I have done a couple of Whole30’s. In doing those I have only tried a few Whole30 approved snacks. This is because, in case you haven’t noticed in some of my other posts, I don’t like to spend extra money on things. This is partly to be responsible with the money God has given us to steward and partly because my husband is most assuredly NOT a fan of Whole30 or many of the other “healthy” things I try. He was raised on white bread, Little Debbie snacks and margarine and he loves them! He is also a healthy weight and gets better numbers at his check ups than I do! He is also super frugal and doesn’t want to “waste” money that we don’t have or have to!!

Larabars were one of the Whole30 snacks that I did indulge in. On busy mornings, with getting all of us to school for the day, they were a lifesaver. They are a fairly expensive lifesaver when you are used to buying Little Debbie snacks or Sunbelt granola bars from the discount store in their hometown of Gentry, AR. One other drawback to Larabars for me was that most of them are made with walnuts and at the time I was reacting to walnuts. My mouth would get sore and then it progressed to the back of my throat itching and sometimes swelling a little. Because I had heard from my husband’s aunt who is a nurse that nut allergies can progress, I thought it would be in my best interest to steer clear of walnuts for a while.

So, I looked up homemade Larabar recipes to save myself money and the possibility of anaphylactic shock. The one I keep going back to is by Chocolate Covered Katie. I use this recipe as the base for all the versions of my homemade larabars, which I normally make into bites now. I started doing this because it is just easier to scoop them with my small cookie scoop instead of trying to press them into something and cut them up. I am hopeful that since one of my husband’s other aunts sells Pampered Chef that I may be able to score their Snack Bar Maker Set for Christmas! Then I might make them into bars again. You can click here for that original recipe. Below you can see how I use the main ingredients from her recipe as the base for my recipe(s).

Here is my base recipe:

1 cup nuts

1 1/3 cups dates

That’s it. From there the options are rather endless. I’ll include two versions that I have made below to give you some ideas.

Chocolate:

Add 3-4 tsp. cocoa powder

Yesterday, since I had dates left over after my chocolate one ones I also made Cinnamon Raisin.

Cinnamon Raisin:

Reduce dates to 1 cup and add 1/3 cup raisins (or use all 1 1/3 cup raisins, these are sweeter)

Add 1-3 tsp ground cinnamon

Add a generous sprinkle of ground cloves

Add about 1/4 tsp nutmeg

I also added 3 tsp of peanut butter to make them richer

Directions for all variations:

Place all ingredients in a food processor, various recipes I’ve looked at say you can use a high powered blender, but I’ve only used a food processor. Mix until it is a smooth and slightly clumpy mixture. Scoop the mixture out with a cookie scoop (round more with hands if you prefer) into a ziplock bag or airtight container. Store in the refrigerator. I have also pressed these into cupcake papers in cupcake tins to make a slightly larger serving size and cuter presentation. You could also stir in additional chocolate chips or chunks to the chocolate version and raisins to the cinnamon raisin version if you want to. This last time with the chocolate version, I added a few pieces of my paleo chocolate before I ran the food processor just to make them richer.

I really enjoy these as a healthy fruit based indulgence for myself. I also REALLY love that my girls feel like they’re getting candy and they’re eating fruits and nuts. I was SO thrilled that since I have not been reacting to walnuts lately and my mom has given us several bags of them lately that I was able to make these with walnuts instead of almonds this yesterday. They are so smooth and decadent!! Also, we are all getting a boost in Omega 3 fatty acids which are supposed to be helpful for children with ADHD symptoms. My oldest has no diagnosis, but focus and controlling impulses can be difficult tasks for her. Therefore we value any diet additions we can make that will help her strengthen her focusing and impulse control. We are currently focusing on adding magnesium through Concentrace Essential Mineral Drops and Omega 3’s through diet.

If you try either of these or your own variation, I’d love to hear about it!