Woof, Woof!

SUPER exciting news....MY PARENTS ADOPTED A DOG!!

Her name is Maggie, and she's a four-year-old yellow rescue lab from a Pennsylvania organization. Technically we have her for a three-week "trial" period, but barring any unlikely major disasters, she's a part of the family now! We've been looking for a dog for awhile now, and I'm thrilled that we've finally found one that works for us.

The only pic I have of her at the moment. I'm aww-ing just looking at the cuteness!

I've literally been skipping around my apartment since I found out. I kind of feel like going out onto the street and hugging the first dog I see. Not creepy, right? Only twelve days until I can go home and meet her...as if the time wasn't going to pass slowly enough already!

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I finally stopped at the grocery store on the way home from classes today, but by the time I'd lugged all fifty pounds of almond milk and vegetables back to my apartment, all I wanted to do was eat. Dinner, therefore, was another easy one!

I spread a whole-wheat bagel with a thick spread of Maranatha creamy almond butter, then steamed up a pile of frozen veggies to eat alongside it. 

Vegetables, carbs and nut butter. What more does a girl need? Slightly more creative meals to return tomorrow, I promise :)

Dessert was just as unimaginative: the ubiquitous apple with four squares of Lindt chili dark chocolate.

This is another favorite chocolate of mine. I'm a total spice lover, even in my chocolate! The chili flavor isn't too strong, but it's just enough to add a nice kick to the dark chocolate. It contains milkfat and soy lecithin, but overall the ingredient list isn't too bad, and I think it's as good as some higher quality brands for just $2.50 a bar. Overall, I'd give it an 8 out of 10!

Tonight I'm catching up on a ton of blog stuff, homework and other random things. This weekend is going to be a busy one, so I need to get a jump start on my to-dos! Hope you have a great evening :)

Discuss: dogs! Love 'em, hate 'em, have 'em, want 'em?

Special Dark

Looooong afternoon. I guess it's payback for the short week I'm having!

After a six-hour class block, the last thing I felt like doing was facing the post-work grocery store crowds. Instead, I picked up yet another grab-and-go meal from a deli. Food shopping is a number one priority tomorrow evening!

I got another prepackaged favorite: seitan "turkey," which I mixed with a large portion of frozen veggies. After pita pockets, I think that this is my favorite quick meal option.

Though it was tasty, I really don't want to get into the habit of buying so many pre-made food items, because a) they're expensive, and b) since they have long shelf lives, they're usually not very fresh and full of sodium. It's ironic that I buy a decent amount of these types of items, because in most cities it's impossible to find vegan grab-and-go options!

Afterwards, I enjoyed a big fuji apple and a Hershey's special dark chocolate bar that the man at the deli I frequent threw in for free. Do I have "dark chocolate lover" stamped on my forehead, or something?

Something new I'd like to start doing on Une Vie Saine is chocolate reviews! I love trying out new bars, and while I've had this particular one before, I'd forgotten that it's actually surprisingly tasty. It's very smooth and sweet, which is unsurprising since sugar is the first ingredient and it also contains soy lecithin. The bar also isn't vegan, as it contains milk fat and lactose, but I typically don't mind consuming a small amount of dairy in the form of chocolate. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give this bar a 6. It wins points for the creamy taste, but loses them for the ingredients. There plenty of bars that taste just as good, but with less sugar and preservatives.

Though I intended to catch up on my ZZZs this weekend, that unfortunately didn't happen- I was too distracted by birthday celebrations and airings of Titanic. Tonight I'm getting in bed early!

What's your favorite chocolate bar? I think mine is Lindt, either the 70% stuff or the "Touch of Sea Salt" flavor. Trader Joe's is also good!! Both are incredibly smooth, dark and relatively inexpensive. There are other brands I love, but I try not to spend half my grocery money on chocolate :)

Little Miss...Perfect?

While flipping through the channels this afternoon, I watched about half an hour of a show on WE titled Little Miss Perfect. Much like Toddlers and Tiaras, the show chronicles the beauty-pageant lives of 5-10 year old girls, focusing on two contestants in each episode.

After I got over the initial "Oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-weird-its-comical" shock, I started to consider the message of the show- especially its title. To me, the fact that girls as young as five or six are focusing on winning the title of perfection is heartbreaking. They're all adorable, polite, talented little girls, and I think that pitting one against the other before they can even understand the concept of the competition is unsettling- if they lose, they're already receiving the message that they're not perfect enough.

The thing that struck me the most was the intensity displayed by the mothers. I don't understand the rationale behind subjecting your child to being judged like that- I'm sure they love their daughters very much, and most of the little girls seem to love it, but it's clear that they're already feeling the pressures of the competition. What do you think is an appropriate age to start pageants, if any? Where do you draw the line between little-girl fun and real-world judging? I'll admit that I have absolutely zero experience with pageants, so if anyone has a different opinion, I'd like to hear your thoughts!

 * * *

This afternoon, I snacked on (two) whole-wheat wraps with the last few servings of chipotle-pepper hummus:

Followed by a Trader Joe's seaweed snack. I love these things!

For dinner, I wanted to make a guacamole salad. Upon cutting into the avocado, however, I realized that the slightly squishy exterior was misleading, since the inside was still hard! Instead, I just sliced it up.

7 lettuce blend, cukes, toms, carrots, avocado and salsa, seasoned with lime juice.

On the side, I had a generous handful of Kashi TLC 7-grain crackers and some sliced strawberries.

After dinner, I broke into this quirky bar of Dechox dark chocolate that my mom bought me.

It was one of the mildest vegan dark chocolate bars I've tasted, which was a good thing. I love super-dark, but every once in awhile I crave something a bit sweeter!

I went back for another two squares. Can you blame me? :)

Enjoy your evening!