Whole30 Snacks: Homemade Larabars

Snacks for Whole30 are essential to ensuring you don't get the munchies for sweets and unhealthy foods. I find it best to never run out of snacks or that's when I have issues. Here's a list of some of my favorite snacks.

• Cashews
• Raisins
• Homemade Larabars
• Homemade kale chips
• Homemade apple chips
• Banana
• Apple slices with almond butter
• Roasted pumpkin seeds

I usually make a couple batches of dried fruit each week with my dehydrator. If you don't have one of those you can use your oven at the lowest temperature possible. What I did notice when using the oven for kale chips was that they kale chips lost their crunchy texture after a few hours out of the oven. With the dehydrator that isn't a problem. Do make sure to put anything you dehydrate into a sealed container as soon as it cools to prevent sogginess. 

I'm not sure where I've been and not knowing larabars existed until last year. They changed my snacking for the best though. Before I was gluten intolerant I would eat Special K bars for snacks because they were "healthy." I now know that couldn't be further from the truth. What's great about larabars is that they usually contain only 3 ingredients. Here's the basic recipe to start with and then some of my favorite combinations. 

Homemade Larabars
Yields: 8 bars or 25-30 balls

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup nuts, single variety or mixed

1 cup dried fruit

1. Measure 1 cup of dates and soak in warm water if tough. 

2. Measure nuts and dried fruit. Dump into food processor.

3. Drain dates then add to food processor.

4. Turn on food processor but make sure to hold it down. Turn off when you get a blended texture, usually when it starts to clump together. If after 30 seconds nothing is happening, add 1 tablespoon of water to help bind.

5. For bars, dump mixture into a wax paper lined loaf pan. Smash down with another loaf pan to compress. 

6. For balls, roll into 1 inch size balls between hands. Make sure you are rolling them so they compress and aren't loose.

I store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 months but they can be outside of the fridge and don't go bad. Here are some of my favorite combinations. 

Apple Pie

1 cup dates

1 cup almonds and pecans

1 cup dried apples

2 TBLS cinnamon

Blueberry Muffin

1 cup dates

1 cup cashews

1 cup dried blueberries

1 TBLS lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Chocolate Banana

1 cup dates

1 cup pecans

1 cup dried banana

1 TBLS cocoa powder

Key lime Pie

1 cup dates

1 cup almonds and cashews

1 cup shredded coconut

juice of 1 lime

zest of 1 lime

Peanut Butter & Jelly** Not Whole30 due to peanuts

1 cup dates

1 cup peanuts

1 cup dried berries (marionberries, blackberries, raspberries)

Tropical

1 cup dates

1 cup cashews

1/4 cup dried pineapple

3/4 cup dried apricots

2 TBLS shredded coconut

1 TBLS lemon juice

zest from 1 lemon