Oral IV Review

I have been searching and searching for a good hydration aid that does NOT have all the added sugar, caffeine, or stimulants. All of a sudden an opportunity fell into my lap to review the product Oral IV. The first thing I read on their product information is, NO ADDED SUGAR, CAFFEINE, OR STIMULANTS. I also read information about how this is not a hydrate for you product, that you still need to follow your normal pattern for hydration, this product will only aid in the hydration. I have to say I was completely on the fence and not sure what I was getting, but very hopeful!! Here is what the product looks like:

They, seriously, remind me of carrying around mini iv bags. The only thing that was a bit of a downer about this is there is no flavor. So it is a tad thicker than water, but maybe a small bit salty flavored; very hard to describe. The flavor is not horrible, so it's not a turn off on the product.

I have to say that my husband, my neighbor and her husband, and myself are firm believers of this product after the last week of trying it. If you want my full review on the product you will have to check out the blog on Oral IV's page here.

Also, if you are interested in trying this product they gave me a discount code for y'all. Go here and put in the code "fitness" at checkout for 10% off.

Kona Kase Review

Have you heard the rage about these sample boxes that you pay a small amount of money and you basically get 8-10 samples to try??  I have seen them for dog treats/toys even. I have tried a couple of different brand boxes, but by far KONA KASE is not only my favorite but my entire family looks forward to these boxes in the mail.

 Can see the little hand trying to steal what is in the box!!

We have purchased three months so far and love them. So when the opportunity came to do a review on the box, I jumped on it.



This is this month's box.

This month’s box included:

• Perky Jerky – All natural Jerky. It’s marinated in seven ingredients, including Guarana. AMAZING!!
• Enjoy life fruit and seed pack – Protein-packed with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dried fruit and best of all GLUTEN FREE. My kids were in heaven as they stole this out of the box immediately.
• Pro Bar Chews – Loaded with electrolytes, B vitamins, antioxidants, and complex carbs. The husband stole this pack and said the taste is amazing (he is very picky, so this means they are good!!)
• Health Warrior Chia Bar – Loaded with Omega 3’s, fiber, and antioxidants. I tucked this bar away to sneak when I am out doing a workout.
• Caveman Cookies – Made with simple ingredients and grain-free, dairy-free, and preservative-free.
• Garuka Bars – These bars will give you all natural energy.
• Body Glove Surge Gel – Rapid and sustained natural energy in the form of a gel. This one is coffee flavored.

Here is a box from the past:

This box had hydration tablets, meal replacement shakes, power gels, bars, and much more.

Benefits of a monthly subscription:

• You place your first order and they will automatically ship to you each month, you can cancel at any time.
• Each order $15.00, no extra shipping fees.
• Each box has a card with a description of each product, the website/email to place an order, and possibly a code for a discount on your purchase.

These boxes are by far my favorite sample box that I have tried so far. I am going to use monthly subscriptions as my prizes for my next workout challenge.

If you are interested in trying a Kona Kase here is a code for $5.00 off the purchase: GIFTSUMMER.

Have you tried a product sample box before? What is the coolest product you have received to try?

Arm Challenge

I am doing a 30 day challenge for myself. I am doing 2 a days of cardio. I do long walks from 2 miles to 6 miles with up and down hills included. The night time cardio is on the elliptical with resistence of 5 right now, by the end I hope to have it to 10. To pass my time on the elliptical I put ona show on Netflix, so there are no commercials to let me get distracted. If I am distracted I am one that will hop right off the workout train. Here is a picture of me really getting into the show Gossip Girl:

On top of doing the cardio, I am doing a 30 day arm challenge. Once a day I do a series of arm exercises. I use P90X Chest/Back, P90X Back/Biceps, P90X Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps. I have set up a schedule for myself to follow. Here is a picture of me today (Day 6). My oldest snapped the picture as I was trying to get the weight into the correct position.

Last but not least of this 30 day challenge is that I work on my back alone every night. I have a couple set exercises that I do every night before bed. These include doing the superman, the swimmer, tricep dips, and a few other with the foam roller. I love my foam roller to iron out my muscles!!

I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!!

Caramel Bacon Shakeology Fudge

Caramel Bacon Shakeology Fudge

Caramel Bacon Ingredients:
½ pound bacon
Ideal Brown (Brown Xylitol, sweetner that is like brown sugar)

Directions for Bacon:

Heat oven to 400. Put parchment paper down on pan. Lay the bacon out.

Dredge both sides of the bacon with the Ideal Brown.

Place in the oven until the bacon is just cooked about 15-20 min. Take the bacon out and let it cool on a cooling rack. I break up the caramel still on the parchment paper to mix in and top the fudge with.


Shakeology Fudge Ingredients
1/2 cup Shakeology Chocolate
1-2 TBS cocoa powder
2 TBS raw, organic honey
1 tsp high quality vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw, organic coconut butter (also known as coconut oil)
I mixed in about half a cup of raw coconut shavings, delicious!!!

 

Directions for fudge:

Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl, except for coconut butter. Add softened coconut butter and mix well with a spatula. Line a 8×6 pan with parchment paper, place chopped bacon on bottom of the pan (I reserve some to top the fudge with). Pour fudge over the bacon pieces. If you saved pieces, now top the fudge with those left over pieces. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, or until firm. Store in the refrigerator.
(My pictures during the mixing part of the fudge did not turn out, I will try to make another batch soon and post those). Here is the end result!! YUMMO!!!

 

If you are in need of some Shakeology to make this amazing snack click here.

Healthy homemade chicken noodle soup recipe

Nothing beats chicken noodle soup!! But I can't stand a can of soup any more since I started making my own. It's really easy, yes it takes 3 hours to make but it is so worth it!!! I even make my own noodles because they only take about 15 minutes to make and taste amazing!!!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
Celery Sticks
Carrots
Onion
Minced Garlic
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Italian seasoning
Dried parsley flakes

Directions:
I put the whole chicken in a pot (be sure you check inside the chicken to see if there is a bag of innards in there, I dispose of this, but if you want them be sure to take them out of the bag). I fill the pot with water and then season with garlic powder, minced garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and dried parsley flakes. Then place the pot on the burner. I set the timer for 60 minutes. This way I keep my eye on the fluid level.

Then I dice up the veggies and throw them in while the chicken is boiling (usually about a half hour into the boiling).

 

Then when the timer goes off I add in more water if needed and let it boil for one more hour. Then at 2 hours I take the chicken out. (It usually just falls apart at this point.)

 

 

 

 

I let the chicken cool for about 15 min. And then I shred it into the pot and let it boil for another half hour.

 

During this time I make up the homemade noodles.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup flour

1 egg (slightly beaten)

3 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 Italian seasoning

 

Directions:

 

Mix until it forms a ball. You may need to sprinkle in more flour to make it not sticky. Sprinkle the counter with flour. And roll out the dough, to about 1/4 inch. I take a pizza cutter and slice the dough into small strips. Then put on a pan and let it dry for about an hour (if they don't dry you will get little dumplings when you drop into soup)..

 

 

 

When noodles dry, throw them in the soup. Have soup on low-med heat and let them cook for at least 15 minutes and you are ready to serve.

 

 









95 day workout countdown!!

I have a goal to have a sexy rear-end and kickin abs in 95 days, I started at 101 days. Today is day 95, so I did 95 squats. I used to have a hard time getting the right form for a squat (at least to get the right results!!) So here is something that made see the correct way:

And this is a picture of me on the way back up from probably number 85 squat:

And I was a little to far forward but I had another childe under me on the back side and was a tad worried I might fall on her. HA. See in these pictures you can see that I workout with kids, toys, and even pitbulls. :) Never dull, but ya gotta make the time no matter where you are!!!

I also do sumo burpees, 95 of them today! Here is a picture of me coming up from the plank part of the burpee.

Man these burpees pull muscles I didn't even think were connected to anything!! But I love how I feel afterwards!! Here is one more burpee pic:

This was coming up and at the end of my 95, so it wasn't the best position.. But your legs are supposed to be apart and squating like a sumo wrestler does. So you go down in the sumo position, then you go back to a plank, then you come back to sumo position and then you jump up and repeat. WOOOHOOO!!! I feel the burn!!!!!!!!!!!

I follow those two exercises up with 95 sit-ups. My daughter didn't snap any pics of those for me. I will see what I can do for the next time!! I just wanted to show you that even if you have little kids running everywhere around you, you can make a space and find the time to push play. Have to make time for yourself to get healthy!!! :)

Why do I coach fitness and health???

 

Why did I decide to become a coach back in 2012? Because I wanted to pay forward what I a challenge group did for me. They held me accountable and they taught me different ways to get motivated and just plain helped each other through each day of life.

I opened my email yesterday to an email from my very first client. He was a 300 pound guy, that didn’t have internet access besides email on his phone and he needed an accountability partner. I emailed him and asked what are your goals and is there anything I could help him with. So he said I want to be able to finish Insanity, do you think you can help keep me accountable and what will it cost me for you to do that? I kind of chuckled as I read his reply because that was my reason for not asking for someone to help me because I didn’t want to have to pay someone a ton of money, but REALLY REALLY needed accountability.

So I wrote back that me being his coach will not cost him anything at all. My coaching anyone is free. I do daily email check-ins, phone calls, or facebook groups that help push each other. Heck, I even get together with some and walk everyday or push play to move. And that I would be happy to help in anyway I can.. Well, we finished Insanity and moved on to Asylum and he decided he wanted to do marathons and triathlons.

The email yesterday stated that he had good news for me. He not only completed his first triathlon, but he met a girl that shared the same interest and they are moving in together. This is the reason I signed up to coach. To help others have good news to share and hearing a thank you is AMAZING!!!!!! 

 

I have helped people get their health back in check that they no longer have to worry about being on a liver transplant list and have a few more years with their growing children. I have helped people find a job (becoming a coach like me) and earning an income they didn’t know they could by doing something they themselves love to do. All of this is my “2013 WHY”!!!

Now, if you need help reaching a goal for better health or earning an income for getting healthy in 2013, go to beachbodycoach.com/lexislnmachines and click join or take the Beachbody Challenge. And get me as your coach, there is no fee for my coaching. I have 2 challenges starting on Jan 14^th, one is a nutrition challenge and one is a fitness challenge, message me or comment if you want in on either of these. Or if you just know someone that needs coaching, please send them my way!

Happy New Year all!!