Treat Yourself on Valentine’s Day

Tags

strawberries, Valentine's Day

There’s no reason to be deprived on Valentine’s Day.

I may be working towards some new fitness goals, but it doesn’ t mean that I will be without a treat of my own today.

Instead of running to the nearest Godiva store for chocolate covered strawberries,  I decided to take on recreating a different kind of frozen delight.

Wash and slice heads off a batch of strawberries. Completely dry them. If they are still wet, the yogurt isn’t going to stick well.

Get you’re favorite vanilla yogurt. A greek yogurt would work well here because of its thick consistency.

Now dip. Get it as thick as you can. Place them flat-side down on a sheet of wax or parchment paper and freeze.

Freeze for 30 minutes, then remove from the freezer and dip again for a second coat. Freeze for about 1 hour. You can test with your finger to see how hard they are. At this point you can put them in plastic freezer bags and save them for late night sugar cravings. Or if you’re like me, you can eat them right now.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

How are you treating yourself today?

Core Foods: A Meal in Your Hands

Tags

CORE Foods, meal replacement, running

For the past week, I have been trying new Core Foods samples I received. They might seem small because they fit in your hands, but they fill you up easily.

CORE Foods are unique because they’re fresh bars made of five to seven natural ingredients. You can keep them in your freezer for up to six months or your refrigerator where they will last for up to a month. When you take them on the go, such as in your gym bag, they’ll stay fresh for up to a week. Although they won’t last that long after you try them.

The bars are raw, vegan, organic, gluten free and contain only natural food. They do not contain any preservatives. As a matter of fact, the package I received had an ice pack in it to keep the food fresh.

In the past week, I have tried all three before working out to see if this could be a good option for a healthy pre-workout meal.

Last Sunday, I ate the Almond Raisin before heading out for an eight mile run. I love oatmeal raisin bread and cookies, so I figured that even if I didn’t like it I could correlate it to things I do like. To my surprise, it was good.

I followed the instructions on the package and ate the bar with about 20 ounces of water.

As the package says, one CORE bar plus two glasses of water equals one bowl of oats- a full nutritious meal, only on the go.

The bar itself:

I was impressed by the appearance of the bar. I could practically identify every ingredient: oats, raisins, flax, and ground spices.

As far as the flavor, it was better than any other meal bar that I have ever tasted. I am not really a fan of other bars that are on the market.

My favorite was actually the Walnut Banana bar. It reminded me of a slice of banana bread. I ate it before heading to the track for a speed workout and then a session of weights at the gym. It was filling and I didn’t get hungry for hours.

Overall, I am extremely happy I had a chance to try these. I will be purchasing more of the bars to use regularly especially with some of my 2013 fitness goals.

Would you be willing to try these bars? You can.

If you would like to get $5 off your online order for COREfoods, go to their Facebook page here and then enter for your chance to win a free case (worth $40).

Disclaimer:  I was sent three Defender Meals for the purpose of a review and was not compensated.  All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

Bzz: Redbox Instant by Verizon Beta Test Review

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#GotItFree, bzzagent, movies, Redbox Instant, review

I was invited by BzzAgent to take part in the Redbox Instant by Verizon Beta Test Campaign for free. I was excited about this because I enjoy watching movies and regularly hit the Redbox up outside a local drugstore on the weekends.

I’m the girl that runs on Saturday mornings, does my errands and then chills out on the sofa for the rest of the day. So, there is nothing better than a good movie or TV show to keep me company.

I joined the campaign, got my free one-month trial code and instantly joined Redbox Instant that night when I got home from work. The service , although in Beta mode, is quite easy to navigate. I opted to download the iPad app instead of using the service through my laptop.

As a movie lover, I thought it would be great to be able to rent movies without having to venture out in the cold. However, the selection is not great at this point. It probably will get better over time, but at the moment there are very few movies that have been in the box office lately.

I have spent most of my time in the “Featured” selection after looking at the “Action & Adventure” options.  I have watched several movies including “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Faces in the Crowd,” “King Man of Peace and War,” “Immigration Tango” and an Usher concert.

The “Action & Adventure” choices didn’t really excite me.  I basically have never heard of many of these before.

Diving into the app, I of course wanted to see what Redbox considered its “Top Digital Rental.” However, I have encountered an error message over and over again. Nothing changed even after changing options in the filter.

The service will cost $8/month, which includes 4 kiosk rental movies and unlimited streaming per month. Other options are $9/month (which includes 4 blu-ray kiosk rentals/mo) or the old $6/month (which includes NO RENTALS). There are more than 40,000 Redbox locations nationwide, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a kiosk near you.

You can buy and rent movies digitally without a subscription, including today’s newest releases. If you aren’t sure what movies are available at your local kiosk, hop online to browse Redbox locations and reserve movies at the box of your choice. You can do that using the app, too!

As it stands, I am not sure if i will continue with this service after my free trial expires in the middle of the February. I may revisit it after some time in hopes that the streaming selection is better.

Inspired to run more because of others

Tags

#INGMiami, Black Girls Run!, half marathon, running

One of the greatest joys I have is being a member and ambassador of Black Girls RUN! It is not only because of the changes I have experienced in my life, but also for the accomplishments of the ladies that I run with.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing one of my Black Girls RUN! Columbia ladies complete her very first half marathon.

Our adventure began about a year ago when the ladies of BGR! South Florida posted images of their meet and greet before the 2012 ING Miami Marathon/Half Marathon. I was determined that I wanted to be in the mix for 2013. Miami, the sun and oh yeh, the run would be a perfect excuse to make my way back to south Florida. So, when one of my girls said she would make it her first half and registered, I knew it was on.

Throughout this year, she has gone from the couch to half marathon finisher.  And I’m beyond proud of her and her accomplishments.

There’s also nothing like supporting those around you and running with the support of others as you wind your way around the streets of Miami. These women came from across the country to participate in the race.

For me, I wanted to set a personal best. I’ve trained well including logging miles on the pavement and adding cross training into the mix. But race day didn’t turn out as I had planned. Regardless, I was surrounded by some of the most phenomenal women that lace up their sneaks and hit the pavement day in and day out.

Our party on the pavement was real.

What kind of fun did you have over the weekend? Did you run a race?