Caught Off Guard

Primal Energy Bars
Recipe from Mark's Daily Apple

I was caught off guard by the depth of my sadness over the loss of Teddie. I tried going to the cabin for a change of scenery, but it was just too quiet and lonely. The heartache followed me there, and I longed to be back at home. Rudy, my other cat, seems a little blue so I am giving him extra attention. It's good for both of us. I know Melvin misses Teddie. Rudy has always held Melvin in contempt -- unlike Teddie who loved Melvin despite his being a dog and all. He seemed oblivious to Melvin's canine affiliation and often treated Melvin like a great big cat, sleeping with him and washing Melvin's ears. Melvin didn't like this, but he tolerated it out of respect for Teddie since he was here first. We all miss Teddie. I said I wouldn't get another cat, and I probably won't, but if I could have my Teddie back, I would jump at the chance.

Despite my low energy, I managed to try out a new recipe that I found on Mark's Daily Apple -- Primal Energy Bars pictured above. This seems to be a good, versatile recipe that you can modify according to your taste and what you have in the pantry. I'm glad to have these on hand this week for a snack with coffee or when I'm in a rush and need to grab something on the go. They are not sweet at all really - more salty than sweet. Which is good for me. I don't want the temptation or the insulin spike. But if you wanted them to be slightly sweet, you could add a bit more raw honey or even stevia I suppose. Or use a sweet dried fruit or dark chocolate chips to turn this into more of a dessert. You can probably tell that I am getting a kick out of trying new recipes. And it made me happy to fuss over these and wrap them in parchment and twine. It occurred to me that these would make a great gift for health-conscious friends during the holidays. I'll work on perfecting the recipe . . . I think it could be better. I will probably omit the salt next time. And maybe try dried blueberries in place of dried cranberries. (For the recipe, click on the link beneath the picture.)