Originally published August 28 2012
Larabar boycott got you down? Make these homemade bars instead
by Christy Pooschke
(NaturalNews) As revealed recently on NaturalNews.com, information has surfaced that consumers have been betrayed by many so called "natural" brands in recent months. Larabar and several other brands have played an important role in the natural foods movement by providing convenience foods made from simple, wholesome ingredients. Unfortunately, many of these brands are now owned by large corporations that are contributing funds to prevent the labeling of GMOs in our food supply - an unnatural move to say the least. Consumers who truly want to know what is in their food and what they are supporting when they grocery shop, must purchase whole, unprocessed foods and learn to enjoy making their own homemade versions of these "natural" convenience foods using recipes like the one for "Pecan-Date snack bars" included here.
Eating a natural food diet can be quite challenging and with so many families adopting natural and organic diets, there is a growing need for products that consumers can trust when they need store-bought short-cuts. Unfortunately, there are very few brands that meet these criteria. And with so few healthful food choices on the market already, discovering that some of these trusted "natural" brands have sold out to corporate interest is a huge blow to organic consumers. Larabar is one such brand whose snack bars consisting of very minimal ingredients (primarily nuts and dried fruits) have been a favorite of the natural food crowd for years. While their ingredients are not certified organic, Larabar does boast on its product labels that their ingredients are non-GMO. But how are consumers supposed to take comfort in Larabar's non-GMO ingredients when General Mills, the company that owns Larabar, is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat proposition 37, the GMO labeling initiative, in California?
To help defend consumers against these hypocritical "natural" brands, Mike Adams recently issued a boycott of Larabar and several other brands who are involved in this GMO-supporting deceit. If you are feeling a little lost without Larabar in your life, be sure to try this simple recipe below for an even tastier treat: Homemade Pecan-Date snack bars. Making snacks yourself is a great way to control the quality of your ingredients, and even a novice in the kitchen can easily whip up the simple homemade recipe included here. Enjoy!
"Pecan-Date snack bars"
Makes eight bars
INGREDIENTS:
One and one-third cups of pitted and roughly chopped Medjool dates
Two cups plain pecans (not roasted nor salted)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place dates in a medium bowl and cover them completely with water. Allow to soak for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, process the pecans in a food processor until they resemble the texture of breadcrumbs.
When the dates are done soaking, drain the water. Add dates to the food processor and process with the nuts until well-combined and dough comes together into a ball.
Line a 7" x 11" baking pan with parchment paper - this makes clean-up easier. (Two bread pans would make a great substitute if you don't have a 7" x 11" pan.)
Press dough evenly into the pan, pressing firmly with your hands to compact the mixture as much as possible. (It's helpful to wet your hands with water to prevent batter from sticking to your fingers.)
Bake for about 10 minutes, until the top looks a bit dry. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely (about one hour).
Transfer bars (with parchment paper) to a cutting board, and cut into eight bars. Enjoy!
These bars are also delicious when enjoyed frozen for increased sweetness and firmness.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036834_Kashi_Larabar_boycott.html
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs
About the author:
Christy Pooschke is a natural health advocate who became passionate about avoiding food additives after healing from years of chronic illness. Want more simple & tasty natural recipes? Check out her e-book, Eating Additive-Free- a natural cookbook packed with 160 recipes and a complete additive-free grocery shopping guide!
Christy Pooschke is a natural health advocate who became passionate about avoiding food additives after healing from years of chronic illness. Want more simple & tasty natural recipes? Check out her e-book, Eating Additive-Free- a natural cookbook packed with 160 recipes and a complete additive-free grocery shopping guide!
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