ants on a log

Holy shit, it's Wednesday already. #BudgetWeek is moving right along as anticipated, leaving a trail of pure destruction in its wake. I'm currently recovering from the first decent sleep I've gotten a chance to have since a pretty intense night shoot on Tuesday; my eyes are literally still crusted shut and I have no feeling in my lower extremities. I'm pretty sure I'm awake enough to do this though so let's get stuck the fuck in.

The title of today's blog entry may have earned a double-take from some of my readers. I'm not sure how familiar most Californians are with the ants-on-a-log concept, all I know is that more of you guys should be hopping onto the train. It's basically a snack invented for first graders, consisting of a stalk of celery, peanut butter, and raisins.

a stalk of celery

peanut butter

raisins

If you're creative, you're probably already seeing it. Luckily, for those among you who lack that vision, I'm here to light the way.

Begin by trimming your celery and cutting it into even segments. The length is up to you. Be sensible.

Once your celery has been tamed, you've officially completed the most challenging part of this recipe. Gather the rest of the ingredients and prepare yourself to get a little bit creative.

I find myself struggling to find the word that most accurately describes the act of buttering up these tiny, adorable celery boats; this part definitely had me feeling more than a bit emotional. Slather them all generously.

When you've run out of peanut butter, you know it's time to start sticking the ants onto your logs. Keep them organized, line them up like brave little soldiers. I like to picture them working together to complete some sort of task, like stealing crumbs from a picnic and bringing them back to their anthill. That's just one example, though. Use your imagination.

These raisins were actually free, making this one a little bit extra #BudgetWeek. My mom picked them out of her bowl of cereal and gave them to me. This is her own unique way of supporting the pinkbelly brand.

I didn't exactly eat these things growing up, but through this endeavor I've actually grown quite fond of them. There's something about the snap of the stalk that really makes the gooier ingredients shine, it's hard to explain. You're just going to have to get out there and make them yourself to understand what I mean fully.

I posed them on a piece of foil at the end to play it off like I was going to save them for later, but you guys already know that these logs were done for as soon as I was done taking photos. I honestly could have inhaled an entire tray of them. They're almost healthy enough to be considered a guilt-free pleasure, but not quite. Such is life.