Add Nutritious Seeds to Your Diet with Nuts from Puritan's Pride!

Seeds are often the forgotten sisters of nuts, but seeds have many amazing health benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked, according to Kristin Schierenbeck director of Nutrition at Puritan’s Pride. Seeds contain protein, essential fatty acids, fiber, vitamins and trace minerals - plus they're really easy to add to your families diet {without them even knowing}! {Product provided for review/feature consideration}

Klean Athlete Supplements Clean up Baseball with MLBPA Partnership

On the heels of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Klean Athlete, a line of NSF Certified for Sport® nutritional supplements designed to support a healthy lifestyle and promote peak performance, today announced an innovative new partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) focused on maintaining the nutritional health and wellness of professional athletes. This first-ever partnership between the MLBPA and a nutritional supplement company aims to help players achieve peak performance by building a solid nutritional base while avoiding unsafe or banned substances found in many dietary supplements.* {Product provided for review/feature consideration}

Soak The Stress Away with Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt

Leave your troubles in 2014 and start the new year calm, cool and collected. Passed down through generations, Epsom Salt has been used for a variety of health and beauty benefits. Dr Teal’s, the #1 Epsom Salt brand, has reinvented the traditional Epsom Salt remedy by adding aroma-therapeutic essential oils to soothe the senses and provide relief from stress. Indulge in an at-home spa haven that is sure to revitalize your body to take on the new year. Soaking in Epsom salt can help with a range of issues – from athletes to people with injuries, infections, inflammation or arthritis, or just busy mommies who need a nice soak in the tub after a long day of mommy duty! {Product sent for review/feature consideration}

Regaining Your Pre-Baby Body (Yummy Mummy Fitness)

The battle to regain your pre-baby shape can be a tough challenge for any new mom who has gained weight during pregnancy {I've documented my struggles with it here}. New parents have a lot of demands on their time, even when they would normally be sound asleep. While celebrity interviews often claim that the weight ‘dropped right off once the baby was born’, many new mothers find that this is far from the case.

When people are tired, stressed and extra busy, they often turn to comfort or junk foods {raise your hand if you're a stress eater like me} and end up piling on more ‘hard to shift’ pounds. New mommies are particularly susceptible to this trap and often find that their self-esteem can plummet as they get further and further away from that target of fitting back into their ‘pre-baby jeans’.

So what can you  do?

Yummy Mummy Eats: Pure Protein Soft Baked Protein Bars

They say that "abs are made in the kitchen," so in my weight loss journey, I've made great strides in changing my diet. While I focus on consuming a balanced diet, one of the more difficult aspects for me is finding delicious, satisfying snacks: preferably ones that will keep me from raiding my kids' stash of fruit snacks, snack crackers, etc. I'm pretty sure I've found the answer to my sweet tooth in these new tasty bars! 

Yummy Mummy Eats: Hemp Hearts (A Quickie Review)

Hemp Hearts by Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods

The Pitch: 

Hemp Hearts are an easy to use, good for you additive for your meals. These soft seeds have a gourmet nutty taste and can be sprinkled on salad, cereal or yogurt; or enjoy on its own right out of the bag. Hemp Hearts pack a powerful punch of protein and omegas. Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts are made in a hemp-dedicated facility by dehulling non-GMO seeds. Once shelled, Hemp Hearts are immediately packaged to seal in the freshness. Hemp Hearts are raw and vegan-friendly too. Are you eating clean? Only cooking with minimal ingredients? Or looking for a way to add EFAs, protein & omega-3 & omega-6 into your diet? Hemp Hearts are a perfect addition to your healthy, balanced diet!

Tasty Treats with All the Flavor and None of the Guilt! (Dessert Recipes from Kimberly Snyder)

Celebrity nutritionist and New York Times best-selling author of The Beauty Detox Foods Kimberly Snyder has some great diary-free {that I'm loving because I am lactose intolerant} ice cream recipes to share for the ultimate summer treat...

Banana Fro Yo

All you need for the first recipe, is frozen bananas!

Get Your Chocolate and Beat the Heat the Smart and KIND Way!

The latest addition to the Nuts & Spices line: Dark Chocolate Chili Almond

Going along with my Yummy Mummy Fitness theme today, I have to introduce you to my favorite snack right now. I've talked about KIND Snacks before {how they are DELICIOUS and good for your insides and outsides} but they've really outdone themselves with their latest flavor in the Nuts & Spice line, Dark Chocolate Chili Almond!

Today is National Running Day... So Get Off Your @$$ and Run!

Ok... so I'm a day late. This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but life and mommydom sort of got in the way...

I wish I could say that I love running. I know it is great for you, but ehhhh. Now that I'm focused on losing weight and being healthier, I'm really trying to give it a shot and become a runner {like my dad}, so I knew that I had to take the chance to review this hilariously titled book. 

Tea Time is Golden with Alvita Turmeric Root Tea

In my new health/fitness kick, one of the habits that I've developed is drinking tea daily. Not only do I find it relaxing, depending on the tea, it also comes with certain health benefits. I always like to have a variety of different teas on hand, and one of the latest I've been trying is this Organic Turmeric Root Tea from Alvita {which I received in order to review}. 

As one of the oldest single-herb tea brands in the United States, Alvita understands that herbs are gifts from the earth and takes this stewardship seriously by offering carefully harvested teas in earth-friendly packaging. Hand-illustrations adorn boxes made using 100% recycled paperboard and the English, pillow-style tea bags are oxygen bleached, not chlorine treated. Alvita chooses only the highest quality organic, wild-crafted or cultivated botanicals. Each tea is labeled with individualized preparation instructions to provide the best Mother Nature has to offer.

Turmeric Root is a commonly used herb, most widely known for adding the bright yellow color to mustards and curry. Turmeric contains a substance known as curcumin, which acts as an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. Curcumin appears to stimulate the production of bile by the gallbladder. Bile is necessary for your body to digest fats; a lack of adequate bile production can lead to indigestion, so drinking Turmeric tea can help with indigestion and associated symptoms like gas and abdominal bloating. 

The tea has a very mild taste and is quite unique in appearance because of its golden color. It pairs well with honey as a sweetener (if that's your thing). And I won't go into details, but I can personally attest to the relief consumption of the tea can provide when experiencing digestional discomfort. What's your favorite brand a flavor of tea? What benefits have you noticed from drinking tea regularly? My inquiring mind wants to know! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think! Until next time...

Go Nuts and Toss Those Chips!

I've shared the beginning of my weight loss journey {and thank you so much for all of your support and words of encouragement} and a big part of making a real change in my health is changing my diet. I LOVE food and am constantly snacking. This in of itself is not bad, but I was making the wrong choices for snacks: processed, junk food that was high in empty calories, fat, and sodium. So I have to learn not to reach for my old standbys {potato chips and  assorted snack puffs}when I get bored or emotional AND I need to find healthier substitutes for when snacking is appropriate {like when I'm actually hungry in between meals}. Enter Sincerely Nuts...

A New Beginning: My Journey to a Better Me

I've seriously debated over whether or not to share all of this here, and even once I decided I would document my journey on the blog, it's been hard figuring out how and when to start. I don't know how much to share and what sorts of things will be of interest and helpful to someone {anyone} out there reading this. But I guess it's time to stop agonizing over it and just get to it...

One of my senior portraits; HELLO collar bone!

A Sparkling and Delicious Way to Hydrate!

From left to right: Lemonade, Kiwi Strawberry, Coconut Pineapple

This, my friends, is what remains of the 10 bottles of Talking Rain's Sparkling ICE beverage that I was sent to review. What can I say, I'm still working on my will power! The plan was to take pictures of them all before we consumed them, but they all looked so tasty that I (we, really) could not resist! If you follow me on Instagram {as you should}, then you know that I am embarking on a journey of better health and weight loss, and one of the first steps in the right direction has to do with proper hydration. I don't particularly care for the taste of water (but I'm working on it) and I don't want to fill up on sugar laden juices and soda, so I'm always on the look out for beverages that will break the monotony of trying to drink half my body weight in ounces of water, without derailing my goal of improving my health and making better dietary decisions.

When Food Is Good For More Than Eating AKA: KIND Snacks Are Awesome!

I'm not gonna lie {this may be my new catchphrase}, I love food. I love preparing it, eating it, and even watching shows about it. So I don't generally turn down opportunities to sample new foods-whether it's full on meals or dishes, components to incorporate in my cooking, or snacks. I sort of really love snacks...

Indulge with "Pur-eh Tea!"

I've been on a bit of a tea kick lately, as has Peyton, and I think perhaps our palates have matured past the standard brands and varieties that can be found at our local grocer. Not that we don't enjoy our regular standby's, we (well maybe more me than her) just wish to venture outside of what we're used to, and try something new.

January Bulu Box "Unboxing"!

Bulu Box is the first vitamin, supplement and general health subscription sample box designed to help you feel your best. Every month, you'll get a box filled with 4 to 5 premium, curated samples from top brands. Look forward to a new mix of products for both women and men, including vitamins, weight loss, sports nutrition, protein, diet, energy, detox, digestion, sexual health, herbs, natural remedies, endurance and more. What's great is that they make sure you get enough to decide if the product is right for you. There's no shipping or shady fees and depending on your plan, you can cancel anytime.

The Perfect Solution to my Sweet Cravings! AKA: Quest Nutrition to the Rescue!

I like chocolate. And caramel. And nougat, nuts, cookie bits, peanut butter, and toffee pieces. So candy bars are a bit of a weakness for me. Add to that, I'm a notoriously bad snacker: I either pick not so great stuff to eat, or I don't snack at all. But Quest Bars are totally helping me with that! They're absolutely delicious and so convenient that I can easily get a snack in between meals-which leads to me eating less when it comes time to eat lunch and dinner.

A Subscription That Can Help You With Your Healthy Resolutions! AKA: New Year, New You with Bulu Box

Welcome to my "New Year, New You" series, where we will share, discuss, and review topics, products, etc. that can help you be the best you!   

Nearly half of all American are on at least one supplement, so it makes sense that the next wave of subscription services would include supplements.

Getting My Yummy Mummy On: Tone Up for Summer with David Kirsch

I'm making a public declaration: "I'm taking my body back!" I've been pregnant and/or nursing a baby since September 2007 and I'm ready to claim my body for myself and get my "yummy mummy" on. I started by making some adjustments to my diet (drinking more water, cutting out soda, trading in junk food for fruits, veggies, and nuts, and focusing on lean proteins, good fats, and fiber in my meals), and now I'm working on making exercise a regular part of my routine. 

Maybe you are like me and looking to improve your overall wellness and fitness, or maybe the fact that the warm summer months are  ushering in the arrival of bikini season have you motivated to tone up a bit. Either way, celebrity trainer David Kirsch has tips on how to shape up any problem areas you may have, getting you ready for your debut in that teeny-weeny bikini (personally, I just want to be comfortable wearing my one piece suit without a cover-up)!