As I was training for my half-marathons, I discovered Larabars as a great source of clean energy. They have just 3-5 ingredients, and are made with a base of ground dates and some kind of nut. I was a huge fan of the peanut butter cookie and lemon flavors, but not so much a fan of paying $1.19 per bar.

I was pretty sure that a snack with only 3-5 ingredients could be pretty easily replicated, and I was right! Fortunately, a quick Google search revealed a treasure trove of blogs that posted recipes.

So far, I’ve made lemon-coconut, chocolate, and chocolate-peanut butter larabars. The nuts can be switched out with whatever you have on hand. Just toss all ingredients in a food processor and whirl away! I patted them out onto a piece of parchment paper, cut, and placed in a container in the fridge.

Lemon-Coconut Larabars

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 1/2 cups pitted semi-soft dates
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Zest of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1 cup dried shredded coconut

Chocolate Larabars

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3-4 T cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Larabars (same as above, just add 1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter)

No added sugar whatsoever, but the dates lend a very nice sweetness. (I found them near the raisins in Meijer.) These bars are PERFECT for satisfying a chocolate craving or sweet tooth with something that is actually good for you. You can also roll them into balls to make more of a bite-sized truffle.