Turby and John

Luna Bars are vegan too. That's pretty cool.

Luna Bars have been around for a while. I get that. I, however, only discovered them about two weeks ago….and I am just smitten. Each flavor is better than the last, and they’re a much healthier choice than my former sweet treats of choice ( cookies, snickers, cream cheese piled on top of a cinnamon raisin bagel).  And if I needed another reason to like them, which I don’t, they’re full of things that women need to stay healthy that they may not get elsewhere  (like Calcium and Folic Acid). My favorites are berry almond and blueberry bliss.

As a new year’s resolution, I decided to cut dairy out of my diet.Why on earth would I do that? To make a long story short, I am not a baby cow. To make a short story long, milk is completely unnecessary. I can just as easily get calcium from almonds, oatmeal, wholemeal bread, dried figs, parsley, or kale (and the list goes on). Protein can be found in bread, pasta, brown rice, sunflower/sesame/pumpkin seeds, peas, beans lentils, tofu (among other things). Vitamin B12, a vitamin found in milk, can be incorporated into a dairy-free diet with certain cereals, soya milks or other fortified soy products, fortified yeast extracts, or a vegan B12 supplement. Riboflavin is not found in milk alone. You can also get a healthy dose of it by eating mushrooms, almonds, whole grains,  and cruciferous vegetables ( such as collard greens, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and  rutabaga). Phosphorus, another nutrient in milk, is also found in artichokes (one of the tastiest foods ever),  asparagus, broccoli, butternut squash, corn, and lima beans.

My reason for giving up cheese is simple. Not only is it made from milk, an unhealthy part of any diet, but it also makes my bowel movements irregular… and I want no part of anything that interferes with something as natural and important as a bowel movement.

I still eat fish, eggs, and honey. This means that I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian. Regardless, I have no doubt that if done correctly…a vegan diet is an ideal diet.

reasons that I am choosing to abstain from alcohol from this point on:

1) Alcohol makes you age faster (especially the sugar-filled drinks and beer that I tend to enjoy), and I have always wanted to be a hot middle-aged lady.

2) Hangovers are not fun.

3) I bet cirrhosis of the liver isn’t either.

4) I am just as pleasant  when I am sober, and people who disagree with that do not know me very well at all.

5) Drinking is expensive.

6) Who needs a weakened immune system with the swine flu on the loose?

7) Most importantly, alcoholism runs in my family, and I am not trying to be an alcoholic.

I’m a big fan of hot teas. While grocery shopping, I tend to  find myself on the tea aisle picking out two or three new flavors (which is ridiculous, considering the overwhelming amount of tea that I already have at home).  Last night, I discovered something delcious; I cannot keep it to myself.

I mixed

Celestial Seasonings tea is off the chain.

and

This particular flavor of Tazo tea is also really good with lemonade and served cold.

and some honey.

The result was something wonderful. It tasted a little  like a liquid fruit roll-up.