Homemade Laräbar: Peanut Butter Cookie

//this post has been moved to the new blog! //

After reading about Laräbars on various food blogs I went and bought one about a month ago. The cringe worth $2 price tag for the little tiny bar was worth it, and I was especially excited to see ingredients list! (Or lack there of!) I tried the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor, which only has Dates, Peanuts and Salt. I had seen a few Larabar recipes on some of my favorite healthy food blogs, like Chocolate Covered Katie, and set out to make some for myself. I am going on vacation in just over a week, and have been making healthy snacks for the trip.

I kept it super simple and stuck with the original ingredients: Dates and Peanuts! My mom ordered Date Paste from our co-op, which is perfect for this because it’s already ground up. If you don’t have date paste, just use the same weight of regular dates. I did a 1:1 weight ratio of dates to peanuts, and didn’t add any salt, because: a) It didn’t taste like it needed salt, the peanuts were already a little salty, and b) I forgot to!

Homemade Laräbar: Peanut Butter Cookie 

• 11 oz Salted Peanuts
• 11 oz Date Paste

The measurements are irrelevant as long as you have a weight ratio of 1:1. Process the paste and peanuts in your food processor until they are the consistency of coarse sand. Line a shallow pan with tin foil and firmly press the dough into it. Refrigerate until firm, then cut into bars with a sharp knife. Wrap them in foil and store in the fridge or freezer.

Yield: 14 (~1.5) ounce bars with the pan I used, I had enough dough left on the edges to make #15 but that was a taste-test =)

Date Paste.

Peanuts.

Not fine enough yet…

Perfect!

Press dough into a foil-lined pan.

Smooth top and fold foil over, refrigerate until firm.

Wrap them in foil.

Creative labeling. Oh yes.

A Week of Unordinary Breakfasts: Monday

Hey folks! I am reposting a series of posts I did last year on another blog that I don’t use anymore. It was called “A Week of Unordinary Breakfasts”. I decided to make something a little unusual each morning for one week to break up the morning yogurt routine =) Enjoy the photos and some tasty recipes! 

Monday Raw Vegan Flaxseed “Oatmeal”
Tuesday Mango and Banana Pancakes
Wednesday Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce
Thursday Huevos Rancheros
Friday Quinoa Cereal with Pomegranate
Saturday Egg and Avocado Wrap
Sunday Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ok the weekend is over. Monday. I have this distain for Mondays, but today has been ideal so far =) Got up at 7:15 (Thank you time change, I could actually see what I was doing!) and went to Curves. Came back and had Raw Flaxseed Oatmeal for breakfast. Weird, I know. I was sceptic myself. It was actually pretty good, I’d make it again. Lots of good-for-youness in this little cereal. I found the recipe on Food Gawker, my latest obsession. Original recipe here. Super easyness.

So unordinary breakfast #1 is:

Raw Flaxseed Oatmeal {Vegan}

Soak 1.5 TB freshly ground flax in water overnight.
Puree with 1/2 Banana in the morning.
I topped mine with a few tablespoons of walnuts, raisins, dried cherries and fresh mango. I’d like to try it with coconut and mango….  Oh, you eat it cold. I have to reread the original recipe twice to figure that out. I’m used to hot breakfast cereals. Pretty simple and pretty tasty. Not incredibly filling, but with some more nuts and a little peanut butter…. I think yes!

Chia Seed Breakfast

One of the things that was carefully packed into my 22.999 kilo suitcase was a little bag of black chia seeds. They are very unassuming and tiny, speckled brown and black. I had read about them in various blogs, including one of my favorites Kath Eats. Chia is high in protein, rich in calcium, and contains a large amount of Omega-3 fatty acids and other unsaturated oils that help your body absorb vitamins. There is a great article, The Magic of the Chia Seed, that goes into depth and is great if you are interested! I now have my mom hooked on them, and she found them in her co-op by the pound. =)

One way to incorporate these seeds into your diet is with a simple Chia Seed Cereal. 

1/2 Milk
1 TB Chia Seed

Leave overnight in the fridge, and it’s ready in the morning. Great with granola, flax, dried fruits and nuts.

The Chia Seeds expand when in contact with liquid, and form a gelatin-type shell around the exteritor, almost like tapicoa. I have heard you can use them as a thickener for savory sauces as well. When I was in Mexico I first had them in lemonade.

{after one night in the fridge}

{in the morning, with a thicker consistency}

{topped with freshly ground flax, pecan meal and almonds}