Kona Kase Review

Kona Kase is all about fueling your active life style.  Their mission is their desire to inspire people to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  In each Kona Kase you will receive 8 healthy snack products delivered right to your door, monthly.

I recently had the opportunity to try the July Kona Kase.  In it I received Caveman Cookies, Garuka Bars, Barbara Llewellyn Granola, Body Glove Surge Gel, Perky Jerky, Enjoy Life Trail Mix, Pro Bar Bolt Organic Chews, and Health Warrior Chia Bars.  I really enjoyed trying the different snacks which were all delicious!  I recommend trying Kona Kase, especially if you're looking for new, nutritious snack ideas.  Included in Kona Kase is a card with a brief description of each snack along with website information for ordering.  Many also include a discount code for your first order.

A Kona Kase subscription is $15 a month, includes free shipping, and can be canceled at any time.  Thinking of trying a Kona Kase?  Use the following code GIFTSUMMER and receive $5 off your first order!

Juicing: How To Make It A Complete Meal

As the weather gets warmer, juicing becomes a part of my daily routine.  I usually replace breakfast or lunch with fresh juice.  To add protein to my meal, I always include a scoop of unflavored whey in my juices.

Pictured above: apple, carrot, pineapple, spinach, whey protein.

Benefits of juicing:  juicing helps you absorb more nutrients from fruits and vegetables, juicing allows you to consume an optimal amount of vegetables in an efficient manner, you can add a wider variety of vegetables to your diet.  

Keep in mind that juicing alone does not give you a complete meal.  It lacks protein, fat, and fiber.  Here's my healthy tip for a complete meal: add a scoop of protein powder (I use unflavored whey), add a scoop of the leftover pulp from the juicer, add a teaspoon of flax or olive oil.  Shake it up and you have a complete meal!

CORE Foods Review

I recently had the opportunity to try Defender Meals from CORE Foods.  CORE Meals are fresh portable food.  They are made from 5-7 raw, organic, locally grown ingredients.  Thats right, CORE Meals are 100% raw!  Because this is "real" food, it will go bad quickly, so it is recommended that you refrigerate or freeze immediately.  CORE Meals will stay fresh is the refrigerator for up to 1 month, and freezer for up to 6 months.
So, what did I think of these convenient, ready to go meals?  I thought they were pretty good!  With my busy on-the-go schedule it was great to be able to pack this healthy meal into my bag.  1 CORE Meal with 2 glasses of water is equal to a full bowl of oatmeal, and yes, it sure felt like it.  This meal kept me full for hours.

Healthy meals conveniently packed.  Raw Almond Raisin, Raw Walnut Banana, Raw Cashew Cacao (my favorite!).

Do I recommend CORE Meals?  Absolutely!  They are delicious, convenient, and best of all healthy.  For more information visit their website www.corefoods.com

Running Happy Bands Review

It's always the same.  You're getting ready for your long run, totally awesome cycle class, or any other form of cardio or sport and it's time to pull your hair back.  If you have bangs like me, you may use a barrette to pin them back, but then theres always a few smaller hairs that seem to find a spot somewhere on your forehead and begin to bug the heck out of you during your sweaty workout.  So, you pull out the dreaded head band thats "guaranteed" not to slip off your head, crossing your fingers that this time it stays on, only to pull it off and throw it on the ground halfway through your workout because you are tired of putting it back on your head over and over again!  Ugh!

Well, those dreaded head band days are now over!  I had the opportunity to try a Running Happy Band, and let me tell ya, these bands are AWESOME!  They are guaranteed not to slip, and guess what, they DON'T SLIP!  It fit very comfortably on my head, did not slip behind my ears, and thanks to the tiny clip located inside the top of the band it did not slip off the top of my head!  I wore this band for running, cycling, and during a high intensity group fitness class, and it stayed put through it all.  

After 2 full hours of cycling.

I definitely recommend these bands for any type of physical activity, and will also be ordering some more for myself!  Check out the Running Happy Bands website at www.running-happy.com for more information.  You can also follow them on Twitter @RunningHappy1 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/runninghappyus.

ENERGYbits® Review

I recently had the opportunity to try ENERGYbits® 100% algae tablets.  These little green tablets are absolutely amazing!  So, what are ENERGYbits®, you ask?  ENERGYbits® are 100% pure, organically grown, certified non GMO algae that contains no sugar, caffeine, gluten, additives, animal products, chemicals or fillers. Wow!  They also have 64% protein, 40 nutrients, and GLA (an Omega 3), and only contain 1 calorie per tab!

ENERGYbits® algae tabs have a long list of health benefits.  A handful of 20-30 tabs will meet most of your daily nutritional requirements.  Because of the nutritional value of ENERGYbits®, they can also be taken in place of a meal, and are a great way to reduce calorie intake for weight loss.

You can chew or swallow ENERGYbits®.  After trying both, I recommend swallowing!  They go down very smooth, and swallowing 30 tabs with a glass of water took me about 10 seconds.  Almost immediately I felt the difference.  Within about 5 minutes my hunger was satisfied, and I could feel my energy level rising.  My husband also tried them and had the same feeling.  We both loved ENERGYbits® so much that we are placing our first order this month!

For more information, check out the ENERGYbits® website www.energybits.com.

Steel Cut Oat Waffles

At my last chiropractic appointment, we were sharing healthy breakfast ideas.  After sharing my steel cut oats crockpot recipe with him, he gave me a wonderful idea to add the leftover oats to waffle mix!  So, this morning I experimented with it, and let me tell you, it was delicious!

These waffles are so hearty, one will definitely do the job!  I gave my six year old one and she loved it, so they must be good! Rather than using syrup, I like to top mine with fresh fruit.  These waffles are high in fiber, low in fat, and gluten free (use certified gluten free ingredients to eliminate traces of gluten).

1 1/2 C Oat Flour

1 TBSP Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

3/4 C Egg Whites

1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 C Unsweetened Applesauce

Cinnamon to taste

1 C Prepared Steel Cut Oats (see my recipe below)

Mix all ingredients with a mixer.  Pour onto waffle maker.  This recipe made 3 belgian style waffles.

Crockpot Steel Cut Oats:

2 C Steel Cut Oats

2 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

6 C Water

1 C Unsweetened Applesauce

1/2 C Raw Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)

Cook on low overnight.  Stir before serving.

Unreal™ Candy Review

I recently had the opportunity to try Unreal™ Candy, thank you for the complimentary coupons!

Unreal™ is candy with no artificial flavors, no corn syrup, no GMOs, no partially hydrogenated oil, no preservatives, and low glycemic index.  This is what I call "real" candy!  I picked mine up at a local Target store.  They are so delicious!  My kids loved them as well.  My 18 year old said that they taste better than the usual candy you see located at the checkouts.  That says a lot coming from a teenager!

Unreal™ Candy labels are numbered.  54 is similar to Peanut M&M's®, 41 is similar to M&M's®, 8 is similiar to Snickers®, 77 is similar to Reese's®, and 5 is similar to Milky Way®.  It's so hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be 77.

I definitely recommend trying Unreal™ Candy, it's the "better" way to satisfy your sweet tooth!  Check out their website GetUnreal.com for complete nutritional information and to find a retailer near you.