Review & Giveaway Time: Vega One Nutrition Bars

Hey friends!

So a while back I was contacted by Vega and asked if I'd like to be part of their new Team Vega! Um, do you think I even needed to think about it ---- I have been a long-time lover of the Vega products, so I immediately said YES!!!!

In a nutshell, Team Vega is a community of like-minded athletes, health and fitness leaders across North America who are passionate about Vega products, and understand how clean plant-based nutrition can help transform overall health and performance.  I am so honoured to be part of this team <3!!!!

Y'all know that I've been really focussed on maintaining a clean diet and I have to say that I whole-heartedly agree with Vega's guiding principles for plant-based nutrition. Eating a well-balance, clean, plant-based diet leaves me feeling energized and refreshed. I sleep better, I rarely have mid-afternoon lulls and I never experience that heavy bloated feeling I used to get after eating a big meal. Dare I say my body's starting to look a heck of alot better as well?!

If you`ve thought about making the leap to clean eating and/or vegetarianism or veganism and you want to learn more about the benefits, you should definitely check out Brendan Brazier`s Thrive Forward program. It`s a free, personalized program to help you transform your health and performance through plant-based nutrition. I joined up for this program when it first was launched and there is so much valuable information that you are given access to.

Eating well and taking proper care of your health impacts every.single.aspect.of.YOUR.life.

One of the perks of being part of this fabulous team is that I get the opportunity to try out and review new products and I recently had the pleasure of trying out the Vega One Nutrition Bars.

Do you love receiving surprise packages in the mail as much as I do?! I was so excited to receive these!!

These new bars hit the shelves in mid-March and come in 3 delicious flavours: Double Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry and Chocolate Almond.

"They're made from natural, plant-based, whole food ingredients, and packed with vitamins and minerals, 15g protein, 6g fiber, 1.5g Omega-3, plus antioxidants, probiotics and greens. They're gluten-free and contain no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners"....and most importantly, they're dipped in CHOCOLATE!!!

One thing that I absolutely LOVE about the Vega One bars are that you can actually see the whole ingredients within the bar: different seeds, chunks of almonds....it's all there so you can SEE what you're eating and feel confident that you are getting the best quality nutrition in every bite.

To say that these bars taste good would be an understatement. I loved all 3 flavours!! They're quite dense, which makes them very satisfying, and they have a perfect amount of sweetness and a little crunch too! If I had to choose a favourite, I'd have to say the Chocolate Almond, although the other flavours came in a very close second. I have enjoyed these for breakfast on mornings when I'm running late and need to eat on the fly and I've also enjoyed them when I'm on my way from work straight to the gym and need some fuel to tide me over until I get home for dinner.

Because I loved these bars so much and I think they are a great way to stay on track with your clean and healthy eating when life gets hectic, I thought that YOU, my fabulous readers, should have a chance to try them for yourselves. SO, I have decided to offer a giveaway for one lucky reader to receive 3 Vega One bars (one in each flavour).

To enter, please leave a comment telling me what flavour you most want to try. To earn a second entry, tweet about the giveaway and then leave a second comment telling me that you did (make sure you include your Twitter handle please!). Your tweet could go a little somethin' like this:

I just entered a giveaway for a pack of the new #VegaOne Nutrition bars from @Vegvacious. #ThriveFwd

Contest is open to residents of Canada and the USA. The contest shall remain open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday and the winner will be announced in Monday's post. Good Luck!!!

Have a great day!

Andrea
xoxo

*Vega provided me with these bars free of charge, but this review and all opinions contained herein are completely my own. The products offered in this giveaway have been purchased by me.*



Healthy for the Holiday

Yesterday morning as I drove to work, there was snow in the air. Am I the only person who is SO ready to bid winter adios?! I love the cold, crisp days of winter and a clean, beautiful winter landscape, but come on!!! Easter is just a few short days away and I am ready for some sunshine and some warm Springtime temperatures!!

Speaking of Easter --- can you believe it's this coming weekend?! It seems like we just got over the Christmas break and here we are at the next special holiday.

Last year I went totally crazy on the sweets for Easter, but this year I am going to try really hard to stick to my clean eats plans as much as possible. It so easy to go crazy over the holidays - especially a holiday that promotes chocolate eggs and sugary jelly beans as the food of choice. That's not to say that I'm not going to indulge in a creme egg or the peanut butter/chocolate/oreo dessert I've heard is being made for my family dinner, but I am definitely going to focus on my long-term goals and try to stay on track as much as possible.

Here are a few of the tricks and tips that I'll be using in my effort to stay on track this Easter Long Weekend:

*Drink my 8 glasses of water each and everyday - I tend to sip on coffee and wine on long weekends and holidays. I probably will still enjoy both, but my water intake won't suffer as a result.

*WORKOUT!!!! - It's so easy to relax the workout schedule over the holidays. If your gym has reduced hours or you're going to be out of town, throw your sneakers on and go for a walk/jog, or better yet, encourage the whole family to get out and take a stroll around the neighbourhood.

*Remember what the holiday really is about - holidays do not = food!!! Family, friends and celebration  are what the holidays are all about for me. Just because it's a holiday does not automatically give me the green light to gorge myself on every piece of food that passes my way.

*Moderation is KEY - Do you love Cadbury creme eggs as much as I do? Well then eat one...but don't buy out your local convenience store and eat five. The same goes for your favourite Easter dessert. Have one serving and savour every delicious bite. Don't go back for seconds and don't eat it for breakfast tomorrow...er, not that I've ever done that before ;-) Enjoy the taste of decadence and move on.

*Get back to your normal routine asap - Come Monday morning, I will be back to my healthy, clean eats. The indulgence won't be lingering around because the longer that I'm off my routine, the harder it is to get back to it.

*Contribute healthy dishes to your holiday meal - Instead of my usual Skor Bar Trifle (which admittedly is amazing), I've offered to contribute one of my favourite salads and clean desserts to our Easter meal this weekend. I know that my brother's girlfriend is making something decadent (remember that peanut butter/chocolate/oreo concocotion I mentioned above?), so we won't be missing out, and now we'll have a couple of healthier options as well.

Source via Pinterest via Elisa Walsh

Here's a few clean dishes that I think would be perfect for your holiday table:

Sticky Buns

Tiffany's Clean Eating Dr. Wilbur Salad

Martha Stewart's Easter Salad

Dijon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Rachael Ray's Gingered Carrot & Kale Ribbons

Angela's Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf

Tosca Reno's Ooey Gooey Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding - what I'm bringing!!!!
Angela's Coconut Macaroon Thumbprint Cookies

What's your favourite Easter dish? Link up to share with my readers!

Do you have any tricks or tips to staying on track after the holiday long weekend?

Have a great day,

Andrea

xoxo

Food for Thought:

Source: Pinterest via Julie Ann Petersen

What I Ate Wednesday ~ Clean Eats

Good morning! Happy Wednesday.

Whew, it's been a looonnnggg time since I've come around these parts to share a day in the life of my eats. I'm sure many of you shared amazing holiday treats and sweets over the past few weeks, but I was so busy stuffing my face with said treats that I didn't read a single WIAW post or snap a single pic!

I enjoyed all of my eating indulgences over the holiday season, but I have to admit that I'm pretty happy to get back into a healthier eating routine (um.....my oh so snug pants are pretty happy too!). 

As you know, I'm really excited to be using The Eat Clean Diet and Vega's Thrive Forward program as my inspiration as I start the journey to clean eating. I've been using The Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook ALOT since Christmas (thanks to my fab hubs who bought it for me!).

Here's a peek at a day in the life of my eats:

Breakfast

I made an AWESOME Baked Cinnamon Pear Steel Cut Oats casserole on Sunday and I've been enjoying leftovers every morning since. I love it topped with plain non-fat Greek yogourt and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

*recipe for this coming VERY soon*

Lunch

Brown baggin' it is absolutely the way to go. I've been going to the gym right after work, so I bring lunch and lots of snacks to work with me. This was Monday's lunch: leftover Festive Sweet Potato Salad, clementines, two plain brown rice cakes with 1/3 of an avocado to smash ;-) on them later, 2 light Babybel cheese rounds (leftovers from Christmas) and a sample of chai guarana  tea that came with an order of  David's tea.

Dinner

These open-faced english muffin pizzas came straight out of The Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook. It's fast and delish! As a side, I made some parsnip fries with dijon for dippin'.

Not too shabby, right?!

What have you been munching on now that the holidays are behind us?

If you're looking for more healthy meal inspiration as we jump feet first into 2013, make sure you head on over to Peas & Crayons to see what other bloggers have been feasting on.

Have a GREAT day!

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday

Good morning guys! How's your week been so far?! This week has been so busy for me. My lunch bag has come home with food still in it because I've been too busy to stop for a snack....missed snacks never happen to me!! 

Even though I've missed a couple of snacks over the past few days, I've still managed to eat some pretty awesome meals. Here's a peek at yesterday's eats:



Breakfast
I ate these pumpkin spice pancakes for breakie on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. I hated to eat the last bite; these are that good!!

Lunch
My lunch yesterday was delicious! If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you would have seen this HUGE bunch of kale that my grandpa dropped off to me on Sunday.

I ended up making a massaged kale salad that included avocado, dried cranberries, walnut pieces, cucumbers, celery and feta. The dressing was an apple cider vinegar/dijon combo.

As snacks, I took some clementines, a pear and some Tazo green tea k-cups.

Dinner
Last Friday, my grandma and I went out for lunch to a restaurant across the street from my office. I ordered the cheese & onion tart and it was ah-maze-ing!!! I really want to recreate this amazing tart at home and last night was my first attempt.

I caramelized some onions in butter & red wine, added some aged cheddar, and then folded them into my grandma's famous pie crust. It was good, but the crust wasn't quite right. I promise that I'll keep working on it and hopefully perfect a recipe to share with you in the very near future!!

So that's my eats in a nutshell. What was your favourite meal from yesterday?? If you're looking for more meal inspiration, check out Jenn's What I Ate Wednesday page and I promise you that you'll find a ton of awesome eats!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Andrea

xoxo

Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

Pancakes.

They're becoming a Sunday morning tradition at our house. I often make a big batch and then toast up the leftovers for breakfast during the week.

....but a travesty occurred yesterday my friends. I'd already decided on Saturday night that I wanted to try making a pumpkin version of my protein pancakes. On Sunday morning, the batter was made and the griddle was hot....and then I realized the worst; I was out of maple syrup! Pancakes without syrup?! Oy, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I did and it.was.good.

I hope you're not too sick of pumpkin recipes yet because these turned out to be fantastic. In keeping with my clean eats plan, I topped mine with a wee bit of Earth Balance and that was it, but you could definitely fancy them up with some maple syrup, walnuts or some white chocolate chips...or of course you could add a little of everything to make these the absolute ultimate!!!

Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes
Makes 8 pancakes

1 c old fashioned oats
3/4 c 1% cottage cheese
3/4 c egg whites
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp stevia
1 tsp chia (optiona)

Heat your griddle to a medium high heat.

Add all of the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth.

Pour onto griddle into 4" rounds. Cook until the edges start to look dry and then flip. Continue cooking until the pancakes are cooked through.

Serve immediately and top with your fave pancake toppings.

Store your leftover pancakes in the fridge and toast the next morning for an awesome weekday breakfast!

What's your favourite Sunday morning breakfast?

Have a great day!!

Andrea
xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday

Howdy! How has your week been treating you so far??

I've been extremely busy with a little project over the past few days. Some exciting things have been happening around here and I can't wait to share......next week ;-) !!!!!!

No matter how busy I am, I always have time for a What I Ate Wednesday post. It makes me take time to stop and reflect on my eats for the week and to keep me in check as I work towards my goal of maintaining a healthy, CLEAN diet.

Breakfast

I couldn't resist Julie's Honey Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes any longer! I finally caved and made them. My advice: make a big batch on Sunday and toast up the leftovers for weekday breakies.

Lunch

Just call me the  brown baggin' lady. After going out day after day last week for birthday lunches, I'm committed to making lunches for both Derek and I every day this week. Now, if only I could plan ahead and make them the night before, so I could leave for work on time for once!

Yesterday, I took 2 clementines and an egg white/goat cheese/veggie scramble that I stuffed into a multigrain flatbread.

Dinner

I made this on Sunday and have eaten it twice since. I used to LOVE pad thai, but it's difficult to find a vegetarian version that doesn't contain fish sauce. Mama Pea's Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai is sooooo yummy!! I wasn't sure I'd love the spaghetti squash 'noodles', but they soaked the sauce right up and tasted fabulous! The only thing I need to figure out is what I can substitute for the hoisin sauce because it does have some sugar and I'm trying to avoid 'the white stuff' right now.

Do you have any suggestions???

Snack

I am addicted to Lindsay's Baked Apple Packets. I've been baking up a few pockets at a time, so I have something to satisfy my sweet tooth when it comes a knockin'. Yesterday, I made them with pears instead of apples and they were just as delicious! Topping them with honey-flavoured Greek Yogourt puts them over the edge!!

As you can see, I've still been eating well despite the chaos that is my life. My attitude has really shifted over the past couple of years. I cannot sacrifice quality for convenience anymore and my body thanks me for it :-)

If you'd like to see what other  bloggers have been munching on, head on over to Peas & Crayons and check it out.

Have you ever health-i-fied one of your favourite dishes?

What's the best thing you've eaten in the last 24 hours?

Have a great day,

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesdsay

Happy Wednesday and welcome to August 1st!

Can you believe that we're halfway through the summer already! This is one of my favourite times of year because there are vegetable stands and farmers' markets popping up all over the place. Fresh local produce is definitely at it's prime right now and I have been eating boatloads of fresh veggies & fruit. I've even harvested a few cherry tomatoes, some baby spinach and lettuce from my very own garden...weeeeee!!!!

 

Breakfast

Egg Burrito filled with egg whites, salsa, black beans, corn and lettuce (from my garden)

Lunch

I made these clean mini egg quiches on Sunday so I could enjoy them all week for lunch. They are so customizable and are super duper tasty. Mine are filled with shredded carrots, zucchini, red onion, sweet peppers, cajun seasoning and some leftover black bleans.

Fruity Tooty Snacks

Once I started this post, I realized that I've been loving me some fruit in between meals as my snacks. I've had a bunch of different things this week and here are 3 of my faves all of which used fresh local fruit picked by my sweet grandma!

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Raspberry Coconut Protein Cake

(this is a recipe I'm still tweaking!)

Non-fat plain Greek Yogourt sweetened with stevia and a big handful of fresh blueberries

Dinner

This was a scrumptious one! Fresh, local corn on the cob and butternut squash mac 'n cheeze with baby spinach --- fresh from my garden!!!

Thanks to Jenn for coming up with yet another great What I Ate Wednesday theme! Make sure you head on over to her site to see what other foodies have been munching on this week!

What is your favourite summertime food?

Have a fabulous day!

Andrea xoxo

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Happy Tuesday ---- T-minus 3 days 'til I start a 4-day weekend {not that I'm counting or anything ;-)}

Do you ever find inspiration at the oddest times?? I was home alone Saturday night and as I sat watching the Olympics on TV, my stomach started grumbling for some munchies. I remembered a recipe I'd seen earlier in the week, so I pulled out my trusty lap top and decided it was the perfect time for some kitchen creativity. So what if it was 9:51 p.m. on Saturday night --- yes, the time did catch my eye lol --- don't hate me 'cuz I'm such a crazy-ass party animal!

To me, veggies & dip or chopped fruit don't always cut it when I'm looking for some snackage. I want something that says 'sinful' to my brain but is easy on my waistline. I originally saw a recipe for Banana Berry Snack Balls on The Lean Green Bean and they instantly caught my eye because I love me some balls......

{insert smirk}

Seriously though, these little morsels are healthy, clean and satisfying. They definitely met my criteria for a sin-less sweet treat. I did some tweaking and personalized the recipe to include some of my must-have ingredients (hello coconut!). The result was pretty darn fabulous.

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Recipe adapted from Lindsay's Banana Berry Snack Balls

Makes 12 balls

1 banana, mashed

1 c oats

1/2 c blueberries

4 tbsp all natural almond butter

1/3 unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and gently combine without squishing the blueberries. I used frozen berries which makes it a little easier to fold in.

Spoon out 12 balls (approximately 1.5" in diameter) and place onto a plate lined with parchment paper. Freeze the balls and then transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. Store in the freezer.

Remove from freezer when you are ready to snack and let them thaw for at least 15 minutes before chowing down.

YUMMMMMY!

These are also really tasty when crumbled into some plain non-fat Greek yogourt.

What's your favourite late night snack?

Have a great day!

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday - LiveFit Trainer Continues On...

 Happy Wednesday!

Are you surviving the heat?? Yesterday set new records here in Southwestern Ontario --- I'm told (& I really hope) that it is expected to be the hottest day of the year! It was SO HOT! Don't hate me for saying this, but I am really looking forward to the arrival of Fall -- warm days and cool nights is my favourite kind of weather! 

I know some people don't have a big appetite when the temperatures spike, but heat won't keep this gal down. In fact, I really can't think of any type of circumstance that stops me from wanting to eat!

 

I can't believe I'm already in the middle of Week 3 of Jamie Eason's 12 Week LiveFit Trainer. I'm really starting to notice a difference in the way my body feels since I started eating clean 17 days ago. I always ate fairly healthily, but my nighttime snacking has definitely been cut way back and I have really reduced the amount of processed food that I eat on a daily basis.

Let's have a peek at what I've been noshing on this week:

Breakfast

I've been eating lots of protein pancakes and egg white scrambles for breakfast. A couple of days ago, I decided to stuff a tortilla with the egg white scramble and then added some mashed avocado to create my version of a breakfast quesadilla. It was pretty freakin' yummy! I mixed a little taco seasoning with some non-fat plain Greek Yogourt as my sauce on the side.

After my workout is done, it's off to work I go. A large coffee with milk is my morning drug :-)

 

Snack

My snacks have mainly consisted of some sort of conction that involves non-fat Greek Yogourt. I recently won some granola from Boulder Granola (new fave!!), so I've been mixing in a bit of that together with a peach chopped up into chunks.
We got some local peaches on the weekend and they are scrumptiuous!

 

I've also been eating raspberry cheesecake protein popsicles like crazy.

*Teaser - I have a new popsicle recipe coming for all you chocaholics out there! Stay tuned....  ;-)

Lunch

Most of my veggies are consumed at lunch. Large salads and boatloads of water are the norm.

This salad was awesome--I combined a baby arugula/spinach mix with broccoli slaw, raw almonds, shredded carrots, yellow pepper & marinated tofu and then added some light spicy peanut dressing.

{drool}

Dinner

I actually had time to put together a nice dinner for Derek & I on Sunday --- it was nice to relax and have a leisurely meal together! I had marinated kabobs loaded with veggies & tofu, some whole grain brown rice and a side of roasted beets from our garden. Ok, so they're from Derek's uncle's side of our garden, but we're family, so we share so he won't mind that I scooped some while no one was there on Sunday morning hehe ;-)

Fitness

My workout plan has increased from 4 days per week to 5. We still have 2 weeks of no cardio, but I've really started enjoying the weight training and I'm not missing the cardio as much as I did in the beginning. We've also increased the weight from 60% of our maximum to 80%. Let's just say that my body hurts. Most of it is a good muscle hurt, but yesterday I couldn't raise my arms above shoulder level without some serious effort!

If all goes according to plan, my workout schedule this week is going to look a little like this:

Monday - Chest & Triceps
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Back & Biceps
Thursday - Shoulders & Abs
Friday - Chest & Triceps
Saturday - Yoga
Sunday - Rest

My upper body is definitely where my weaknesses lie, so instead of doubling up on the legs workouts, I've decided to double up on chest & triceps this week and then maybe back & biceps next week.

Whew, I've written quite the WIAW post this week! If you have any questions or want any more information about my experience with the LiveFit trainer, my clean eats or workouts, please feel free to email me anytime. If you're looking for more food & fitness inspiration, head on over to visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons and see what other bloggers have been up to this week.

What is your fave body part to work out at the gym?

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Andrea
xoxo