review – Page 10 – A Measured Life

Love with Food June Box

Ack! It’s already July 12th?! My Love With Food July box is on its way?! OOOOPS! Time flies when you’re… well when you’re injured and PMS-Y and just trying to make it through the day. June’s Theme was “Saturday in the Park” which, if you don’t know, is the title of a song by the incredible band Chicago. I mean, if you don’t think “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” isn’t an amazing song that you sing along to every time you hear it then I’m not sure we should be friends anymore. *cough* (Okay, just bear with it until about 1:40 in when it really kicks in. Trust me.)

AAAAaaaaanyway, here’s what we got in our June box:

Pop Chips Crazy Hot

These got handed directly to The Hubs. He thought they were AMAZING and since they were a) on sale at Shoprite a few weeks ago and b) we had a coupon thanks to Coupons.com we grabbed him a couple bags of these for him.

Brownie Brittle, Salted Caramel Flavor

I ate these. I thought they were good, but I didn’t think I would enjoy eating them in large quantities. We got a coupon for these in the box, and they were on sale at Shoprite, so we grabbed a few bags for The Hubs, who likes it very much!

Stonefire Naan Crisps

Eh. These were fine. As crackers they were very tasty, but they lacked the things I love about actual naan, warm, soft chewiness. Similar to pita chips, except pita chips make pita better, while these take delicious naan and make it mediocre.

Tea Candy

These were SO GOOD. They kind of tasted like Thai iced tea. Yum.

Kutoa Peanut Butter & Jelly Bar

Gluten Free, Vegan, No GMOs, No Added Sugar, No Preservatives and SO FRICKIN’ DELICIOUS!!! I immediately went online to price out a box to get shipped to us, but everywhere wanted $9 shipping. Boooooo! Luckily I discovered that The Vitamin Shoppe carries them! I went in and asked the salesman and he hadn’t heard of them, but we walked around and he found them. I bought his entire stock! SO YUMMY, not gross like the Larabar Peanut Butter & Jelly Bar, ICK. (Seriously, what’s up with Larabars? I’ve tried them 3x now because I was getting them for 20 cents apiece and I just am not a fan.) The only negative is occasionally finding a slimy chia seed in my teeth an hour later.

Sheffa Savory Bar, Everything Flavor

This was okay. The “everything” flavor was spot on, but I felt like it was a little low on the salt factor. I don’t think I’d eat another one.

Emily’s Trail Mix

Gave this to The Hubs. He said it was a good standard trail mix. Nothing mind-blowing.

Funny Face Cherry Craisins

The Hubs, who loves Craisins, thought these were bland. BLAND!

All in all, I thought this box was good! It definitely introduced me to a new favorite.

Interested in trying Love with Food? Use my referral code to try it out:

Looking forward to trying July’s box. The theme is “Surfin’ USA”!

Have you discovered any awesome new snacks lately? Let me know!

Review: Fitness Blender Brutal Abs Workout

This is a review of Fitness Blender’s Brutal Abs Workout – Abs, Obliques and Lower Back Workout. I decided to do this workout following a potential foot injury that derailed my 5K training efforts, boo, sad face, sobs! Now, let me be right up front: I chose this video specifically because it said BRUTAL, right there in the title! Yes, I’m a glutton for punishment. Anyone can give this one a shot, it requires no equipment at all if you have carpeted floors, and only a mat if you don’t. Here’s the breakdown:

Warm Up (30 Seconds Each)
Torso Twists
Torso Rotations
Warrior Lunge & Stretch
Side Leans
Extension & Flexion
Boxer Shuffle
Toe Touch Kicks
Standing Side Crunch (I love these, I don’t know why, I just do.)
Jumping Jacks
Front Jacks

Core Workout
Crunches
Back Bows (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)

Side Crunch Left (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)
Side Crunch Right (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)

Flutter Kick Toe Touch Cross
Plank Reaches (two versions: from your knees or your toes, I did it from my toes)

Side Hip Raises Left (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)
Side Hip Raises Right (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)

Windshield Wipers (the instructor suggests that if you have strong thigh muscles you can squeeze a dumbbell between your feet… no thank you…)
Russian Twists (two versions: without weights or with weights for more challenge, I did it without)

Cool Down & Stretch

Results:

I didn’t have a whole lot of trouble getting through this workout. During the warm up I altered the Jumping Jacks and Front Jacks so I didn’t hurt my foot, but had no issues with the other moves. During the main workout I was sweating like crazy, but I didn’t have to pause during the Russian Twists like the instructor (this may be due to the fact that I’ve been doing kettlebell Russian Twists with a 30-lb bell for MONTHS now). I had the hardest time with the Flutter Kick Toe Touch Cross because I have tight legs and the Plank Reaches because of my knee and balancing. Still, when I finished, I felt like I could have done more. It didn’t feel “brutal”. It was challenging, but not necessarily difficult for me. NOTE: I have worked out a minimum of 3x a week for 10 months solid, so I would say I am of a higher-than-average level of fitness. You may find this video more challenging if you’re newer to working out. I wasn’t immediately sore, but I knew I would know if it was a good workout or not the following day.

Yes, I’m sore today! Not so sore that normal activities are more difficult, however… I made it through my Friday Kettlebell Workout without trouble. I’m going to try to do this workout 3X a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Who knows? Maybe by Christmas I’ll have a six-pack (if I decide I want to clean up my diet, which I highly doubt)!

As you may have noticed, I really enjoy FitnessBlender.com’s videos. They’re simple, accessible, free and don’t have irritating music! I usually have the tv on while I’m watching the video on my laptop once I have the moves mastered, because then I can just glance at the video for guidance on timing.

You Mean Those As-Seen-On-TV Things Actually Work?

Pretty much no one who reads this will get this joke, sadly. See more on Know Your Meme

I swear to you that this is NOT a paid endorsement.

After my very nearly 5K on Thursday, I was a bit worried about my foot. It seems a lot better today, so tomorrow’s run will tell about that, but on Friday night my knee started bugging me. I mean, come on, I’ve been doing kettlebells for 10 months now and my only injuries have been a broken toenail and some minor bruises. I’m not worried about my knee screwing up my running. I do like running, don’t get me wrong, but if a knee injury sidelines me from doing kettlebells I will be utterly LOST. So The Hubs and I stopped by Dick’s Sporting Goods on Friday night to pick up a knee support wrap. I grabbed a PERFORMTEX Adjustable Closed Patella Knee Support. It’s a thermal compression sleeve that velcros on so it’s adjustable. Unfortunately, it also didn’t do much. I wasn’t out any money at all because I’d used a gift card from my birthday, but it retails for $12.99. I’m not saying it won’t work for some people, just that it didn’t work for me.

Sunday morning I wore it out grocery shopping, and as we were leaving our downstairs neighbor Karl mentioned that he’d had success using a copper compression sleeve for his elbow bursitis, and highly recommended it. He said the magic words “I don’t believe in that stuff, but I put it on and a few days later my pain was almost gone.” As usual, I was skeptical, because I’m always skeptical of the As Seen On TV stuff. But Karl said they were only ten bucks at Boscov’s, so I figured what the heck? I grabbed a size medium CopperWear sleeve for my knee. I didn’t wait but put it on in the car before we wandered around Walmart for a while.

Let. Me. Tell. You.

Within maybe 10 minutes I realized that my knee almost didn’t hurt anymore. I was, as the British say, gobsmacked. This morning I wore it during my workout, as Monday’s kettlebell workout involves a lot of squats. Well, my knee felt FINE the whole workout! Sure there’s still a bit of twinge here and there, but I kid you not, it’s made a huge difference. I guess the real test will be tomorrow morning’s run. I’m thinking I may just wear it during the run, to see how it goes. I don’t know how it works or why, but it seems to be working quite well, so I’m going to continue to wear it for a few hours a day and see. Whodathunkit?!

And this is what Bingley thinks about that.

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