Life Lesson #247: It's All About Perspective

Is the glass half empty, or half full?  This is a question often asked to denote perspective.  If you answer half empty, the indication is negative - no cloud has a silver lining, doom and gloom are impending (if they haven't already arrived).  If your glass is half full, you apparently live in a bed of roses, wear rose colored glasses, find the silver lining in every cloud, and skip to work with a song on your lips.

If we apply this theory to food-related items, there are several foods that are on the fence.  My personal outlook determines whether or not I deem these foods healthy.  For example: Cheese.  Full of fat, but has protein and calcium.  And it tastes good.  Ice cream.  Full of fat and sugar, but also has calcium.  Chocolate.  An under-appreciated vegetable (the bean family) that provides many feel-good benefits when ingested.  (I just took a break from writing this blog entry to enjoy a lovely, fudgy, chocolate chip infused brownie.  Ahhh, sweet nectar!) And Bacon.  A good source of protein and energy, but oft lamented for it's high fat content.  But bacon is good with everything.  Crumble bacon in a salad; bacon and eggs; bacon and broccoli: BLT sammiches; the list goes on and on.

A while ago, I started thinking about adding bacon to my cookies.  An irregular combination to be sure, but it has potential.  The salty-sweet combination has always been a favorite of mine (chocolate covered pretzels come to mind) and bacon tastes good with everything.  It can't be too terrible, and might be fairly tasty.

A potluck at work cinched the deal.  What better arena to debut the new flavor?  I made three other flavors, just in case the bacon cookies didn't turn out, or there were people that aren't as fond of bacon as I am.  (Like dragons and unicorns, these people are mythical, but I also wanted options for the timid souls who wouldn't have courage enough to step out of the norm.)

These cookies are almost a health food.  Vegetables (the cocoa bean) with feel-good properties, TWO protein sources (eggs and bacon), dairy (butter has calcium, right?), and grain (what little nutrients there are from the unbleached flour).  How can I go wrong with a combination like that?  Of course, I made Greg try them first (since I'm one of those timid souls that often lacks courage) - and since he didn't die and even came back for more, I gave in and had one.  It's my new favorite cookie flavor - I suppose in part because of the odd looks that I get when people ask what flavor they are, but also because they are tasty!! I made my second batch of them this weekend for a friend's birthday party.  I believe the term is unqualified success.  Or something along those lines.

I choose to see my bacon glass half full of the yummy goodness that embodies bacon.  And I'll have a cookie to go with that!