meet my 2 good friends, chocolate and coffee

Oh, boy, do I have something exciting to share with you today. Well, it's only exciting if you like chocolate. (Which, one might think, "Who DOESN'T like chocolate??", right? Well, I do actually know one person, so for him, this isn't anything he would remotely care about.) But for the rest of us normal people (sorry, Luke...) this is good news. It's good news because it's not only delicious, but healthy. At least by my standards. What wonderfulness is this of which I speak? It's this little treasure...new Nature Valley granola bars.
Now, I do know that there is sugar in these, and it's probably lots healthier to make your own granola, skip the sugar and put in raisins or something. True. However, this is me talking....therefore, that ain't gonna be happening any time soon. So...moving, on...K.? I can deal with what my family refers to as the 'crunchy' granola bars (they prefer the chewy, which....I know, I know...sugar...blah, blah, blah....it's still better than chips or other junk, right?) but I really never loved them. The crunch was almost enough to bust my teeth! But I would try to choose them if I was trying to force myself toward a healthier snack. However, mix a little dark chocolate in there and it's a whole new ballgame!!

Seriously, these things are so good, and normally I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate. (I'm more of a milk chocolate gal myself...) But I have heard enough to know that dark chocolate (in reasonable amounts) is actually good for you, and I know that when I am in serious need of a chocolate fix, it is also good for others! It makes us all happy! But seriously, there are supposedly powerful antioxidants in dark chocolate, it helps increase bloodflow to the brain (could definitely use some more of that!!) and it can help lower your blood pressure. (Now, that one isn't something I need...my BP is normally so low that nurses have asked me on more than one occasion if I need to sit down or if I'm feeling lightheaded after taking my BP. I do believe it has something to do with why I am always cold. Anyway....) Mixing the dark chocolate with the granola gives it just enough crunch to totally convince my mind that I'm munching away on cookies. It's honest, truly that good! As you can tell, I'm a little excited about these, because I often really need a chocolate fix, but end up doing mini-binges on candy, cookies or other complete junk. And portion control....ha!! Does anyone seriously rip open a bag of Double Stuff Oreos and eat the recommended serving of 2 cookies?? I'm feeling hopeful that this can be a good solution to my little chocolate obsession problem. It's oh-so-tasty, it's at least some level of healthy (there IS 16 grams of whole grains!), AND they give you two decent-sized bars in a package. And since there's only 6 packages in a box, I will want to save and savor them. Sharing....now that might be a whole separate issue.... This is definitely gonna be an item I need to keep on hand in my hidden stash. (Yes, I really do keep a hidden box of chocolate for emotional emergencies.)

On a separate note, but also food related, is a coffee that I'm particularly enjoying recently. They're Folger's Simply Smooth coffees and they also are really good. When they say "smooth" that is the exact word I would use to describe it. In fact, the only word I could think of when I was telling a friend about it. I mean, I'm not really a coffee connoisseur , but I do enjoy 'good' coffee and can tell the difference taste-wise between good coffee and cheap stuff. This stuff is not bitter or bitey, and supposedly has less acid so it's easier on the stomach. Unless I'm specifically looking for a caffeine fix (I freely admit I'm a user, okay...caffeine is my drug of choice...) I actually prefer the decaf. It's noticeably even better than the regular in my opinion.

So, while I'm not getting paid to promote either of these products (though, I'd totally be okay with it if either company wanted to send me a lifetime supply....) I just wanted you to know a few of the little things that have been making me happy these days! :)

And I think I've used the words 'seriously' and 'totally' about 483 times in this post. Sorry. I'm just seriously totally excited about these products....and possibly slightly over-obsessed with food. That's for another day...