Vega Sport Protein Bar Review #FuelYourBetter

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My life gets crazy sometimes… trying to work two jobs AND workout AND still take care of the house AND trying to fix at least one good meal during the week can get kinda crazy.  Which is why sometimes my recovery after my workouts is usually … NOTHING… then when I get home and finally get a shower, all I can think about is getting ready for another crazy long day and hitting the sack…

Which is why when Vega teamed up with Fit Approach and offered some Sweat Pink Ambassadors a chance to do a product review, I jumped at the chance and applied immediately!

 
I am super excited to officially be a Vega Blogger!! :)

Vega has launched a campaign called #FuelYourBetter and it focuses on helping you find out what holds you back and how to overcome that obstacle by helping you fuel better! Go click on what’s holding you back and check out their tips, advice, and products to help you overcome and get the best workout and best results! Vega also helps you create you’re very own personal Performance nutrition Plan!!

It was no secret to me what my setback was… RECOVERY… so I chose to review the Vega Sport Protein Bar! When it arrived at my door I was super excited, but I was also super bummed because it happened to be on one of my 14 hour long days and I only had 15 minutes to change between jobs and get out the door!!

My usual go-to recovery is a green smoothie, but lets be honest… that gets old real fast trying to make it before hand and think of a way to keep it cold throughout the day and not let it leak all over your gym bag! Gross!! That’s why I LOVE the Vega Sport Protein Bar because they are super easy to just throw in your gym bag, eat on the go, and completely mess free!! Not to mention totally vegan AND delicious!! (I was sent the Chocolate Mint flavor but I’m sure the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Coconut are amazing too!! How could they not be?? They’re chocolate!!)

Check out what their website has to say about these bad boys:

Give your muscles the protein they crave. Recharge and repair with Vega Sport Protein Bar post-workout, so you can do it all again, sooner.

• 15 g complete, multisource, plant-based protein
• 2.5 g BCAAs
• 2 g glutamine
• 1 g Omega-3

Formulated by Brendan Brazier, vegan professional Ironman triathlete and bestselling health author on plant-based nutrition, Vega Sport Protein Bar is part of the three stage Vega Sport Nutrition System.

Non-GMO, gluten-free and made without artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners, enjoy Vega Sport Protein Bars in Chocolate Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Mint flavors.

They really are not like other protein bars I’ve had in the past… Even with 15g of protein in each bar, they still don’t taste chalky!  The texture is easy to handle and it really kind of tastes more like a candy bar!  Even my husband snuck some off in his gym bag and he’s picky about what he eats!!

Since I can conveniently take a Vega Sport Protein Bar with me to eat after my workout, I’ve noticed that I am less sore the next day and feel more refreshed and ready to go! It’s so easy to just eat it walking out of the gym or in my car on the way home!! Isn’t it funny what proper recovery can do?!  I’m so glad I found Vega’s Protein Bars!! Vega Sport also has other products that make it easy and fun to #FuelYourBetter!!! Go check them out!!

Disclaimer: As stated above, I did receive a free box of bars to review on my blog from Vega through my ambassadorship with Sweat Pink and Fit Approach. However… like always, my opinion was not swayed in any way and this post contains 100% my opinion!!

How do you recover after hard workouts?

Have you ever tried a Vega Product?

 

Frigo® Cheese Heads® Light String Cheese Review

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Guess what guys?! I’m back!! I promise you I have a post coming on why I’ve been MIA … besides the usual working multiple jobs/60 hours excuse… ;)

BUT… that means I’ve got LOTS of exciting things to tell you all about!! First up is Frigo® Cheese Heads® Light String Cheese!  You all know I already LOVE their cheese sticks so when Saputo Cheese USA Inc. emailed me about working together on a review I was all like:

They sent me come coupons to try out their product and for agreeing to work with them, they sent me a blender bottle and GoStak!  How handy!! 

Before I really did any research for this review, I would eat just the cheese stick by itself… pulling it apart of course because who in their right mind would just straight up bite into STRING CHEESE?!
After a little time on their website, I found that Frigo® Cheese Heads® Light String Cheese could be used in many different ways!!

For example, I tried apples and cheese together for the first time ever… please tell me you’ve tried this?! It’s super delicious!!

I also cut a few up and put it in my spaghetti with some pepperoni for “pizza” spaghetti

AND made a couple ham, spinach, and cheese tortilla rollups!!  For more fun recipe ideas you can go to their website HERE!

So what makes Frigo® Cheese Heads® Light String Cheese a great snack?  Great question!!
(as if you needed any more excuses to eat cheese, right?!) ;)

Here are 4 HEALTHY reasons to eat cheese!**

1. 7 grams of protein in 1 cheese stick!

2. Only 50 calories! (Go ahead, eat 2!)

3. Just 2.5 grams of fat in each one!

4. Each stick has a high volume of calcium!

BONUS: Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese comes individually wrapped so it makes a great “take anywhere” snack!
(I take mine to work, to the gym, to the park, in my car… there’s no limit!)

** These stats are only meant to be true about Frigo® Cheese Heads® Light String Cheese and may not be true about all cheese!

So go ahead… eat 2! This is a judgement free zone! ;)  And just in case the only thing holding you back from eating these tasty treats is the fact you don’t like mozzarella… Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese comes in many other flavors!

Disclaimer: Saputo Cheese USA Inc. provided me with 2 coupons to test their product and a blender bottle and GoStak for working with them as compensation, however I was not paid for my opinion!  I ate Frigo String Cheese long before they contacted me and will continue to do so! :)

Apera Bags Yoga Tote Review & Giveaway

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I was on the internet a few weeks ago looking for a cute way to lug around not only my gym stuff, but my yoga mat as well.  Now let’s just get something straight here, when I say “gym stuff” I’m not just talking about a Garmin and a water bottle… I’m talking like a whole wardrobe change AND the kitchen sink!! I seriously WAY over pack to get my workout on!! You can’t be too prepared right?! Let’s face it… those little tiny Nike backpacks just don’t cut it!! I mean, I can fit a pair of shoes and a piece of gum in that thing and that’s about it!! If I’m carrying my yoga mat, water bottle, and everything else I might need for my workout, that little bag’s not doing me any favors!! That’s when I happened upon Apera Bags! They were gracious enough to send me their Yoga Tote for a review and I’m super excited to tell you all about it!! :)

One thing that really stood out to me was all the pockets! It has pockets full of sunshine everywhere!! It quite LITERALLY has pockets inside of pockets!! No Joke!! It has a place for everything and it’s plenty big enough to hold everything I need to take to the gym with room to spare! (Although it’s not quite big enough to fit the kitchen sink, but you win some you lose some I guess!)  To tell you just how big it is, let me tell you what all I fit into my Apera Bags Yoga Tote:

    

~ Pair of size 9 women’s shoes (the bag has a separate compartment inside to keep the stench of my shoes from spreading)
~ Yoga Blocks
~ Yoga Strap
~ Ipod Nano with arm strap and earbuds
~ Eyeglasses case and contact case
~ Fuel: Clif Bar and Orange
~ Hydration: Nuun & Waterbottle (the yoga tote has a special place on the side for water bottles so your stuff won’t get wet if there’s a leak)
~ Workout notebook and pen
~ Workout Outfit: Shorts, a tshirt, sports bra
~ Backup outfit: Capris and tank (I told you I overpack)
~ After workout clothes: towel, sweatshirt, and a clean pair of socks
~ And of course my YOGA MAT!!

You may be thinking “how in the world did you fit all of that AND your yoga mat inside your gym bag?!”  Well my friends, that’s easy! I didn’t have to put my yoga mat inside the bag because it has it’s own special place on top of the bag!! The strap on the bag has a special “Y” shape that you can easily fit your yoga mat through! (OR your foam roller and friendly massage stick)!

 

Some other things I LOVE about Apera Bag’s healthier bags are:

- It’s antimicrobial to help prevent the growth of bacteria and yucky odors
- It has vented compartments to help air the bag out (which it definitely needs after my shoes are in there!)
- Wipeable lining that makes it easy to keep clean
- A separate washable insert to keep your stinky gross clothes away from your clean ones!
- Padded pockets for electronics such as garmin, phone, and ipod
- Not too big and not too small!! It’s the perfect size!!

Apera donates one bag to a Special Olympics athlete for every three bags they sell!

They only thing I wish were different about the bag is that the pockets were different shapes on each side!  Both side’s outside pockets look the same (size and shape) and I tend to open the wrong side first when looking for something! Besides that tiny little thing, I love my Apera Yoga Tote!!

A couple of weeks ago Apera announced some awesome sales! Right now they are offering 40% OFF their entire Blue line of bags (any style) including the Yoga Tote (making it about $72 instead of $119)!  AND if one sale wasn’t enough, their Duffel Packs in any color, are 40% OFF as well! Go Go Go!! What are you waiting for? That’s a great deal!! Make sure you come back though because I have not 1, but 2 ways for you to win your very own Apera Bag!

First chance, Apera holds their own giveaway on their website for a different style bag each month! This month is the Yoga Tote!!  All you have to do to enter is head on over and provide your email address for updates!  Here’s more info for you!

UPDATE:  March's giveaway will be an Apera Sling Tote in the color of your choice.

Second, Apera is offering one of my readers the chance to win an Apera Sprint Pack of their very own AND 25% off their bag of choice!!  Just enter below!!

**Apera sent me a bag to review on my blog, but as always my opinions are my own!! I was not compensated in any other way! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Run the Race Review & Giveaway

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, (2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.)  - Hebrews 12:1-2

I was perusing the internet a couple months ago and came across a really awesome running company!!  I immediately thought “hey, I want to share this with my blog peeps” and sent off an email to one of the co-owners, Mark.  He replied and was willing to partner up with Runner’s Luck in a review/Giveaway of Run the Race!

So, why is this company awesome?? Let me tell you why! :)

Their Mission:  Our mission is to offer a running company/retail store that brings honor and glory to God in all that we say and do.

Greg and Mark are the co-owners of Run The Race… and like most great ideas… they came up with the company idea while out running together!

They’re not only a company that focuses on running apparel, but they take ALL of the profit they make (minus expenses of course) and donate the money to established ministries OR use the money to help people in need and bring glory to the Lord. Most of the ministries they give to are in Minnesota but they’d be willing to entertain other ministry options!
God calls us to be givers and love our neighbors… Most runners are giving people and raise money or run for charity… and this is just one more GREAT way to give!!

If you want to read more about Run The Race and how it came about you can click here to go to their “about” page.

Not only is Run The Race an awesome company but their apparel is pretty cool too! ;)

Firs, let’s talk about the logo…
The runners within the circles in the logo represent our brothers and sisters in Christ that are running the race throughout the world.
We’re all in this race together!!

They sent me a long sleeve logo shirt to review and with fall coming up on us soon I was excited because I love long sleeve tees!
I ordered a small… I usually am concerned about the sleeve length because I have long arms AND a long torso, but the sleeves and length on the long sleeve tee were perfect!! 
The shirt is soft and I love the color!

The back of the shirt has Hebrews 12:1 on it… makes sense since that’s the verse the company is basically founded on… just sayin!  ;)

Head on over and check out their store!

Right now they have some awesome “Eat. Sleep.  Run.  Repeat. “ shirts on sale for $10.   (Here’s the link for the shirts… check them out!)

Here’s your chance to win a long sleeve tee of your very own!! :)  Get excited!! All you have to do is use the rafflecopter form below! a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

* Giveaway Rules:    ~ Giveaway will run from 9/2/13 through 9/12/13
                               ~ A winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter and will be notified via email by 9/15/13
                               ~ The winner must respond 72 hours after they are notified or winnings will be forfeited 
                               ~ Must be 14 years of age or older to enter

FrogFuel Performance Review And Giveaway

The people over at FrogFuel Performance contacted me and asked if I would do a review.  I told them I indeed would because I think that this product is something you all would like!! They also have an app as you can see in the picture above!  If you click on it it’ll take you to the app which includes:

• What Is Your Fuel Level? QUIZ! You know that unstoppable feeling you get 15 minutes into a workout? The adrenaline rush when you push through, dig deeper, touch the bottom of the ocean floor and reach the top of the mountain? Yeah, that’s your Fuel Level! Take the quiz to discover your Fuel Level! (I got a “Free Spirit” when I took the quiz… see what you get!)

• 7 Untouchable FrogFuel Workouts! – Use these 7 amazing workouts to help you get mean & lean for the summer!

• FrogFuel Fitspiration – Stay motivated and share Fitspiration on your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

 

What I really like about FrogFuel is that it was developed by 2 Navy Seals!! How cool is that?! FrogFuel’s Slogan is “Everything you need, Nothing you don’t”… No need to put anything in your body that it won’t use!  Here is a video about the science behind FrogFuel:

 

Here is some info about the protein shot.  One thing I will warn you about is that it tastes a tad bitter, so don’t expect anything super sweet AND it is indeed liquid not gel:

The cool thing is that FrogFuel is giving away some samples to one of my readers! :)  Awesome!! All you have to do is use the Rafflecopter Form below! :)  Good luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

* Giveaway Rules:    ~ Giveaway will run from 7/18/13 through 7/24/13
                               ~ A winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter and will be notified via email by 7/26/13
                               ~ The winner must respond 72 hours after they are notified or winnings will be forfeited 
                               ~ Must be 18 years of age or older to enter or meet requirements of your state
                               ~ I was given a sample for free to test out but all opinions are my own

Happy Father’s Day & My Thoughts on Spirit of the Marathon II

I know it’s been half a week already, but I have been crazy busy with doctor appointments and job interviews this past week! (more on that later)  Guess it’s just as well I post my thoughts on SOTM2 today because I got to go see it with my daddy!  Happy Father’s Day to the best daddy in the world!! :)

First of all I just want to thank Fathom Events for the passes to go see Spirit of the Marathon II in exchange for writing about it on my blog! 

My dad ended up going with me and we got there about half an hour early… we were the only ones in the theater until about 6:55 and then a couple more people showed up and then a lot more people showed up about 5 minutes after the movie started.  Before the movie started there were marathon trivia questions popping up on the screen, so that was fun and definitely helped pass the time.

Upon the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 B.C., legend says that soldier Pheidippides ran 25 miles from the battlefield in Marathon, Greece, to Athens to deliver the news. After he arrived, Pheidippides yelled out, "Rejoice, we are victorious,” then collapsed and died (source).

This movie starts out the morning of the marathon with the 7 runners getting ready to leave for the race and then starts in to the introductions of each one of the seven runners and we get to hear each of their story’s.  Spirit of the Marathon II takes us on a journey with these 7 runners as they prepare for the Rome Marathon and interjects little snippets of the actual race periodically throughout with more of the race towards the end of the movie.

From the very beginning I was loving it!!  I laughed, I cried, I gasped and often times nodded my head in agreement or knowing exactly how each runner was feeling!  It’s a very inspiring movie not only for the veteran or beginner runner, but also for those who aspire and dream of one day running a marathon of their own or even to just start running!

**Insert whining here** I WANT TO BE BACK OUT THERE RUNNING THE ASPHALT!! ugh!  I can’t stand not running… and this movie made it that much harder to be sidelined with a knee injury right now… totally sucks!  Why me!?!?  **End of rant**… for now! ;) mwahahaha!!! ahem…

My dad loved the movie too, which I’m glad! I didn’t want him to be bored sitting through a running movie when he doesn’t run (he bikes)… But, he liked it a lot! After the movie ended there was a featurette about Team World Vision… it’s a great cause so click on the link and go look it up! 

Then, after we watched Spirit of the Marathon II… by the way, now I need to watch the first one! lol… we headed to Max & Ermas (my first time ever) for a little grub… just so happens it was “Free Cookie Wednesday” (BEST.NIGHT.EVER!)

We headed out with full bellies… we did have enough self-control to save a cookie for our spouses… since we each got three cookies! lol ;)  It was a great night spent with my dad and I truly loved the movie even though it made me feel worse about being injured! ;)

 
A fountain outside the theater

Did you go see Spirit of the Marathon II?? What’d you think?!

Happy Father’s Day out there to all you fit dads! :)

Goodbye 2012 and Welcoming in 2013!

For me, 2012 wasn’t really the year that I had planned in my head when January 1st came around last year.  But, it’s life and you’ve got to learn at some point that things don’t always go the way you planned.  But I do believe that everything happens for a reason!! :)  2012 for me, was a stressful, chaotic year.  School and internships, on top of work and family and more schoolwork.  It all led to getting sick numerous times and not having much time or energy to do much else but eat and sleep when I got home.  2012 was a year of the motto “exercise as little as possible” lol… 

January 12.6 miles                                                       2011 329.45 miles
February 16.02 miles                                                    2012 178.67 miles
March 42.19 miles
April 25.7 miles
May 19.41 miles
June 12.15 miles
July 11.68 miles
August 22.55 miles
September  0 miles
October 0 miles
November 3 miles
December 13.37 miles
 

In good fashion, I ended up ushering out 2012 by getting sick Christmas night and taking flu medicine and going to bed early on New Year’s Eve! ha!

Now that it’s the first day of 2013, I am starting to feel better, still weak and tired, but getting there!  I do have a few goals for this bright new clean slate of a year! :)  As you can see from my monthly running log of 2012, there were a couple months where I ran ZERO miles… that’s going to change….  AND like everyone’s always telling you, goals need to be realistic and attainable…. so with that, my goals for 2013:

Goal #1:  Run at least 1 mile every month!
Goal #2:  Graduate in May and land at least a part time interpreting job by mid-June!
Goal #3:  Finish all the WIPs (works in progress) I have on my knitting needles and make something for myself this year! :)  (currently sitting at 5 WIPs)

 

What are some of your 2013 Goals?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Zigo Mango Trailer/Stroller/Jogger: Perfect for On-the-Go Families!

Ok, so I’m not a mom… yet ;)  But I know a lot of you lovely mommas have children who like to go on your runs or bike rides with you, so when I got the opportunity to write this review I immediately thought about you all and couldn’t resist!! :)

The Zigo Mango comes with everything you need to bike, run, or walk with your child right out of the box… no need to buy an extra kit.  Unless of course you have a second child who likes to exercise with you too ;)  In that case you would need to buy a second harness.

        Zigo Mango as a regular stroller                    … as a jogging stroller…

… and as a trailer for a bike

Check out some of these Premium Luxury Features:

~ Padded seats
~ 5 point safety harness
~ Reflective striping
~ 4 point shock absorbers
~ Multi-position adjustable push bar
~ Dual drum brakes
~ Optional Deluxe Environmental Control System (mesh screen and wind/rain guard)

It also folds up for easy storage/carrying

This awesome stroller comes in Yellow or Red and you can see just how awesome it is by watching a video they have on their website HERE!  This is the perfect luxury stroller/trailer for all you fitness fanatics who like to make fitness fun for the whole family!!  Not to mention Mother’s day is coming up… this would make a great gift!! :)  It usually retails for $599.99 but right now, with the special deal of the day, it’s on sale for $375.00!!  Such a great deal!!

All this talk about strollers is wanting me to have a reason to use one… lol… ok… a few more years yet… so, all of you who CAN use the Zigo Mango, GO CHECK IT OUT! 

So, what do you think?

 

**This is a sponsored informative post, I did not actually get to try out the product.