525,600 Minutes...

Five hundred, twenty-five thousand moments so dear.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles in laughter in strife

In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure a year in the life?

How about love?

Measure in love...

It's time now, to sing out, though the story never ends,

Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love (oh you got to, you got to remember the love)

Remember the love (you know that life is a gift from up above)

Remember the love (share love, give love, spread love)

Measure your life in love.

Wishing you all a safe, happy and blessed night filled with love. Happy 2011!

The Big V

In lieu of a big list of goals for January, my plan is to carry over my unfinished December goals, and add one big one: go 100% vegan for the month.

I already eat a mostly vegan diet, but I've often been curious as to how I would feel eating no animal products. Veganism has always made the most sense to me from both a health and ethical standpoint, and while at this point I'm not sure that I can commit to complete veganism indefinitely, I would like to test the waters a bit more in order to find out what I'm comfortable with. I'm a firm believer that each individual should choose the best dietary path for them-  omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan or anything else- and as such, I'm always open to trying new things with my diet.

One thing I'd like to emphasize is that I don't believe veganism is something to be taken lightly as a "quick fix" for health or weight problems- I'm doing this for me, as something I want to do out of both curiosity and more serious ethical and health reasons. I've given it a lot of thought! I realize that it can be a very difficult transition to make, which is why I'm only committing myself to a month. Furthermore, I don't plan on depriving myself of my favorite foods- while it may mean forgoing certain restaurant dishes, I know that nearly every food has a vegan alternative (as evidenced by Angela and Mama Pea), and I'm hoping that my cooking skills will also improve as I attempt to incorporate more variety and ingredients into my meals. At the end of 31 days, I'll evaluate my experience, and while it's unlikely that I'll ever give up shrimp and buttercream forever, I'm hoping to have a renewed perspective of strict veganism and its pros and cons.

I think that's it! Any questions? :)

* * *

Today's eats were rather repetitive...

Uncle Sam, blueberries and almond milk for breakfast

Salad beast, sandwich thin with almond butter and a grapefruit for lunch (love this lunch- last time for awhile, I promise!)

Romaine, pickles, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, onions and hummus

Maranatha AB on an Arnold honey wheat thin

Pink grapefruit slices

I also finished my sesame covered peanuts- maybe 1.5 servings' worth?

Time to go bake a delicious (non-vegan) cake for a friend. He was born January 1- can you imagine a more fun birthday? Hope you're enjoying your last day of 2011!!

Have you ever experimented with a different way of eating? How did it go?

What are your plans for tonight?

Now Tell Me Watcha Want, Watcha Really Really Want

One of my goals for the coming year is to continue to expand this little bloggie. What started as a whim a year ago has quickly turned into a huge part of my life; I feel like it's become an outlet for creativity, a form of self-expression and a way to meet amazing people.

Of course, Une Vie Saine would be nothing without readers, so I'm asking you: what would you like to see more of in 2011? Baking, recipes, day-to-day activities, workouts, running, life in general?  Leave me a comment- I'm all ears!

* * *

I spent the afternoon snacking and napping. My head has been killing me for a few hours, so I'm hoping that with some rest I'll be back to normal tomorrow! I had a bowl of Cheerios with warm milk and a cinnamon apple:

As well as some unpictured pistachios, cashews and peanuts.

A bit later, I ruined my appetite for dinner with a few too many of these:

Butter flavored pretzels. At first bite I thought they were disgusting, at second I thought they were interesting, and at third they had won me over. Pretzels that taste like movie theater popcorn? I was almost afraid to look at the ingredient list, but what the heck. They were good.

Since my appetite was pretty light at dinnertime, I roasted up some veg.

Sweet potato rounds, green beans and kale, roasted in EVOO, salt and pepper with a side of yellow mustard for dipping.

Alongside, I had an unpictured piece of dry toast, as well as some grapefruit.

Been craving citrus fruits lately- bring on the C!

For dessert, I had two peanut butter dough balls and a few pictures of peppermint bark.

As much as I love the Christmas treats, I'm glad they're almost gone. It's too easy to OD on sugar every night!

Plans for this evening are still up in the air. Can't decide whether to go out or stay in and rest up for New Year's!!

What would you like to see more of on the blog?