If you like to hike, ski, run marathons, or otherwise burn calories in the great outdoors, you may have needed to resort to energy bars to keep you going. Nowadays, many people eat energy bars as a mid afternoon snack or to supplement a forgotten lunch box. “Energy” bars can be packed with as much sugar as a candy bar. However, some energy bars face better than others in turns of good fats, low calories and great taste. (It sounds like a beer I am describing, but no, energy bars are not replacements for a Miller Genuine Draft 64!)
One of my favorite energy bars is the LÄRABAR.
Lara Bar Varieties
It is available in about 12 different flavors, from Coconut Cream Pie, Cashew Cookie, Banana Bread, Key Lime Pie, Pistachio, Lemon Bar, Apple Pie, Chocolate Coconut, Ginger Snap, Peanut Butter Cookie to Cherry Pie, Pecan Pie, Cocoa Mole PB&J and the new Tropical Fruit Tart.
What’s So Great About These Bars?
Can bars with dessert names be good for you? From the LÄRABAR website, take a look at the ingredients:
LÄRABAR is a delicious blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices – energy in its purest form. Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains no more than eight ingredients. Pure and simple, just as nature intended.
Quality standards for LÄRABAR ingredients are: All natural, No added sugars or sweetener, Raw, Non-GMO, Non-irradiated, No sulfites, No preservatives, No fillers, No colorings, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free and Vegan (But don’t let that scare you away, they are tasty!)
LÄRABARs are sweet with no added sweeteners. They use no added fillers, supplements or flavorings. All of the vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, good carbohydrates and healthy fats are derived exclusively from the whole, raw food used to make LÄRABAR. Plant-based fats are healthier than animal fats. The fat in LÄRABAR comes primarily from nuts-all plant-based fats containing Omega 3 & 6 essential fatty acids, which have been proven to reduce LDL cholesterol and help protect the heart.
The carbohydrates in LÄRABAR are good carbohydrates, derived from fruit and, ultimately, necessary for the body to function. They also contain fiber and plant phytonutrients that help the immune system. It’s the processed and refined carbohydrates you should avoid-the kind found in white flour, white rice, and added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup, white sugar and grape juice.
Larabars are Uncooked and Unprocessed. The essential enzymes, which are necessary fo
Pecan Pie bars
r the digestion and utilization of nutrients, remain completely intact in their most natural, powerful state. A diet abundant in raw, unprocessed foods is important for health and longevity.
LÄRABAR contains approximately 20 grams of whole-food-source carbohydrates, which are essential to good health. Each bar contains approximately 5 grams of protein.
My favorite bar, Pecan Pie, is simply a combination of pecans, dates and almonds.
JŎCALAT aka Chocolate LÄRABARs
The company also sells chocolate bars. You may say, wait, aren’t chocolate bars candy bars, which are bad for me, high in transfats, sugars and all that unhealthy gook? Well, normally yes. But in this case, no! LÄRABAR has a line of bars, JŎCALAT bars, that are made with cocoa powder, but no added sugar or trans fats.
The chocolate in JŎCALAT, along with the fruit and nuts, contains high concentrations of natural antioxidants, which appear to be helpful in combating disease and aging.
Each JŎCALAT bar contains at least 20% of the recommended daily value of fiber, along with a healthy dose of Omega-6 essential fatty acids, which help keep your heart healthy AND has the added benefit of being under 190 calories. JŎCALAT bars contain 13 essential vitamins and minerals, which decrease stress and increase energy. Resident phytonutrients promote a hea
lthy immune system.
German Chocloate Cake Bar Ingredients
JŎCALAT German Chocolate Cake Bars
A new entry JŎCALAT bar offering, this bar contains Coconut+Pecans+Almonds+Cocoa. And that’s it. Listed out like that, it may not sound like it tastes that good, but try it and see if it gives your taste buds a bit of that German Chocolate Cake taste., without the nasty sugar
drop a real cake usually give you. And without the bad fats and guilt too!
So Where Do I get These Tasty LÄRABARs Already?
Order LÄRABARs directly from their website and have them shipped to you. Click here to order directly.
OR buy LÄRABARs from Whole Foods Markets at about the same price without the shipping costs.
Make Your Own Bars
As a last resort, if you have time and are adventurous, make your own raw fruit and nut bars!
Try this recipe from the Cookie Madness blog
Sort of Like Larabars
Makes about 3 bars or a quarter or a 4×4 inch square which you can form and then cut or punch into shapes.
1 1/2 ounce almonds (about 1/3 cup)
3 ounces pitted dates (about 14, if you don’t have a scale)
Homemade "Lara-like Bars"
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
1 tablespoon prune puree
1 tablespoon quick cooking oats.
Place almonds in food processor and process into crumbs. Pour into a bowl. Place dates in processor
and process as much as possible. Add almond crumbs back into processor and process until well mixed. Add cocoa, prune puree and oats. Process a little more, then dump into a bowl and knead until ingredients stick together. Shape into a rectangle. If it’s too sticky, knead in some more almonds or oats. Slice into about 3 bars or press into a square and cut out cute shapes.
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