Manitoba Harvest’s Hemp Yeah! (Protein Bar Review)

Oh no, here it is. Another protein bar review. Do they ever end? Truth be told, it seems like there is a never-ending supply of ready-to-eat protein snacks out there. It is hard staying on top of them all, but for us, it is important to know what exists because we’re asked for recommendations ALL THE TIME! We rarely find a product that is worthy of being coined innovative in any stretch of the imagination. When we do find innovative products, they’re not necessarily win-wins. For example, our review of Built Bar gave them credit for making a product that had a very strange texture. While we weren’t fans of it, we figured someone out there might be. Innovative? In a way. Enjoyable? Not for us. Enough of that old news though; what about Manitoba Harvest’s Hemp Yeah bar?

Attractive packaging

Nov272018

A Beginner’s Guide to Counting Macros

[Please enjoy a guest article from former NFL player, Chris Gronkowski!]

Starting a new diet can be a difficult adjustment and part of the change involves becoming accustomed to a new routine and way of thinking about food. Counting calories is an accurate but sometimes challenging method for tracking what you consume each day. If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll want to record how many calories you eat and work to burn off more calories. For some people, this dieting method is tedious and easy to forget about. But those willing to stick to a strict approach may want to take it one step further and experiment with counting their macro calories.

What Is a Macro Diet?

Following a macro diet is similar to the process of counting calories but, instead, you must focus on tracking how much you consume of the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates and fats. One of the major benefits of counting macros is that you are compelled to consume only foods that are fueling your body in some respect. For example, if you were on a calorie-counting diet, you could eat a bag of potato chips as long as you write down the calorie count. But, with a macro-counting diet, you would want to replace the chips with a food heavier in protein, carbs or fats.

Macronutrients are vital to our body’s well-being, and they can be found in nearly every food. Most items though are classified by whichever macronutrient they have the most of—for example, beef is considered a protein even though it also contains fats. Counting macros has been a popular practice amongst athletes for many years but, as of late, people have found this method to be a beneficial way to hold themselves to healthy eating habits.

Jun212017

Easy Protein Ball Recipe

Yesss! Another easy, delicious protein recipe! These are some of my favorite snacks. I snagged this protein ball recipe from Carrots n Cake, one of my favorite fitness bloggers. I love this protein ball recipe because it’s customizable. You can use any protein powder you want, you can add any spice you desire, you can add hemp seeds, or almond butter, or whatever! Then, you just keep them in the fridge and they’re a great quick pop-in-the-mouth snack. This helps keep you away from the unhealthy snacks. People usually eat unhealthy snacks because they tend to be a lot easier. Sometimes, healthy snacks take a while to make, or you really have to think about it, or it’s inconvenient. Having this in the fridge can be a lifesaver!

Oct222012

The Most Important Meal of the Day: EAT IT!

There’s a problem in this culture. For as much as we over-eat, so many of us do not eat breakfast. What’s the deal with that?! Meals are always something to look forward to in my day. Maybe because I have a slight obsession with food. Whatever. I’m here to tell you to EAT YOUR BREAKFAST! Just eat something: oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, trail mix, bagels, fruit, something.

Why?

Well, boys and girls, let me talk a little about metabolism. You want a good, high metabolism. Why? Because the higher your metabolism, the faster your food is digested and nutrients absorbed. It means your body works faster and better. You see a lot of people with high metabolisms are usually thin, even though they seem to eat a normal (or more) amount. It’s either genetics or they know how and when to eat.

Structure of adenosine triphosphate, a central intermediate in energy metabolism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you don’t eat breakfast, (just literally breaking your fast) your metabolism won’t wake up. For it to boot up and start trying to make you have less fat, you need to give it something to start on. Otherwise it’s going to be very slow. And when you do finally eat lunch (which is usually bigger than breakfast), your metabolism will be slowed down at that point and you won’t absorb nutrients or digest as quickly.

We like to go big on breakfast when we can. This is (not necessarily our typical) our ideal breakfast: whole-wheat Kodiak pancakes (or waffles), eggs, whole wheat toast with jam, Morningstar Sausage Links, and a big fruit salad. Sounds like a lot? You can bet our metabolism is going to be booted up from the start? And yes, I usually can’t finish everything so Chris gets to clean my plate.

Not in the mood for a big breakfast? When I don’t have a lot of time before work and Chris is still asleep, I’ll usually make oatmeal, or greek yogurt with fruit and nuts, or an egg on toast, etc. Those all have plenty of protein and carbs for me to last until lunch or snack time.