about 2 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and process 1 minute more. Roll into balls. *we love them frozen

Make up your own
1 cup dried (look for unsweetened) fruit (Try: raisins, dates, or figs are best but you could also use apricots, cranberries, pineapple, pappya...)
1-2 cups raw nuts (try any combo: coconut, cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed...)
Spices or flavors: lemon or lime zest, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate powder...