Product Review: 100% Pure Red Wine Mask

There’s nothing quite like a glass of red wine and a relaxing day at the spa, now is there? That is not, unfortunately, how I spent my weekend, but rather the start of today’s product review: 100% Pure’s Red Wine Resveratrol Mask/Scrub!

I had first heard of 100% Pure on the awesome blog vegansaurus. 100% Pure is a vegan-friendly skin/body care and make up company that neither tests on animals, nor uses animal products (there are a few products by 100% Pure that use honey, but they are clearly stated and have a ‘vegetarian’ label vs. a ‘vegan’ label, so you’ll know the difference.) Most of the ingredients 100% Pure uses are fruit and essential oils, none of those nasty, bad-for-you chemicals that typical make up and beauty companies make.

Anyway, with vegansaurus’ happy review, I decided to dip my feet in and try the Red Wine Reseveratrol Mask/Scrub. As a friend told me, “you could put on the mask and drink red wine at the same time!” (I have to admit, that suggestion was the main reason I decided to try this mask over the others.)

Don’t worry, it didn’t arrive looking this way… all a quarter empty and everything. For the sake of fully trying out this product, I’ve been using it for about the past 2-3 weeks.

One of the things that impressed me about the company 100% Pure is that, like Sephora, they included free samples along with my purchase… I got a small tube of children’s toothpaste (Tom’s Strawberry), which has now become my go-to traveling toothpaste, and sample sizes of 100% Pure’s body lotion, which I haven’t tried yet, but look like this!:

As you can tell, each lotion is labeled. You can see how the ‘Honey Almond’ body cream is labeled ’100% vegetarian’, because it contains honey, while the others are labeled ’100% vegan’ because they contain no animal ingredients. Handy!

Free stuff aside, I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the mask/scrub works. One thing that bothers me is that there are no directions on the back of the bottle for how much or how long you’re supposed to use the product… so I use about a dime sized amount 3 times a week. I typically use it as a scrub more than a mask– I use it in the shower while my pores are all open from the hot water, and then gently buff it off in a circular motion with my hand after leaving it on for about 30 seconds-a minute.

It’s made my face really, really soft. Also, at first I notice my breakouts went away in a snap, but now that it’s been a couple weeks, my breakouts have returned and I’ve had to incorporate my Neutrogena Acne wash again. That said, the Red Wine Reseveratrol Mask/Scrub is not designed to deal with oily skin. Instead, it’s more about age prevention and keeping skin ‘youthful’ looking.

For the softness of my face factor: 5/5 carrots! (That’s the best!) Also, it’s made my skin look more glowing and just feel better in general, so 5/5 carrots for that. Lack of directions disappointed me… 1/5 carrots.

Unfortunately for me/you/the company, they are in the process of moving production facilities, so a lot of their products are ‘out of stock’ and won’t be back in stock until June… I wanted to try the starter pack with the tinted moisturizer, mascara, and under-eye serum, but that’s out of stock until June, which is just a little too long for me. I’m disappointed that 100% Pure (to my knowledge) didn’t make a stockpile of stuff before moving production facilities. For those reasons, I’m unsure if I’ll purchase from 100% Pure in the near future. I’ve heard good things about Juice Beauty, so I’ll probably be checking them out next!

Disclaimer: I was not given this product free of charge to review, nor was I even asked to review this product. For all I know, 100% Pure doesn’t know me, and I don’t know anyone who works for 100% Pure. All views are my own and are not sponsored by anyone else. I bought this product wishing to try out organic and/or vegan beauty products for my own life, not attempting to sell it to anyone else. If you think I’m lying, look at this beautiful face! You’ll forget about everything!

Quinoa Pasta with TJ’s “Meat”balls!

Okay, lest you think the worst (that I’ve left the bf for someone named ‘TJ’ and he makes amazing meatballs), TJ stands for Trader Joe’s… and the ‘meat’balls are actually TJ’s “meatless meatballs” of deliciousness!!!!

Seriously, one of the best reasons to move back to Phoenix (there are few) is the fact that there is a Trader Joe’s less than 10 miles from where I live. Heck, even if the nearest TJ’s was 25 miles away, it’d still be better than Denver! Colorado doesn’t have any Trader Joe’s in the whole freaking state. Yes, I know, seriously… what the heck?? Whatever, Colorado…

(source)

So anyway, that said, yesterday I made some freaking delicious quinoa pasta – Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta to be exact! Ever since Blake came back with the recommendation from his doctor that he cut back on refined carbs (including wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown rice… things we thought were healthy), I’ve been trying to find things that both satiate us the way carbs do, yet are still healthy for us.

The best part about quinoa?

• It’s a ‘complete protein’: “Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.” (source)
• It’s a good source of magnesium: “Since low dietary levels of magnesium are associated with increased rates of hypertension, ischemic heart disease and heart arrhythmias, this ancient grain can offer yet another way to provide cardiovascular health for those concerned about atherosclerosis.” (source)
• It’s also high in iron and calcium, so all of that combined makes it an “excellent food for vegetarians and vegans.” (source)

So basically, it goes without saying that quinoa is what’s up. However, how does it cut it as a substitute for whole wheat pasta? Well, pretty darn well!

(source)

PLUS

(source)

PLUS

(pasta sauce of your choosing)

EQUALS

Awww yeah! (Hey, a little math at night won’t kill you ) And these pictures are actually from today’s leftovers because I was too hungry to get pics when they first come out… yeah, they hold up pretty well

The meatless meatballs were sooo good too! Blake loved them and said they were the best ‘fake’ meatballs he’s tried, which is high praise… I guess… I also steamed some frozen veggies and threw them in the mix, to get some extra fiber and texture in there too.

All in all, I’m basically in love with Ancient Harvest’s quinoa pasta. They have all different kinds too: elbow pasta, spaghetti, bowtie… and maybe more, but that’s just what I saw at Sprouts. Definitely worth it!

Day 19: Think Positive & product review

Hey everyone! Sorry to be MIA for a day or two… I’ve been sucked into some projects for school (I’m taking 2 really cool classes this quarter: Project Management and Professional Communications) and, while they’re a lot of work, they’re really fun, interesting, and practical for my future jobs. I’m learning so much already, and it’s only week 4! We’re on the quarters system, so only 6 more weeks of school left… then I’ll be finished with graduate school! Yes, I know, that’s blowing my mind too. However, I’ve had so much to do that I haven’t really been able to think about it much, which is good!

Anyway, on to Day 19 of the VegNews challenge: Think Positive. I find this challenge to actually be challenging for once… even though I’m a pretty optimistic person…

Leaving my family to go back to school in Denver

Smiling and laughing even though at that point I was leaving to go back to school after winter break (and, mind you, a terribly awkward photo because when I have to get on a plane, I always freak out and inevitably I always forget something I desperately need – like the phone charger!), but I haven’t been very optimistic lately.

I think one of the reasons for this setback has to do with the product review I have for today: Cherrybrook Kitchen. Here’s the back story: My roommate and I have been (good-naturedly) teasing our friend for not having any survival/adult skills, like cooking. To prove us wrong, he invited us and some friends over to his house for dinner. We accepted, of course, and volunteered to bring the dessert. I thought of making a chocolate cake, because apparently a friend has a great recipe, but timing didn’t work out and she wasn’t able to send me her recipe.

However, while I was trolling Whole Foods for vegan yummys, I stumbled across Cherrybrook!

Dairy free! Vegan!

(source)

And right next to, vanilla dairy-free, egg-free frosting. I couldn’t have been more excited! I went home and proceeded to make the cake exactly according to the directions: cake mix, vegetable oil, and water. Easy-peasy, right? So far so good! I didn’t have a cake pan, so I put it in a loaf pan, and when it came out and cooled, I put it on a cutting board because the cake was so long.

It sorted broke in transit...

The cake had a weird indent in the middle of it, but my roommate and I tried a piece and it wasn’t too bad.

Then came the frosting… oh, the horror. It was super crunchy, so I had to stir it vigorously for a couple minutes, but even after stirring it still looked atrocious.

No dirty minds, please! Or, if you weren’t thinking like that, sorry for bringing any bad images to your mind. My roommate and I haven’t quite matured when it comes to inappropriate jokes

Anyway, we persevered because we thought, hey, how bad could this vegan cake be? We diligently put the broken part of the cake back and covered the whole thing in frosting. In our optimism, we even lightly dusted the top of the cake with cocoa powder.

Final product...

So how did it taste? It. Was. Atrocious. That’s all I can say about it. I tried, and my roommate tried, to be fair. We really, really did. We said to one another, “this might be delicious maybe if it had more vanilla” and “what in the world is missing from this cake?” It was TASTE. The whole thing tasted like cardboard. I wanted to die.

So we ended up going to Safeway at the last minute and bought a Tres Leches cake. And yes, I know leche means milk. This cake was not vegan. But, by the end of the night, I ate a piece because you know why? I was starving and my friend’s empanadas were terrible. Apparently the meat empanadas he made were good (according to my roommate) but he definitely burnt the heck out of my vegetarian ones and they were also cardboard.

Friday was a hard night, my friends. I came home and consoled myself with Silk vanilla soy yogurt and berries for “dessert”… and a glass of red wine. It was just one of those nights.

By the way! I’m instituting a new rating system! Instead of stars, I’m giving food/products/restaurants I review carrots. So what does Cherrybrook Kitchen get? One carrot!

Cherrybrook Kitchen's Choc. Cake and Frosting gets 1 carrot/5 carrots!

Apparently, I’m not the only one who didn’t dig this cake: check it. (And this reviewer looks professional so I take comfort in the fact that it’s not my horrid baking skills!)

Typically I’m a good baker so I’m taking VegNews’ suggestion to stay positive. I will bake again!

Day 10: Reach Out & a food product review!

Day 10 of VegNews‘ ‘31 Changes in 31 Days‘ is Reach Out. VegNews describes today’s goal as “not exclusively” talking to other vegans, but “start finding common ground with others in the food-justice movement.” When I first read this, I thought it was about talking to others about why I’m vegan and the benefits of going vegan, but apparently it’s about “food justice.”

I can’t say I’ve really talked to anyone this month about food justice, per se. I have talked to people about why being vegan, or at the very least vegetarian, is important to me, and why it is important to the environment and animals. However, most of the people who know me already know I was a vegetarian, and they’ve already asked me why so… it’s not exactly something I can bring up without making them want to run away because they’ve heard it all before.

So for today, let’s just say I’ll keep trying to work on that one!

However, I do have a fun “food review” for you to enjoy! Remember how yesterday I said I was going to eat my couscous with some mock meat stuff? Well, I thought what I had was Gardein, but it ended up being Vegetarian Plus. To be exact, it was Vegetarian Plus’ Vegan Black Pepper Steaks.

(source)

Looks delicious, right? Well… not so fast. To be honest, I heated them up in the microwave, which is never the best way to eat something. Maybe if I had heated it up in a pan, they would have been better. But yeah, microwave. And since I had to puncture the bag, they ended up leaking everywhere once they defrosted (clearly, should have set them on a plate).

Once mixed with my couscous, they weren’t that bad, but they also weren’t that great. They were sweet, which I found weird. Yet spicy (just a little bit). So… it was a weird flavor combination in my mouth. I was not a fan of them being sweet, as they didn’t mix well with my couscous.

Also, there was a TON of liquid in the bag. I get that they’re supposed to be coated in sauce, but wow! Way too much sauce, in my opinion. It was drowning my couscous!

So, I’m going to finish them up (only had half the bag) for dinner tonight, probably along with a salad or maybe some more couscous (but separate!) Maybe that will improve my view of them, but as for now it’s not that high.

I would have to give the vegan black pepper steaks from Vegetarian Plus a 2/5… they weren’t awful (1), but I wouldn’t buy them again (3 and up).

More coming later about the boot camp class I had today, plus I’ll be tracking what I eat today… I promise it will be somewhat exciting!

Ghetto Grad School Halloween

So you probably don’t know this about me, but Halloween is quite possibly my favorite holiday. What’s not to love about Halloween? Candy, dressing up, candy, drinking (when over 21 ), candy, little kids begging, candy, spooky movies, candy, Hocus Pocus with Bette Midler!, candy, zombies… and did I mention candy?

This year, my roommate and I decided we wanted to do something fun yet chill for Halloween, which basically meant we’d have a party at our place and then go out for a little while. We have class on Saturdays, which is super lame, so yesterday’s event was low key, but also a ton of fun!

I decided to be a ninja turtle for Halloween… mostly because I wanted weapons and a backpack to carry my stuff. That backpack definitely came in handy– no lugging around a purse for me!

But the most important thing about this Halloween is that I got to be a part of a super cool group of vegans to test out Creepy Cocktails (hashtag: #creepycocktails on Twitter.) Set up by Julia from the Snarky Vegan, we were given two martini recipes to try and test out on our victims friends.

A little preface: I was only able to try one martini recipe from the test group. I worked late last night, and I didn’t have time to both get into my costume and make the martinis. I did the best I could though!! Also, I sent my roommate out to get the ingredients because, again, I was at work and a little behind in getting schoolwork + martini ingredients done. Roommate did the best she could, but she didn’t get vegan graham crackers or gummy worms. In that case, I didn’t use the graham crackers at all, and I only used the gummy worms for garnish on my friends’ drinks.

Here was the recipe we tried:

Graveyard Smash Martini

• 2 ounces vanilla vodka, or regular if vanilla not available

• 2 ounces Frangelico

• squirt of vegan chocolate syrup

• crumbled chocolate Newman-O’s (or oreos) for rimming the glass and sprinkling “graveyard dirt” on the beverage

• dressing up: gummy worm or toy spider or skeleton hand

Shake vodka, Frangelico and syrup in a shaker with ice. Pour in martini glass that is already rimmed with cookie crumbs (chocolate syrup will help them stick). Position the worm/spider/skeleton in/on the beverage, hanging over the side or sticking up through the murky brew then sprinkle cookie crumbs on top of beverage. Goal is for the cookie and muddy liquid to look dirty/muddy. Like a graveyard. So anything related works (headstone cookies, etc. this is where folks can get creative, all kinds of spooky swizzle sticks are possible)

Here was the beginning of my martini masterpiece: I rimmed the top of our glasses with chocolate syrup, and dipped the tops of the glasses in mashed up Halloween Oreos. My roommate mashed the Oreos and she didn’t do the best job, so the rims kind of looked funky. Also, when I was rimming the glasses with syrup, some syrup escaped too quickly and ran down the insides of the glasses. It actually looked cooler that way! If only the syrup was red, it would have looked like blood.

I had my friend Eric make the drinks, as he called himself an “expert mixologist.” Also, when I tried shaking the drink in our cheap Target shaker, the lid flew off and spilled alcohol everywhere. Oops! The only thing bad about Eric making the drinks was that he left large chunks of ice in the shaker, which then went into the martinis. It wasn’t bad, and you can see from this picture that it kind of looks like bones! Also, that’s Eric’s hand in the upper left corner as he pours the drinks.

Finished drink #1!

Finished drink #2 up close! This was my roommate’s drink. I know, it doesn’t look dark/graveyard spooky enough. I promise you, some drinks looked darker than others. It all depends on how much oreos you mash up and put in your drink. By the time I took a picture of this drink, everyone had quaffed at least one of these bad boys, and most had forgotten about the oreo crumbs (sitting, as you can see, right on the table!)

This is a picture of our friend drinking the Graveyard Smash Martini. We unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of me drinking the martini, as I was the photographer/hostess… and everyone else was getting crunk

Unfortunately, not everyone liked this drink. I must tell you, in the interest of those who don’t like sweet drinks, this drink is very, very sweet. We followed the instructions to a T, and at least two people thought that this was way too sugary for their tastes.

Our friend Pete decided he was drinking rum and coke, because this drink was too sweet for him.

So be forewarned, all you ghosts and goblins out there, you might not like this drink if you’re not into sweet stuff. If, on the other hand, you like to get your drink on/you like it sweet, you will definitely like this drink!

But don’t just take my word for it! A ton of other awesome bloggers reviewed the drinks, and you can find their reviews (and awesome blogs!) on the list below. Have a bewitchingly wonderful Halloween weekend, everyone!

My co-hosts in graveyard delights:

snarkyvegan

the tasty vegan

kohlrabi and quince

amanda eats slc

little things big things

tak-home-a

JenoJoon

Movie Monday!

Today was absolutely great day for lots of things: my job search, my networking skills, and even homework! Today’s post is about the movie I watched: Pray the Devil Back to Hell. But first, a recap of the day!

This morning I went to the career class offered by my graduate school. It was probably the most beneficial class I’ve been to thus far for the class, and I will post a recap of what we learned from it either tomorrow or Wednesday. It was about networking and how to present your “elevator speech” when you network. A lot of things we learned about in class today, I already knew. My Mom is quite possibly the best person EVER at networking, and I have learned so much from her over my entire lifetime.

Things that come naturally to me because of what my Mom taught me obviously do not come so easily to other people, as I learned in class today. For example, we talked about how to act when attending conferences or other events where you have to network. One student raised her hand and asked “After I introduce myself, the conversation just seems to die.” What seemed to be an easy answer to me (smile, keep talking, ask questions about the other person’s background, etc.) were actually like foreign concepts to many people in the class.

Another thing that a lot of people didn’t seem to know was how important it is to stay in touch with previous contacts, even if you don’t think you will “need” them anymore. As my Mom always said while I was growing up, you never “burn bridges” and you always keep in touch, no matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen them, how far away they are, or however much you think you don’t “need” them.

Of course, I also learned a lot of valuable info from today’s career class, especially about the “six degrees of separation” in networking. I won’t elaborate too much in this post, but I do realize I have to use LinkedIn a LOT more than I do right now!

Anyway, about the movie… Students for Africa, a student organization on campus, was screening the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell today. They advertised it last week, and the movie has received positive reviews from a few people I follow on Twitter, so I decided it would be a worthy film to see.

The movie follows Liberian women in 2000-2003 during a period of intense fighting between Charles Taylor (the leader/dictator of Liberia) and warlords in the country side. The country has been embroiled in war since 1989, but it continues to get worse when, in the 2000s, the women decide to stage a peaceful protest, demanding an end to “suffering, war, and rape.”

The women in Liberia are from different religions, but they all are willing to do literally anything to bring peace to their country. They eventually force the warlords and Charles Taylor’s regime to get together in Ghana for peace talks, which does come to some fruition.

The thing I liked most about this movie was how determined the women were in bringing peace to their country. These women faced overwhelming obstacles and danger to commit to a peace protest like this, and many of the women had already been brutalized in so many different ways. Yet they demanded, and brought about, a significant change in Liberia. In fact, the women did not just abandon the cause after the peace talks either. They rallied and voted women into office in the new democracy. In fact, Liberia elected the first female president, Madame Sirleaf, in 2005!

It was an extremely worthwhile documentary. It does not lean towards the “heavy” side too much, and by heavy I mean overwhelmingly depressing. Of course, you can’t escape the violence and abuse and death in this documentary, but this documentary is more about hope and what hope plus determination can achieve for women.

I think everyone who is interested in international affairs or women’s rights should see this! It is an excellent documentary that has something for everyone.

“Tuna” Sandwich

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! I hope you’re all having a lazy Sunday for me. I’ve had the ‘Lazy Sunday’ song from SNL stuck in my head all day, and it’s really making me crave red vines! I would share the video, but unfortunately SNL doesn’t let Youtube play it anymore. Wtf?? Lame!

Another quick post today, because I have a group meeting at 3…

I made the “tuna” sandwich recipe from Happy Herbivore the other day! See, I was really craving a yummy sandwich, and for some reason my mind kept going to tuna, which is gross. Then I remembered seeing a recipe in the Happy Herbivore cookbook for “tuna”, and lo and behold, I had all the ingredients! Jack pot!

Yummy “Tuna” Sandwich from Happy Herbivore:

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of the tuna actually in a sandwich, but oh well.

I had the hardest time chopping up the celery… I don’t have a food processor or a cheese grater, so I basically just chopped… and chopped… and chopped… and chopped some more. I was glad I cut up the celery so much though, because nothing is weirder than crunching on a tuna sandwich with huge chunks of celery.

Garbanzo bean instead of real tuna is the best idea ever. The craziest thing about it? It actually tasted and smelled like tuna. Say what?! I know, yum! That Lindsay Nixon sure knows how to make some delicious and low fat recipes! I love this book!

Overall: Delicious tuna sandwich recipe with lots of leftovers (if you’re eating for one… like I am). It tastes and smells like tuna, and it simple, easy, and cheap to make. This is going to be my go-to recipe for tuna!

That’s it for today, folks. I actually made some Pumpkin Muffins from the VegNews magazine the other day too, but it was late at night and none of my pictures came out very well. However, I will be making them again next week or the week after (not sure when my friend’s potluck is), so I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Couscous ‘n’ garlic shrimp recipe!

This past weekend until today I’ve been in Phoenix, visiting my boyfriend and celebrating his birthday with him. The big 2-6, can you believe? I like to remind him regularly that he is “so old”… it’s pretty awesome, and joking about his elderly status never gets old to me!

In addition to celebrating his birthday (i.e. eating out and going to the movies – we saw Contagion, don’t see it if you’re a germiphobe!), the boyfriend also decided to cook something delicious. He is an absolutely fabulous cook… and he can fix things and open jars for me. How did I get this lucky again?!   He wanted to try a new recipe while I was in town, Couscous ‘n’ Garlic Shrimp. He found the recipe on Yahoo!

We decided to tweak the recipe a little: We didn’t use tarragon like the recipe called for (it was $6 at the store!), we used veggie broth instead of chicken broth, and we didn’t put any Parmesan cheese on top. Now, if you’ve noticed from this blog, I don’t eat meat, and obviously shrimp counts to me as meat. However, I have eaten fish in the past (so I know my body can handle it) and I have less of an aversion to eating fish than I do eating animals. Furthermore, it was his birthday weekend and he gets excited about cooking us new things, so I figured what the heck. I wouldn’t cook it myself, but it made him happy…

Best of all? It was freaking delicious!

Normally, I’m not an olives fan, but the addition of black olives was SUCH a good idea. Just the right hint of bitterness to complement the lemon butter juice!

Needless to say, there was very little leftovers after this. We were able to save a little for lunch the next day, but not much. It was so good. The boyfriend says he would reduce the amount of lemon juice in it next time, and I agree. The lemon juice was a little overpowering. Other than that, it was such a good meal! Score 1 for Yahoo! recipes!

Well, I have to get back to my graduation portfolio and get some things done for this student organization I’m the president of. Life is hard when you’re a balla! Also, I hop on a plane later today, so I’m planning on getting coffee at the airport and being very productive while I wait/fly.

Hasta luego!

Scary book review & First Watch

So yesterday, I had all the intention in the world to update the blog. However, I got completely sidetracked by a book my work-study boss recommended to me for summer ‘fun reading.’ Let me tell you, this book was disturbing as all get out! The book is called The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, and it’s basically about an outbreak of the Ebola and Marburg viruses in the 1960s-1990s. The outbreaks took place in Germany, Africa, and Washington, D.C., and the book is based on a completely true story, which is the most disturbing thing of all.

Don't read this book at night

Source (and tiny review)

Spotify is here!

I finally got my invitation to join Spotify last night, and I was so excited!! If it hadn’t been 1 in the morning, I would have signed up right away and started listening to tunes, but alas it was late, so I waited until this morning!

Before I get too ahead of myself, let me explain Spotify and how it works.