I admit it. There was a day when my breakfast was always some sort of bar – PowerBar, Clif Bar, Luna Bar, Whatever-Was-On-Sale Bar. You name it, it was in my rotation. It was a “healthy start,” in my mind – protein, vitamins, minerals, all in an easy form factor.
Boy, was I mistaken.
2Chili has always been against commercially-made bars, I have to give him credit. It took me a while to realize that these engineered foods were doing me more harm than good, and they are expensive to boot. Packed full of sugar, preservatives, and questionable quality protein, these bars are really wasted calories and your body doesn’t really know what to do with them. Some are better than others, yes, but in general if it has more than 5 or 6 ingredients, it’s best to steer clear.
So, when reader Jenni left a comment asking if I had a homemade Luna Bar recipe, specifically lemon zest, I was a bit out of sorts. I haven’t had a Luna bar in years, opting for my homemade Clif Bars or Lara Bars instead.
I had the best intentions to figure out how to make her requested lemon zest flavor right away, went out and bought a few Luna Bars, and promptly broke my kneecap a few days later. Talk about a detour!
So…this has been on the back burner for a while, and I have had lots of time to think about how I would replicate the lemon Luna bar, which is honestly a good thing, because it took some time to decipher the ingredients list. I couldn’t even read the ingredients list on the label, so I had to go out to their website to figure out what was in them. Here’s what’s in a store-bought Lemon Zest Luna Bar. Wow, that is A LOT of stuff.
LunaPro ® (Soy Rice Crisps Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Rice Flour], Organic Toasted Oats [Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Dried Cane Syrup], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Flaxmeal), Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Coating (Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Soy Lecithin, Organic Vanilla), Inulin (Chicory Extract), Lemon Fruit Pieces (Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Glucose, Lemon Puree, Pectin, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavor), Organic Soy Butter (Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soybean Oil, Salt), Organic Oat Syrup Solids, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavor, Organic Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Sea Salt. Vitamins & Minerals Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Ferrous Fumarate (Iron), Niacinamide (Vit. B3), Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Zinc Oxide, Molybdenum Glycinate, Pyridoxine (Vit. B6), Calcium Pantothenate, Beta Carotene (Vit. A), Manganese Sulfate, Selenium AAC, Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Chromium AAC, Ergocalciferol (Vit. D2), Thiamin (Vit. B1), Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12), Folic Acid, Cupric Oxide, Phytonadione (Vit. K), Biotin, Potassium Iodide
I am a little frustrated that Luna bars are marketed as “nutrition for women” since they are based around soy and the last thing most women need is more soy. I could say so much about so many of these ingredients, but rather than make this post even longer, let’s just skip ahead to making a simpler, better for you version, mmmm-kay?
DIY Lemon Zest Luna Bars
Makes: 10 bars
Ingredients for the Bars
- 2 cups puffed rice cereal (or Rice Krispies)
- 1/2 cup oat flour (you can make your own!)
- 1/4 cup golden flax seed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons unflavored or vanilla flavored protein powder of your choice (I like this one)
- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup (I used this one)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Lemon Coating
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut butter (AKA coconut manna)
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Zest from 1/2 lemon (wash your lemon before zesting it)
- 5-10 drops liquid stevia, or preferred sweetener to taste
Method:
- Spray a small sheet pan or cookie sheet or line with foil or parchment and set aside – you only need about 8×8 size
- Mix the dry ingredients for the bars in a medium bowl
- In a small sauce pan, heat the brown rice syrup and vanilla over low heat until it becomes pliable – not quite boiling, just thin
- Pour the syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and combine. Stir quickly! This sets up fast!
- Spread the bars into the prepared pan, pressing down hard with a spatula, and set aside
- In a small sauce pan, melt the coconut butter and coconut oil over low heat, then add Stevia
- Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and lemon zest and spread over top of the bars
- Refrigerate 30 minutes before cutting into bars
Nutritional Info
View Comments (16)
Wow, these look and sound SO much better than the commercial ones. Do you think there’ll ever come a time when people realize how unhealthy soy really is?
Hi Janis,
I think it’s an education thing, honestly. I didn’t learn about the deleterious effects until I started really researching how to properly fuel the human body. The good thing is I really think there is a positive movement towards true healthy choices out there – sort of a grassroots movement spurred on a lot by certain blogs and podcasts. It’s something!
oh yum, these look so good. I’m not really into the whole “bar” thing (commercially speaking that it) but I would love to make my own. I love all that lemon too. oh it sounds so delicious.
Thank you!
Oh and I agree, there is just so much soy (organic or not) in commercial food products. It’s pretty bad, isn’t it. When I did my elimination diet, I realized that soy sauce (even the GOOD Tamari stuff) would make me terribly bloated. At least that is what I think I pinpointed it down to. I’m not sure if plain soy is as bothersome, but I do consciously try to stay away from it for the most part.
Hi Debbie,
I’m happy to hear you pinpointed to your sensitivity! I try my best to steer clear of soy because of the estrogenic effects and also the implications to my thyroid. Good to hear from you!
Could agave be used instead of brown rice syrup?
Hi Lindsay,
No, it won’t harden up properly, unfortunately (neither will honey).
Cheers!
Angela
I’ve made these several times and each time I get to the coating part the coconut butter and oil thickens when I add the lemon (room temp) …. There is no way it pours. I have to spread the topping. Also, when do it add the stevia?? Help
Hi Jan,
Interesting! I haven’t had that issue. Is the coconut oil/manna mixture still warm when you put in the lemon juice? If you can spread it, that is good – I should rephrase from “pour” to “spread” – it is a thick coating so it won’t really pour like liquid.
Also, add the stevia into the coconut oil/manna mixture when you’re melting it. Sorry about that omission – I’ll fix.
Thanks,
Angela
I’d like to try this recipe but I have a child allergic to coconut. Could you make a suggestion for a substitute for the coconut ingredients? Many thanks!
Hi Heidi,
Hmm, that is a tough one! I can really sympathize, as I have a dairy allergy, so I know the importance of tending to these things. I’m sorry, I don’t have any good recommendations for you here, as the coconut manna is sort of the glue that holds the “frosting” together. One thing you could do is make the bars without the coating, but I don’t know that they would hold together as well. Sorry!!
Angela
Recommends bars with no more than 5-6 ingredients.
Provides recipe for bar with 12 ingredients — 11, if you count the zest and juice as 1.
Not saying it’s a bad recipe. Merely found it a bit amusing.
Amusing…. it is people like you Karri, who can’t think outside of the box, that make talking health sense into people doable. No reason to limit ingredients when the sources are whole.
These were a hit with my teenagers! Can you add a Pinterest link so I can save it to my favorite recipes? Thanks!