Just popping in with a quick post for you today! Mostly because bedtime snuck up very suddenly, and I need to prioritize sleeeep.
But also raw desserts. Those need to be prioritized as well.
What we have here are some raw lemon bar bites that I whipped up with the leftover dates from last week’s smoothie. I mean, I went through a fair bit of awkwardness to get those dates… don’t want to let them go to waste! These raw lemon bars were the perfect way to put them to use.
Oddly enough, I’m not a huge lemon bar person. The egginess and tooth-aching sweetness? Not my drug of choice. (That would be chocolate.) However, blend up dates, nuts and coconut and you pretty much can’t go wrong in my book. Even if there’s no chocolate! Sacrilege.
I’ve seen other lemon Larabar copycats that call for lemon extract, but I used lemon juice and zest here. Why not use the real thing, you know? Speaking of using the real thing, these little babies have no added sugar – they are naturally sweetened with just plain dates. I love that they are bursting with lemony flavor without the egginess or sickly sweetness of traditional lemon bars. In fact I loved them so much that I “tested” the recipe multiple times without really making any changes. I guess “testing” is a bit of a stretch, huh? Well, suffice it to say you pretty much can’t go wrong with these.
These energy bites make a great snack on the go! I brought a few with me to eat after my long run on Saturday, and they were just the thing to keep me going through my leg workout afterwards. (Fun times, I tell ya.) They are quite “energy dense,” a.k.a. high calorie, so I recommend rolling them into small one-biters. They are the perfect pick-me-up for an active day or healthy after-dinner sweet! Orrr maybe both. After-breakfast treat? Maybe that, too.
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- a few pinches of kosher salt
- 1 cup medjool dates (about 10-12), pitted and cut into quarters
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lemon, plus additional if necessary
- In a food processor, blend walnuts and almonds to a coarse meal.
- Pulse in shredded coconut and salt.
- Add pitted dates and blend until finely chopped.
- Add lemon zest and blend, drizzling in lemon juice. The mixture should be sticky enough to hold together when pinched between your fingers. If it's not wet enough to hold together, drizzle in additional lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Roll into balls. Store covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Woahhhhh, no chocolate?! ;) These do look quite tasty without that necessary ingredient but I bet a few, dark chocolate chunks would be a delicious addition! I hope you got a good nights sleep last night too :)
I’m going through a fake Larabar phase at the moment, while also pining for spring…these look absolutely perfect! I love that you used real lemon — what’s the point of homemade if not the ability to use natural flavors whenever possible? Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m a sucker for anything citrus! These looks like a healthy and tasty snack. I’ll be trying them soon.
Citrus is so perfect this time of year :)
Hi Erica, you make your these energy snacks/bars so temptingly easy.
I already made the creamy coconut bars…they were beyond goodness.
I am making these lemon ones tonight….by hook or by crook.
But, if I may politely ask, what should I think about the calorie intake with these goodies? Will it be possible for you to give the nutritional values so that I may know how much I am eating..I am so glad I chanced upon your blog last week. God bless your skills
Thanks for your comment, Ragini! If you make 24 small balls out of the recipe, they come in at 75 calories each. Hope you enjoy!
Do you think these would turn out okay with all almonds and no walnuts? I am just so not a walnut fan for some reason :(
I don’t have any walnuts on hand (and I’m not particularly fond of them) so I put in 1 cup of almonds, and 1/2 cup of pecans – turned out wonderfully!!
I just discovered the world of ‘raw bites’ and Im totally in love. Cause’ if they’re raw, you can eat eleventy billion, right? :)
How clever! I’ve made several little bites like this but never thought to use citrus, will be making for sure.
Okay, we are just heading to bed (yes, it’s only 8:15 pm) and I hopped on here to see if I’d missed anything. YEP!!! I missed this recipe from earlier today. I am seriously impressed by these little lemony bites. I have everything on hand to make this recipe and I will definitely whip these up for us to have on hand in the fields.
I’m not usually one for lemon desserts but the idea of it with dates and coconut is really intriguing! I might have to give these a try with some dried blueberries too! Yum-may.
There’s so much that is just so right about these lemon bar bites!! I AM a big lemon bar person, so you can imagine how excited I am about these tasty healthy treats. Need 5,000 of these in my belly! Hope you got some good rest, m’dear!
Ohhh … lemon bars are my absolute fave – totally my drug of choice! :)
These are jumping straight to the top of my must-make list! So great that there is no added sugar! I might also sprinkle with powdered sugar …
I’ve been meaning to make homemade lara-ish bars for a while. I love lemon anything, so I’m putting these on my to do list for the week. Thanks for the motivation!
Yumm!
:)