Balance Bar | Barr & Table

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?

I love this time of year. The kitchen is almost always stocked with fresh fruits and veggies but right now everything is at its peak. We’ve been seriously stocking the fridge with lots of fruit; it’s hard not to when everything is so good!

It’s usually not until I sit down and look at my meals for the day as a whole that I see some sort of theme going on. Yesterday’s theme was berries. I wouldn’t mind having that theme happen more often either.

Breakfast

Quite possibly the ugliest oatmeal ever, right? Blueberries really have a way.. I just swapped my usual 1/2 banana in my oatmeal for 1/2 cup blueberries. It was pretty wonderful if you can get past they bowl of gray.

Lunch

I have a thing for hot lunches these days and zucchini noodles are such a fast fix. I also have a serious cheese craving going on so I got Laughing Cow White Cheddar wedges the other day. I threw one of those into the mix with chipotle cherry sauce, ground turkey, shredded carrots, and zucchini noodles. I topped it off with avocado and BAM! Delicious lunch.

Snack

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Balance bar, but honestly, I was running out the door hungry and it was the first one I saw. The caramel nut blast is pretty darn tasty!

And since I felt the need for something sweet and berrylicious when I got home, I grabbed some almonds I just got from Blue Diamond—toasted coconut and blueberry—and threw them in a bowl with some raspberries and dark chocolate pretzels. I swear, Nathan was trying to hide those pretzels from me! Also, the blueberry almonds are not something I would typically buy myself, but they were much better than I expected!

Dinner

You guys. This chicken. I’m in love with the marinade! I ended up making extra to go on the side because it’s so good. I used this feta chicken kabob recipe and toasted pecan and blueberry couscous salad on the side. I ended up cutting the amount of couscous in half and adding some leftover quinoa that I had. The whole dinner was so good and I’m glad I made a bunch for leftovers!

Snack

An apple and a little more homemade sourdough. We’re still riding the struggle bus when it comes to making bread but we’re getting closer. Maybe one day soon we’ll be successful.. here’s to hoping!