It’s funny – I had essentially no sweets cravings during pregnancy.  (But don’t even ask how many bags of frozen green beans I consumed or how many times I suggested some sort of beef dish for dinner)  But, unfortunately, my sweet tooth came back and I am trying to tame the beast.  I was trying to satisfy my sweet tooth with a piece of fruit after lunch but that really wasn’t cutting it.

After my friend, Megan, posted about her homemade Lärabars I thought they could be the perfect solution.  Lärabars are so yummy and have a very simple list of ingredients:  Dates, nuts, mix-ins, spices.  So last weekend I finally tried out a couple of variations.  These bars can last for about a month in the fridge so I made a couple of types so that Matt could take them for lunch too.

Apple Pie Homemade Lärabar

(adapted from this recipe at Rawified)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup almonds
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 cup dates, pitted
• ½ cup dried apple rings, diced
• ½ cup raisins
• 3 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Combine the nuts and dates in a food processor.  Process for about 2 minutes, or until the ingredients start to form a sticky “dough.”
• Add the cinnamon to the dough and combine for another 30 seconds or until you can see the cinnamon throughout the dough.
• Add the dried apples and raisins and pulse until combined, making sure not to overprocess or liquefy the dough.
• Get six pieces of plastic cling wrap ready
• Divide and shape the dough into six equal sized bars, and wrap in cling wrap.  Store wrapped bars in an airtight container.

I love anything cinnamon so I knew that this would be a hit with me.  Matt likes chocolate so I made a chocolate chip version too.  Same basic directions as above but with these ingredients:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Lärabar Ingredients:

• ½ cup almonds
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 cup dates, pitted
• ¾ cup chocolate chips

And because I had coconut on hand, I made these two as well:

Choco-Coco Lärabar Ingredients:

• 1 cup mixed almonds and walnuts
• 1 cup dates
• 2 Tbsp cacao powder
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Key Lime Pie Lärabar Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup dates
• Juice of 3 Key Limes
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

The verdict?  Matt loved the cookie dough bars and is working his way through the six.  I decided he liked those so well I wouldn’t try them and would leave all for him.  I love the apple pie bars and really liked the choco-coco.  I’m just so-so about the key lime pie.  Despite a good amount of lime juice, the almond flavor was overwhelming.

Do you have a favorite Lärabar flavor?  I’m looking for flavors to try out after this stash is gone.

Hope your Saturday is great so far!  I taught City Spin at City Gym this morning (love those people!) and went to brunch with my favorite boys at You Say Tomato.  We were trying for Succotash but the line was too long and I didn’t think Jack would enjoy a wait very much.

I am sitting down to do a little menu planning before grocery shopping but wanted to first get the awesome veggie burger recipe to you from last weekend’s post.  (I’m sure you’ve been on pins and needles waiting! ha!)

White Bean Sweet Potato Kale Veggie Burger

(adapted from this recipe at Making Thyme for Health)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans white beans (15 ounces each), drained and rinsed
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 1 medium cup onion, diced
• 2 cups kale, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked
• 1 ½ cup oatmeal (I used old fashioned oats but quick oats would probably work fine)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• Lime juice from 3 key limes
• 3 teaspoons Sriracha
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

Directions:

• Dump one drained & rinsed can of white beans in a large bowl
• Next, add the kale, bell pepper, onion and garlic to the beans and stir together.
• Puree the other can of drained and rinsed beans in a food processor until still slightly chunky.  Add to the bowl of other mixed ingredients.
• Then add the cooked sweet potato (removed from the skins), through  salt and pepper to the bowl and combine together.
• Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes (or for as long as it takes to change your baby and get him down for a nap.)
• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Take handfuls of the bean mixture and form burger size patties with your hands. (I got 9.5 burgers out of this recipe)
• Place the patties, one at a time, into the bowl with the breadcrumbs so that the outside of the burgers are slightly coated.
• Place burgers on lined baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes on each side.   Sauté the burgers on the stove with olive oil for about one minute on each side to give them a nice crunchy finish.

This is one of the best veggie burgers I have made to date.  The Sriracha gave a welcome kick that will make even the biggest meat eaters appreciate them.  I had enough for a weekend lunch, my lunch throughout the week, and froze the remaining burgers in two packs (fully cooked to microwave later) to have for an easy lunch or dinner in a busy week…and aren’t they all busy weeks?

Even though this is a quick iPhone picture, aren’t the colors beautiful?  Enjoy!