Homemade Lara Bars

Have you ever been on Pinterest?

I kept hearing about it, so a few weeks ago I created an account. Or rather, I applied to have an account, and a day or two later they accepted my application. Then I was allowed to create my virtual pinboard. It was all very virtually snobby. What were they checking on? Certainly not my fashion sense or eclectic taste in home decor...I'd have failed that miserably.

Pinterest is a collection of people's online "pins" -- things they saw online and wanted to keep. But instead of printing it out, they put it on their Pinterest pinboard. It's good for the trees, you know.

I have friends who are raging lunatics about Pinterest and consult it for everything. And I also have friends who are completely bewildered by the whole site and are not sure what to make of it. I belong firmly in the second camp.

Am I supposed to search the Internet, and then post it to Pinterest?

Am I supposed to search Pinterest, and then post it to my own Pinterest pinboard?

Is there any way to find that one picture I spotted a minute ago, but then I clicked on something else that caught my eye, but when I went back to find the first thing it was gone, gone, gone, never to be seen again?

Anyway.

I was on Pinterest and found this cool recipe for homemade Lara Bars. You know the ones...the terribly expensive energy bars that all the hippie/hipsters are eating nowadays. At least that's the impression I get.

What I like about Lara Bars is that they usually have three to four pronounceable (read: whole food) ingredients.

Camilla over at EnlightenedCooking.com has a ton of variations you can try, but I made the Very Cherry Bars with dried cranberries and almonds.

I had never dealt with dates before, and when I opened the package I was a little disgusted...they look like jellied cockroaches. But they taste quite good! I put all the ingredients (one a time) into my mini food processor, dumped them in a bowl, and then mashed them together with my hands. No cooking required! Just form them into bars, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

These are surprisingly filling and tasty. Can't wait to try the other variations.

Very Cherry Bars (use as a template for almost any combination)

1/4 cup chopped dates (roughly chopped whole fresh dates - if you can only find pre-chopped dates, soak them in warm water for a minute or two to soften them up)
1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Yum!

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P90X One on One, Vol. 1: Fountain of Youth Yoga