What I Ate Wednesday #128: MealEnders Review & Giveaway

Lordy, how is it already Wednesday? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining that we’re already halfway to the weekend! Today is a long one for me; I’ll be opening Athleta at 9 a.m. and closing the gym at 9 p.m. But at least I have an hour break in between, right? Silver lining, my friend. And a silver lining for you is another giveaway today! Lets get to it, shall we?

[Pre-Workout]

Super power bites save the day! You should really make them if you haven’t yet.

[Breakfast]

Standard oatmeal, nut butters, and iced coffee. It totally gets me through my workouts 😉

[Snack Time]

I was in serious need of a snack at work and luckily I never leave home without a bar. A caramel nut blast Balance Bar held me over until I got home. Unfortunately, I had to go to the store before I could have lunch so I threw some yogurt, chocolate peanut butter protein powder, and peanuts into a bowl. Deeelish!

[Lunch]

FINALLY lunch time! We’re still going through the pork and it made another awesome salad!

[Afternoon Snack]

I got some awesome strawberries from the store so I grabbed a couple of those to snack on and followed it up with a MealEnders Lozenge. Taken directly from their website..

MealEnders Signaling Lozenges are a weight management product designed to help people avoid overeating and master portion control by clearing cravings from the mouth and mind. Each Signaling Lozenge consists of two flavorful layers, each playing a strategic role in weight loss. The sweet, outer coating provides a measured dose of “dessert”, habitually associated with the end of a meal. Avoiding the “no dessert” mindset prevents a sense of deprivation, which can thwart even the most earnest weight loss efforts. The tingling/cooling inner layer engages the trigeminal nerve, clears the palate and creates a 20-minute eating pause, enabling the brain to recognize the body’s natural transition from hungry to full. By the time the MealEnders experience is finished, the body’s natural signaling process of satiation has begun. With repeated use, users accept MealEnders’ sensations as a cue to stop eating, resulting in sustainable and healthy eating habits.

Sound interesting? When I first was presented the opportunity to review them, I was a bit skeptical. That said, I’m a big fan of the post-meal mint because I feel like it helps curb my sweet tooth, so why not give them a shot? First things first, the flavors are delicious! If I’m craving chocolate, I’ll reach for a Chocolate Mint or Mocha. The Mocha and Citrus are definitely my favorites, though. Once you get through the initial sweet layer, the extra tingly lozenge inside acts as my mint. I’ve definitely noticed that these little guys have helped to curb my sweet tooth after meals!

Want to give them a try for yourself? Click here to enter my giveaway!

Don’t worry if your name isn’t chosen. MealEnders wants to put an end to overeating and believes the more people its 15-calorie signaling lozenges can help, the better! So for two weeks, all “runners up” for the giveaway will be able to buy MealEnders at 30% off. Just enter coupon code WINNER-TOO at checkout. To place your order and learn more about the product, visit www.mealenders.com.

Giveaway Update:
Due to popular demand, the Chocolate Mint flavor is currently on back order. Because MealEnders wants to be sure to deliver the products as promised, the giveaway prize will be set to go out around mid-April when Chocolate Mint is back in stock.

[Dinner]

Buffalo chicken is always a favorite in this house, so crunchy buffalo chicken is even better! And then adding roasted potatoes and brussels? We were quite happy.

[Evening Snack]
Apple + dark chocolate covered salted cashews = happy tummy.

Food for Thought

What tricks do you use to curb your sweet tooth?

Link Love #77 + a Super Power Bite Recipe & Giveaway

Today is going to be a really exciting Tuesday. Not only do I have my usual link love below, but I also have a delicious recipe and giveaway!

A couple weeks ago, I received a sample of Manitoba Harvest’s Hemp Hearts. If you’re not familiar with hemp hearts, they are shelled hemp seeds that are considered a “superfood.” They provide 10g of plant-based protein and 10g of Omegas per 30g serving. With a slightly nutty flavor, they are great on salads, smoothies, ice cream, oatmeal, and more. I’m personally a fan of rolling some protein bites in hemp seeds for a nutty, sweet treat!

Chocolate Berry Super Power Bites

Makes 55-60 bites
Adapted from Cotter Crunch’s Gluten Free Triple Berry Chocolate Cake Bites

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup ground Strawberry Power O’s [can sub vanilla protein powder]
– 3/4 cup coconut flour
– 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
– 1 scoop Healthy Skoop SweetGreens A Game [can sub 1 tbsp protein powder or coconut flour]
– 1/4 cup granola
– 1 cup nut butter [I used Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams]
– 2 tbsp honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
– 1/4 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts

Directions
Grind up the Power O’s and mix in a large bowl with the coconut flour, protein powder, Skoop, & granola.

In a smaller bowl, microwave the nut butter and honey to make mixing easier. Pour over the dry mixture, add in the vanilla extract and mix, allowing the nut butter to cool before adding in the chocolate chips. Mix everything except the hemp hearts until incorporated well.

In a small bowl, measure out the hemp hearts and using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, measure out the bites and roll in the hemp hearts. Store in the freezer for quick and easy snackage!

Nutritional Information
Per 1/2 tbsp bite
45 Calories / 3g Fat / 5g Carbs / 1g Fiber / 3g Sugar / 2g Protein

Want to win your own bag of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts? Click here to enter my giveaway!

Health

Why Eating A Brownie Can Be Good For You – Love & Zest

Why Eating A Brownie Can Be Good For You – Love & Zest
The dark side of wearable fitness trackers – FitKnitChick
What to Do When You Gain Weight – Eating Bird Food
Food with Benefits – Carla Birnberg via EleVen by Venus
The Amazing Benefits of Honey – Organic Runner Mom

Fitness

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals – Pumps & Iron

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals – Pumps & Iron
Triple Threat Tabata Workout – Fitnessista
1,000 Rep Workout – Lindsay’s List
At Home Bodyweight Workout – Survive & Thrive
Weekend Warrior 3: Reach The Summit Advanced Workout – Lifting Revolution

Food

Grain-Free Chocolate Donuts with Peanut Butter Sprinkles – Yeah…immaeatthat

Grain-Free Chocolate Donuts with Peanut Butter Sprinkles – Yeah…immaeatthat
Double Chocolate Brownie Irish Car Bomb Cheesecakes – Half Baked harvest
Sesame Crusted Salmon with a Zesty Ginger-garlic Drizzle {Gluten Free} – Cara’s Healthy Cravings via Cotter Crunch
Roasted Broccoli with Curry Dipping Sauce – Delish Knowledge
Vegan Peanut Butter Shorties – Radiant Rachels

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried hemp hearts?
What’s one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Foodie Friday: Asian Sesame Broccoli with Spicy Sriracha Peanut Sauce {Giveaway}

If you ask me, peanut butter goes with everything. Sweet, savory, salty, spicy. Let’s do it!

As part of the Peanut Butter & Co. Yum Squad, I was given the opportunity to create a recipe using their peanut butter and a mystery ingredient. That mystery ingredient just so happened to be a staple in my house—Sriracha.

Peanut sauce fits right in with our typical meals around here and I had a recipe on hand I’d been wanting to try. Adding in the sriracha was the right pop of flavor that I knew would be perfect.

Asian Sesame Broccoli with Spicy Sriracha Peanut Sauce

Serves 4 as a side dish
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven Asian Broccoli Salad with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients
– 1 large head of broccoli
– 1 cup shelled edamame
– 1/2 cup sliced green onion
– 1/2 cup peanuts; chopped
– 1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flake
– Sesame seeds for garnish
– 1/4 cup Peanut Butter & Co. The Bee’s Knees
– 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
– 1 tbsp lite soy sauce
– 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil
– 1-2 tbsp sriracha
– 2-3 tbsp hot water to thin the sauce

Directions
Boil a large pot of water, add the broccoli florets, and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain the broccoli and add the edamame, green onion, peanuts, and coconut flake.

For the spicy peanut sauce, mix the remaining ingredients together, except the sesame seeds. Pour half of the sauce over the broccoli and mix well. Drizzle the rest of the sauce over top of the broccoli and top with sesame seeds.

Feeling a little extra saucy? Drizzle some more sriracha on top! What could be bad?

Giveaway Time!

Click here to win a #MysteryIngredient package from Peanut Butter & Co!

Food for Thought

What would you make with the mystery ingredient?

She’s Losing It Book Review & Giveaway

Well this is a new thing for me. I’m not a big reader [aside from blogs], but recently had the opportunity to read and review She’s Losing It!

She’s Losing It! is a memoir about how Lisa lost 50 lbs. at age 38 by entering a bodybuilding competition. She’s Losing It! is like Pumping Iron, only if Tina Fey played Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ultimately it’s a Rocky for moms who find the inherent humor in combining strength training with potty training.

Aside from it being an easy read, it also hits home for every lady out there, I’m sure. How many times have you told yourself you’d start tomorrow but it took a couple of extra days [or months..] for tomorrow to get here? Sometimes your bed is just a little too cozy.

Lisa started from square one; she was once a marathoner who gained a little extra weight over the years. After deciding she’d had more than enough, at 38, she sought out a personal trainer and decided that she not only wanted to get in shape and feel comfortable in her skin again, but enter a bikini competition. She also shares a whole slew of tips and tricks at the end of the book, including a sample meal plan from her trainer. I find those little tidbits extra interesting.. it’s almost saying “hey, you want to compete? Here’s what you’re getting yourself into!” Sometimes we need that extra heads up.

She’s Losing It! is such an inspiring and motivational story to follow of a badass mom rocking her new, killer bod and her struggles and successes that got her there. I’m so happy to be able to offer one of you a book of your own by entering my giveaway!
If you don’t want to wait, you can order a copy direct from Amazon, too. I’d highly recommend you do!

Food for Thought

Have you had struggles with weight loss?

Foodie Friday: White Chocolate Peppermint Peanut Butter Cups {Giveaway}

Every year for the holidays, I make my “famous” peanut butter cups. It all started when my mom found a recipe 100 years ago [ok, maybe 20 years ago.. holy crap, has it been that long?!] and we decided to try them out for Thanksgiving. I mean, come on. It’s chocolate and peanut butter.. what could be bad? Over the years, I’ve continued to make them for Thanksgiving, New Years, and sometimes other occasions too.

My peanut butter cups have become more and more refined. I’ve tried adding a bit of sea salt and cinnamon to the tops, some extra chocolate and PB chips, I’ve swapped out the milk chocolate for dark, and the list goes on. When Peanut Butter & Co. contacted me about creating a recipe with their peanut butter and some candy canes, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

White Chocolate Peppermint Peanut Butter Cups

Makes 12 cups

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp white chocolate chips
• 3 candy canes
• 3-4 tbsp Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful

Will also need 12 mini muffin cups.

Directions

1. Place your candy canes into a blender or food processor and blend until they’re in very small pieces—almost dust!
2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, add 1/4 cup white chocolate chips and microwave for 30 seconds. Give it a mix and microwave for another 10-15 seconds. Mix again and add additional 2 tbsp of white chocolate chips and about 1/3 of the crushed candy canes. Mix well until all of the chips are melted.
3. Spoon about 1/2 tbsp of the white chocolate peppermint mix into the bottom of each of the cups. Shake to flatten and place in the freezer to setup.
4. While the first layer is cooler, in another small microwave-safe bowl, add 2 tbsp White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter and microwave 10-15 seconds until the peanut butter is melty.
5. Take the cups out of the freezer and carefully spoon on layer of peanut butter on top, doing your best to not let it touch any edges! Place the cups back in the freezer.
6. Once the peanut butter sets up, repeat with another layer of peanut butter, sprinkle with a pinch of your peppermint dust, and place back in the freezer.
7. Melt your remaining white chocolate and add in another 1/3 of the peppermint dust.
8. Spoon your white chocolate peppermint mix on top of the peanut butter layers and sprinkle with even more peppermint. Place back in the freezer and let the cups setup completely.

To store, keep the cups in the fridge so they don’t get too soft. When you’re ready to serve, remove the cups from the fridge and let them warm up for about 5 minutes. I promise you, these peanut butter cups won’t last long!

Giveaway Time!

Want to win a jar of the White Chocolate Wonderful AND the Old Fashioned Crunchy? Click here to enter the giveaway today!

Food for Thought

What would you make with the 2 jars of peanut butter?

Five Things Friday + Giveaway {11/14}

Hot damn, it’s Friday! I don’t know the last time I was this excited to see the big Fri. Yea, that’s what I’m calling it now. It’s just been one of those weeks.. you know the kind where nothing goes right? But it’s over and I’m looking forward to weekend festivities!

1. We have a friend visiting this weekend! Ok, he’s really coming out here for work, but the point is he’s here and we get to spend time with him tonight and all day tomorrow. We have big plans for tomorrow; it’s going to be quite the indulgent day, but anytime we have someone visiting, it’s always all about the food and drink. Just ask my parents!
   

   I’m still proud of them for holding their own with all of the drinking we had them doing 😉

2. Speaking of my parents, the countdown till we head back to Baltimore for 2 weeks is in the single-digits! 9 more days, baby! It’s a shame I’m not at all excited.
3. I got to skype with my nugget yesterday and as soon as we turned the cameras on, she walked across the room to get to me [alright, to get to the iPad and her Bubby, but I can pretend!] She just started walking a couple weeks ago and I can’t wait to play with her and see her run [or waddle] around.
   
4. As part of a campaign with Fit Approach, I received 2 bottles of WIN Detergent. It may not sound too exciting to you, but if you’ve ever experienced the post-laundry stinky workout clothes, you should understand my excitement when I tell you that this detergent is specifically designed to remove sweat, oil, and odors from technical athletic/sports apparel. Hooray for no more stinky workout gear! Haha.
   
5. Even more exciting than me getting the detergent is that they’re offering YOU the chance to win your own bottles. Click here to enter for a chance to win!
   Can’t wait? You can also get $1 off your purchase by entering the code WINGIVE1 at checkout.

And with that, I’m off for a fun weekend 🙂

Food for Thought

Any big plans this weekend?

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary shipment of WIN Detergent as a Sweat Pink Ambassador. All thoughts and opinions of the product are my own.

Fitness Friday: Working Out with fitmob + Athleta Giveaway!

There’s an awesome new fitness trend that is making the ability to take a bunch of classes at different gyms more readily accessible. As someone who has lived in an apartment complex with a gym for the past 3 years, I find it hard to want to pay for a gym but at the same time, feel like I’m missing out on some of the fantastic classes that are available for gym-goers. Enter fitmob.

Founded by Snapfish co-founder and entrepreneur/VC Raj Kapoor as CEO, tech guru and martial arts champion Paul Twohey as CTO, and worldwide fitness expert Tony Horton, fitmob is a San Francisco-based company that is described on the their website as:

“An authentic fusion of fitness, community and technology. fitmob combines the power of community with the convenience of a mobile platform to create a fun, affordable and rewarding workout experience in your neighborhood. It’s a new fitness movement with YOU at the center.”

They have a huge array of classes ranging from cardio and strength to barre, yoga, TRX, and more. For just $99/month, you’re able to attend classes with over 75 studios and trainers to choose from as many times as you can get your butt to class! In addition to their Passport program, they’ve also introduced MobTribes, described as on their website as:

“…a shared personal training that’s fun, affordable and all about results. You’ll be matched with a top-rated personal trainer to lead workouts at a convenient location picked by your MobTribe of 4-6 friends.

Your MobTribe will meet twice a week in a 6-week program designed for results! We’ve done plenty of research and studied the science of shared group training.

With MobTribes you’ll get personal attention, nutrition tips, daily activity tracking and off-day workouts, without the price tag of personal training.”

I had the opportunity to attend one of their workouts, Weapons of Ass Reduction [love the name!], last week but unfortunately couldn’t work out the commute with my work schedule. I absolutely plan on giving this a go and checking out a bunch of studios in SF, along with some of their own workouts, in the near future. How could I pass on the opportunity to push my limits? Eeeexxactly!

And now for the giveaway!

Want to enter for your chance to win a $50 Athleta Gift Card? [You do. The new winter line just came in!] Click here to enter and keep cross your fingers!

If you’re free, join fitmob + Sweat Pink #HolidayFitList Twitter Party on Tuesday, November 4th from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST. More details on the event coming soon!

Food for Thought

Do you prefer indoor or outdoor workouts?

I received the opportunity to take part in the fitmob campaign through my ambassadorship with Fit Approach. All opinions are my own.

AMRAP Bar Review and Giveaway

Well I’ve certainly been MIA on the interwebs over the past week or so! I have to say, I’m not even a little bit sorry; I got to spend so much time with my family and friends, the wedding weekend was an absolute whirlwind of crazy [in all of the best ways!] and I even had snuck some time in there to relax too. It was just what we needed but we’re back in California now and back to the daily grind. Such is life.

Anywho, when I travel, I’m notorious for packing snacks. I have a “small” snack bag [weighing in at 5 lbs wouldn’t be out of the norm..] that I take in my carry-on and the rest of the snacks go in my checked bag. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand being hungry and with these 6 hour flights to and from Baltimore that we’ve done a couple of times recently, I need to have food with me! Enter in my bar collection.

When I’m looking for snack bars, I tend to try to find bars with a good amount of protein; I know that’s what I need to tide me over. When I was offered the opportunity to try these new AMRAP bars, I jumped and of course packed them with me on my trip. If the flavors didn’t grab my attention, the description definitely intrigued me.

“The 100% Paleo, Non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, preservative and artificial anything-free, high fat to carb ratio, high protein bar designed by experts, athletes, enthusiasts, discerning moms and health nuts.”

Onto the stats! These bars really pack a punch. At 320 calories, 21g fat, 22 – 24g carbs, and 12 – 15g protein for the Almond Honey and Cashew Vanilla, they’re a great meal replacement when you’re on the go. The Fig Cacao [my fave] comes in a little lower in the calories and fat but was still a great option when I needed a quick post-workout bite running out the door.

And the taste? The ingredient lists are so short and simple, there’s no way they could be bad. As I mentioned, the Fig Cacao was my favorite but all of the bars were delicious. The flavors are all really clean and light; you can almost name the ingredients bite by bite. The creaminess of the Cashew Vanilla bar leaves no doubt that it’s chock full of cashews!

Giveaway Prize Update!!

This is where the fun begins! I’m giving away an 8-pack of AMRAP Bars in the flavor of your choice to 3 lucky readers 🙂 Want a chance to win? Click here to enter!

Food for Thought

Which bar are you most excited to try?

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary shipment of AMRAP bars as a Sweat Pink Ambassador. All thoughts and opinions of the product are my own.

Scenes From the Weekend and Swanson 45th Anniversary Giveaway

The weekend was a good one. The Orioles were in town so we mixed in a little relaxing with a lot of baseball fun.

He got the glass. I got the pitcher 😉 Ha! Ready for some O’s action!

Part of our Orioles-watching spread!

My very first banana bread! [say whaaaaattttt?!] Awesome recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.

With peanut butter chips and coconut!

A new favorite snack –> brown rice cake + white cheddar Laughing Cow wedge +
balsamic jelly + salami.

Gloomy but nice morning on a 5 mile run. Whoop whoop!

Bringing Birdland to us!

We played nice. After some words.

Rally glasses since I didn’t have a hat.. and how I felt by the end of that game.
Had nothing to do with the beer…..

After a fun weekend like this, I’m always happy to get back to my normal routine and healthy eats. A bunch of my favorite ingredients that I use everyday, I actually get online, so when Swanson Vitamins reached out to me to help celebrate their 45th Anniversary, I was psyched!

Not only were they were generous enough to give me $45 to spend on some of my favorite items, they’re also giving one of you the chance to win a $45 gift card too!

Enter here for your chance to win!

Need some new fancy nut butters? Protein powder? Coffee? Vitamins? BOOM! It’s a one-stop shop! And don’t forget to check out their 45 Healthy Food Sweepstakes.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Out!
Monday – Baked turkey Italian meatballs with fresh papparaelle pasta for him/zoodles for me & no-cook tomato sauce
Tuesday – Quick Honey Ginger Pineapple and Summer Veggie Chicken Stir Fry with Caramelized Cashews
Wednesday – Mustard balsamic chicken with potato wedges and roasted asparagus
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

What fun things did you do over the weekend?

Foodie Friday: Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway!

It’s always nice when you find a product that you love and the company turns out to be just as good as the product. Bob’s Red Mill is definitely one of my top favorite companies out there; their customer service is top notch and they have such a huge variety of products that I use on a daily basis.

The new go-to pancake around here.

PB&J Yogurt Parfait

These guys didn’t last long!

A little twist on my morning oats.

This didn’t stand a chance here either.

I think you get where I’m going with this.. so you’ll be pleased to know that I have yet another giveaway from my wonderful friends at Bob’s Red Mill!

I really enjoyed changing up my oatmeal with these Scottish oats; they have a finer texture than rolled so it gave the oatmeal a much creamier consistency. I also really loved both of the granolas, but I think the honey oat was the favorite here. Sometimes simpler is better! And I always love when there are big and little chunks in my granola 😉

Want a chance to win your own package of oatmeal and granola?

Click here to enter!

Easy peasy 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!

Food for Thought

Which of these products are you most excited to try?

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary shipment of these Bob’s Red Mill products. All thoughts and opinions of the product are my own.