Fitness |

Lots of excitement to share with you all on this wondrous WIAW! Seems like this weekly blogger celebration is quickly becoming my chosen day for giveaway’s for all of you! As you know, I often do reviews for different health and fitness companies and a lot of them are generous enough to offer up some goodies for you all as well. I don’t accept all offers because some don’t exactly fit the theme of my blog and others aren’t something I’d buy myself so why would I want someone else to get stuck with it?! But that is not the case today! In fact, I have TWO giveaways to share with you! That means double the prizes and double the winners! Plus, I think there’s a little something for everyone since these products involve both fitness and food.

Before I get to the goodies that are up for grabs, I wanted to propose a question to you all…

How do you feel about weekly giveaways? Like them? Don’t like them? No preference? You’ll have a chance to let me know as a form of entry for the giveaways!

Speaking of which, this WIAW I have a giveaway from the Simply Bar and iBodyFit! As you know, I was able to try the new Simply WHEY bars a few weeks back and my contacts over at Simply Bar wanted to offer one of my readers a box of their newest flavor: Chocolate Mint…which just happened to be my favorite out of the 3!

Also up for grabs is a Premium membership to iBodyFit ! You may not have ever heard of this site before, but I was approached by it’s owner and have been pretty impressed with what I’ve seen. It’s a great resource for online workouts, fitness videos, nutrition advice, and even personal training. The founder, Frank Antoian, wanted to create an accessible site for everyone that could provide reliable, professional advice on health and fitness. Although I’ve just been given access to the site myself, Frank wants to spread the word about his new endeavor and thus has offered one of my readers the ultimate chance to try out the whole system! A premium membership includes:

Unlimited access to all online workouts
Unlimited access to all online exercise videos
Access to the iBodyFit30 Challenge
Yoga and Pilates
Running plans (1 mile to marathons)
A custom diet
Trainer support (we’ll help you find the right workout for your fitness goals, plus you can ask any us fitness questions you may have)

Lots of great resources obviously and perfect for someone looking to get into fitness or change up their routine! So here’s how you can enter…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will choose two winners (one for the Simply Bars and one for the iBodyFit membership next Sunday!

Now onto the food portion of your regularly scheduled WIAW

[ezekiel bread with tomato paste, basil, and feta]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA [brown rice noodles with canned salmon and veggies, roasted veggies]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA [lentil salad with tortilla and banana]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA [cabbage salad with grilled corn quesadillas]

[super green buckwheat pizza crust ]

[black eyed pea salad ]

[baked chicken pita]

[first attempt at a chocolate-coffee egg protein powder muffins...chopped up with almond milk!]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA [feta toast and ground chicken sautee salad] [baked pollack fish tacos] [kale chip tofu nuggets with roasted veggies and kabocha]
[tuna and kelp noodle stirfry with roasted veggies]

Also tried some protein pancakes made from a pre made mix! My first time and I have to say they turned out pretty great!

The apple cinnamon pancake mix came from a company called FlapJacked (<—love that name!). Here’s a little about them!

FlapJacked (owned by JaceyCakes, LLC) is a Broomfield, Colorado-based Company that manufactures simple and nutritious protein pancake mixes under the brand-name FlapJacked™. Jennifer and David Bacon founded the company based on the premise that healthy meals should not only fuel our bodies but also taste great, give enough energy to get through the day. Our pancake mix is easy to prepare making it simple for the modern families busy and active lifestyles.

We are firm believers that we are what we eat and we reflect that belief into our products. FlapJacked™ Protein Pancake Mixes are naturally balanced using the finest ingredients and whole grains such as Quinoa, Whole Oats and Cinnamon (to name a few) that provides our body with the essentials to stay healthy and feel great. We personally hand select our ingredients to ensure premium quality. All ingredients are natural, but more importantly, we do not buy or endorse GMO products or ingredients.

I loved that each and every ingredient is something that I could have gone out and purchased myself. But even better than the stellar nutritional information and health benefits (HELLO PROTEIN!), was the great taste! Not to sweet but definitely a subtle cinnamon apple flavor. And the texture was better than any homemade protein pancake I’ve ever made! Not as dense and chewy…but light and fluffy like a regular ol’ pancake house pancake! Yum. I would love to try their other flavors because these were definitely worth making again.

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See you later this week for a round up my favorite kitchen gadgets, a tribute to The Office, some link love, and of course…Lend a {Healthy} Hand!

Kaila

Subscribe on the side. Follow me on Twitter. Ask me on Formspring . Follow me on Pinterest. Like me on Facebook.Follow me on Instagram.

Todays’s Healthy Help: Did some landscaping at my Uncle’s house!

Never too early to start Lending a {Healthy} Hand for this weeks round-up! Tell me what you’ve done to help someone else lately!

As you read this I have completed my last day of exams…which means I am officially done with my first year of college! Woo to the freaking hooooo! I am so excited that summer is finally here! It’s been hard to get through this last week while a lot of my friends at different schools have already ended….lots of jealous tweets going on

May I present my done with school dance…..

Today I have some fun fitness oriented stuff to share!

A few months back I was contacted by Ellie to review one of their workout outfits.

As I’m sure you’ve all seen by now, there has been some controversy surrounding the company. A change in name and structure, some shipping issues, and a few mix ups with their affiliate program. But in all honesty, my experience with them was great! I think you have to give young companies the benefit of the doubt. I mean if we all attacked a brand the moment they made their first mistake, we would have no successful companies in the world! You have to give people the chance to make corrections, improve themselves and learn from their initial errors. I think Ellie has done that and I was really happy with the customer service I received I myself had a little mix up with the products I chose to review (received the wrong size) and my contact over there promptly offered to send me a replacement without asking for the other product back and without any additional hassle to me. I thought that was pretty great!

But enough about the company itself (you can tell I like the people over there )…I’m sure you want to know more about the clothes I tried!

I picked out a piece from their April Little Black collection as well as their May Coral Crush collection.

I was sent a pair of Dark Matter leggings as well as their Double Threat tank!

[PINK PACKAGING?! They know how to get on my good side!]

The first thing that struck me was the quality of the material. Very thick and stretchy! The company compares their products to lululemon and I would have to agree that is accurate I’ve never bought anything from lululemon because of its high prices, but I have tried stuff on from there (a girl can dream right!) so I know what their material is like. I would say Ellie’s products are just as high in quality and craftsmanship! And one thing I noticed that I really liked was this…

Made in the USA baby!

Both pieces are very versatile too! I’ve worn the leggings with regular outfits and even the top can pass as fashionable with a casual outfit! Love the summery orange color too. It’s great being able to wear comfortable, soft workout clothes outside of the gym.

For my purposes, Ellie’s clothes are still a bit too pricey…especially for something I’m going to get sweaty and gross in! But I do really love their products! And it’s pretty cool that they offer a monthly subscription service AND the option of buying individual pieces. So if you’re interested, definitely fo check out their site!

Thanks again Ellie!

[BTW, I'm in no way getting compensated for this post or my opinions...I'm also not an ambassador or anything like that. Just a consumer sharing my opinions so y'all can get an idea of what to expect!]

Also on the fitness front, I’ve just joined a new campaign being put on by FitFluential and UnderArmor! I seriously love being a FitFluential ambassador. Not only have a I gotten the chance to connect with a whole other supportive community of people who I have things in common with, but I’ve been able to work with some amazing brands and companies too! My favorite campaigns are the ones that not only introduce cool new gear, but also have a positive message behind them as well. Under Armor’s What’s Beautiful campaign perfectly encompasses these two characteristics.

Here’s a little about the movement and how YOU can get involved too!

DECLARE A GOAL. THEN SHOW US HOW IT’S DONE.

Together we’re redefining the female athlete by setting epic goals and pushing past where we’ve ever been and where we thought we could go. Join us. Set your own personal goal. Then document your journey by posting videos and photos that tell your story from start to victory.

We’ll continuously post challenges for you. But that’s just the beginning. Show us your journey. Show us what makes your story the one that stands out from the rest. If you meet your goal, set a new one. Make it even bigger. Prove to everyone, and yourself, that you have more than what it takes.

THE COMPETITION.

Every week we’ll give away Under Armour Swag Bags full of gear to women who are seriously getting it. We’ll also feature profiles on our home page and in the “Top Performers” section of women who are really setting an example for all of us.

After 8 weeks, we’ll announce the 10 finalists who’ve documented the most impressive, motivated, monumental stories.

Winners will be announced mid-July.

THE PRIZE.

Three winners will be flown to Costa Rica to attend a four-day yoga and surf retreat. In addition to the lessons led by world-class instructors, winners will be treated to transformative massages, spa treatments and healthy, locally-sourced meals prepared by personal chefs. All while staying in plush accommodations looking out at the ocean. A retreat worthy of the women who earn it.

Pretty cool in my opinion! I’ve already set up a team and started following some people who are already participating! My team is called Team Movement and it’s all about getting moving in healthy ways. Something I’m very passionate about obviously! But don’t be confused….it’s not about working out everyday, hammering your body into the ground, and overdoing it! It’s about simply adding a little movement into your life each and everyday. Whether it be taking a leisurely walk to catch up with a friend, a run to train for your next race, a bike ride to pick up some milk at the store, or a dance party in your room to relieve some stress! It’s not about burning calories, it’s about awakening your body and letting your muscles live and breathe.

I’d be honored if you joined my team! It’s kind of fun actually! UA posts different challenges all week long and you can do them whenever you feel like it! There’s everything from fitness related challenges to getting organized or putting yourself out there in new and unexpected ways! It’s all about redefining what beautiful means for you and realizing that YOU, exactly as you are, ARE BEAUTIFUL!

For all my fitness fanatic friends out there, I hope you enjoyed this post and for those that aren’t the biggest fans, thanks for bearing with me! See you tomorrow for Lend a {Healthy} Hand! And remember to enter my Krono Bar giveaway if you haven’t already!

Would you consider joining the What’s Beautiful movement?

Where do you like buying your workout clothes?

Kaila

Subscribe on the side. Follow me on Twitter. Ask me on Formspring . Follow me on Pinterest. Like me on Facebook.Follow me on Instagram.

Todays’s Healthy Help: Picked up some things at the grocery store for my mom!

Never too late to start Lending a {Healthy} Hand for this weeks round-up! Tell me what you’ve done to help someone else lately!