Learn how to make your own homemade Larabar. These anti-inflammatory golden milk protein bites that are full of flavor, protein, and clean ingredients. A perfect snack for a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo, and Whole30 diet.

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You might already know this, but I’m a die-hard Larabar fan (I’ve mentioned my love for them HERE and HERE). They taste almost fudgey, thanks to the dates in them, and they have really simple, basic, clean ingredients in most of them (the chocolate chunk ones are debatable…but I still eat them).

But if you’re a mama on any kind of budget, eating Larabars like it’s your job just isn’t sustainable.

They can be over $1 a piece, and if you and your spouse and your kids each just eat one a day, that adds up FAST. 

You wanna know how fast?

What would this actually cost if everyone in my family just ate one larabar for one snack time every day for a month? We’ll average it (because I really do know that different months have a different number of days).

So, 6 people x 1 Larabar x 30 days = $180 a month (Did you just feel sick thinking about spending that much money on ONE snack…I did). And $180 x 12 months = $2160 a year

Nooooooooooooo.

Ok, but let’s say your family is smaller. Let’s say you just have two kids, and you each just eat one a day?

4 people x 1 Larabar x 30 days = $120 a month. And $120 x 12 months = $1440 a year

Cue shocked face.

That’s still bonkers, right?!

Now, I’m all for splurging on easy snacks when we’re travelling, have had a rough day and need something low stress, or when they’re on sale.

But I can’t justify spending THAT much of our grocery budget on convenient snacks.

And guess what?
YOU can make your own at home. And you can make 4 times the amount of Larabars for the same price.

Woohoo!

We’ve been eating an anti-inflammatory diet, and these Larabar knock-off protein bites are perfect. They have inflammation fighting ingredients like turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. But they also are packed with protein and curb my sweet tooth (which can get outta control).

I landed on calling them golden milk protein bites because they use the same spices as golden milk lattes. Just drink a cup of coconut milk with these bad boys if you don’t believe me.

They taste really similar to chai tea as well, since the turmeric isn’t too overpowering.

If you like those kind of Christmas-y spices, these might be your new favorite snack. Also, my kids LOVE them. They get really excited when I pull these out at snack time. A kid-approved, healthy, cheaper-than-store-bought snack is a total win.

A few things to note about making these Golden Milk Protein Bites

1. You will need a food processor to make them. I’ve tried it in a blender with mediocre results. The food processor really is the way to go.

2. It will start of crumbly looking, so definitely continue processing it until it starts to form a ball. This can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on your processor.

3. Once it hits that ball stage, you want to be on your toes. If you really want it creamy, you can keep processing it until it’s the texture you want. But if you over-process it, it can turn it to more of a nut butter consistency, and that’s not great for rolling into balls.

4. However, if it DOES end up too batter-y instead of dough-y, you can add almond flour to thicken it, or you can pour it into a bread pan, stick it in the fridge, and cut it into bars after a few hours.

I’m trying to be very careful about the use of the word “balls” here.

Let’s make some protein bites!!