Larabars

I LOVE Larabars.  But I'm cheap frugal, and at $1.50 a piece, I don't eat a lot of them.  My favorite flavor is banana bread - reading the ingredients, I'm thinking this could be an easy slam dunk.

They contain: almonds, dates, bananas.  Doing a little internet research, multiple sources site they can be imitated using the following proportions:

1/3 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup dried bananas (use banana chips or dry them out yourself in the oven at 200º for about an hour)
1/4 cup dried, pitted dates

The method couldn't be much easier, I'm not even going to write it in recipe format:  Start by blending the almonds in food processor, then blend dates and banana chips together, and mix all constituents together.  Divide into four parts, wrap in saran wrap, roll out into bar. 

And the outcome?:

Well - fantastic.  Mine were a little lighter than the original bars (I was running a little low on dates), but contain the same ingredients.  The good news is they taste great!  Very fresh and moist and super sweet from the dates.  The Larabars were a little chewier, but I'm guessing I could add some more dates and get the same consistency. 

The entire process took about 10 minutes, so how does the cost break down?

Dates	$  0.87
Dried Bananas	$  0.66
Almonds	$  1.40
Total Cost	$  2.93
Cost per Bar	$  0.73

	Size (oz)	Cost	Cost/oz
Larabar	1.8	$      1.50	$      0.83
Homemade	1.67	$      0.73	$      0.44

Nice!  At almost HALF the cost, I can make a bar that is just as good as the Larabar!  Alright, so mine doesn't look like a perfectly shaped bar, but what can you do?  Stop being so anal, that's what.

So... Bake or Buy?  BAKE!