Probar Review and Giveaway!

Hello friends!

Today I have something for you. A review and giveaway! The very first on my little blog space here.

A few weeks ago Probar contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their new protein bars. The bars, called Probar CORE bars come in a variety of flavors, and as such, I requested to try the variety pack.

From their website:

Looking for a protein bar that resembles nature rather than a science experiment? Good. Because we’ve packed 20 grams of plant protein and plenty of real, recognizable ingredients into this bar. And it does more than build your strength – it boasts chia seeds for hydration and recovery too.

source

The CORE bars come in four delicious flavors: Mint Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Brownie Crisp and Cookie Dough.

Here are the stats for each bar, from the Probar website.

Brownie Crisp:

Cookie Dough:

Mint Chocolate:

Peanut Butter Chocolate:

These bars are ENORMOUS and one thing I really loved about them is that compared to the size, the sugar content is relatively low! Many of the regular bars I eat have a similar sugar count, but are much smaller as compared to the CORE bars. Not to mention, of course the protein content is phenomenal as well. The only down side to these bars is that they are a bit pricey, coming in at nearly $3.00 a bar.

All the flavors were delicious, but I think my favorite was definitely the Cookie Dough. The Hubby also loved these bars. He eats protein bars daily, most of the time for breakfast, and he has not stopped talking about these bars. He liked the Mint Chocolate the best.

And now for the giveaway! Probar has been awesome to offer all of you the chance to win a box of the Probar CORE! After the winner is selected, I will contact the winner via email. The winner will have three days to respond or another winner will be selected. Once the winner is contacted, I will relay your address to Probar and they will send you your prize!

Also Probar is offering a one time only discount of 40% off an item to all my readers on their site! Just use the promotional code “BLOGGER” at checkout.

You have several chances to win, and only two are mandatory. Please refer to the Rafflecopter entry wizard below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Five

Hello everyone!

I hope you all have had a fantastic week. I thought I would end this week with a Friday Five post since it has been awhile. So here goes!

 

1. I had Froyo earlier this week. It was fabulous. I love to get just a little bit of ice cream with a BUNCH of toppings! Fruit and chocolate top my list for toppings.

2. I had a major sweat sesh at the track the other night. I love to workout at the track and then take my workout to the mat under the bleachers (and you can get your mind outta the gutters, this was strictly a solo routine). I usually pack my workout mat up there after my runs and do a quick strength training session. Love getting both my workouts done in the outdoors!

3. We have plans to celebrate Mother’s day with my mama this weekend. I am planning on making her dinner, for a change. I’m thinking hamburgers, veggie burgers (me and my Grandmother both love veggie burgers), a vegetable tray, and some type of dessert. I’m thinking Angel Food Cake.

4. I just watched the most recent episode of The Vampire Diaries. If you’re not a fan, feel free to skip to the next one. Let me just say…FINALLY! And THANK YOU in regards to Jeremy. I won’t say anything more, since I know some may have not see it yet. It was a great episode!

5. Aren’t these the biggest strawberries you’ve ever seen! I got these babies this past week and, literally, one strawberry is all I have needed to make my Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal. Just mix 1/2 cup oatmeal, strawberries, and a little almond milk. Nuke in the microwave on 3 minutes. So. Good.

6. Okay, maybe one more. I guess that will make this the Friday SIX, but whatev. My blog, my rules. I made these ground turkey tacos the other day and they were delish!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Where do you like to workout? Outdoors or Gym Rat?

Whats your favorite Froyo topping?

Kitchen Shenanigans and Bruised Egos

Hello everyone!

I have a tasty treat to share with you guys today that I made my Mother-In-Law for Mother’s Day over the weekend. We are celebrating with my mama this upcoming weekend. These Strawberry and Banana muffins are simply divine. The original recipe came from the blog, Une-Deux Senses, but I also found a link at this blog site for a doubled version of the recipe. And since I had decided to make these as a gift, I of course wanted a few extras to “taste-test” so I used the doubled version.

  

Sidenote: For a better, someone-who-was-more-motivated -didn’t-use-an-Iphone pic, checkout the original blog post for this recipe. 

These muffins were absolutely moist and delicious. The only substitutions I made to the recipe was I used coconut oil instead of Safflower oil and honey instead of agave. They turned out perfectly. They were so moist, full of flavor, and best of all they don’t have any added sugar in them!

In other news, I almost died in my kitchen last night.

I thought I might try a new recipe idea I had to make Orange Chicken Stir Fry in the crockpot. I decided to do this at like 9 p.m. last night when Hubby was in the shower. We keep the crockpot on the very top of the cabinets and it’s usually his job to get those items down.

Well, this time I decided to try and do it myself. I mean, I used to climb up on the cabinets all the time when I was a kid. Shouldn’t be that hard, right? Let’s just say after a delicate balancing act on my knees above the sink, while also trying to balance the crockpot so the lid wouldn’t fall off, I somehow ended up on the floor…

Thankfully, nothing was hurt but my pride. Somehow, the crockpot didn’t even break (and neither did any of my bones)! While sitting on the floor in disbelief, trying to figure out what went wrong, I hear Hubby yell, “WHAT WAS THAT?” Nothing Hubby, just my a$$ hitting the floor. Sigh…

Not one to give up, I added all the ingredients together in the pot and let it cook overnight. However, this morning when I taste-tested the concoction, I think it is less than steller. Now today, not only is my backend aching and bruised, but so is my ego…It’s edible, but not good enough to share here. Still needs some work!

What about you guys, ever have any embarassing kitchen accidents? I think I have some type of snafoo every day!

-Lou

I’m a Healthy Living Blogger!

Well, in case you have noticed, there’s a new addition to my sidebar —> 

I have followed the Healthy Living Blogger community for a while, but this past weekend I became an official member. From their site:

Healthy Living Blogs was designed to enhance the already tight-knit, supportive community of the healthy living blog world. An amazingly strong connection is formed when like-minded individuals come together to encourage one another, and that’s exactly what HLB is here to accomplish. Find new blogs that blow you away. Find new inspiration. Find people in your geographic area to meet and encourage and support you in real life.

This blog is all about who I am and I am so grateful and excited to be a part of their initiative!

As part of my new membership, I am planning a giveaway to host on their Monday Announcements very soon. Stay tuned!

 

Are you a part of a blogging community? Which one?

Graduation 2013 – M. A. in Counseling Psychology

The day started out extremely early. I had decided to get up at 5:45 a.m. in order to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready. I was scheduled to be in the “lineup” at 9:15 a.m. I was so excited while getting ready. It probably sounds silly, but I seriously felt like I was getting ready for prom or my wedding again.

I spent time carefully putting on my makeup, doing my hair, and putting on my dress. I chose this dress from Modcloth.com. I wish I had taken a picture of me in my dress, but I was in such a hurry getting ready that I didn’t have time. By the time I was adding the finishing touches, it was already 8:25 a.m.! We were supposed to meet my parents nearly 20 minutes away to pick them up.

I totally had my hat on backwards in that pic…womp, womp. Knowing how to put the hat on isn’t required for the degree, right? I found out a little later after we got to the college and someone kindly pointed it out to me.

My husband drove like a mad man to get to our point of pickup for my parents. But when we got there, we circled the parking lot at least three times and couldn’t find them anywhere! Finally, they pulled in and anxiously got in the car. They had also had a slow start this morning.

After arriving, my husband dropped me off at the “lineup” destination and the rest of my family was off to find their seats. It seemed as if it took FOREVER while we were standing there waiting for the procession to start. I actually chose shoes about a size smaller so they would stay on my feet better. But still, they were a little loose and were not fitting very snug, which made me feel really nervous that I might fall while on the stage.

As the final people got lined up, I became even more anxious as I realized how far we were having to walk to the building where the graduation was being held. Apparently, the college had a long-standing tradition that graduates were to walk along the Alumni path in route to the graduation. The path was almost a quarter of a mile long…

So, I did what any upstanding, college graduating, Kentucky girl could do. I totally took my shoes off and walked the whole way barefoot! Best. idea. ever. One of my colleagues even followed suite! That’s us, bringing the rear in all our barefooted glory!

Once we arrived to the building, we all filed in. Of course, the Graduate class was in the back. By the time I got inside the crowded auditorium, the butterflies in my stomach were swarming at full speed!

I spotted my family off to the side right away. My Dad (in perfect Dad fashion) gave me a Captain’s salute and I felt my eyes well up with tears. I spotted my Mom, Husband, and In-Law family right beside them and locked eyes with all of them, beaming. How did I ever get so lucky to have so much support and love in my life? With as much love and pride I know they all have fore me, I knew this was as much their day, as it was mine.

After a long-winded older gentlemen gave his speech, which consisted of many stories and words of wisdom about life and careers, it was finally time to start calling us up on the stage. I waited very impatiently while they called name after name. After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally my turn to step up to the stage. And everything went according to plan!

The rest of the day was spent celebrating with my family. We had a wonderful dinner together in celebration. I have to say a special thanks to my wonderful family, friends, and colleagues who have been there with me the whole way. It has been a long journey, and I am so blessed to have had so much support along the way.

- Lou

The Runner’s High

Hey everyone!

I just needed to get out a quick post and tell you guys something. I had the BEST RUN today! Like, seriously. Probably unlike any other I have ever had. I know about the “runner’s high” and I have experienced that multiple times. But today? You guys, it was AMAZING. I don’t even know how to describe it. The only thing I can say is that when I was running, I suddenly had this feeling like there was no pain, no fatigue, just nothing but sheer, elated bliss. 

It was so weird, because for a few minutes I didn’t even know what was happening. Was I getting sick? Well, I didn’t really feel sick. Was I about to pass out? Was I getting too hot? It was none of those things. I started trying to zone in on the feeling and try to figure out what it was and the only thing I could compare it to was how I have felt before (in some of my college days, ahem) when I have had a really good buzz from drinking a little too much. Almost like a feeling that my body was numb, and I didn’t care about anything else in that moment. I only wanted the feeling to last! 

I don’t know what was different about today. It was just a normal run, but that was the best endorphin rush I have had yet. I can’t help but wonder if my significant lack of stress this past week had something to do with it. Not only have I had a pretty easy day at work, but this is the first official week in nearly three years I have not had to think about classes or homework. Perhaps this could have been a factor in my extreme rush of endorphins?

Like I said, I really don’t know. I do know, I LOVE RUNNING! For all of you out there who have never experienced the “runner’s high” KEEP TRYING. Don’t give up. It is an amazing feeling and if you really let yourself just relax and enjoy the run, it will come!

That’s all I have today. Just wanted to share. Happy Friday!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Well this day has just flown by. I have finished with all my work today and now I’m just sitting back enjoying a mug of Pomegranate Raspberry Green Tea and catching up on some blog reading. My tea is delicious and fruity and has inspired me to write a blog post about a few of my favorite things lately.

As a disclaimer let me state these products and companies have not reimbursed me or requested a review any way. I purchased these products myself and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

1. Stash tea.  A little while back I purchased the Herb and Green Tea sampler pack from Amazon. I know green tea has many amazing health benefits and reportedly helps to boosts metabolism, so I was looking for a green tea. However, I don’t really fancy the taste of regular green tea as a hot beverage. I like it cold, but I think it taste bitter when hot. So, when I discovered this sample pack I was looking for some type of fruity flavored green tea and this tea has definitely won me over. I love all the green tea flavors in the box: Matcha Mango, Gojiberry, and Pomegranate Raspberry. And I also love the herbal flavors: Yumberry Blackcurrant, Blueberry, and Acai Berry (probably my favorite out of the herbal variety).

2. Island Coconut Green Mountain coffee. I have to restock my stash of Keurig Vue cups almost once a month. I may or may not order 48 cups each time… I was SO EXCITED to see Green Mountain has added a new flavor for this month. The Island Coconut blend is a light roast coffee and is advertised as “Limited Edition”. It seemed as if it took forever for my coffee to arrived after I ordered. (It was really right on time, I was just so excited to try it, so it seemed to take longer! Funny how that works.) This blend is truly amazing. I am in love with the coconutty flavor and it absolutely tastes like an indulgence. I have been having a cup of this after dinner before my afternoon run. I’m already almost out! Must. Order. More.

3. Equate Whitening Trays. I love when people have beautiful smiles and gorgeous white teeth. Problem is, I love coffee more (see above). In preparation of my upcoming Graduation I decided to attempt whitening my teeth (for the pictures, duh!) Most name brand whitening methods are fairly pricey, not to mention, I really don’t like the strips. I’ve tried them before and I always feels as if they’re not really doing the job. They feel as if they don’t stay in place very well. So, I was excited to see Wal-Mart has come out with an affordable store brand version with whitening trays. Although you can definitely tell when I have these on because they’re not “invisible,” it’s really been a non issue. I simply pop these in as I’m getting ready for bed and winding down for the night with my book (or blogs) and take them out right before I fall asleep. I have been using them for two days so far and I can already see a difference!

4. Nair Face and Chin cream. Well, my late-twenties-approaching-early-thirties has definitely begun to show up. I have been noticing some very light, but clearly annoying, stray hairs show up on my chin area. Although they are barely noticeable, I know they’re there. They’re so fine I have been unable to successfully pluck them with tweezers. So, this past weekend I noticed the Nair products at the store and picked this one up. I have never tried any Nair or hair removal products aside from waxing (never ever again).

I was surprised about how easy it was to apply the product. I thought the product would burn while it sits on the skin, but it did not. I will say I had redness and sensitivity afterwards, but nothing my normal everyday makeup couldn’t camouflage. It worked great! The only complaint I had was that my skin did seem to start peeling about a day afterwards, but this might also have been because of the toner I was using. I recommend the product, but I definitely would moisturize afterwards and skip the toner for the next day or so on the naired area.

 

I hope all of you are having a great week!

 

Have you every tried any hair removal products? 

What’s your favorite Keurig coffee blend?