I’ve made a number of these Larabar inspired recipes over the last couple years, and so far this one’s my favourite!

A baking tray full of oats (around a litre) walnuts pieces and sunflower seeds sprinkled on top, and cinnamon if you like. Melt together two giant blobs of honey, some extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, lemon juice and zest of half a lemon, a teaspoon of sodium chloride (salt) and potassium chloride (no salt ™.) Pour the liquidy stuff over the oats, and stir it in well. Toast this mix in the oven, and stir every 4 to 5 minutes, or you will burn it. Keep toasting till it looks like good ol’ fashioned toasted granola.

In a food process or with a knife finely chop some dried figs (remove the tough stem by hand first) and pitted dates. Each amount is about the size of your fist. If you have really big fists, maybe not quite that much. If you have tiny kitten fists, you can add more. Once this pile of dried fruit comes together in a blob (you can’t really chop it up too much) it’s go time.

While the granola is still kind of warm knead it into the dried fruit mixture, until it is good and sticky and all the oats are pulled into the blob. Pass the bowl of blob to your friend. If their name is Bob, say “here’s the blob Bob”. If their name is Erica, that phrase will not work so well. Then Erica or Bob will flatten out the blob into the baking tray you used earlier to toast your granola. Let it chill in freezer or fridge or outside if it’s winter ‘til it’s firm enough to cut into bar shapes. I store them in the fridge, which makes them stick less to one another.

After all that , I would recommend you totally not follow the recipe. Wha’? Well, if you don’t have some of the ingredients, don’t let that stop you. I use these bars to keep me going on long rides or runs so I add extra fat and salt to them. I had some anise seeds, so I threw those in… yum! Maybe you got a bunch of macadamia nuts you’re trying to use up, or raisins, or craisins, or dried papaya just squish ‘em in to make your own homemade nutbars.