Food! It’s why some of us run, right? It’s what fuels us, comfort us, lets us be creative and contributes to those large amounts of waste we leave behind.
Being a running and poop blog, I don’t talk much about food. I do, however, eat pretty regularly. You may not know this, but I LOVE to cook. 95% of our meals come from me and are home made and fresh. We rarely go out to eat and I don't cook anything out of a box or can. There may be the occasional frozen pizza, but I steer pretty clear of frozen stuff too. Ken doesn’t cook. When we first dated he had steady diet of orange Gatorade (he thought it was a health drink), frozen burritos, Stouffer’s French bread pizza and Stouffer's lasagna. He turned his ass around. The guy hasn’t eaten dessert in over two years!
Ken and I grew up differently. In his house there was a meal for every night of the week, e.g., Friday = hotdogs, Monday = spaghetti. Spam was a regular staple. My parents were pretty experimental. It was all about opening our minds and giving us the experiences so we could make informed decisions (so I joined a cult and got pregnant at 15 – JK). They had a garden where they grew pot all of our fresh fruits and veggies. My mom canned all of our tomatoes and made home made jam. If there was a health food trend, they got on that bandwagon pretty quickly. Falafel? We were eating that before it was cool, like in the early 80s. There were sprouting broccoli plants on the counter (once I thought they were chocolate cupcakes and took a bite). You would never find a sugar cereal or Twinkie in our house. I used to have to go to Stacy Evan’s house where she had a drawer full of Hostess cupcakes, dingdongs and zingers. Imagine having a drawer where you could go anytime, day or night, and grab a tasty treat. That seemed like heaven to me at the time.
Anyway…fast forward to today. I mostly cook out of Cooking Light magazine and I love Allrecipes. I don’t repeat many recipes unless they are really, really good. This year for the first time we joined a local CSA and will get fresh fruits and veggies from an organic farm in Boulder for the next 20 weeks!! If you want to find a CSA in your area, click HERE.
Don’t get me wrong – I still eat like crap sometimes and my nightstand drawer is full of Dots. Oh, and I love wine (probably not in the “healthy” quantity either). Everything in moderation, right?
So…for some reviews. These products were sent to me to discuss/review.
Cheribundi Cherry Drink*:
This stuff rocks. My mom buys tart cherries in the summer and freezes them so we have fresh cherry pie all year long. The Cheribundi tastes like liquid tart cherry pie. No joke. Each 8 oz bottle is packed with 50 cherries (.5 pound). Where the heck do they find all these cherries? I hope they don’t pop them all. It is also full of some good nutrition including antioxidants. One 8 oz serving packs 32 grams of carbs, good news for us runners. It’s also good for gout and arthritis. Drawbacks? Lots of sugar (28 g) and pricey - $9.99 for 4-8oz bottles. Ouch. If you have the chance, give it a try. The taste is exceptional!!
Newest GU flavor – mandarin orange*:
I think this stuff just hit the shelves. I tried one on my run a couple of weeks ago. It has a light and pleasant flavor. Not too thick, sticky or sweet (that’s what she said). I do love me some mandarin oranges, so this was a good flavor for me. And thanks to GU and Outside PR for letting me taste test this one and for the box of amazing Gus, Brew and Chomps.
Lara Bars – new flavors*:
In July, some new Lara Bar flaves will be available: carrot cake, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chip brownie and peanut butter chocolate chip. Lara Bar sent me some samples this week. I’ve only tried the cookie dough, and it is TASTY! I am a huge fan of these bars. Simple, basic and few ingredients that come together to create a great tasting and healthy product. I try to eat foods made up of five or less ingredients that I can pronounce. These bars fit the bill. I love how they use dates as a natural sweetener and for texture and volume. They make for an easy on-the-go breakfast or a post meal treat. They are also gluten, soy and dairy free if you care about that stuff (I don’t). Typically these bars have 230 calories, 26 g of carbs, and lots of potassium and fiber. And, they are affordable – in my grocery store they are about $1.00 per bar or sometimes on sale for $.88.
So…GIVEAWAY! Become a follower and give me your best healthy cooking tip or tell me how early food experiences influenced how you eat today. I’ll choose the most creative/interesting comment in a few days and will send the winner the following:
- Chocolate chip brownie Lara Bar
- Strawberry Watermelon GU Recovery Brew
- Orange GU Chomps
- Mint chocolate GU
- Chocolate outrage GU
- Blueberry GU Octane
Good luck!
*These items were sent to me free of charge from GU, Cheribundi and Lara Bar. I paid nothin’ for them. The giveaway items were also sent at no cost to me.
