It’s back to work week for me….not sure if I am excited or drained, honestly. Next week the kids come back and I’ll be faciliating one more job as of next week- organizing games for the playground. Obviously up my alley, however, it is right smack in the middle of lunch. What to do?!

Just call me the “baggie girl”!

Pre-cooked chicken in 3 ounce servings are ready to go in my fridge.

Then, I’ll have a choice of delicious fruits or vegetables that I feel like eating that day such as apples, fresh salsa, strawberries, blueberries or a combination of all three.

For desert, I’ll have either a selection of cashews or an avocado.

Simple,easy and can be eaten anytime, anywhere.

The only thing is that all the teachers see me eat all the time, ha ha ha!! Maybe, I’ll rub off on them and they’ll ditch the Ritz crackers for an apple, heh?!

[Read more →]

About a month ago, I posted that I was testing Nitrean and Opticen. It is now one week past my competition, and I can honestly say that these products have helped tremendously.

Number one, is that both can be mixed in water easily and still taste good! Number two, if I don’t have time for a meal immediately following a workout, I’ll use the Opticen (2 scoops mixed with 16-20 ounces of water). This is obviously not ideal {real food is always better} but when I’m rushing, I’m happy with the Opticen. Additionally it does seem to help with muscle soreness significantly! With the exception of one very recent workout {of like 90 back squats at 95 pounds}, I have been a heck of a lot less sore!  Finally, I’ve had one huge PR in the last month!  My Dead Lift PR went from 185 to 210!!

The one product that didn’t work for me was the ETS supplement, although, I’ve read that magnesium and zinc would help with muscle soreness, I found for my body, the dosage may have been too much for my small woman’s frame or something…I just didn’t like how bad I smelled after taking it for a few days–even after I reduced the dose by half, I still smelled horrendous post workout. That’s not to say that it was the product, but, once I stopped taking it, I did stop smelling like a dump truck.

So far, these products {Nitrean and Opticen} are working for me and I’ll continue to repurchase.

You can read more about the products here.

P.S. Opticen and ETS were given to me for the purposes of review. I am stating my honest opinion and nobody is paying me for this review.

[Read more →]

This is a follow-up post to my original post “The One Barbell Bra”.

Pictured above is the Henna Day Bra by Isis For Women. This is one of the One Barbell Bras featured on Title Nine’s site and my own as a good choice for those of us who are in the “small handful” category!?!

What did I love about it?

The fit–it’s adjustable (bra straps and back closure)!    This bra did not chafe, pinch or ride up or slide down anywhere!?!?!

The material:  Thick enough to offer coverage but light enough to offer “breath ability” during a workout.

What didn’t I love about it?!

The colors are beautiful, however, I’d love one in a neutral color!

Overall, this bra does what it says and I would definetly recommend it to you all! Even better is that this is not an expensive bra.  It’s on sale now for $24 on Title Nine and retails for $32.

Comments, thoughts or suggestions?! I’d love to hear them.

For the FTC:  This bra was sent to me for purposes of review, nobody paid me to write this review and my opinions are my own.

[Read more →]

So, you finish a killer workout and run out the door, right?! Wrong, or at least, when time allows, there is always room for improvement in the recovery from exercise and in your ability to bounce back the next day.

The cool thing is that ******maybe****** cross your fingers, I’ve got it figured out. Number 1, I get calories in my stomach as soon as possible- like within 15 minutes.

#1 I have been using 2 scoops of Opticen in 20 ounces of water! For the last month, my muscle soreness has been significantly better.

#2 5 Essential Yoga Poses: Pidgeon, DownDog, Standing Forward Bend, Handstand, and Legs up the Wall Pose

#3 FOOD…..Check out images below. Egg White (ish) {Couple yokes fell in}Frittata with Onions, Zucchini, Broccoli, and Spinach topped with one measly ounce of Pecorino Cheese! This is two meals for me!


Smothered with avocado and a side dish of cherry tomatoes…

Finally, water, water, water….and a little iced coffee from the best coffee in my town!

How do you recover from exercise?!

[Read more →]

7 Days and Counting until the Next Level Invitational. In preparation for this event, we have been training 7 times a week! 2 days are rest days and 2 days we double up! Some of the movement standards have been announced and my trainers have been working us hard in the big weight categories such as dead lifts and back squats! And, I’m happy to report that I am feeling very strong! In fact, after 8 solid months of cross fit, I am finally in the 200 club tonight in the Dead Lift by lifting 210 pounds!! Don’t worry, Katia, you are still way stronger than me!

Check out my new shorts! Lululemon is one of the key sponsors of our upcoming event, and were excited to see us in their store! And, am excited to say that I finally broke down and bought Lululemon Groovy Run Shortsand they are so awesome…..watch out, I might get addicted!

In addition, I’ve also had to get serious with my weight training. When we are lifting extremely heavy bars, it’s important to have a solid foundation supporting you. My running shoes were actually causing my knees to buckle which could lead to injures… They are not so handsome and I had to buy a men’s shoe size, however, I am feeling a huge difference in my lifts and although I’ve only had them for two days, I’ve already had two PR’s in them, hahahahahaaa….

Shoes were purchased on the Rogue Fitness site.

I’m on a very strict zone/paleo diet for the next 7 days! After which, I will enjoy celebrating in a big way with wine, pasta and chocolate…did sneak some high quality chocolate in today, though.

Anybody have any questions for me? Thoughts/ Concerns?!?!

[Read more →]

Yes, it is true, I got to try Living Fuel’s newest products: Coco Chia Snack Fuel Mix and Coco Chia Sustained Energy Fuel Bar. My kids and I love trying new products especially food products! If you missed it, I’ve already reviewed the Living Fuel’s Living Protein Powder and the Double Chocolate Chia Bars (loved those).

Of the two products, we (my husband and I) liked the CocoChia Snack Mix the best. There’s only three ingredients: raw organic coconut, chia seeds and Therasweet. In one snack mix, there are 12 grams of fat (the good kinds), 10 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein. This snack goes great with plain greek yogurt as a snack on it’s own or on pretty much anything! Although, I couldn’t really get my kids to eat it too much…they just weren’t interested.



This bar is also really great as far as ingredients goes…Raw organic almond butter, raw organic coconut and chia seeds are the main ingredients. The Cocochia bar is great for diabetics, athletes and dieters. With *8 net carbs, 7 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat, this bar would work for me with an additional side of protein and carbs- such as an apple and a slice of deli meat. We didn’t like this one much as the double chocolate chia bar, but, it’s still really tasty.

Living Fuel’s products can be found online or possibly at your local health food store!

Thank you Living Fuel for sending me these awesome products to try! I am impressed.

[Read more →]

Remember this post? The very snazzy soda club machine that makes soda, bubbly water for pennies on the dollar?! I have just recently replaced the CO2 cartrigride and am LOVING IT… Kids and I drink bubbly water all day long and they love making the machine “fart”!! And, as a special treat that get to have “soda”…mom dilutes the lemon-lime soda by half and they don’t know the difference!!

I want some of these! Thanks Workout Mommy for the tip.  I’m sure we’d get along in real life!

This will be a nice treat! 6 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat, 4 grams of protein…PB2 gotta get some more!

Next up on my reading list: Spark The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

Good article on why not to eat grains here.

What’s new and exciting in your worlds?!  Competition’s in 16 days?!?!

[Read more →]

Going through the drive through at Starbucks with your kids?! How many of you buy chocolate milk for your kids?   Kids love chocolate milk!  Something about the brown cow and 50 grams (?!!) of sugar will make any kid jump in circles!

My kids and I have had the amazing pleasure of sampling X Balance Total Nutrition Drink Mix!! It’s quoted as saying “The Healthiest Chocolate Milk on Earth!”   After mixing 1 scoop of powder with 1-2 ounces of water and then adding 4-9 ounces of milk, this drink tastes AS GOOD AS CHOCOLATE MILK!!  The skeptic that I am (and after reading the long ingredient list) my workout buddy and I had to test it first.  Then, we gave it to our kids – all four of them under the age of 6.  Of the four, three loved it!  My youngest, who is the serious chocolate milk drinker,  in the family wasn’t fooled and didn’t like it.   However, when I mix it up and add it to sippy cup, it goes down just fine.  There is no chance that my children get 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies each day and this drink mix can do just that.

The ingredient list is quite lengthy but truly amazing especially since there is no added sugar in the drink...Read the ingredient list here. Bottom line is that this is a superfood drink containing things like carrot juice, spirulina, chlorella, organic grass juice powder, and organic beet juice powder…How many of you can say you’ve feed these superfoods to your kids lately?

I can honestly say this product rocks!  It’d be a great product to have on camping trips as a special after dinner treat instead of a s’more or in addition to…and I  highly recommend.

You can read more about X Balance and SGN Nutrition here.

X Balance retails for $38.95

P. S. This product was provided to us for purposes of review and the above opinions are my own.

[Read more →]

These recipes look delicious!

Image Credit: Marks Daily Apple
Recipe here.

Hummus en Fuego Recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

Simple Cauliflower Recipe

Garlicky Greens

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

[Read more →]

Wow, wow, wow…This article is fascinating!  Forbes recently published an extensive artice on the “medical benefits” that some food companies are claiming are good for your health.  Two of the products mentioned are two that I’ve written about here- FRS Energy Drink and the Lifeway Probugs Yogurt for kids. Basically, food companies are repackaging old products with new claims- that good bugs can be good for your digestive track or that quercetin can give you energy (FRS).  Bottom line, food or drink manufacturers  can say whatever they want with no particular scientific evidence backing up their claims.  Stick with fruits and vegetables!

Please read entire article here.

[Read more →]