And for something unrelated:

I’ve been searching for the tastiest dark chocolate around lately.  I’ve only tried two so far, and neither is perfect.  The first was a little too bitter, and the second was too sweet for my liking. Does anyone have a favorite dark chocolate that they would recommend? Here are the two that I’ve already tried:

I made several friends and family members try this chocolate, and I am one of the few who did not hate it. It reminds me of black coffee.

The amount of sugar and milk in this chocolate bar make it hard for me to justify eating it.

I enjoy an occasional glass or three of red wine.  I recently stopped hating the taste of it, and I’d choose a glass of Merlot over a glass of Chardonnay any day.  I’m not a wine connoisseur, by any means, but I know that I prefer the taste of red to white. I’ve been able to justify my consumption of wine thus far because of the antioxidants that it provides and the effect that it has on both good and bad cholesterols.  Apparently, though, dark grape juice is a fine substitute for boosting flavonoids (antioxidants) and lowering low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol). The only area where grape juice seems to fall short is in the high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) department.  Wine seems to be better at increasing good cholesterol.  Still, grape juice seems like a better choice when you take into account the free radicals that alcohol tends to create.

It just so happens that I love grape juice more than most things, so I was pretty delighted to read the articles below. I know that one of these articles is ten years old and the other is five, but this is the first I’ve heard about grape juice providing almost all of the same benefits as wine.  I’m not swearing off wine or anything, but I’ll probably drink grape juice more often than I’ve been drinking it.

There ya go:

Wine or Welch’s? Grape Juice Provides Benefits without Alcohol.

Wine vs. Juice

If anyone else has come across an article or two (perhaps a newer one?) about the benefits of wine compared with those of grape juice, then I’d be interested in reading them.

I drink a lot of juice, and I’ve made it a personal goal of mine to only drink juices that add something other than sugar and water to my diet. Because of this, I’ve obviously been doing some research.  I’ve learned some pretty interesting facts about all sorts of juices, but apple juice is what I’d like to discuss right now.

Other than buying organic, I’ve never been too picky when buying apple juice.  Apparently, whether or not the apple juice I’m buying is organic is is only one thing to consider.  Cloudy (or unclarified) apple juice is the way to go, for a few reasons, and I should have been buying it all along. Not only do cloudy apple juices contain more antioxidants (including polyphenols, which may combat cancer and heart disease), but they’re also said to have a better, richer taste than clear apple juices.  They’re also less processed than clear apple juices.  It’s obvious why clear apple juice has always been the popular choice: people assume that clear apple juice is somehow cleaner or more pure. Still, It’s not a logical conclusion to draw. The cloudiness is simply the presence of the pulpy, more nutritious parts of the apple. The shelf life of clear apple juice is suspiciously longer, which makes the unclarified, cloudy variety much more appealing to me.

Still, as a few of these articles point out, eating an apple rather than drinking it is your best bet for maximum nutrition, benefits, and antioxidants.

The Articles:

‘Cloudy’ Apple Juice Packs More Antioxidants

Cloudy Apple Juice Four Times Healthier Than Clear

Cloudy Apple Juice Has Clear Benefits

Clear or Cloudy-Choosing Which Apple Juice Is Best for Good Health

I just read an article about foods that may slow the aging process, and I found it to be both interesting and helpful.  I tend to become so focused on health and beauty products that I forget how big a role the food we eat actually plays in our overall quality of life. I plan to buy kiwis, dark chocolate, and white tea tomorrow  when I go grocery shopping since those three have been completely absent from my diet  for a while now. At the risk of sounding braggy, however, I felt pretty satisfied with myself after seeing berries, spinach, and avocados on the list. It just so happens that I’ve been eating spinach salads topped with strawberries, raspberries, dried cranberries, and avocados for the past few days. I was pretty excited to see tomatoes on the list as well.  I regularly crave tomato and mustard sandwiches, and I’ve been known to drink salsa on more than one occasion.

Check it out:

9 Foods for Youthful Skin

I steered clear of coffee for years because I thought that it was bad for me(and it probably would have been with all the cream and sugar that I used to add when I occasionally indulged in coffee).  Who knows why I thought that , but something tells me that a lot of people are under the same impression (namely: ignorant southerners).  I’ve been reading loads of articles lately that say otherwise, and almost daily I’ve been discovering new and exciting benefits of frequent coffee consumption.  Among the benifits are reduced risks of colon cancer, liver cirrhosis, diabeties, cavities, and Parkinson’s disease. It’s also packed with antioxidants and can improve memory. Interestingly, a lot of the benefits are more common in men…but that’s not really surprising at all since life tends to be easier for them already. They don’t have to carry another person inside of them or bleed for 4-8 days of the month. I’ll take what I can get.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Here are a few of the articles that I’ve been reading lately:

Coffee A Top Source of Healthy Antioxidants

Coffee: The New Health Food?

Coffee’s Effects Revealed in Brain Scans

I guess it’s always important to remember that most things are safe and even beneficial in moderation.   I’m not suggesting that anyone drink four pots of coffee a day. That’s nonsensical.

After my recent brush with insanity, I decided to run out and buy some calming teas. I walked into the store intending only to buy Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer Tea , but I ended up discovering that there is a new vanilla-flavored Sleepytime Tea!!!! I threw it in my shopping cart without a second thought. I’ve had a cup before bed for the past two nights, and I can safely say that it meets all my expectations. It works just as well as the Sleepytime original, and it tastes great.  It smells so good, however, that I’d almost rather sniff it than drink it.

Lemonade is probably second favorite beverage that’s not very good for me (Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk is my number one favorite).  I’ll occasionally tell myself that it is a fruit juice since it’s made from the juice of fruit, but in reality lemons don’t do my body nearly enough good to make up for all the bad that the sugar is doing (at least with the other fruit juices that I buy the sugar is naturally occurring).

In the midst of my most recent lemonade craving, I juiced one large lemon, added two packets of NuStevia, and slowly added water until the mixture tasted like lemonade.  I was pleasantly surprised by how authentic it tasted.  I’ve tried tea sweetened with NuStevia before, and the taste is never quite right, but the lemonade was a definite winner.  My concoction made three large glasses, which was perfect.  I drank two of them and gave to other one to my grandmother, who was also a big fan of it.

I have a feeling that this stuff smells lovely.

1) Demeter Naturals Mimosa Perfume- Demeter Naturals fragrances are made from pure essential oils and have no Phthalates (put simply, Phthalates are chemicals that are intended to make scent last longer that are easily absorbed by our skin).

LunaPanties are made especially for period times!

2) LunaPanties-Basically, they have organic cotton pads sewn into them.  The extra liner shown in the picture is for days with heavier flows.  I could easily make something like this at home, but I love that they’re made with organic cotton (One day, when I’m wealthy, all of my clothes will be made from organic cotton).  Of all of the nifty things on this list, these panties are the item that I’ll most likely buy.  You should really check out the entire site. They have lots of cool things- rawganique

This dress is made from organic cotton too. Oh, boy!

The back is too cute.

3. Sun Applique Dress- I need more casual dresses in my closet. An impressive amount of my dresses can only be worn to weddings.

How fancy would using a brand called Glam Nation make you feel?!

4. Glam Nation Organic and Wild-Crafted Eye and Makeup Remover Lotion- I typically use olive oil to remove my eye makeup, and it works just fine…but I read some great reviews on this product.  Also, it has a zero hazard score on the Cosmetic Safety Database, and I like that.

I'm a sucker for pretty packaging.

5) Nothing Nasty Rose and Vanilla Lipbalm- Yeah, I know I’d be ordering it from the UK and shipping would be ridiculous…but this could be my new Minted Rose Lip Balm with better ingredients (another rating of zero, actually)!

I like this orangey shade of red A LOT.

6. Toms Red Newport Cordones- Everyone knows that Toms does good things for the world, and these shoes would do good things for my feet.

Painting my nails is a bad habit that I refuse to quit.

7. Zoya Matte Velvet Nail Polish in Veruschka-  This has to be better for me than Sally Hansen, right?

It's made for babies and kids, but adults get nappy hair too.

8. Babo Botanicals Berry Primrose Instantly Smooth Detangler-  Surprise surprise, it’s another zero.

Kiwi, pineapple, and passion fruit together at last.

9. Gold Machine Naked Juice- Putting juice on this list may seem silly since it is so cheap and easily attainable, but I can’t find this at any of the stores around these parts. If any of you guys have tried it, then let me know how awesome it was.

I have an obsession with animal necklaces. It hasn't become a problem yet.

10. Circle Fawn Necklace by Figs & Ginger-  These guys love the environment! See for yourself- Figs & Ginger’s Green Values

This one tastes more like pepsi than coke.

It tastes just like Fresca Sparkling Black Cherry Citrus.

The Zevia Twist is my favorite. Think gingerale mixed with sprite.

I drink a lot of water. When I’m not drinking water, I’m usually drinking fruit juice, herbal tea, or black coffee.  I swore off regular soda a few years ago after reading some really awful things about high fructose corn syrup (and settled of the occasional Mexican Coke from Kroger), and I’ve never cared for the taste of artificial sweeteners that are in Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi (or the heath risks associated with them, for that matter).  I did some research on Stevia before purchasing Zevia Natural Diet Soda for the sake of making an informed decision, and I feel a lot better about my loved ones and myself consuming it occasionally than something like Aspartame.  Anyone who is curious should do their own research, though. I am by no means an authority on the subject of natural and artificial sweeteners.  In almost all cases, I am going to take the natural route because it makes the most sense to me.  For example, I prefer butter over margarine (and they’re both bad for me).

Zevia isn’t cheap. I’ve been buying it for six dollars a six pack, but I tend to spend ridiculous amounts of money on things that I can convince myself are good for me.  I’m thinking of buying a mixed case online since I can only find four flavors in Starkville (the available flavor that I’ve yet to try is the Ginger Root Beer, and I have a feeling that it’s gonna be a winner).