Pumpkin Pie "Lara" Bars

I was talking to a couple of friends today and we started talking about food. Recently I switched to eating a more paleo-esque lifestyle and so had one of the friends I was talking to and she mentioned homemade Lara Bars and I had to try it out.

Now some people may not know what Lara Bars are but they are a type of energy bar that has minimal ingredients in it. They are quite delicious but too expensive eat everyday. I started hunting down recipes online to see what I could find and I found one of my favorite websites (I also have two of her cookbooks) and I tweaked her recipe to what I had on hand.

 They turned out delish. They were super simple and actually quite fun to make. Even the kids got to help mix up the date/nut mixture. I am excited to try out different recipes but this one is definitely delicious.

 

Pumpkin Pie Lara Bars

*adapted from Everyday Paleo

 

3/4  cup Raw Almonds

1/2 cup Roasted Cashews

1/4  cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

10 Medjool dates

20 Dried Prunes

Coconut Oil

In a food processor, pulse only the nuts, the sea salt, and the pumpkin pie spice until finely chopped but still chunky. Some will be ground up almost like almond meal but they will not all be consistent, and that’s totally ok. Pour those nuts into a large mixing bowl.

Add the dried dates and prunes to the food processor and process until it makes a paste. I started out with pulses and then left it on for a minute. The prunes were harder to get in to a paste but be patient.

Add the date/prune mixture to the nuts and use your hands to kneed the nuts and the dates together until well mixed. this got my hands super sticky but the kids loved helping with this part. 

Grease a  coconut oil and make a big ball out of your bar mixture and push it down onto your greased baking sheet. Press down until you get it the thickness you like. I did about 1/2". Or you could cover it with some plastic wrap and using a rolling pin, roll out the mixture to your desired thickness.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to harden it back up. Cut the rolled out mixture in to the size bars you want. I did some larger squares for the adults and smaller ones for the kids. Throw them in to a container and keep them in the fridge. Take out whenever you need a quick snack.

Egg and Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes

People always ask what I eat or what diet I'm on and I pretty much dabble in everything. Sometimes my meals are paleo and sometimes they are low carb. Other times they are rich pastas or delicious desserts. I'm a big fan of moderation. I've been trying to do a little more Paleo in the morning because we all eat different things at this house for breakfast so I can experiment a bit more.

I was pretty excited when I stumbled on to this recipe. Paleo and breakfast. Score!

At Crossfit my trainer told me about this breakfast they made where they cracked eggs into a tomato, baked them, and ate them. It sound very interesting and easy so I went on a search for temperatures and recipes.

I love pesto so of course this seemed like the obvious choice to try. I made these the next morning and they were awesome. Definitely not something I would make for the whole family since I am the only tomato lover in my house but definitely a me breakfast. I've made them a few times since and each time is better.

You should try these.

Egg and pesto stuffed tomatoes
adapted from Paleo Diet Lifestyle
2 large tomatoes
2 eggs
1 Tbs. pesto

Preheat oven to 400. Remove core and seeds from tomato. If it doesn't have a flat bottom slice a little off the bottom so that it sits upright. Place tomatoes in an 8x8 pan. Add pesto to tomato shell and crack one egg on top off pesto. Be careful to not break the yolk. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Bake 18-21 minutes. Remove from oven and Enjoy.

Pesto
*This recipe will make more than necessary but I just put it in the fridge or freeze it and use whenever.

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
2-3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Add basil, cheese, lemon juice, nuts, and garlic in to a food processor and pulse until combined. With motor running slowly drizzle olive oil in to food processor. Add salt and pepper.