Larabar Taste-a-like

One of my favorite snacks lately has been the lovely Larabar. I was first introduced to the bar while watching The Biggest Loser. They promoted the bars as healthy, gluten free, whole-food snacks that have no artificial sweeteners or additives. The many-flavored bars range in calorie content from about 180-250, so they make a great mid-day snack.

They truly are delicious, but my overarching concern with the bars is that they are sweetened with dates. Granted, the date brings a wonderful sweetness to the bar that compensates for typical sweetness offered by added sugars or honey. The problem that I have with using dates is that they are extremely high on the Glycemic Index (GI). When considering GI values of food, you should strive to eat foods that fall below a value of 50 (below 40 is even better) to keep your blood sugar levels low and balanced. Dates scale at a whopping 103 on the GI chart. This poses a serious dilemma, especially for anyone hoping for a diabetic-friendly snack bar. Dates are the main ingredient in Larabars, so I wanted to see what I could do differently to lessen the GI impact. I decided to keep a few dates for sweetness, but replace the majority of them with dried figs and prunes. Dried figs score at almost half the GI value of dates, coming in at 65. Prunes are even better, having a GI value of just 29. Both offer high fiber content to any recipe, just as dates do.


For variety during my snacking week I wanted to try a few different flavors: Lemon Coconut and Black Forest (chocolate-cherry flavor). All the bars essentially have the same base (dates/figs/prunes and nuts), so experimenting with different flavors was fun to do.

Lemon Coconut Bars
Makes 8 bars (about 220 calories per bar)

Ingredients
•1 cup almonds
•½ cup dates, pitted
•½ cup black mission figs, pitted
•½ cup prunes
•Zest of 1 lemon
•1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
•1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
•Pinch of salt


Directions
1.Line a glass baking 8x8” dish with parchment paper
2.Add ingredients to food processor and process until well mixed (about 2 minutes).


3.Press into baking pan.
4.Chill for at least a couple of hours until firm, then cut into squares or bars.

Black Forest Bars
Makes 6 bars (about 200 calories per bar)

Ingredients
•½ cup dates, pitted
•½ cup black mission figs, pitted
•½ cup prunes
•1 cup almonds
•1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
•1 teaspoon almond extract
•½ teaspoon vanilla
•Pinch of salt

Directions
1.Line a glass baking 8x8” dish with parchment paper
2.Add ingredients to food processor and process until well mixed (about 2 minutes).
3.Press into baking pan.
4.Chill for at least a couple of hours until firm, then cut into squares or bars.


I like to use a pizza cutter to cut these. The bars will keep for up to six days in an air tight container or plastic wrap in the fridge, or several months in the freezer.

I hope you like them.