Easy as Pie (or energy bars)

I have been reading lots of recipes for healthy cooking and stumbled upon one for homemade energy bars (like Clif bars). Who would have thought I could make them so easily and inexpensively compared to store bought? I bought raw cashews, almonds, medjool dates, shredded coconut and dried cranberries.



Ingredients:

2 Cups Moist Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped  (optional)

2 Cups Raw Cashew Nuts

½ Cup Raw Almond (without skin)

¾ Cup Cocoa Powder

A Pinch Of Sea Salt

½ Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

2 to 3 Tbsp Cold Water

Method

I don't have a food processor, but if you do, this would be even easier using one. Using a blender, I chopped the nuts and added the cocoa powder and sea salt. Then, I chopped the dates very well by hand (make sure your knife is extra sharp because this is sticky!) Combine chopped dates with nut mixture in a large bowl. Then add the shredded coconut and the vanilla extract. I believe the best cooking tools are my hands so I got in there and squished it together until it was mixed well. Add drops of water if needed to get the right consistency. Scrape the dough mixture into a 8 x 10 pan lined with aluminum foil, Press evenly with a rubber spatula (or your palm!).



Chill for about an hour. Lift out of pan by the foil and turn over onto a cutting board. Cut into squares and enjoy the homemade goodness! Mmmmmm! Wrap pieces in wax paper to keep them from sticking together. Store in refrigerator.






Pretty cool, huh?




I also made a green smoothie for breakfast this morning - recipe courtesy of my friend at thepracticalhousewife.com.
Basic Green Smoothie


Here is a very basic smoothie recipe - use what you have on hand and more importantly, what you like!

1 cup of water, juice or milk

2 cups of fruit

2 cups of greens

splash of aloe vera juice (optional)

splash of flax oil (optional)


Today, I used fresh pineapple.



Fresh spinach




Throw in the blender and give it a whirl!




I put mine in a cocktail glass to jazz it up. Cheers! (PS- It made enough for 2 smoothies so I have some already for tomorrow morning.)

Listening to God

Many people have asked how Spencer and I met so here is our story:

In July 2008, I was preparing to move back to Charleston from Greenville, SC. I was a member of Match.com so I changed my location from Greenville to Charleston. Spencer hadn't been on Match.com in a while but decided to check it out about this same time. There wasn't much there that interested him, but he did find my profile and joined Match just so he could email me. He sent me a few sweet emails, but I didn't want to get involved with anyone since I was in the middle of moving, so I turned him down gently. Six months passed and we both forgot about each other. 

But, God did not!

On Christmas Eve 2008, I was working late at MUSC and was led to attend St. Andrew's Church service since my regular church service had been earlier in the day. I had no idea that Spencer was a member of St. Andrew's. The following Sunday, (December 28th), I returned to St. Andrews and because Spencer was running late for church, he had to find a seat different from his usual spot and ended up sitting right next to my family and me. However neither of us knew it at the time! As good Anglicans do, we simply exchanged the peace during the service and then went our separate ways. God must have been thinking, "Good Grief, don't they get it!" But He continued to work behind the scenes to bring us together.

On December 30th, 2008 Spencer decided to rejoin another dating site, eHarmony. Just a few days later, on January 3, 2009, I decided to check out eHarmony and filled out the extra long personality profile questionnaire. (For those of you unfamiliar with this process, at Match.com you can browse other people's profiles at will, but at eHarmony, you cannot see anyone unless you are first "matched" according to their 29 dimensions of compatibility.) Within 24 hours of filling out my profile, we were matched! I wasn't a paying member yet, so I only knew that I was matched with a 46 year old man named Anon and his photo was hidden (until the fees were paid). So, I had no idea that this was Spencer... But, Spencer could see my name and photo and knew I was the same girl from 6 months earlier. Figuring there couldn't be that many girls named Teal in Charleston, Spencer decided to look me up on Facebook and sent me a message expressing excitement that we'd been matched by eHarmony. Not knowing "Anon" (Anonymous) was really Spencer, I had no idea why he was writing me.

The funniest part was the Anon thing. When Spencer first signed up for eHarmony, he was being extra cautious and listed his name as Anon. Once you create a profile with them, you can't alter your name (why would you need to if you used your real name?) Ha! Of course I was extra cautious and read something into all this. At first I thought I'd been matched with some middle eastern guy and really questioned their matching criteria since I was pretty limited in who I was looking for. 

Basically what happened was I went online and filled out the 29 category questionnaire (VERY detailed if you haven't done it) but I didn't pay for the service yet. So, within 24 hours they matched me up with Anon, 46 year old male. I couldn't see his photo or complete profile since I hadn't paid yet so when Spencer emailed me on Facebook (trying to find me another way) that he was thrilled that eHarmony matched us up, I thought he was nuts! 

So, of course I had to sign up (ie-PAY) in order to see who this Anon person was and clear this up. Being kind of cynical, I didn't just sign up for 1 month...I mean, what if this wasn't the one? I paid for a whole year (stupid move). Anyway, when the photos popped up, I could see Spencer and realized it WAS him and of course the same guy from Match.com. I was kind of aggravated at the whole thing. Why was he trying to hide his identity? He was really persistent, but in a sweet way, because he truly felt I was the one for him (based on my profile). He was charming and kind. He quoted poetry and such in his emails to me and it was just "too much". I was overwhelmed and that's part of the reason I didn't connect with him on Match.com. His photo made him look older than he was (guys don't know anything about picking photos for these things) and in spite of him saying he enjoyed dancing and all the things I also enjoyed, I wasn't convinced he was telling the truth.

I was still a little reluctant to begin dating someone new, and especially someone who felt the need to hide his identity.  So, we emailed back and forth for 3 weeks before finally meeting on January 24th, 2009, just two days after my 42nd birthday. When Spencer showed up with a birthday present for me (a bottle of pinot noir and the book, The Shack), I was quite impressed and you could certainly say that "He had me at hello." Our first date was at The Boathouse restaurant on Breach Inlet Restaurant and included good food and good wine, followed by dancing (the Carolina Shag) which are three things we both enjoy very much and continue to be hallmarks of our relationship.

As we grew to know each other more, we couldn't believe how much we had in common and how God continues to work in our lives in small ways. There are more stories that could be told which illuminate such things, but it is enough to say that there is no doubt that we believe that this is a match made in heaven.

December 29-31, 2009, Spencer planned a surprise trip to Savannah, GA to get away after Christmas. On that Tuesday, Spencer took me on a romantic walk on the Savannah riverfront and proposed with a beautiful three-diamond antique-style ring. The center stone is from Rosemary's (Spencer's mom) engagement ring. What a special gift! Rosemary passed away about 10 days after we met so unfortunately I never got to meet Spencer's mom. After the engagement that evening Spencer had reservations for us to have a romantic candlelit dinner at Elizabeth's on 37th Restaurant.

I am so glad God pushed us so firmly because that is the only way we would ever have met since we are both so hard-headed! It's hard to listen to God sometimes when we have our own agendas, but if we hadn't, we would have missed out on this wonderful relationship and marriage. We are so good for each other. Where I fail, he excels...where he falters, I shine. We are truly blessed!