Homemade Larabars (Paleo, Gluten Free)

It's the new year and part of my resolution was to hit the gym harder and do more yoga. I needed a quick pick me up between the office and the gym. So, I made a batch of homemade Larabars to stash in my bag to munch on pre-work out.

These bars have the perfect amount of sweetness and sustenance to get you through an afterwork gym session. And, with nuts, dates, dried fruit and a few spices you can't get more healthy than that!
I made two different kinds of homemade Larabars, Mocha Chip for my afternoon pick-me-up and Gingerbread Spice for my morning workouts! I found that the bars magically disappeared from my house and my desk, which means other people loved them too!

Gingerbread Spice Larabars

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates
½ cup almonds
¼ cup crystallized ginger
¼ cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger powder
½ teaspoon allspice (ground)
½ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
¼ teaspoon clove (ground)

Directions

Put all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
Pulse for 2-3 minutes until is forms a paste.
Scrape the bowl onto a large piece of parchment and form into a square about ½" thick.
Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to harden.
Cut into 8-10 bar sized pieces and wrap in wax paper.
Store in the refrigerator.

Mocha Chip Larabars

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates
½ cup hazelnuts
¼ cup dark chocolate chips (70% dark)
2 tablespoon instant espresso (divided)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Soak 1 cup of pitted dates in 1 tablespoon of instant espresso and ¼ cup of warm water for 15 minutes.
Drain the soaking dates and put in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
Add the nuts, dark chocolate, remaining espresso and vanilla extract.
Pulse for 2-3 minutes until a paste forms.
Turn out onto a large piece of parchment paper. Mold into a square about ½" thick and wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cut into 8-10 bars and wrap. Store in the refrigerator.

And there you have it! Beautiful, delicious snacks that are gluten free, dairy free, paleo and down right addicting! You can make any flavor combinations you want, just maintain the ratio of dates to nuts to add-ins. A word of caution, make sure if you bring them to work you keep a secret stash or yours will start to "magically" disappear too!