Lauren Hefez

I love Lara Bars, not only because of their sweet goodness, but also because they are made from about 4 ingredients. I thought, if Lara can make these bars… so can I (and so can you!)

For my “Lauren bars” I used:

4 dates

1/2 C figs

1/4 C walnuts

1/4 C almonds

1 tbsp chia seeds

In a blender (I used a mini food processor by Proctor Silex) throw in all the nuts. Make sure not to turn the nuts into a powder. You want to have some chunks in there to add texture to your bar. Set the nuts aside.

Next: Throw the dried fruit into your blender. Blend until they form a paste like this:

I used a vegetable cutting board and laid out my dried fruit paste. I took the chia seeds and added it to the top.

After mixing the chia seeds and paste by hand, I threw in my nuts.

Mix nuts and paste together. I always loved playing with my food. You can make a mohawk if you would like.

Divide mixture into 8 snack balls. Throw the balls in a plastic bag and store in your fridge.

Each ball will contain a little over 100 calories  (~108) and provide you with a sweet  and nutritious filled snack that will give you your afternoon boost, or that pre workout lift. You can get creative with the mixtures and add different dried fruit for the paste, or nuts for the filler. Let me know if you try it, and how it comes out! Did you add something different?

While in Vermont this past weekend my friend Amanda brought her amazing blueberry muffins! They were not too sweet, making them an awesome breakfast or snack.

Amanda’s Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 4 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup soy milk

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin pans.
•  In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, mix the bananas, egg whites, vanilla extract and milk.
•  Mix the banana mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.  Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
•  Bake 16-18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.