Let’s be honest, giving nutritionally balanced snacks that are satisfying and filling can be tough. With so many high sugar and salt filled foods on the market, it’s hard to navigate what’s actually good and what’s crap. Trust me, just because it says “all natural,” “organic” or has bunny rabbits and Elmo all over it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be good for your little one.
That’s one of the reasons I love Lara Bars. If I had my way, everyone would make their own protein bars, but sometimes that’s not possible. There are tons of bar companies on the market, but most of them are full of sugar and words that I can’t even pronounce.
Lara bars come in delicious flavors like lemon, apple and cherry pie and my favorite, banana bread. The base ingredients are nuts and dates and most of them only have 3-4 ingredients. You can now buy them at almost every grocery and health food store. When you’re rushing in the morning or want to keep something healthy for you or your child in your bag, this is a perfect treat.

Several years ago I went through a major “bar phase”. No, I wasn’t getting 
smashed all over town, I was consuming Luna, Lara and other similar types of 
protein bars at a rapid rate. It became such an obsession that two of my girlfriends and I actually set out to form our own bar company — just imagine getting to cook one of your 
favorite foods all day, every day. We had a name, a mission statement, and developed recipes for every flavor of bar under the sun and 
they were delicious (I think). But unlike the majority of bars on the market that 
are jam packed with additives and sugar, our goal was to make something 
completely organic, packed with protein, devoid of sugar, and full of flavor. The bigger goal was to do all this using as few ingredients per bar as 
possible. The bar business became a casualty of our busy lives, but I still produce them for my friends and family.
Which got me thinking. Breakfast can be a real challenge when you’re trying to get your 
entire family out the door and sending your little one to school with 
a healthy snack can be just as hard. This bar recipe is a treat that everyone 
(over the age on 1 and no history of nut allergies) in the family will love and since the recipe makes 16 bars and they stay fresh for weeks. Your set!

Protein Bars (Makes 16 Bars)
1 Cup Cashews, raw and unsalted
1 Cup Almonds, raw and unsalted
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 1/4 Cup Dates (about 20)
3/4 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Agave

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees (or put your oven on it’s lowest setting and adjust the cooking time).
2. Place the nuts in a bowl and cover with COOL water and soak for 1 hour.
3. Cover the dates with HOT water and soak for 30 minutes. After soaking, drain off the water and pit the dates.
4. Place the oats in a food processor and grind to a powder. Place in a separate large bowl.
5. Drain the water off the nuts, place on a towel to remove excess water. Place the nuts in a food processor with the dried cranberries and pulse until nuts are in small pieces (the nuts will be uneven pieces which is fine. Just make sure they are all chopped.
6. Place the nuts in the bowl with the oats.
7. Place the dates, vanilla and agave in food processor and pulse until it makes a puree.
8. Place the date mixture with the oat mixture and thoroughly combine all the ingredients (mixture will be thick and sticky).
9. Place the date nut mixture on a silpat on a cookie sheet. Spread out using a spatula or even your hands.
10. Shape into a long log resembling a long rectangle. Make sure the rectangle is flat and even.
11. Bake for 5 hours or until the log is firm, but not hard (If the lowest setting on your oven is 200 degrees, cook for 4 hours).
12. Cool, cut into bars and wrap individually.