Homemade Energy Bars

Have you ever been hungry between meals and settled for an energy bar?  I do this quite often and my weakness is... Lara Bars!  I am officially addicted to these yummy little bars that are all natural, but cost anywhere between $2 and $3 per bar depending where you buy them.  These energy bars are very tasty and I cannot live without them.  After reading the list of ingredients (only 4-9 depending on which bar), my only thought was that I could easily recreate the taste for much less. 

So, I did some research and found some recipes for energy bars online.  I decided to choose my own ingredients but stick to the suggested ratios.  You can adjust the ingredients as you like:

1/4 cup of any raw nuts or seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts...)
1/4 cup of dates or prunes
1/4 cup of any dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, blueberries, apple, apricot...)
pinch of cinnamon

If you follow the ratio of fruit to nut, 2:1, you will always get the perfect bar!  My first batch consisted of almonds, prunes and raisins.  I call it the Bri Bar :)

I started with the almonds and the cinnamon.  I ground them finely in my little food processor.

Then, I added the prunes and raisins. 

I mixed it up until it was a big sticky mixture.

I split the mixture and made 2 little mounds on some wax paper.  I folded the wax paper lengthwise and formed the mix into bar shapes.

They look and taste exactly like Lara Bars! 

I keep my Bri Bars in the fridge in an airtight container to keep them fresh. I take one to work with me everyday.  They are way better than Lara Bars because I made them myself with fresh ingredients, in a clean kitchen and they are so affordable.  I have since made a cranberry bar  and I plan to make a peanut butter bar flavour next.  You can experiment with your own favourite dried fruits and nuts and create your own energy bars - enjoy!