Protein Coffee Creamer Review
February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
So I get asked to write reviews and try products from time to time. Sometimes I’m not interested and sometimes I’m intrigued and excited, this was one of the latter.
If you don’t know, I’m a big coffee LOVER. I have given it up in the past and I have tried drinking it black, but you know what?! I realized life is too short and I just enjoy some nice hot coffee with cream and sweetener. It’s my ONE vice… so sue me! I don’t claim to be perfect!
I have graduated to stevia but I will use raw sugar when I’m out if I need sweet (I use less than I used to), and sometimes I drink it black, but I do love a little creamy texture but I’m kind of picky about my creamer– no soy milk, yes to milk sometimes, yes on creamer powder, no on the half and half, no on almond milk, etc (see?! I’m picky!!)
This is where RIPPED CREAM comes in!
I saw Ripped Cream on twitter and I was intrigued by the name, then I saw that it was a PROTEIN coffee creamer… Hmmmm coffee creamer that gives me a little more protein, I like it!
But will I LIKE it?!
OK, so first off, there are two flavors: Lean Vanilla Bean & Chizzled Chocolate
How to decide?!
well… that was easy.. I got both
The creamer is powdered, which is actually fine, because 99% of the time I use powdered creamer. I don’t know why, but I just like it better!
I looked at the ingredients and, well, to be quite honest, there were some things I couldn’t pronounce, but all in all, it was what coffee creamer powders are made of: coconut oil, cornstarch and organic sugar…. and protein.
The MIX test: amazing. This product was not clumpy at all, gave my coffee a very nice consistency and flavor and honestly, I didn’t really need to add much more sweetener to it.
The TASTE test: This product was actually very yummy. I kind of had low expectations (just beecause I’m a cynic) and I actually really really loved it. I would say, I couldn’t tell a huge difference between the chocolate and vanilla in the coffee but they were equally yum.
I actually decided to put some of the chocolate creamer in my oatmeal and THAT was a brilliant idea. I could taste the chocolate much better and it made for some yummy breakfast.
If you’re looking for something sugar-free or uber healthy, this isn’t your product. BUT if you’re looking for a healthier, higher protein version of the stuff you already use, then I’d say Ripped Cream is a great buy! I love the marketing, I love the idea and it was also started by a woman and I LOVE to support women entrepreneurs anytime I can.
Definitely check out their website to order at www.rippedcream.com AND I have a special coupon code for FREE SHIPPING.. pow!!
Upon checkout, you can enter shipfree in the box “Enter Your Coupon”, and it will take off $5.95 from the order.
you can also
FOLLOW RIPPED CREAM on TWITTER
“LIKE” RIPPED CREAM on FACEBOOK
Rich Food Poor Food
February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I received this book in the mail last week, and honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time!
Recently, my husband and I have started to BUDGET our food. We are working on a Financial FREEDOM plan and we are realizing that we really need to get more bang for our buck where food is concerned.
At first, I thought this was just another “EAT THIS, NOT THAT” type book.
It’s not! It was written by a couple; Jayson and Mira Calton who have degrees in nutrition, but whose real quest for health came when Mira found out she had advanced osteoporosis at age 30!!
She was thin, but not healthy.
I was very intrigued from the beginning of the book because they talk about MICRO-nutrients and how deficiency in those, can cause many problems (Think: Vitamins & Minerals)
But we are too often concerned with MACRO-Nutrients (think: Carbs & Fats)
The book talks about how INGREDIENTS are often much more important than the carb or fat content.
The very first example in the book was a bag of Lay’s Potato Chips vs. a bag of BAKED! Lay’s Potato Chips.
In “Eat This Not That”, they might suggest eating the BAKED Lay’s, because they are lower in calories and fats, however, if you look at the ingredients, the chips only have THREE ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt.
The BAKED Lay’s, have eight ingredients and aren’t even a “potato”!! They have added sugar, corn and soy. (full of GMO’s)
I instantly realized why this book was different. We often don’t know or understand the “hidden” ingredients in our food or the best brands to buy. Or maybe we can’t afford “Organic”. so what is the next best thing?
This book basically breaks down what all the chemicals are, what they do and why you should avoid some and moderate others. It also tells you WHAT BRANDS to choose and which ones to stay away from! (with pictures!!)
This book was full of pictures, places to take notes, and broken down into sections of the grocery store, it even had some fun recipes!
The ONLY thing I didn’t like about the book was that I didn’t recognize many of the brands. This leads me to believe that a lot of these brands might be found at Whole Foods? However, I don’t buy a ton of packaged foods anyway and with the ingredients lists, I’m sure I can find comparable brands, if not the ones listed.
If you’re interested in grabbing this book, you can find it online at Amazon (Kindle too!)
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Overstock.com
Sweet Potato Casserole
February 13, 2013 By
You will rarely find me EXCITED about cooking anything. HOWEVER, I love to eat yummy stuff and I especially love to eat yummy stuff that’s REALLY simple!!
Here is a quick recipe I found to make my sweet potatoes/yams a little different than just… say.. the microwave.
PS– Dairy free, gluten free, and meatless! Whoop!
PS this video was a sponsored vid
Full Body Blaster – SB Workout #19
February 10, 2013 By 4 Comments
This is what my husband and I always call “our” 20 minute workout.
We made this one up a few years back, and whenever we want to do a quick, intense workout, or just something different for cardio, we fall back on this routine.
We both haven’t worked out doing this kind of thing in awhile and we haven’t worked out with EACH OTHER in… well..
MONTHS. If not, over a year. So, we decided to do “our” workout, but instead of doing AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
we decided to just do 3 rounds, however long that would take, with as many breaks as we needed.
WHOA! I don’t remember it being so hard! I guess it really has been a long time!!
I’m not sure how long it took us to complete 3 rounds, but the rests were minimal. Basically didn’t rest until the end of each time through. My buns are killing me already, my quads and calves are feeling it… well.. just about everything is.
Here’s the routine and the weights I used are listed below:
PIN THIS!!
- For Kettlebells- I used 25 lbs. Husband used 35 lbs
-Push-ups, I ended up dropping to my knees and did about 20 each time, Hubby did 20-35
-Mountain Climbers– count right & left as ONE
- Body Rows- I eeked out 15 each time on a TRX
-Step- ups I did on a 20′ Plyo Box Hubby used a 24″ box— no weight
-Push-Press I used 20 lb dumbbells and a 40 lb Barbell (a lady stole my DB’s halfway through) Hubby used 35 lb DB’s
- Jump Lunges 12 on each leg. The goal was to do all 24 in a row… never happened.. ha! two sets of 12 for me!!
Tell me how you do!
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Forgiveness and letting go
February 6, 2013 By 11 Comments
Two weekends ago, I went to a 2-Day seminar by Dani Johnson. For those of you who don’t know her, don’t worry, I didn’t either. In fact, had she not had the same name as me, I’d probably not know her either.
Ironically, while googling myself (you never know what’s out there) I found her and wow! She had wayyyyy more Facebook Fans than me! (like 100,000 more!) Who is this woman?!
I was intrigued and found out about her story, she grew up in an unstable home, was pregnant at 17, homeless and suicidal. She turned everything around and became a millionaire, a radio talk show host, a business owner of 15 business and HUGE philanthropist and was on the season premiere of “Secret Millionaire” last season!!
I could definitely relate to her earlier life story, in fact, a little too much. As I learned more about her, the more I wanted to know. It turned out, she was going to be in Dallas in January, so I decided, last minute, to go.
The workshop was called “First Steps to Success” and you could say it was a bit of a financial seminar, but much more than that. It was about how to have success in all areas of life: relationships, finances, business, etc.
One of the exercises we had to do was to learn to FORGIVE.
We were told to close our eyes and think of that ONE PERSON that we haven’t forgiven, and to picture walking up to them and telling them we forgive them and we release them.
For me, there were two people…. but wait… there were THREE.
The one person that I found hardest to forgive, was ME.
I realized this again today (it’s a sign) when one of the lovely ladies at sweatybettiesfitness.com posted her mantra for today which was: I forgive myself of any and all past mistakes
How often we end up STUCK. Stuck in our relationships. Stuck in our friendships. Stuck in our finances. Stuck in our own crap! because we can’t let go of our own mistakes?!
I sit here thinking, “I’m not stuck” but who am I fooling?
There are days (still) where I beat myself up for ALL kinds of things!! Here are a few– familiar to anyone?
- I should have saved all that money when I was waitressing and making tons of cash, then I’d be rich now!
- I should have stopped competing earlier and my body wouldn’t be a mess
- I shouldn’t have eaten that whole (fill in the blank) I would be 5 lbs lighter by now!
- I shouldn’t have invested and then changed my investments out of fear
- I shouldn’t have been such a bad wife during Christmas, I’m such a brat. My husband deserves better.
- I should have been smarter about things so I wouldn’t have gotten taken advantage of.
See where this goes? I mean, dang! Just reading it makes me realize how detrimental it is!!
How can I make MORE money, if I’m still thinking about all the money I wished I had saved and that I lost in the economic downturn? Thats not going to bring me more financial stability!
How can I work on getting my body healthier, if I’m always thinking about how I wished I never dieted hard in the first place and then beat myself up for overeating later?! That’s not going to help me make healthy choices!
How can I be a good wife and friend when I’m telling myself people deserve better?! That’s inconsistent!
How can I make better decisions about partnerships and business relationships, if I keep thinking that I will just get taken advantage of? I can’t!
Wow. Is it ironic, that it was easier for me to forgive the people that abused me or took advantage of me? Yet, I won’t let myself off the hook?
What might you still be beating yourself up over? What is it time to let go of and forgive?
Leave it in the comments.. or maybe just tell me that its all me. haha.
