My Very Own Coffee Review

Disclosure: This post is a review for My Very Own Coffee received through my I'm Fit Possible community ambassadorship. I was provided with 1 bag of coffee free of charge, as part of the review but received no other compensation for this post. As always, all opinions are my own. 

Lately I have been drinking tea in the morning, because I sometimes back off of drinking lots of coffee due to it's effect on my digestive system (you runners know what I'm talking about!). However yesterday I had a hot mug of coffee in the morning for the first time this week, and it was perfect.  I brewed the coffee in my french press and topped it with some frothed almond milk. It hit the spot. 

This post got lost in the shuffle of the holidays so I'm just posting now about how the I'm Fit Possible community along with My Very Own Coffee hooked me up with a bag of freshly roasted whole coffee beans a few months ago and let me tell you, freshly roasted whole beans makes all the difference. 

myveryowncoffee.com is an awesome site that let's you customize the design of your bag of coffee for monthly delivery. They also own We CARE! Coffee Company which is the same custom coffee concept but helps raise funds for schools, sports teams, and nonprofits. With We CARE! Coffee Company you can order bags with your group's logo to sell yourself or hold a fundraiser via online sales with profits going to your group. You can customize the coffee bag with a photo, title, and text. The layout of the label on the bag is fixed so the design wasn't too flexible for customization, but I did love the idea of being able to upload your own photo! This makes a perfect gift that keeps on giving for the coffee-lover in your life. However I chose to design a bag for myself so I decided to put a little morning motivation on my coffee bag.

What's more inspiring then seeing a photo of you after your first marathon with your breakfast in the morning? 

My coffee order came quickly and was packaged just the way I designed it. I titled my coffee "Runners' Fuel: The drink of choice for marathoners who run while others sleep!" 

Very inspiring, right?

Besides, the custom bag, you have some choices regarding your coffee such as ground or whole beans and medium roast or french roast.  The company works with coffee importers in the San Francisco Bay Area and sources two types of organic coffee beans (1 caffeinated, 1 decaf) at a time, based on access and availability to the company.  

Usually if I buy whole coffee beans I grind them at a local supermarket, but my boyfriend insisted on helping me out with this antique hand-crank coffee grinder that hangs in our kitchen. He is quite the coffee connoisseur and wanted to taste test the coffee too!  It is decorative yet functional! However I would not recommend hand-cranking to grind more than a couple cups of coffee (unless you have a lot of time on your hands!). 

The verdict, I loved the flavor of the beans and will definitely keep My Very Own Coffee and We CARE! Coffee  in mind for a unique gift or fundraising option.  It's also your lucky day because My Very Own Coffee has offered my readers a 25% discount good for the monthly coffee club (which includes free shipping!) with the code: breathedeeply25.

Check out both companies' websites: 
http://myveryowncoffee.com/ AND http://www.wecarecoffee.com/

Facebook pages: 
https://www.facebook.com/myveryowncoffee AND https://www.facebook.com/wecarecoffee.fundraising

Disclosure: This post is a review for My Very Own Coffee received through my I'm Fit Possible community ambassadorship. I was provided with 1 bag of coffee free of charge, as part of the review but received no other compensation for this post. As always, all opinions are my own. 

I'm Even Eating the Whole Bun

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler or "Let the Good Times Roll", is a little French saying associated with  Mardi Gras, which is today. This is going to be my theme for March because I have so many good things coming along in the next few months. Even a little snow and wintry weather won't get in my way. 

Although I don't mind snow days

Yes, there was another snow storm yesterday that resulted in a snow day for work AND school. This means staying in my pajamas all day, catching up on TV I missed during the Oscars Sunday night, and ending the day with a burger and a beer with my boyfriend. The burger was amazing and came topped with goat cheese and sauteed onions on a pretzel bun. I usually feel like burger buns are too much bread and end up only eating half the bun or picking the edges off so only about half is left (yes, I'm a super classy-looking eater). Last night, I was so excited for the delicious burger surrounded by the pretzel bun I told my boyfriend "This looks awesome. I'm even eating the whole bun" so he laughed and said that should be my blog post title. Voila. No photo because I pretty much devoured it before I even thought about taking a photo (bad blogger, I know).  Life's too short not to enjoy a good burger every once in a while. 

On Sunday I had a fabulous little Oscars party with a nice little spread of appetizers and drinks. 

I made these yummy little Healthy Chicken Enchilada Bites from Mackenzie's Clean Eats but used lean ground beef instead of ground chicken. There were no leftovers so I'd call them a hit! 

I also finally made these Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies from Ambitious Kitchen which were amazing.

 I used peanut butter along with mini chocolate chips, and they tasted way more sinful than they actually are. My boyfriend and I ended up finishing up the leftovers for breakfast the next day. He said they were one of the best "healthy" desserts I've ever made!

If you missed it here are some of my favorite Oscars highlights. Leo lost (boo), but Cate Blanchett won (yay). Jared Leto won for Best Supporting Actor and is as sexy as he was in his Jordan Catalano days,  although he needs the ends of his hair trimmed. 

Ellen posted a star-studded selfie that became the most retweeted tweet ever. She also had a guy deliver pizza to pass out to the crowd. Brad Pitt even looks good chowing down on some pizza. 

John Travolta royally butchered pronouncing Idina Menzel's name which was hilarious. Oh and this happened at the end of Matthew McConaughey's awesome Best Actor Award speech. The only thing that would have made his speech better was if he performed his tribal, chest-bumping song from The Wolf of Wall Street. 

On Saturday, before all of the Oscars fun, I had a nice 10 mile run with some friends and am feeling VERY unprepared for my first race of the spring-the Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon. It's a little less than two weeks away, and I just haven't been running as much. I can blame it on the cold, wintry weather, but at this point there isn't much I can do. 

I'll try to just take it easy and have fun and hopefully not run my slowest half marathon ever. I looked at the course map. and it seems there is only some big hills around miles 6-7 so hopefully the race will be manageable. Right now I'm focusing on getting a few more runs in, stretching, and making sure I'm hydrated. 

This week I'm hoping to get back on track with healthy eating, workouts, and looking my best for when it finally gets warmer outside. I'm not greedy, I'm just asking for a little springtime weather!

What was your favorite Oscars highlight if you watched them? What are your tips when feeling under-prepared for a race?

Friday Favorites 2/28/2014

See, you can tell I'm feeling less stressed and busy now because I'm on a blogging roll! Yesterday was TGIT, but today I'm truly feeling TGIF! I have a bunch of things to share so of course I had to participate in a Five Things Friday linkup! 

Five Friday Favorites

1. Favorite sweet treat: Salazon Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Caramel

The boyfriend did good and got me a whole bunch of chocolate bars from Whole Foods for Valentine's Day. I've pretty much devoured this one in 3 days. It's all organic andIt's a delicious dark chocolate with a bunch of sea salt on the outside and liquid caramel on the inside. SO good.  

2. Favorite weekend event: 86th Annual Academy Awards

Every year for a while now I've had a little Oscars viewing party with my college friends where we dress up, have a few drinks, and fill out ballots with our predictions. Oh and of course seeing what everyone is wearing is fun too! It's something I look forward to, and I always love trying to see most of the movies.  I just hope Leonardo DeCaprio gets an Oscar one of these days because seriously, he freaking deserves one! 

I loved his 2014 Golden Globes speech. And I love Jennifer Lawrence.

3. Favorite recipe to try this weekend: Seasoned Asparagus Fries from Jess at Just Call Me Janks

My fit friend and fellow I'm Fit Possible ambassador posted a photo teasing this a couple of days ago, and I couldn't wait for the recipe. These look delicious, and include a favorite seasoning of mine-Old Bay (#marylandproblems). I just so happen to have some asparagus sitting in the fridge right now...

4. Favorite fitness item: C9 by Champion sports bra from Target

When I was visiting my parents last weekend my mom had picked up a cute blue sports bra from Target she found on uber-sale that happened to be one of my favorites! I don't need a lot to support up there (sadly) so these simple, comfortable sports bras are my favorite! I even love wearing them on the weekends under a slouchy shirt when I don't feel like actually getting dressed. 

5. Favorite inbox surprise: I was chosen as a Fitfluential Ambassador!

It's all about the big blog news lately! Last night I was completely surprised to be notified that I was chosen as a Fitfluential ambassador! When I first started reading blogs it seemed like only all the big bloggers that I read and loved were Fitfluential ambassadors so I'm completely honored and shocked that I am part of that community now! Honestly I didn't think I had enough of the stats and readership and jumped up and down when I read the email last night. This means I'll be able to partner with more brands and hopefully share with you some more awesome products out there in the fitness/health world!

Do you watch the Oscars? For the films or the outfits?

Thinking Out Loud Thursdays-TGIT!

TGIT. You know I've been a long week when you are just glad it's Thursday. I've had a pretty crappy week so I'm just trying, as always, to focus on the positive things like my article on Parade.com that I've gotten a lot of virtual love for.  I have lots of random thoughts and tidbits to share today so linking up with Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays is perfect. 

1. Anatomy and Physiology II is kicking my booty. I have so much homework from both the lab and lecture portions plus I had a quiz and exam this week. It feels like non-stop work. Working full-time and going to school when I have to trek there in rush hour traffic is taking its toll on me. Is it May yet? 

2. My sleep and water intake have been bad this week. Not to make excuses but to make excuses, sometimes I really hate working in a lab because I can't just have my big pink Nalgene at my computer or in the lab. Boo. Sleep is something I'm always talking about working on, but lately it just seems there is not enough hours in the day.  I need at least 36 hours in a day, c'mon.  I know I need more water so today I've got my big water bottle with lemon slices in it, ready to be demolished at work. 

3. I have come up with a loose half marathon training plan for the 3-4 half marathons I'm running in the next three months (who am I?!), and am hoping to PR at the Nike Women's DC Half again because it was a nice, flat course. I was reminded of all of this with an amazing huge package of goodies from Bakery on Main with lots of Truebars to fuel me through my training. The Rock and Roll DC Half in around two weeks is going to be a slow,painful mess I'm sure, especially since I didn't get in 10 miles like I should have last weekend.  How is is already March?

Disclaimer: I am a Truebar-fueled athlete and receive free products from Bakery on Main in exchange for brand promotion. I really do love and eat these products, and all opinions are my own! 

4. Speaking of March, Spring needs to hurry up. Last weekend I was elated to be running in shorts and this week I've got my snow parka and boots back out and had to brush snow off the car yesterday morning. I need shorts and flip-flops weather, stat. 

See how happy running in shorts made me?

5. I really love spending my Wednesday mornings with the November Project. I was out there in the cold, snowy weather doing the "race day" workout consisting of stairs and running a loop on Wednesday morning and ended it with a big smile on my face-even after we did "Sally" which consisted of many squats.  It was my first race day workout so it was a PR for me even with the snowy weather! I got a great workout in, but I think I was mostly there for the free hugs. 

We are great at taking group photos. 

6.  I've got some exciting blog news and summer travel plans in the works but can't reveal it all right now! However, I cannot contain my excitement that I'm attending Fitbloggin' 2014, my first blog conference! I was offered a live blogger assistantship which will cover the cost of the conference so now I'm just getting my flight and hotel plans sorted out. I wanted this position really badly because I just couldn't afford it last summer. I'm so ready for a fun summer trip! It's going to be an awesome weekend with fit, fun blogger people in a city I've been wanting to visit for a while-Savannah, GA!  

7.  Yesterday I really need this TUT email in my inbox: 

Lauren, if at first you don't succeed, it only means you're getting closer, cooler, hotter, better, "badder," and more awesome. 

Tallyho, 

    The Universe

It's good to start the day with some inspiration. Here's to tomorrow being Friday and to only getting better, hotter, and more badass. 

How has your week been? Are your ready for Spring to get here?

Parade + Sverve: 5 Tips for a Running Newbie

I'm having a bit of a rough start to this week with class, work, my personal life, and trying to stay on track with my half marathon training. Fortunately, I have something positive to focus on quickly today before I get back to studying for my Anatomy & Physiology exam (bleh).  I recently joined Sverve to network with more brands and was lucky enough to work on a campaign with Sverve & Parade Magazine. 

Today my article 5 Tips for a Running Newbie was published online! 

Please check it out here, comment, and share! It's a great list of some easy tips if you have friends who or you yourself want to commit to start running this year. I've talked to a few people looking for advice on starting to train for a race or just beginning to run to get in shape so I knew this was a great topic to write about! Now for a quick workout, studying, and lots of tea!

Do you have any other tips for beginner runners? How is your week going?  

Sunshine Burgers Review-Sunshine Super Salad Recipe!

One of the big things I've been trying to work on in my diet is eating more protein. Protein keeps you full and satisfied while also helping to build muscle.  While I love grabbing protein shakes and bars as snacks, it's sometimes hard to think of creative meals that include more protein that also are not just egg whites and chicken breasts. That's why I was so excited to try Sunshine Burgers, a veggie burger that is certified organic, verified non-GMO,vegan and free of gluten,soy,corn,canola,peanuts,tree nuts,dairy or eggs.  I've had veggie burgers before, but they sometimes aren't quite as satisfying as the real deal so taste was key for me.   

Sunshine Burgers sent me a variety of flavors including Garden Herb, Black Bean South West, Loco Chipotle, Shiitake Mushroom, Falafel, and Breakfast Hemp & Sage. I have finally had a chance to try all the flavors, and I love them all! Each flavor is distinct from one another in taste with the use of different veggies, beans, and spices in each.  The Loco Chipotle is 50% larger than the Southwest and has an extra kick. Since I'm not a huge fan of spicy things I just had a bite of those, but my boyfriend loved them! 

My favorite flavors were the Shiitake Mushroom and Falafel.  The Shiitake Mushroom uses real Shiitake Mushrooms and had a really nice flavor, without being too dense.  I love falafel so liking that flavor was a no brainer, but I was worried that the burger would be really dry and bland. I was pleasantly surprised that the burger was still moist after reheating and packed with flavor!

I've just starting to get serious about my spring half marathon training again and have been feeling inspired by all of the amazing athletes in the Winter Olympics.  My goal is to stay strong and healthy while fueling my training properly so having a product like Sunshine Burgers that is packed with 7-12g of protein and 200-300 calories of whole vegan ingredients is important. 

Check out the ingredients and nutrition facts for the Shiitake Mushroom burger-it's always important that I can understand the list of ingredients!

Ingredients Organic cooked brown rice, organic ground raw sunflower seeds, organic carrots, organic cooked quinoa, organic cooked shiitake mushrooms, organic onion, organic garlic, sea salt. 

I mainly ate the burgers for lunch because it made meal prep super easy! Sunshine Burgers are fully cooked so I just had to reheat the burgers from the freezer on the stove top when I was packing my lunches (which I quickly reheated in the microwave at work all week!).  

heating up some Shiitake Mushroom burgers for lunches

  Last night I had to throw together a dinner that was nutritious and satisfying so the Sunshine Super Salad was born! I prepared a salad with many of my favorite ingredients (I'm looking at you, avocado) and super foods like goji berries and kale.  It was a great mix of sweet and savory ingredients. To top it off, I crumbled a Shiitake Mushroom Sunshine burger that I had thawed the night before in the fridge. It was the perfect addition to top off the salad!

Here's the basic recipe for my Sunshine Super Salad..remember the quantities and ingredients are flexible so substitute for what YOU have on hand and what makes YOU happy in salads!

Sunshine Super Salad

2 cups kale (I used a pre-washed mix from store)

2 cups baby spinach

1 Sunshine Burger (flavor of your choice, I used shiitake mushroom)

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 small kiwi,peeled and diced

1/2 cup of baked butternut squash or sweet potato, cubed ( I used a mix of leftovers!)
1/4 medium avocado, diced

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/8 cup chopped almonds

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional-you can substitute your favorite dressing!)

Mix everything together in a big bowl and top with 1 crumbled Sunshine Burger. Enjoy!

You can find stores near you that carry Sunshine Burgers here! 

Disclosure: This post is a review for Sunshine Burger through my Sweat Pink ambassadorship. I was provided with 6 boxes of products from Sunshine Burger as part of the review but received no other compensation for this post. As always, all opinions are my own. 

Do you eat veggie burgers? What is your favorite salad ingredient?

Snowed In Sprints

In case you were unaware, I, along with everyone else on the East Coast, am over winter and counting down the days until Spring.  I love snow days if I don't have to go into work but other than that, these winter storms are just big, inconvenient messes. 

#sorrynotsorry

Last week I started the week out strong and then lost a lot of motivation by the end due to snowy weather. I'm full of excuses, I know. I was stuck inside my apartment where I was in my pajamas and had House of Cards Season 2 on Netflix to keep me occupied. Since I only made it out to Crossfit once and wasn't willing to risk slipping on some ice outside, I had to get a few more workouts than usual done on the treadmill. I even ran 8 miles on Friday for my long run as I watched Netflix. It's been a long time since I've run that far on a treadmill, for real. 

However I've mostly started incorporating more HIIT (high-intensity interval training) runs again on the treadmill because it is the most bang for your buck. It gets your heart rate up and makes your workout short and sweet. I came up with this treadmill interval workout that takes only 30 minutes, leaves you a sweaty mess, and keeps you from dying of boredom. 

Check it out and let me know what you think! All I know is I'm looking to the 55 degree weather on Saturday. 

Snow Day Ramblings

Well if you don't live in the eastern part of the country, there was a big snowstorm that rolled through here last night, and luckily winter has gifted me a snow day! I have some random ramblings for you about what's been going on this week.

What does a snow day mean? Sleeping in followed by pancakes for brunch of course :)

banana protein pancakes topped with peanut butter, syrup and blackberries!

Wednesday I got my booty out of bed to go meet up with the Baltimore November Project at 6:30 AM. I had been planning to go but after talking to Sarah about it, I was more motivated.  It was a chilly 19 degrees outside but a big group hug to start of the workout made it a little better. We did an Olympics-inspired workout with different color teams based on what color of the Olympic rings you were wearing. I was in black because honestly all my warmest clothes are black. We did a ladder workout which included a set of stairs up and down, running the loops around Federal Hill, 10 push ups and then 2 sets of stairs and so on, adding another set of stairs each time.

Me on the left in all black-photo taken from the November Project site

Besides the gorgeous sunrise and view of the city from the hill, I loved the energy everyone had so early in the morning. Even more importantly, I loved all the support and enthusiasm-I'll definitely be back.  At the end the newbies even got a sweet medal, haha.

Two nights ago I made this brussels sprouts caesar salad with my own spin on it. I only added about a quarter of the olive oil and double the greek yogurt the dressing recipe called for. I also didn't make the croutons due to lack of ciabatta bread. Instead I pan-roasted some little chicken thighs to put on top and also added some spinach in with the brussels sprouts. It was amazing, and I've been eating the leftover dressing on salads.  

Although my go-to at a coffee shop is americano, yesterday I sprung for the almond milk latte and it hit the spot. Also, I really love latte art. 

Guys, I have big news. I'm officially a real crazy runner lady. This afternoon I braved the snowy, slush roads of Baltimore to meet up with friends for a little snow day run. It was more slush than snow and was drizzly the whole time.  While cold and rain is unpleasant, I was having a great time, except for my wet feet. I never thought I'd be one of those people choosing a wet, wintry run over a treadmill, but now I am!

Not very attractive-looking, but very warm!

Have you been experiencing winter weather? What is your favorite thing to do on days off?