Movie Madness: The Book of Life

I have been looking forward to seeing The Book of Life ever since I saw the trailer for it when I went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2. Not only was it as good as I hoped it would be, it was better! Now, I'm not here to ruin the movie for you. But, I wanted to talk about some of the best things about it. It's the perfect movie to watch for Halloween! SO, here is why you need to go see it.

1. It's got prominent Animal Rights undertones. Hurray! I can't really tell you much without spoiling, but believe you me, it's there. (And once you've seen it, we can freak out about it together. Hit me up in comments with a spoiler alert.)

2. It's got prominent Feminist undertones. Again, I'm not going to spoil it. But, This is some seriously crazy women's empowerment stuff. Even though it's a love story, it features very strong, independent female characters. (Voiced by very strong, independent actresses.)

3. It's got a great story-line. Just trust me on this, and go watch it. 

4. It's got extremely good cultural references. The soundtrack is wonderful. 30 Seconds to Mars was in the trailer, so trust me. It gets even better. There are also several literary references. (If you missed them, hit up the comments and I'll tell you some of the ones I noticed.)

5. The art is wonderful. 'Nuff said. (Except I really want to talk about this, so I'm going to elaborate a little.) Mexican Day of the Dead style is gorgeous, and used a lot in this movie. (That's another reason it's a good Halloween movie.) 

6. It celebrates a minority culture. This one is pretty obvious. 

7. It's a good movie for all ages. Tip: If you're stuck babysitting, or if you're a parent and you don't want your kids running around the neighborhood at night on Halloween, this is a great movie to take kids to. They'll love it, and so will you.

Alright. I'm going to stop there, or I might accidentally spoil something. But SERIOUSLY! This is a great movie. Go watch it. I'm going to buy my own copy and watch it every weekend for the rest of my life. (Okay, maybe not, but I definitely want my own copy.)

Fall Veggie Favorites

So, as you are surely well aware at this point, it is Pumpkin Everything Season. (Also known as Autumn or Fall.) However, there are lots of other kinds of squash that are soooo in this season. Today, I'm hopefully going to convince you to try a slightly less common one: Spaghetti Squash.

Why is it called spaghetti squash? Well, for starters, it's a squash. And when you prepare it, it looks a whole lot like spaghetti. Here's the part where I blow your mind. (Maybe.) You can even eat it like you would eat spaghetti. OMG. This is too much! But I'm serious.

Are you looking for something to eat that's easy, cheap, delicious, satisfying, vegan, (also gluten-free,) and good for you? (Note: vegan food is not always actually good for you. Might I remind you, french fries and Oreos. It's okay. We're all guilty. But anyway. . .) You really should try it. I got a medium-sized spaghetti squash for under $3 at Trader Joe's, and I got about 6 servings out of it. Add marinara sauce with gluten-free, vegan faux beef crumbles (for protein,) and vegan Parmesan cheese, and you've basically got everything you need in a meal in one dish. (BTW,  you can get all those things, except maybe vegan Parmesan, at Trader Joe's for cheapsies. P.S. They'll also be organic.) Preparing Spaghetti Squash is also really easy, like I said. Basically, you vent your frustration with *insert noun here* by stabbing the squash several times. Then you put the squash on a plate or even just some paper towels, and cook it in the microwave. NOTE: Cooking times vary depending on the size of the squash. Just look it up on the internet. It's pretty simple. Again, mine was a medium squash. I cooked it for 20 minutes, and it was perfect. Whenever you're done cooking it, pull off the stem carefully, and cut the squash in half. Scoop out all the little spaghetti-looking parts, and eat it! No boiling water or stirring necessary. Congrats. You're so fancy. That would cost you about $10 per plate at Ruby Tuesday. (My version is normally less than $3 a serving with toppings, and you can eat it at your own house. What.)



This is one of the most amazing vegetables out there, so what are you waiting for? Do you have a good spaghetti squash recipe? (Hint: You can also eat this stuff NOT like spaghetti. What.) What do you think about spaghetti squash? Have you ever tried it? Do you love it? Is it your favorite thing? Let me know in the comments! Until next time! Much love.