Live Life Fully, Don’t Stress Little Problems! Mind & Body Products to Help

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx #TENApartner

Living life to the fullest reaps so many rewards and opportunities.  You love more, you feel more, you see more, you do more, you move more, you give more.  But living life, in general, creates little “issue areas” that can put a damper on ‘seizing the day’ if you allow it.

Mind and Body products to help with life's little issue areas.

Check out four life “issue areas” for me and the mind and body products I’ve been using to help me keep my self-confidence at 100% so that I can live my 110% best life!   

NO MORE GETTING HANGRY

Pursing all the things I love (plus life’s obligations) sometimes gets my schedule overbooked and puts me on the go-go-go. In the past, this has led to a skipped meal or not having time to grab a post-workout snack. Missed opportunities for nourishment and refueling are not good for my general health and wellness. Getting hangry between meals is the WORST – not just for my body, but for friends, family and innocent bystanders.  However, when I make a priority of eating to fuel my goals and staying on top of timing my protein through the day, life is GOOD!  Point of reference, I try to get 25-30g protein at each meal, and 10g for snacks.  

Nutrition products for Tone it Up are delicious., plant-based and offer a great way to boost protein intake for the day.  Try the protein cookies and protein bars.
Protein Bars and Protein Cookies from Tone It Up

Tone It Up nutrition products helps me meet my snack-time protein goals and soothes my notorious sweet tooth in a better way. The Plant-Based Protein Snickerdoodles Cookies has a sweet cinnamon flavor and soft-baked texture, offering 10g of protein and 170 calories per serving.  The Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars are light and crispy, and seemingly decadent while actually a great pick-me-up snack with 10g protein and 170 calories per serving. Tone it up products are plant-based dairy-free, gluten-free and never made with sugar alcohols.

NO MORE ANNOYINGLY DRY SKIN

Every woman wants to feel presentable, if not absolutely fabulous – am I right?!  But I am plagued with dry skin, especially coming out of cold weather. After a winter of sitting in front of my space heater all day, these legs of mine look like old, dried-up elephant hides. With shorts-season underway and a bikini-baring trip to Mexico this week, I needed to feel fabulous again STAT!

TreeHut Strawberr Shea Sugar Scrub - I love this body scrub with Vit C and BHA to naturally keep skin smooth.
Tree Hut Strawberry Shea Sugar Scrub

Thanks to Tree Hut Strawberry Sugar Scrub, I’ve been able to exfoliate my legs (and arms and feet) into silky smoothness. Plus, I love that fresh, summery scent of strawberry with hits of pineapple and peach. I feel confident using Tree Hut scrub, the company never skimps on good ingredients. For example, the top three ingredients in this scrub are sugar, shea butter and the natural compound BHA which penetrates into pores to more effectively reveal glowing skin. Additionally, it’s free of parabens, sulfates, alcohol, formaldehyde and is suitable for a vegan lifestyle.

NO MORE STRESSING OVER SCARS

If you are living life, it’s pretty hard not to get a scar. Collectively, there are something like 100 million new scars made per year, or so they say. I personally have a zillion and they sometimes make me feel awkward – at least, if I have to recount to stories of how I got them!  Whether it’s fresh new scar from something as simple as scraping your knee or an existing scar resulting from surgery, New Skin® Scar Fade™ is an easy, quick, and effective way to make scars less visible for adults. Use on new or existing scars from injury, surgery, burns, and stretch marks. It is even safe to use on the face for acne scars.

New Skin Scar Fade

I’ve been using my New Skin® Scar Fade™ in three places — a NEW long scrape scar down the front of my shin, an older thick scar on my arm from a fall, and a raised scar under my chin left from stitches.  The silicone gel of Scar Fade provides greater efficacy than the “combo” ingredient products that exist today and clinical results showed users to have an 86% reduction in texture, 84% reduction in color and 68% reduction in height of scars.  I haven’t been using long enough to give a before-and-after report, but I can say that I’m already seeing and feeling good results!

NO MORE AWKWARD BLADDER SITUATIONS

I sometimes pee myself a little, involuntarily. There, I said it. Initially, this problem arose with the pregnancy, birth, post-partum process from three nine-pound babies. With one delivery, I suffered a urethral tear, and that definitely didn’t help the situation.  This was about a 15-year time chunk of my life where I suffered with prolapse and incontinence. You can search the blog, I’ve written about it before – and how I finally, mostly healed under my own volition, with time and with exercises to improve muscle weaknesses! However, I do notice that hormones also tend to play a big role in leakage for me, certain times in the month. And now that I’m flirting with menopause, I’m experiencing this problem just a little more frequently again.  

TENA Intimates pads help with incontinence and light bladder leakage you may be experiencing with pregnancy, post partum or in premenopause or menopause
TENA Intimates Pads

But instead of being embarrassed or not living life, I just dealt with it (and sometimes still do) as needed, and then move on to live life. So should you!  In fact, if you are a woman in North America, chances are 1 in 3 that you suffer from urinary incontinence, you are not alone! It annoys me that there is a stigma attached to this – a woman’s body is always evolving and, as I mentioned for me, the post-partum and menopause years are two life stages when this can be the biggest issue. TENA Intimates pads offer a solution you can feel confident using and have been gynecologically tested. The pads are made with super absorbent materials that help lock away moisture from your skin, preventing irritation and discomfort. This breathability also helps control odor.

Use code TENA10 for 10% off any TENA Intimates Pads product.

Best Race Fuel, Runner Food and Sports Nutrition Products from TRE18

Truth be told, I hardly noticed the razzle-dazzle of all the fancy new running shoes and gear being promoted at the The Running Event Expo (TRE18). When I rolled into the Austin Convention Center at 10am this past Thursday, I was on a razor-sharp focused, food-seeking mission. How could I turn samples of the latest running fuels, bars and drinks into a legitimate morning meal to refuel my earlier run? And, how could I boost my energy later in the day so I could endure to the show floor finish line without bonking? I really, really did not want a DNF this event featuring over 250 amazing brands catering to specifically the running retail industry. 

Of course, this “quest for the best” runner food and race fuels was not an entirely selfish ploy to satiate my own hunger. It was also for YOU that I stalked, sampled, slurped and stuffed myself silly with countless “tastes” of the latest sports nutrition available today . . . along with new stuff rolling out in 2019.  Read on to discover (my opinion) on The Best Race Fuel, Runner Food and Sports Nutrition Products from TRE18. Continue reading

No Bake Tiramisu Protein Bars – Keto, Low Carb

You are going to love my No-Bake Tiramisu Protein Bars, not just for that signature layered chocolate-coffee-cream flavor, but for the nutrition profile as well! One of these good-sized homemade protein bars has just 77 calories, 10.1g protein, 2.2g fat and only 5 net carbs. Read on to get more details and the easy recipe perfect for a low-carb or keto lifestyle. No Bake Tiramisu Protein Bars

Continue reading

Fit Food & Run Gear Making Me Happy in April

Who doesn’t love a three day weekend, having one every month should be mandatory. At least, that’s what my pup Lucy thinks! That face you make when they say 3 day weekend

Today, I’m sharing some of the things that are gearing me up and fueling me through the fun!  Continue reading

Tart Cranberry Grape Protein Bites Recipe #BehindTheMuscle

This post is sponsored by Isopure, but recipe, editorial remarks & enthusiasm are all mine!Tart Cranberry Grape Protein Bites TitleI was looking for a snack to take on a trail run the other day and just wasn’t happy with the packaged options available. I wanted something that would offer me enough quality carbohydrates to keep my body moving, but also protein for sustained energy and muscle recovery. It was going to be a long day – I also had a big workout planned later in the day. I needed to avoid nuts, wanted a snack that was good for my guts, and was in the mood for tart and tangy, something completely different that the normal chocolate and caramel concoctions. A big order!

Tart Cranberry Grape Protein Bites using Isopure AminosI ended up making my own concoction, Tangy Cranberry Grape Protein Bites — perfection and just what I “ordered”!  Made with a whey protein isolate and Isopure Amino Acids, I knew my workout snack was going to give me quality nutrition for muscle recover and building – especially with those BCAAs.

Drinking Isopure Aminos right after my workout has been really helping with muscle recovery! I’ve blogged about the Isopure Amino Acids before, I love this product – not only does it taste great, it features everything I need for head-to-toe recovery including all the branch chain amino acids ( BCAAs) to help me make more of my muscles, but also tart cherry to ward off inflammation and L-theanine for a calm and relaxed mind.

Other nutrition perks of these on-the-go energy protein bites? Lots of vitamins and minerals (especially vitamin C) and quality carbs to keep the engine revved on high. Not only are the unsweetened cranberries and drizzle of honey a good, dense source of carbs for any high-energy sport, the unmodified protein powder used serves the dual purpose of binder and beneficial resistant starch.

So, what am I talking about when I say unmodified potato starch is a “resistant starch”? It’s a type of prebiotic starch that “resists” digestion and prevents spikes in blood glucose and insulin.  As a type of prebiotic (aka, and digestible carb), it helps to establish and support good gut health – the right environment for gut bacteria. Studies are also suggesting that resistant starches may also help contribute to weight loss through lowered blood sugar spikes, decreased appetite, lessened fat storage in fat cells and preservation of lean muscle mass. There are many kids of resistant starches, but unmodified (aka, raw) potato starch is a reliable and easy-to use option (the Bob’s Red Mill brand is sold at most stores). Anyway, all the science is a little over my head, but I thought this article How Resistant Starch Will Help to Make You Healthier and Thinner  at ChrisKresser.com was very helpful in understanding.

Tart Cranberry Grape Protein Bites using Isopure Aminos

Tangy Cranberry Grape Protein Bites

  1. Add cranberries, honey and water to work bowl of food processor and process for 1 -2 minutes, or until cranberries very, very finely chopped up and sticky.
  2. In large bowl, mix together protein powder, amino powder and potato starch until combined.
  3. Add dry mixture to cranberry mixture about ½ cups at a time, processing each time until incorporated. Dough should be forming up into a big ball with some crumbling back down. If mixture still looks too sticky, process in 1 tablespoon of potato starch at a time until desired results are achieved.
  4. Roll into 24 bite-sized balls approximately 1-inch in diameter. May be left out in gym bag, but store in refrigerator overnight for best freshness.

Quick Macros Per Bite: 50 calories, 7g protein, 18g total carb (0.3g sugar), 0.125g fat, 12% DV Vitamin C,

 

Hope you get a chance to make this easy protein bite recipe for your next run or workout. They pack really well in a little zip top bag that you can take wherever you go, they don’t melt or fall apart or “go bad” sitting out all day. Stash a handful of these recovery treats in a fuel belt, pocket or gym bag and then feel free to KILL that workout knowing all your post exercise nutrition needs will be met in a few little “bites”. Also, check out Isopure BCAAs and all the other clean, lean quality protein products they offer.

Do you have a homemade workout snack? Have you ever heard of resistant starches? Did you run a race, have a fitness competition, do something else fabulous this weekend? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer