Homemade "Lara Bars"

Lately, I have been trying really hard to feed my family as "cleanly" as possible.  I have been calling clean, 5 ingredients or less unless I made it all myself.

We love to eat Lara Bars because they have only a few ingredients and they are all things I can pronounce. However, they can get costly.

A few weeks ago, S came across a recipe on a website he visits frequently, UltraRunnerPodcast.com. He asked me if I thought I could make it sometime. The recipe was called "Coconut Date Bars"  They contain ingredients that are commonly found in the Lara Bars we love.

I changed it up from being bars, to balls that are easy to grab and pop in your mouth when you need a quick, healthy, sweet snack

2 c pitted dates
3/4 c raw cacao powder
1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 T honey
1 t sea salt- I didn't measure, I just did a few grinds of pink Himalayan sea salt.
2 T water.

Process dates, cacao powder, 3/4c coconut, honey, salt and water in a food processor until smooth. Form into bite size balls and roll in remaining 1/4 c coconut. Refrigerate until firm.

Get a load of these bite sized beauties!

I think they are the perfect combination of sweet and salty and even S, who doesn't like coconut thinks these are great!
 

Squash Soup

AKA: Baby Food Soup!

A cold, snowy, wet February Sunday calls for warm, delicious soup.

The basis of this recipe came from one of my favorite people to swap recipes with...my boss!

Start with a big ol' butternut squash. I found this website to make the peeling/seeding/chopping a bit easier.

I cubed up the squash and tossed it with EVOO and some dried herbs (today's choice was herbs de provence but you can use anything you like) and roasted it in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, stirring 1/2 way.

If you don't have the time to roast the squash, you can chop it up and cook it in the microwave but we think roasting it 1st gives it a great extra flavor.

Next, you will want to chop up some onion and garlic, toss that in a pot with some EVOO and 1 1/2 teaspoons of curry (I used Penzey's Singapore Seasoning) and sautee for a few minutes.  After you've got that nice and soft, toss in 2 peeled, pitted and chopped pears. (I have subbed out apples in a pinch)

I wish you could smell this right now!

After that cooks for a few minutes, add 1 qt vegetable broth and the squash and let it simmer for a bit. When you are ready to eat, stick your immersion blender in it and get it nice and soupy (or transfer it to a blender and whirl away!)

Voila! Baby Food Soup!
I served mine with an herbed focaccia...sadly, not homemade but still delicious!

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!