Winning at Tech Week: Part Two

When tech week gets really dire, I have been known to live off of giant cups of coffee the size of my head, protein bars I picked up at CVS and whatever booze I can find in my house at midnight or whenever I get home.  The only whole foods I digest on those days can sometimes be the ingredients of  one or two LARABARS.* Compared to the other "nutritional" bars out there, these only contain fruits, nuts and spices, nothing scientific sounding at all. But at $1.79 before tax, one or two of these tiny bundles of nutrition can add up to empty pockets.

*It was important to note that my computer doesn't recognize the term "LARABAR" and wanted me to replace it with "Barabbas."

Also. When are people coming over to my house to watch Billy Zane in this movie?  Easter, 2015? Great. Thanks.

Recipes #41 and #42: Ripped Off Gingersnap LARABAR 
and Ripped off Apple Pie LARABAR

Choice of libation:

I know. Bourbon purists are probably upset with me right now, mixing a very good bourbon with anything.  But a Good Earth Tea hot toddy with Bulleit Bourbon is not a sin. I promise.

Choice of music:

I am ashamed of how long it took me to find this album. If you are a fan of Nina Simone, if you are a fan of Meshell Ndegeocello, IF YOU HAVE ANY GOOD SENSE OR TASTE AT ALL, listen to this immediately.  Also cool people like Lizz Wright, Valarie June and Sinead O Connor are featured.  And Meshell's cover of Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood is EVERYTHING.

What I want you to understand about this recipe is IT IS SO FRIGGIN EASY.  The hardest part was grating fresh ginger while slightly inebriated.  

Mmm. Cloves.  

50 seconds of pulsing in the food processor, and you're basically done.

You can't eat them RIGHT away, they have to set in the fridge for at least an hour.

But look! My very own gingersnap fake LARABAR!

But one is not enough! I wanted to make an apple pie one too!

Dump stuff in a food processor! Pulse for 60 seconds! Set in fridge!

Snacks for a week!  Seriously, this is so simple. And aside from the stupid food processor clean up, really cost efficient and delicious. I can't imagine not making this all the time. I think next time I will try dried cherries and dates with dark chocolate and pecans. Nom nom nom. Happy whole food grazing!

stolen and adapted from budget101.com

Ginger Snap LARABAR

1 cup mixed almonds and pecans

1 cup dates

2 tbsp fresh ginger

1 tbsp mixed cinnamon and cloves

Apple Pie LARABAR

1 cup mixed almonds and pecans

1 cup dates

1 cup mixed raisins and dried apple

2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp grated ginger

1. Dump everything in food processor

2. Pulse for about a minute

3. Line a loaf plan with saran wrap and pour mix in

4. Press the mixture firmly into the pan's form and cover with the saran wrap for about an hour (or overnight)

5. Cut it into about 6 pieces.  They freeze well too!