addicted #3: vanilla almond milk

i know i'm a little slow on the uptake here...but since i have been making a concerted effort to cut out dairy from my diet (remember this post?), i have even left behind my old friend, skim milk.  to replace it?  smooth, creamy, delicious almond milk (my flavor preference?  unsweetened vanilla).

i started experimenting with non-dairy beverages over the summer when i was making lots of smoothies.  i used rice milk a lot, but i found that i quickly got tired of the taste and the texture.  it was too watery and too sugary tasting to me, for some reason.  a friend of mine suggested i try almond milk (in fact, she was astonished that i hadn't tried it before).  and once i tasted it, i agreed...i couldn't believe what i was missing!

as an added bonus, the nutritional benefits of almond milk are plentiful.  a cup of almond milk gives you the same amount of calcium as 2% milk, which is important for anyone who is cutting dairy out (and thus, risks losing calcium).  additionally, almond milk is loaded with vitamin E: a one-cup serving can provide you with 50% of your daily value of the vitamin responsible for its power as an antioxidant.  and did you know that regular milk has a high sugar content?  i didn't (i hardly looked at the nutritional label on milk). almond milk has a significantly lower sugar content, and no saturated fat.

(nutritional information from livestrong.com)


so next time you're at the grocery store, don't leave without bringing home a carton of almond milk.  use it in your favorite cereal, add a splash to your coffee in the morning, pour a big cold glass full of it to dunk some chocolate chip cookies, use it in smoothies, anything!  they even make chocolate almond milk...and if that doesn't convince you, i don't know what will.

bye-bye, buzz

it has been well over a month since i had my last sip of coffee.  it is something i decided to give up kind of on a whim.  one summer morning at a music festival, i was groggy and sleep-deprived.  wanting to get a little jump before dancing and listening to music all day, i had a cup of coffee someone made for us at our campsite.  but instead of getting the caffeine high that i was hoping for, i felt jittery, queasy, and edgy.

thinking it was perhaps just a product of being sleep deprived and over-stimulated, i tried to give it another chance a few days later, after i had a chance to fully recover from raucous festival-induced debauchery.  slowly sipping an afternoon cup of coffee, the same effects took hold of me: cue heart-racing and cirque-de-soleil trampoline performance in my stomach.  knowing how terrible and unlike-myself i felt after drinking it, i knew it would not be difficult for me quit coffee cold-turkey.

since i have cut coffee out of my diet, i really do feel so many benefits!  i am much more in tune with my body's sleep cycle, i have a lot of energy in the morning, plus i've got a few extra dollars in my pocket since i am not spending 3 bucks a day for my extra tall cafe au lait!

i have to give myself props, however...the week after that festival, i started my second (and final, and most stressful) year of grad school, but i haven't needed to drink a cup yet!  my morning now starts with a cup of green tea, which has a host of benefits all its own.  plus, i have been trying to cut out as much dairy as possible, so drinking super-milky coffee every day isn't exactly conducive to this goal.

it was a little bit hard the first few mornings, i must admit, but after the "withdrawal" symptoms went away (which mostly consisted of me feeling groggy), i have been feeling better than any cup of coffee has ever made me feel!

so, y'all...what do you think?  is anyone else up for the coffee-elimination challenge?

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addicted: #2

trader joe's organic strawberry probiotic yogurt

as i get closer to my quarter century birthday, i am really trying to be on the defensive and take control of my health as much as i can.  preventative healthcare is crucial, and diet is a huge factor.  colon health, as old-ladyish as it sounds, is important and has been kind of a buzz topic for me lately.  with a family history of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal woes, it is important for me to take care of myself as much as i can now.

i started hearing a lot of good things about probiotic yogurt, but i was not sure how down and dirty i would want to get in terms of experimenting.  i haven't always been a huge yogurt fan, either.  something about the texture just skeeves me.  but i wanted to see what all the probiotic fuss was about, so during a trader joe's run a couple of months ago, i picked up a four-pack of the organic strawberry probiotic yogurt.  they come in a four pack in itsy-bitsy little cups, perfect for me since too much yogurt in one serving turns me off.  i sprinkled mine with a little granola, mixed it up and was totally surprised!  i wasn't sure if the extra addition of the probiotics would alter the taste at all (in a bad way), but it was actually the least yogurty-tasting yogurt i've ever tried!  i loved it, and i could notice the digestive benefits within a day or two (and i'll leave it at that...)

since they only come in a 4-pack, and we only bought one, we ran out rather quickly. the nearest tj's to us is a good 40 minute trek, so i picked up some dannon activia instead at the local grocery store.  i wasn't as happy with the activia as i was with the trader joe's yogurt.  for one thing, i think for dairy especially, organic really makes a difference.  activia is not organic, and there were considerably more artificial-looking ingredients on the label (not counting the sciencey-sounding names of the probiotics in the yogurt, which were comparable in both brands).  the taste of activia was good, but the effects were not noticeable at all.  so...lesson learned: next time i go to tj's i am stocking up big time on their yogurt!

addicted: #1

nature's path envirokidz organic peanut butter crispy rice bars.

OMG. YUM.

i love you, little panda bear.