Scorpion Yoga Practice and #AugustaActive Giveaway

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

I can’t pretend to be an expert at the Scorpion pose (vrschikasana) or even yoga in general, but I’ve been working on this particular move for a year now and it’s come a long way. The funny thing about yoga is that you DO have to practice – experienced yogis make everything look so easy, but it’s really hard work. Some of the simplest moves sill elude me — my hamstrings and hip flexors are in a chronic state of tightness and often don’t want to cooperate! Can you believe that some can people can even arch enough to rest feet on the head – WOW! I like to call the Scorpion my “killer” party trick and I’ll #stopdropandyoga one whenever the mood stikes – however sometimes, it’s hard to find a photographer (I think I have mortified and scarred my kids for life). Anyway, it’s easiest to do yoga or any other type of fitness activity when you are properly attired and feel cute (or manly, I suppose if you’re a guy). I recently was sent athletic gear (Action Color Block Capri and Jazzy Open Back Tank) along with a Cruise Duffle gym bag from Augusta Sportswear to try out – so cute and flattering in black with pink accents. Not only is this fitness sportswear stylish, but also comfortable for my day at the gym followed by a little yoga practice. I was also mightily impressed with the amount of gear that the gym bag held. I probably take way too much stuff on my outings including my blogging camera, a couple extra workout outfits, toiletries and recovery snacks – but I’m always prepared! You could win some of this Augusta Sportswear workout wear for yourself! Enter the giveaway for an “Active Kit” – just look at all the cool loot you could win! To be clear, one guy winner receives the MALE kit and one woman winner receives the FEMALE kit. I love how Augusta doesn’t forget about keeping the guys in our lives geared up for performance and looking good! Some other notes on the contest: The giveaway begins on January 12th and ends on January 19th 2015. The giveaway is open to US residents only. Styles/colors of the giveaway items may vary based on availability. This post and giveaway for gym clothes and athletic gear is sponsored by Augusta Sportswear. All editorial comments and opinions are my own.

Stop, Drop & Scorpion #Yoga + #Giveaway @AugustaActive Workout Wear #AugustaActive #Ad

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What is your favorite yoga pose? a Rafflecopter giveaway

Zing in the New Year – Juicing Machine #Giveaway

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

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This giveaway is sponsored by Hamilton Beach.

After a season of sugary, salty, greasy, and not-so-good-for-you good eats, many of us are looking for a nutrition reboot for the New Year. Healthy fruit and vegetable juices are a quick and easy way to top off your tank with all those vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other vital nutrients that makes us all feel so good. Yes, I drink juice a couple times a week, but I’m not an advocate of juicing “diets” or “cleanses” because drinking only the liquid from produce is done so at the expense of proper daily fiber intake and food group balance – where’s the ~~beef~~ protein?

However, I think juicing is a FANTASTIC way for people to get an on-demand dose of wholesome fuel – especially those who don’t like fruits and vegetables or are too busy to prepare a home-cooked meal. As for the fiber deficit, you can add the pulp from a juice machine (and there will be a lot of it) into the batter for pancakes, muffins and other baked goods – or even mix it into a soup or stir-fry. Add the pulp to whole grains and your system will be fiber-fortified and super (ahem) functional.

I’ve never owned a juicing machine before, so I was super excited when Hamilton Beach sent me a Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor to test out. With a stainless-steel look exterior, this juicer is both BEAUTY and BEAST – and I’m saying that from the admiration of a CrossFitting, gym-going, functional strength-loving sort girl who still likes a streamlined look and attractive aesthetic. This extractor ripped through the sturdy produce I slid through the super-sized chute – whole beets, carrots and big hunks of ginger root were reduced to liquid and pulp in three seconds – no peeling, coring or seeding required. It was so powerful that it startled me at first – and then I became addicted to the high-speed, pulverizing power. If you love the zing of ginger, it’s worth it to own a juice extractor just to get ginger juice – you literally just put the washed-off gnarly root in the feed chute (no peeling), push a button and, voila – liquid ginger gold to use as a digestion, anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory aid.

Head over to Hamilton Beach’s blog at EveryDayGoodThinking.com and find out what else I thought about the juice extractor machine in my guest post. And, you’ll definitely want to try out my recipe for Golden Beet Carrot Zinger (pictured at top of post)– there is so much goodness in just one little shot of this delicious detox juice.

Also, enter below (through the Rafflecopter App)for your chance to WIN a Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor! Whoohoo!

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Wine, Olive Oil, Endive . . . Tastes Like a #HolidayMeal + #Giveaway

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

All the good things are happening at my house this week! Good (make that great) food and drink to share with family, all with a home-warming, heart-healthy spin. I love spending time with family when there is no “this and that” to be done, the only thing on the agenda this Thanksgiving week is enjoying each other and digging into fine food – some of the intriguing edible details for the week include endive, olive oil and wine! Oh, and I’m giving away gourmet olive oil, so read on!

California Endive Farms sent me a huge box of red and white endives, oh how this makes me swoon with salad dreams. But, time to think outside the box, so I decided to GRILL my first endive recipe even though it’s a pretty complicated and coddled veggie. Apparently, endive (a member of the chicory family) is one of the most difficult vegetables to grow – it undergoes a two-step process. The first step, takes about 150 days to grow green leaves from a deep tap root. The plant is then harvested and the tops are cut off and the roots are salvaged. Secondly, the roots are put into cold storage to go dormant and then are forced into a second growth – whew, there’s so much effort that goes into endive farming ; it makes me love it even more! And, if you haven’t noticed, it’s beautiful enough to be used as a centerpiece.

My recipes for Grilled Endive with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Balsamic Drizzle would make a sophisticated addition to your Thanksgiving or holiday table. It’s super easy to grill either indoors or outdoors and can be finished in less than 10 minutes from produce bin to plate. I have some other recipes that I will be sharing soon (think healthy alternative to chips), but in the meantime please check out this mouth-watering collection of endive recipes.

Grilled Endive with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Balsamic Drizzle Recipe

4 red or white endives, cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used Nudo Italia Garlic!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 tablespoons balsamic syrup

Brush cut sides of endive liberally with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place endive, cut sides down, on indoor grill pan or grates of outdoor pan. Cook over approximate 375 F degree heat for 4 – 5 minutes, or until grill marks are made and endive is beginning to soften (without getting overcooked – should be crisp tender).
Remove endive from grill and place cut side up on serving platter. Sprinkle with blue cheese and walnuts; drizzle with balsamic syrup.
Serves 4.

Rios de Chile wine makes a delightful pairing for my grilled endive recipe. I’ve heard that there are some great wines from Chile, and this one is definitely a winner – it’s light and lively and the perfect choice for seafood, poultry or a grilled salad! The tasting notes on this one are “intense aroma of tropical fruits, fine mineral notes and citrus accents.” You’ll be the first guest on everyone’s party list if you show up with a bottle of this vino from an award-wining winery in the Cachapoal Valley.

Now, onto more goodness Nudo Italia Olive Oil – wow, is it wonderful. Imagine kicking back with a glass of that Rios de Chile wine and dipping some crusty bread into a saucer of artisanal olive oil. Now that’s what the holidays are all about, especially if you have your loved ones dipping and drinking by your side! I am a new fan of Nudo Olive Oil, although it’s been around since 2005. Made by a pair who left careers as television producers to move to the Italian countryside, this line of olive oils makes a point of keeping traditional farming methods alive to produce some of the best olive oil in the world. Nudo even has an olive tree adoption program which allows anyone to adopt a tree in Italy and receive its olive oil – now that’s the gift for the foodie or fine living aficionado who has everything!

Not only have I been enjoying the olive oil with my bread and drizzled on my salad, it also makes a statement in recipes – they have amazing infused flavors, too many to name (but check out their online shop). But, I’m giving away three 8.4 oz. tins of the infused flavors- the Olive Oil Stone Ground with Real Lemons, the Olive Oil Stone Ground with Garlic and the Olive Oil Stone Ground with Basil. Enter below via the Rafflecopter App!

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Eat, Drink & Be Healthy #Giveaway

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

I run, I lift, and I stretch. By body fat ratio is low, my VO2 max is high, and my doctor usually has to retake my pulse because he can’t believe my heart is still beating. I attribute my body’s efficiencies to eating well, making exercise part of my lifestyle and all-around good genes. But, before you start rolling your eyes about, I am NOT without vices or bad habits and, well, most of them are eating related. My three worst nutrition no-nos are drinking diet soda, sometimes skipping or scrimping on breakfast, and a lack of variety in my (albeit mostly healthy) diet. Starting now through the holidays, I’m going to focus on ways to kick these little problem areas in the butt – and, to encourage you to make any healthy changes you might need to, I’m hosting a Eat, Drink & Be Healthy Giveaway! Here are my goals and giveaway items (enter through the rafflecopter app at the end of the post).

Drink Better by Kicking the Soda Can: As, I mentioned, I drink too much diet soda – way too much. I’ve been trying to break this bad habit by switching to healthier beverage options – more water, green tea, kombucha and such. I’m a relatively new fan of kombucha, just partaking in an inaugural swig about a year ago. If you’ve never heard of Kombucha, it’s a sparkling probiotic tea that has been fermented to create a slightly sweet and sour fizzy tonic. This “wellness juice” tastes good going down and helps to keep things moving along, if you catch my drift.

LIVE Soda, from right here in Austin, is one of my favorite kombucha brands because it reminds me of all the soda fountain drinks I crave – flavors include Root Beer, Cola, Ginger, Orange, Limon and even one called “Doctor” that will remind you of Dr. Pepper. It’s pretty much sold all over the place here in Austin, but check out the store locator to find LIVE Soda in your area. Kombucha also makes a healthy and hip alternative drink during the holiday party season – not everyone wants to drink alcohol. Enter the giveaway below and you may win 4 coupons for single 12-oz. bottles of Live Soda.

Eat Better by Not Skipping Breakfast: I’ve stood on a soap box about this a million times, so it’s embarrassing to admit that I skip breakfast on occasion! Eating a morning meal that includes adequate protein has been proven to reduce unhealthful snacking later in the day. But get real people, sometimes there just isn’t time to scramble eggs or even blend up a protein smoothie. But, Love Grown Foods has the best cereal called Power O’s that makes it easier to eat a quality breakfast in the morning.

I love it so much that I’m now a “Love Blogger” – what’s not to love? Love Grown Foods makes all their products without the use of genetically modified ingredients, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. This kid-friendly cereal looks like your typical Cheerios, l, but instead it’s made with a bean blend than includes navy beans, garbanzo beans and lentils to provide 4 – 6 grams of protein per serving. Now that’s NOT typical! Pour on a cup of milk and you’ve just added another 8 grams of protein. But, my favorite eating technique is to pile them up on 6 oz. plain Greek yogurt that has been sweetened with stevia and fruit – this bumps me up to about 25 grams of protein for breakfast which is my optimal amount! When you enter the giveaway below, you could win a “Love Drop” of four boxes of Power O’s , one of each flavor – Original, Strawberry, Chocolate and Honey.

Be Healthy by Mixing It Up: Aside from the soda, the foods on my plate are pretty darn fit and fresh. However, I tend to rely on some staples over and OVER again – like eating a spring mix salad with the same dressing and toppings EVERY night for a week. Thanks to my relationship as a blogger for Litehouse Foods, I’ve really been learning to “mix it up” for the last few years as I’ve created recipes for the company. I might still have the same “base” salad, but have learned to rotate through a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins to ensure I’m not missing any important nutrients in my diet.

This awesome, Idaho-based company makes dozens of different fresh dressings, dips, cheeses, ciders and freeze-dried herbs that you can find in the produce department. These products are made fresh and need to be kept cold (except for the herbs) – no MSG, preservatives or unhealthy fats like the nasty shelf-stable stuff. Many products are even certified gluten-free and/or organic – one of my favorite product lines, OPA by Litehouse, is made with Greek Yogurt to reduce fat and increase protein. Enter the giveaway below and you could win 4 free product coupons.

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Friday 5 |So Many #ShoutOuts it’s Scary + Running Giveaway!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

Boo, it’s Halloween! I don’t do this very often, but I wanted to share with you some of the products and events I whole-heartedly stand behind. Actually, I have so many, that I’ll shout out another five next Friday. Don’t miss the giveaway at the bottom of the post for a Spartan entry, two tubes of Nuun, and a pair of Altra running socks.

1) Core Power: For years, I’ve been a big fan of this product and remember way back when it was called Athlete’s Honey Milk.

Now these high protein shakes are big time popular, so I’m super honored to be one of their athletes . . . plus, you’ve probably noticed I do a lot of workouts and recipes for their social media. I like to stash a bottle in my gym bag for the perfect amount of protein recovery after a long run or intense workout. The six yummy flavors are also the base ingredient for many of my crazy delicious smoothie recipes – like the Vampire Slayer Protein Smoothie I whipped up for Halloween.

Vampire Slayer Protein Smoothie Recipe

1 (11-ounce) Strawberry-banana Core Power
1 cup frozen berry blend
1/2 cup cranberry juice
Ice, as needed

Place all ingredients in blend and blend until smooth. Serves 1.

2) Zooma Women’s Race Series: This is my 4^th year to be a Texas Ambassador for this female-focused running event that takes place in fun destination locations like Austin, Napa, Cape Cod and others.

The Austin race is on Saturday March 28, 2015 at the Hill Country Hyatt Resort – a gorgeous, gorgeous place to run a race. The bluebonnets and other flowers are blooming this time of year and this welcomed distraction of Mother Nature has always made the hills seem less painful! The main race is a half marathon, but there is also a 10k and 5k and everyone is encouraged to run, laugh and celebrate. Oh, and did I mention the massages, wine and pretty necklace-style finisher’s medal to be enjoy afterward. Register using code JENNIFER15 and get 10% off any distance in the Texas lineup.

3) Spartan: I’ve never actually done a Spartan race but it’s been on my bucket list for a while.

One of the things that’s been holding me back is my own competitive nature – what if I don’t kill it, what if I don’t WIN (ha)? But, then I realized that’s totally the wrong attitude – if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you — right?! I’m going to be signing up the next time Spartan comes through Texas, meanwhile YOU can enter to win a free entry. Enter through the Rafflecopter app below, the winner will receive a registration code that will work for any open heat (non-confirmed start time) in any Spartan Race (check out the upcoming races) in the continental US. You can also just go ahead and register now and get 10% off any race (Sprint, Super or Beast) in any US with the code: SPARTANBLOGGER

4) Nuun Hydration: This sugar-free electrolyte tablet that you plop into a bottle of water and it magically fizzes up, has saved my butt from dehydration many, many times.

I use Nuun on my long runs, marathons and even out when watching my kids play sports all day in the Texas sun (I put it in their water bottles too!) They have a fairly new line, Nuun Energy, which combines the same optimal electrolyte blend with B vitamins and caffeine — yeah! The products are awesome, but I also can’t say enough about the people who work at Nuun –as a lucky ambassador, Nuun has invited me twice to be one of their runners in the Hood to Coast Relay, and I got the royal treatment each time!

If you want to stock up on Nuun, use the code nuunbassadorfriend to get 20% off a one-time purchase (through the end of 2014). Oh, what the heck, I’m going to throw two tubes of Nuun (my choice) into the giveaway below!

5) Altra Running – I was first introduced to this line of “zero-drop” shoes several years ago when I was tweaking my running form with the Pose Method.

As an ambassador for the brand, I’ve shared my testimonial on how these shoes have helped me as a mid-foot striker, improved my natural running form and saved my toenails from turning black and falling off! I’ve worn them in every distance from a 5k to 50 mile ultra. Currently, I’m wearing the Ones Squared, and loving the lightness with a touch of cushion! They also make socks with a wider toe box and I’m giving away a pair of Women’s White No Show Sprint Socks

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Tag Archives: giveaway

Scorpion Yoga Practice and #AugustaActive Giveaway

Zing in the New Year – Juicing Machine #Giveaway

Wine, Olive Oil, Endive . . . Tastes Like a #HolidayMeal + #Giveaway

Eat, Drink & Be Healthy #Giveaway

Friday 5 |So Many #ShoutOuts it’s Scary + Running Giveaway!