New Loves In My Life & A Holiday Inspired Protein Shake
By admin
TGIF! In exactly a week I’ll be singing holiday songs and getting into the Christmas spirit! But not until the day after Thanksgiving. That’s my rule. In fact, one of the radio stations I listen to started playing holiday music about 2 weeks ago, but I’ve boycotted… I refuse to listen to it that. Its part of the anticipation of Thanksgiving!
No Bing Crosby action going on here yet, but that will be a love in my life next week.
Lately, I’ve been trying a lot of new things. With changes in my diet and in the weather some new things have had to be introduced into my life.
So I thought I would share them!
Some of these products were given to my, others I purchased on my own. But regardless, all thoughts/opinions are mine.
Healthy Bites: Cookie Dough & Muddy Buddy Mocha
My friend Lindsay (who blogs at cottercrunch.com) is amazing in the kitchen. Her recipes always make me wonder: “why didn’t I think of that?” And I have tried several of them in my own kitchen, and have yet to be disappointed.
Aside from helping her pro-triathlete husband train, aside from whipping up awesome meals and workouts, she also runs a small business out of her home creating these Healthy Bites.
They’re balanced for energy and protein and were originally created to help James (her hubby) get through tough long workouts. Consider them his GU.
I’ve been all about energy bites lately but I get tired of making them and quite frankly love trying other people’s versions. So I put in an order and within 5 days these babies arrived on my doorstep.
These are the standard versions, I ordered my to be vegan.
Holy cow, they’re amazing! The Muddy Buddy Mocha bites are Dan’s favorite. They taste like Coco Puffs with a splash of espresso and could be the most addictive things I’ve ever had. I love both, but the cookie dough bites bring back memories of making cookies with my mom and sneaking a few bites of the dough. They taste just like Toll House… seriously!
Oh, and Lindsay was nice enough to make them vegan for me! All are gluten free and made with real ingredients. This is what I love… they fit my new nutrition program perfectly!
Bearded Brothers: Radical Raspberry Lemon Bars
I love snack bars! Something I can toss in my purse for on the go or something I can just nibble on throughout the day.
I first fell in love with Bearded Brothers back when I first went vegan. I loved their simple ingredient list and their family owned business feel. As a small business owner, I tend to support others as much as I can, even if that means spending a little bit more money.
They brothers are currently trying to grown their business through Kickstart and reached out to see if I wouldn’t mind trying their new flavor.
Of course I agreed! Who doesn’t love raspberry flavored foods?
I love these! But because they made with a lot of high sugar fruits (dates, figs) I am watching my consumption right now (which means Dan has been loving having first dibs). I tend to nibble on one throughout the day when ever I need a little pick me up. Or right after a lot run to help refuel my sugar levels to help my body from going into a catabolic state (muscle break down).
The texture is that of a gooey date bar, almost Lara Bar – like. I highly recommend them, though my #1 flavor is still the Mighty Maca Chocolate Bar!
UnderArmour Flyby Turtleneck
{Source}
When I realized that temperatures might not even reach 30-degrees for my trail race, I hit up the UnderArmour store for some help. I definitely don’t mind spending money on clothes to help me train better!
This turtleneck shirt is so comfortable and I love that it’s breathable, form-fitting and long. The neck looks constricting but it’s not at all. It was a life savor during my last race!
I often worry about my leggings falling down as I run and showing a bit of a plumber’s butt but the shirt was able to stay down to cover any of that up. The last thing I want to worry about when running or working out is showing my butt off!
Luckily, the shirt didn’t ride up at all and kept everything PG… because my leggings definitely fell down some. It was also great at whisking away sweat. I was never too hot or too cold. Which to be honest surprised the heck out of me since I’m always cold!
Definitely recommend this if you workout outdoors during the winter. I bought mine at the UA Outlet for around $ 50.
Yoga Rat RatMat Classic
Have you ever checked out LeftLane Sports? It’s my favorite online sporting goods store… think Livingsocial but for just fitness! It’s awesome and how I buy a lot of our gear. I have no idea how I stumbled upon it but I am glad I did!
A few weeks ago they had a special to take an extra 25% off any purchase. And with prices already about 40-60% off, I couldn’t pass it up!
I ended up buying Dan and I each our own yoga mat (this one for me and one in red for him) and Dan a second pair of Vibram 5-Fingers shoes. I want to say the total was around $ 70 which is cheaper that what a pair of Vibrams normally cost on their own!
Anyways, I am in LOVE with my yoga mat, which cost less than $ 13 with the discount (regular price $ 30.00)! For so long we were doing yoga right on our living room floor and I was never really into it.
This mat doesn’t have a lot of slippage, is just thick enough to be comfortable but not so thick that it’s bulky. It also has certified tested paperwork which probably means something to a lot of you that do yoga regularly but to me is just a “oh cool” factor.
It’s so funny how having the proper gear can get you more motivated!
So much so, I took advantage of a Groupon yesterday and bought Dan and I 10 classes at our favorite yoga studio (Yoga House Of Charleston)! Can’t wait for Dan to take is first REAL yoga class!
Last but not least, this thing might possibly beat out my sweet potato casserole shake! I am LOVING holiday themed shakes right now and can’t wait to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend recipe creating!
Cranberry Protein Shake
Ingredients:
- Vanilla Protein (I used Sunwarrior)
- 1/4 cup sugar-free, organic canned cranberry sauce (or you can make it yourself)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- Ice
Blend it all together and enjoy!
I have several other new to me items to share, but I’ll wait for another Friday. One is a new supplement I started taking to help fight my skin issues… so far so good!
What’s something you’re loving right now?