This is only a glimpse into how crazy this little feline is…

How could that not make you smile?!

Dinner wasn’t too bad either.

That would be THEE best sticky bun in the world (seriously, Cinnabon who?). Don’t worry…a had a salad for dessert

Oh! Nuts giveaway winner.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway! The winner is:

Congratulations, Julie! Please email me at gracie@girlmeetslife.com with your full name, contact information, and mailing address.

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It’s been a loooong day. Time for bed! Ta ta, my sweets. xoxo G

It was a good one.

I don’t like to complain.

In fact, for the past few weeks I’ve been trying to convince myself that this particular issue is no big deal. But you know what?

I CAN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s the deal. A few weeks ago I mentioned in passing how I was getting a tooth shaved down and replaced with a crown. Why? I had a huge crack in one of my molars, despite taking quite impeccable care of my teeth.

Other than the burden of shlepping to the dentist office, getting the crown didn’t bother me. Heck, I was all for something that would take away the piercing pain that came every time I bit on something with the slightest of crunch. Unfortunately, though, that pain hasn’t stopped. It has actually gotten worse.

Much worse

It seems as though the crack goes all the way down through the root of my tooth, which means that I’ll most likely have to get a root canal. As much as I despise the following acronym, I think it’s safe to say…

FML.

I’ve been on a serious cereal kick lately. I love mixing different cereals, and one of my favorites is Coca Crispy Brown Rice.

This brings me back to my Cocoa Pebbles days (even though I was always more of  Cap’n Crunch gal). It even leaves a bowl full of chocolate milk behind!

From the moment I broke into this box of cereal, though, it also brought back a very bad memory. Look closely:

Closer…

Notice any resemblance?

I must admit that my first bowl of this cereal wasn’t exactly the tastiest…but only because of the disturbing mental image it resulted in. However, I’m not one to waste food – especially not tasty food – so I overcame the obstacle. I’m happy to say that I no longer have trouble eating a bowl full of cereal that resembles the Indian Meal Moth larvae found in my Luna Bar.

Yes – you read that right. Indian Meal Moth larvae. Yuck!

While we’re on the topic, I feel the need to address how this situation unfolded – especially since many of you were concerned and anxious that I contact the company. I did contact them, and it was about 10 days later that I received the following response.

Thanks for taking the time to contact us about your unpleasant experience with finding bugs in your LUNA Bar.  I am so sorry this has happened to you and apologize for your discomfort.  There is a simple explanation for what has occurred with your Bar.  What you discovered is an Indian Meal Moth.  I assure you that while Indian Meal Moths are definitely unappetizing, they are not harmful to ingest, and do not become parasites.

The moths are pantry pests attracted to grains, dried fruits, chocolate, nuts, cardboard, birdseed and other preservative-free foods.  The moths seek out food sources and can penetrate packaging when they are ready to lay their eggs.  This can occur at any point in the distribution chain, but is most prevalent in retail locations.

We are confident the Indian Meal Moths do not originate in our warehouse or bakeries.  Several of our products are baked at a high enough temperature to eliminate pests.  Our warehouse and bakeries are kept scrupulously clean and equipped with pheromone traps to monitor any activity.  Traps are checked frequently.

I recommend disposing of this as well as any other CLIF Bar products you purchased in garbage that is located outside of your house or place of business.

I hope that this information will help to ease your concern.  I would like to send you a box of fresh-from-the-bakery LUNA bars (or a box of another product we make) as our sincere apology for this incident.  Please reply to this email with your mailing address if you are interested.

Thank you again for taking the time to alert us to this incident.

We hope you will give our products another chance.

I have a couple of thoughts on this. I was glad to have received a response somewhat shortly after contacting the company, and I appreciated the apology that was extended. It was also a relief to find out exactly what I found in my Luna Bar and learn that it was not harmful.

However. I definitely cannot say that I’m entirely satisfied with this response, and here’s why.

First of all, I was sort of surprised that the company knew exactly what this bug in my Luna Bar was. That means that they either a) spent time researching it or b) have had experience with these bugs in the past. Am I missing any other alternatives…?

Secondly, I was also surprised that the company so adamantly believes that the problem did not originate in their factory. In fact, my response to this email included a comment about how I believe there is the possibility of at least some sort of issue at the factory – whether it be where the bars are made or in the packaging department. Stuff like that can’t just permeate through packing that is created for the sole purpose of protecting the food.

Bugs get in food…I get that. In fact, when I find bugs in salad/fresh produce, it doesn’t really both me. That’s natural. But this? This wasn’t. According to this email, Indian Meal Moths/Worms are supposedly very prevalent. But if that’s the case, why have I never heard of them, nor any other incident involving them in packaged foods?

So, in short, I was and still am not satisfied with the response. I’m not looking for attention or a lifetime of free Luna Bars (I turned down the free box, in case you were wondering), but I guess I was looking for a bit more conviction from the company and some sort of indication that they would at least look into the problem further.

I’m sad to say that I no longer feel comfortable buying Luna Bars. If you ask any of my family members or friends they’ll tell you how often I used to buy Luna Bars – I loved them! But, as you can imagine, the experience isn’t one that I’m going to be able to forget any time soon…

…especially not while I’m eating my new favorite cereal. Ahem.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen that there was an unwelcome guest in my Luna Bar the other day.

Unfortunately I came across this after already eating 3/4 of the bar.

fjkshdf;uosh;guoghc;uorghiuguigugpsfhousglifu.

At first I decided not to post about this, but I can’t stop wondering. Does anyone knows what kind of bug/larva that is? And what’s up with the web stuff??

(I can’t believe I just had to type the word “larva” in relation to something I ate. GAG )

So…any idea?

Have you ever found a creepy crawler in your food??

HI DOLLS! I feel like I say this all the time but…is it really already Friday?! I’m certainly not complaining, but it’s crazy to think that not only is this week almost over, but August flashed before our eyes. Eek!

break the fast…literally.

I had to get fasting labs done this morning (nothing serious, just to check up on my thyroid levels) so I was starving by the time I got home. I made myself a big bowl of filling oatmeal.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• sprinkle of chia seeds
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• spoonful of coconut oil
• cinnamon
• toppings: almond butter and blueberries

Edible art, anyone?

quality or quantity?

You know, I always thought that I was strictly a quality over quantity type of person.

I’d rather have one scoop of real ice cream than two scoops of diet ice cream.

I’d rather have one sincere relationship than a multitude of fake ones.

I’d easily choose three days in Greece over a week in LA.

But, there are definitely some cases where quantity trumps quality.

I’d rather buy 10 pieces of clothing from H&M than one item from Saks Fifth Avenue.

I’d rather eat heaps of roasted veggies than two onion rings.

I’d rather receive four years of education at a “normal” college than one year at an ivy league school.

When it comes to health, though, I must say that I lean towards quality over quantity. Aside from my veggies versus onion rings example (which, the “quality” of onion rings is quite arguable anyway), I’d much rather have quality food and quality exercise than a whole lot of mediocrity.

I think that this is a very important realization that must be made when it comes to practicing a healthy lifestyle, or more specifically, losing weight. For example, one of the main reasons I believe that most diets fail is because people believe loading up on tons of “diet food” is the key to losing weight. Sure, you may be able to eat 10 rice cakes and 3 heads of iceberg lettuce (dipped in fat-free dressing, of course) throughout the day, but you’re still going to be hungry. And we wonder why “diet” is viewed as a four-letter word!

Furthermore, so many people view exercise as something that must be done “x” minutes a day. So instead of focusing on quality exercise moves, people spend hours a week doing something like walking on the treadmill holding the handles.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against treadmills (I use them often!). My point is, I believe that viewing exercise as a quantity over quality practice is what leads people to get sick of it and give up all together.

Even though this concept of quality over quantity is supported by most healthy living blogs and prescribed by most health professionals, why does it seem like the majority of society still holds to the old, quantity over quality diet mentality? I think it’s because most people believe that numbers and equations are what lead to results. But like I said before – whether your trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to view food as a means of quality fuel and nutrients. It’s also important to view exercise as a quality source of energy. And, if you’re a reader of GMH, you probably know that part of my definition of health in general is that it should lead to quality of life.

• What about you? Have you ever viewed health as quantity over quality?
• Why do you think our society still holds to the “quantity over quality” diet mentality?