The #RefreshVoxbox from Influenster (<--- free stuff!)

I can't express how much I have LOVED the free boxes of stuff that I have gotten from Influenster! The most recent one (the RefreshVoxbox ) was the perfect pick me up in the dead of winter! Even better, this box contained many products that I had actually been wanting to try but wasn't sure about! Please enjoy my honest review of these complimentary products!

Skinnygirl Tasty Nutrition Bar: Banana oatmeal & dark chocolate
I honestly LOVED the flavor of this bar! The banana taste was quite strong but not overpowering, and the dark chocolate was divine. However I had hoped to use this post-workout because it had a great carb to protein ratio, but it made me feel queezy. My guess was that the sugar content was just a tad too high for a sensitive stomach. However, it sure was an amazing treat! 

Orgain: Vegan, Organic, Chocolate Protein Shake -  I was so impressed by this shake! I am all about the protein drinks but the thought of a vegan one just sounded plain nasty. However, it was great! The taste almost reminded me of muscle milk, but I actually get like it much better. The most impressive thing in my opinion was the ingredient list!

Orgain: Vegan, Organic, Vanilla Protein Shake - I also loved the taste of this one! It had a slightly funny texture, but it kept me full for about 3 hours

Beanitos Nacho Cheese Chips- Ok, I have to admit, I had been interested in trying these for a VERY long time but the husband turned his nose up every time I mentioned it. This was the perfect opportunity because he can't say no to anything free! They were very good! I just loved the flavor and the non-greasy texture. However, I didn't like how there was more than a serving size in a bag because I was NOT going to be leaving the rest for later! Also, since they were made out of beans they had a decent amount of protein! 

COVERGIRL UltraSmooth Foundation - I'd like to start by saying that I am not a make-up person in the least. I had never tried a cream foundation before and I'm honestly not quite sure about the product because I don't have anything to compare it to. It had a pink plastic applicator that I ditched very quickly when trying to apply the make up. It just worked so much better using my fingers that I was totally ok having to wash my hands afterwards. It blended into my skin very well and did give me a smoother look, but my face... felt funny? Maybe that is normal but I'm not sure. I kept wanting to touch it lol. Either way, I like the way this looked on me, but I probably wouldn't buy again. 

L'Occitane Shea Butter Light Comforting Cream - I was actually a huge fan of this cream!! Usually I have a dry forehead but an oily nose (tmi?) but this cream seemed to really help without making the other problem worse. The scent was pleasant as well :) 

Listerine PocketPaks - who doesn't love pocketpaks?! I've been a fan of these for quite some time! Perfect for morning coffee breath but my latest use for them has been to knock out those snack cravings! 

Montagne Jeunesse Black Seaweed Peel-off Mask - This is another product that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would! Even though I looked silly during the process,  I felt pampered and my face felt great after using this mask. At first I thought there wouldn't be enough to cover my whole face but if you spread it thin a little does go a long way. I was also really impressed how it peeled off in one piece! I was worried that I would have to spend a long time making sure I got all of it off but it really was a quick and simple process. 

DenTek Fun Flossers - These flossers were designed for kids but I found that I liked them better then the adult version. They were smaller so it was easier to get to the hard to reach places. 

DenTek Comfort Clean Floss Pics - The adult version of the fun flossers. I did like how they had a floss and tooth pick in one device, but I couldn't help but wonder how much plastic waste they caused ? They were convenient but I think I will stick to my normal floss in the future. 

P.S. If you are interested in joining Influenster yourself here is my sign-up link! Connect with facebook and I get extra 'points' on my profile! There are truly no strings attached with the free products, except that if you don't do the 'tasks' they probably won't be sending you a lot :)

Have a blessed day!

**I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all opinions are my own. 

Moda VoxBox from Influenster!

Hey all!

I've been pretty quiet lately, but I can assure you things are still going strong! I haven't eaten the best over the holiday but thankfully the in-laws have a treadmill that I can use whenever I want!

I'm dropping in tonight to share this awesome VoxBox that I got recently from Influenster! (<- invite link) For those of you who don't know Influenster is a really sweet website where you review products and post about them to social media. Occasionally, they even send you a box of free (often full size!) products to review! This is called a VoxBox. I have been lucky enough to receive a good handful of these boxes and am excited to share my latest one with you. This has to be the best one yet!

Contents of the box:

- Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves Mascara

- Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick (red)

-  Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip liner

- Puffs Softpack

- Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer

- Resource Natural Spring Water

- Hair Food Moisture Hair Mask + Coupon!

- Packet of Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa + Coupon!


Pretty awesome box of free stuff huh?! I can honestly say that I enjoyed testing every single product.

My favorite things by far were the hair mask and the cocoa. The hair mask smelled simply amazing and actually did a decent job taming this wild mane that I have going on here. Sadly it can only be found at Target so I haven't gotten a chance to use the coupon yet (nearest Target is 100+ miles away) ....but next time I head into Marquette I plan to try out Hair Food's line of shampoo and conditioner too! The Simply Cocoa was also amazing. I loved that it only had 5 ingredients and it was a perfect thing to come inside to after a few hours of shoveling.

The part of this box that I wasn't too excited for was the make-up. I'm not a big make-up person to start with so I felt pretty clueless. I even ended up googling how to use lip liner. Overall it just wasn't 'me'. The color made me feel silly and the lashes were a bit TOO big. This could totally be because I'm a make-up newbie and have to idea how to correctly apply these things, but either way I personally wasn't a fan.

The other contents of the box (the water, tissues, & lotion) were good products, but nothing to write home about. The water was good but I prefer my reusable water bottle over plastic and the tissues were.... tissues? I liked the lotion but the hubby was not a fan of the scent. Too bad because it felt great on my skin!

It was so much fun trying all these products! Thank you Influenster for the awesome box!


I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own. 

Husband approved turkey BBQs with Sargento Cheese!

Hello!

I've been super busy finishing up my student teaching so I haven't gotten around to blogging much lately. Looking forward to summer and having more (too much?) time to relax and get my act together! Today I am excited to share with you a recipe that my little family just loves! The best part is that it can be sleeve (tiny tummy) friendly as well.

I've been experimenting with turkey in my cooking a lot lately because of the lower fat content but so far have had little luck impressing my picky husband. I've even tried to 'sneak it in' but he can always tell. When I finally found something that he actually enjoyed, I was ecstatic!

I based this recipe off of the Sargento Cheese website found here. I actually received some Sargento Ultra Thin cheese slices complimentary of Influenster to test and review.  If you haven't heard of Influenster I'd highly encourage you to check it out! It's a pretty sweet website where you can review the latest products. Sometimes you may even qualify for a Voxbox, which is when they send you free samples of the latest products to review. Well anyway, I received my Sargento Cheese slices in a Voxbox and I just LOVE them! They are all less than 40 calories a slice, and the thickness is perfect for my ham and cheese roll-ups. :-)

So, where were we? Ah, Turkey BBQs! 

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey breast

3/4 cup BBQ Sauce

1/2 diced red onion

Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese slices 

Directions 

Cook turkey until no longer pink, Add onion and BBQ Sauce and simmer 3-4 minutes or until heated through, Place on bun and top with cheese, Serve warm 

The nutrition facts can vary a ton based on the type of BBQ sauce and bun you use, but mine turned out to be around 300 calories and 31 grams of protein! Enjoy!

P.S - If you are interested in joining influenster I have plenty of invites left, so all you have to do is ask and I can get you set up :) 

Muscle Recovery & a Product Review

Lately I've been trying very hard to listen to my body, particularly in the areas of exercise and muscle recovery. It's really easy to get caught up in your goal of exercising 6X a week and forget to give your body some rest. I still haven't learned exactly what my body needs as far as recovery yet, but I am getting much closer to figuring it out. So far I've learned that I better plan on at least two easy days after a Jillian Michaels workout, and one for weight lifting. If I'm to sore to walk down my stairs I take that as a resting day. It's all about listening to your body. Once I've started doing this I've noticed a huge improvement in my workouts. I feel like I get much more out of them and they are much more enjoyable.

Many people who go through rapid weight loss have the unfortunate side effect of muscle atrophy. This is why protein is SO important in a weight loss diet. When your body is starved for protein it can start to breakdown your muscles as a last resort. I have been told to try to get in 75 grams of protein each day. It's a difficult task but I know that not only will it prevent atrophy, but it will help promote the rebuilding of muscles after exercise and strength training. The only way I come close to getting my recommended amount of protein in is by supplementing with protein shakes. I have been using UNJURY medical quality protein powders.

 They have a few flavors to choose from which include chocolate splendor, strawberry sorbet, vanilla, and unflavored. I have tried all the flavors and by far my favorite is chocolate splendor. When mixed with 8oz of milk it really tastes just like chocolate milk! It really doesn't have that proteiny taste and blends very well in my blenderball shaker. I try to get in at least one of these shakes a day, especially if I've had a good workout. The unflavored is actually pretty unflavored. I've added it to things like pudding, mashed potatoes, and milk for my cereal. You can tell it's there, but barely. The strawberry and vanilla are ok, but I love my chocolate. :-)

Here are some nutrition facts: One scoop + 8oz skim milk (IGA brand)

Calories: 190

Carbs: 17

Fat: 0

Protein: 29

Sodium: 185

Sugar: 15

Also here is the breakdown. You could cut down a lot of the sugar and calories by replacing the milk with something like unsweetened almond or soymilk. 

In other news, I'm seriously considering getting a Fitbit. I'm leaning toward the Fibit Flex but i'm not so sure. Does anybody have experience with one? Do you love it? Also are there any other fitness trackers that I should consider? 

Happy Monday!