Really? Almocot bars? Should I just give up on naming food?  Any creative food names I've ever had on this blog were either thought of by Emily (my neighbor), or Erica (my 9 year old).  When I name things, you'll know.  Cause I'll have words like, "Almocots".

Anyway- Who cares, right? These Apricot Bars are tasty! They are super sweet though.  Definitely a hiking treat, when you'll have time to burn off some of the glucose here.

One of my all time favorite books is The World's Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan. There is almost 900 pages of whole foods in every food category- fruits, veggies, grains, meats, beans, and herbs.  Each food has 3-5 pages with descriptions of the food, storage ideas, the health benefits, and recipe ideas for each.  Although I wouldn't consider it a cookbook, I use it in cooking a lot!!

So, this recipe came under the section for Apricots.  My mom gave us a whole box of apricots, and I'm trying my hand at drying them in the sun.

So here it is:

Apricot Snack Bars

• 1/2 cup cream honey (I used cinnamon flavored cream honey)
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix altogether in bowl with a spoon.  Then stir in (you may have to use your hand)

• 1 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup granola
• 1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds

Mix all ingredients.  Press into loaf pan and chill in the fridge. (Gluten free, but not vegan unless you used something besides honey)

The almond extract really makes these things yummy. The kids ate them, but all I got was a token, "They're not bad."  I guess that's better than, "They're not good," right?

I was checking my archives, and couldn't believe I didn't have any posts about the health benefits of apricots!

• Rich in beta caroten and beta cryptoxanthin (Precursors to Vitamin A)
• Only 17 calories per apricot!
• Dried apricots are high in Magnesium!!