Top to Bottom (R-L): Quesadilla Bowls, Date Night Snacks, Native Foods Bites, Bowery Bagels, Nectarine, Bagels and Hummus, Cuban Happy Hour, Green Juice
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Disclaimer: As part of a FitFluential campaign, I received a Mamma Chia gift set in exchange for my honest review and for the purpose of a giveaway. The opinions shared are my own.
Cha-Cha-Cha Chia!I just had to. Now we aren’t talking about those pets that were popular in the 80’s/90’s and apparently are still on the market. We are talking about the good stuff. The stuff that you eat. Chia seeds are packed with Omega-3s and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, complete protein and antioxidants, the ancient seed was held in high esteem by both the Mayans and Aztecs for increasing vitality and strength.
Now this isn’t the first time I have talked about Mamma Chia on the blog; the first time was back in March of 2013 when I told you how much I loved the Chia Squeeze. Guess what? We still love them around here. They have become a weekly purchase around our house for Edith and myself (and sometimes Neil if he is lucky enough to get one before they are gone). Edith has one about every other day as a snack (her favorite) and I have 1-2 per week usually as an on the go snack whether we are out at the playground or I am out for a nice long walk.
I usually buy the Green Magic or the Blackberry Bliss but since trying the two new flavors Mango Coconut and Wild Raspberry I am anxiously awaiting their arrival to our local stores. Seriously they are both super delicious.
A new exciting feature from Mamma Chia their new organic bagged chia. You can purchase white or black chia seeds and they are so much fun to use to create your own recipes or just to simple sprinkle on a salad or yogurt or add to a smoothie (what I usually do). If you’re looking for recipe inspiration Janie Hoffman the Mamma Chia founder and CEO just realized a book called Chia Vitality. I haven’t finished reading the book yet but so far it’s a really great read and if you so desire there is a 30 day meal plan that centers around chia seeds and improving your health that you can follow.
Giveaway:
Total retail value: $75
Disclaimer: This post was made possible by Fit Approach and Vega. I received a variety of Vega Bars to try and review on my blog. No other compensation was provided. As always all opinions are my own!
Happy Friday! Who is excited for the weekend? I am! I have a few events this weekend and plan on enjoying some quiet time with my family and my new computer – my old Mac officially died earlier this week and my new one should be here sometime today.
So let’s get down to the love of the day: Vega Bars.
I recently had the opportunity to try four different types of bars which included: Vega Snack Bar, Vega One Bar, Vega Sport Energy Bar, and Vega Protein Bar. Now I am not new to Vega, my husband and I have been long time consumers and fans of Vega products but I honestly haven’t really given the bars a try. Mostly we buy protein powders and the Vega Sport products but I think that might change now.
Let’s start with my favourite bar of the four- the Vega Snack Bar. This bar is brand new and I absolutely loved it. Seriously one of the best snack bars I have had recently and perfect for on the go or a quick snack while chasing my toddler. Speaking of toddlers, Edith also enjoyed sharing the Vega Snack Bars with me. I sampled two flavours of this bar: dark chocolate mixed nuts and sea salt and the cranberry almond. Both flavours were tasty but which one do you think I preferred? The chocolate one obviously! There are three other flavours that I now need to try once they are in stores. Which Snack Bar do you want to try first?
On to my next favourite bar- the Vega One Bar. I was a little hesitant when I opened this bar because I mean it looks like a glorified candy bar, so I mean how healthy can it really be? While it is coated in chocolate and might look and even taste like a candy bar it is also filled with protein, fiber, omega 3’s and lots of other vitamins and minerals that keep you satisfied.
I was out and about yesterday running errands so I through one in my bag to try and of course mid-morning I was getting hangry for a second breakfast (pregnant + 6am wake up = two breakfasts) so I broke out my Chocolate Cherry Almond Vega One Bar. Let’s just say this was oh so good AND it gave me the pick me up I needed and kept me satisfied until lunch. I also was sent a Chocolate Peanut Butter one that I handed off to Neil because I can’t stomach PB right now and he enjoyed it and shared a bite with E who went nuts for it.
Third kind I tried was the Vega Sport Energy Bars and well I liked them but I didn’t love them. These bars are part of the Vega Sport series which have three categories: Prepare, Sustain & Recover. The Vega Sport Energy Bars are part of the Sustain category so they are intended to be eaten mid activity to help provide you with the energy needed to complete your workouts. They come in two flavours Chocolate Coconut Almond and Apple Cherry; of the two I preferred the chocolate. I can’t see myself buying these right now because I didn’t love them for snacking on and I am not currently doing any workouts that require fueling mid-workout. I do however think that these are perfect for those who are long distance runners or cyclist or hikers who need a snack to provide them with energy and is easy to eat and digest.
The last bar I received was the Vega Protein Bar which is also part of the Vega Sports series. It is intended to be eaten post workout for recovery. These bars are filled with protein and nutrients to help recharge you and repair your muscles post workout. Now I received two of these bars and realized just before I started this post that I didn’t get to try either of them because someone (I’m looking at you Neil) ate both of them before I had a chance to even sample them! What I can tell you is that he enjoyed both the Chocolate Coconut and Chocolate Mint flavours that he tried. Now I really was looking forward to the Chocolate Coconut flavour so I guess I’ll have to get my hands on one so I can actually try it out.
Have you tried Vega bars or products? What are your favourite? What kind of bar would you most like to try? I plan on stocking up on Vega One and Vega Snack bars for postpartum nursing snacks because I know with a toddler and a newborn I’m going to need quick and easy snacks on hand and I remember newborn nursing hunger with E was 10x worse than pregnancy hunger.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions are my own.
I can’t believe that just last week we were in Vermont in 50 degree weather and now we are back in Portland and it has been in the high 70’s/low 80’s. Beautiful weather of course means spending lots of time outside soaking up the sun, playing at the park and feeding the ducks and geese.
Edith and I have been getting out every afternoon for a nice walk before stopping at the park to run around and play ball. Of course a trip to the park is never complete without some sort of snack and lately our go to has been Blue Diamond Almonds. I love them and Edith has taken a liking to them as well.
I know some of you are thinking you let your 21 month old eat almonds? Won’t she choke? Yes I do and she is actually a really great nut eater. I of course supervise and never leave her alone because they are indeed a choking hazard but she loves them, especially the wasabi soy flavour.
Off to the Farmer’s Market!
We seem to take almonds with us every where, not just to the park. We took them on our trip to Vermont, on hikes, trips to the farmers market, basically they are with us at all times. Having a snack with me at all times stops me from getting hangry (no one wants to be around a hungry pregnant lady), helps keep E from getting hangry (hungry toddler = worse than a hungry pregnant lady), and it helps me to stay healthy instead of buying some convince snack out.
The favourite Blue Diamond Almond flavour around our house is wasabi soy but you can also find us toting around natural and lightly salted. Seriously individual packages make life so much easier.
How do you get your good going? How to do keep healthy when you’re out and about?
Hello from Vermont!
We are here for a few more days and have been busy, busy, busy! I wanted to stop by for a minute and share some of our favorite healthy travel snacks that we brought with us this trip. These are perfect for plane, train or automobile and are super tasty.
When we used to travel we would bring lots of unhealthy treats because I mean come on we were on vacation right? Well over the years we have changed our diet and lifestyle and instead of chips and candy we take fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, kale chips, nuts and other healthier snacks.
On this trip we brought:
We ate the fresh fruits, veggies and hummus on/in between our flights and have been snacking on the other items throughout our trip. We are staying with my parents and they live in the Middle of Nowhere, Vermont population 697 so we end up doing a lot of driving while we are here and healthy on the go snacks and bottles of water are essential.
I’m going to need to restock for our trip home so I might have a few new things to share later!
What are you favorite travel snacks?
Happy Friday! With all the beautiful weather going on here in Portland this week seemed to go by fast! We have been enjoying the extra light at night and the sunny weather. That also means lots of really great walks with Edith and Neil.
Family walk & 20 weeks pregnant!
Weekly Workouts:
Saturday: Off. We did a short (1/2 mile) family walk but that was it because it was a pretty dreary day.
Sunday: Family walk.
Monday: Summer Sanders’ Prenatal Video. I seriously love this prenatal workout and I loved it when I was pregnant with Edith. I usually do the express workout which is almost a half hour because when I’m home with Edith that’s about as much time as she allows me.
Tuesday: Off. Tried to get Edith to go for a walk but she was protesting being outside (weird child).
Wednesday: Nice long walk to the park for a picnic and then a round about walk home.
Thursday: Walk with Edith in the Boba Carrier on my back one way and front the way home. Seriously this pregnant lady can’t do front carries anymore I was dying by the time I got home.
Friday: Today’s plan is Summer Sanders’ and then a family walk this evening.
You can check out my review of Summer Sanders’ prenatal video here.
Weekly Eats:
So this week I stayed on task (for the most part) for all of our meals. I actually just cooked up the very last of our produce for our lunches today since last night after a long day I decided to get Edith and myself takeout since Neil wasn’t going to be home until after bedtime. Otherwise I used up all of what we purchased for produced with the exception of a few onions.
Sunday:
Dinner: Cashew Tofu –> Recipe here.
Dinner: Creamy White Beans, Zucchini Fries & Red Leaf Lettuce with Tahini Dressing
Dinner: Stir Fried Veggie Rice & Cheezy Edamame Pods
Dinner: Picnic- Roasted Chickpeas & Cauliflower, Quinoa & Tahini Cabbage Slaw
Breakfast: Baked Almond Banana Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover Cashew Tofu stir fried up and topped with avocado and Franks
Lunch: Chickpea Flatbread (recipe to come) with tahini sauce and sauteed mushrooms and onions and a huge red leaf lettuce salad with red wine vinaigrette
Not Pictured: Edith and I had tofu scramble one day for lunch but it was too ugly to share a photo of and most of our lunches were just a repeat of dinner. Also last night for dinner Edith and I shared a lemongrass tofu banh mi and fresh salad rolls. Breakfasts not featured included a bagel with toffutti and quinoa with veggies.
What do you eat this week? How did you get your body moving?
These days I don’t do a lot of brown bag lunches for my self since I am a stay at home mom. However, I do make brown bag lunches for my husband who works outside the home. While PB&J is probably the easiest option it’s also pretty boring so I am always looking for quick, easy and tasty ideas to send to send with Neil for lunch.
Idea #1:
Chik’n Fried Rice, Salad and Fruit. While this is enough for me I also would probably pack a few extra snacks for Neil as well.
This chik’n fried rice is simply rice, edamame, carrots and MorningStar Farms Griller’s Chik’n Veggie Patty that has been stir fried with a little soy sauce. Quick and easy! You could also simply cook up the chik’n veggie patty and add it to some leftover takeout veggie fried rice.
Idea #2:
BBQ Chik’n Patty with vegan mac and cheese, roasted sweet potatoes and salad.
This is a quick and easy meal that can be made from dinner leftovers. Just cook the patty up in the morning and toss with your favorite BBQ sauce and place in a microwave safe dish with the vegan mac and cheese and sweet potatoes. Heat up at lunch and enjoy with a nice green salad. Easy, healthy and tasty.
As you can see meatless brown bag lunches can be more exciting that PB&J and they take little to no time to make. Help yourself my using leftovers, prepping your lunches in advanced and if you have kids get them involved as well! You can also make your brown bagged lunch more fun by serving it up in those “fancy” lunch containers they have out now.
Find your fresh take on eating well. Browse hundreds of meat-free recipes at MorningStarFarms.com.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s MorningStar via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s MorningStar.
