Open Wide!!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with products from Designer Whey to review as part of my affiliation with FitFluential.  

As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

I think we all know that I'm a lover of food. Food makes me all warm & fuzzy inside (and that's not because it's spicy!). It makes me do my happy wiggle and sometimes even sing a little song. So when I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new food product, you know I practically screamed "YES!"

Designer Whey, which you may remember from the review I did of their Sustained Energy product, sent me an incredible box of their products. I was so surprised! I was excited to try everything in the box but started with their Protein 2GO product.

From my Instagram 

Protein 2GO is a post-workout recovery drink mix with 50 calories, 10g of protein, 1g of sugar, and 2g of carbs. It's gluten-free, lactose-free, and caffeine-free. Now....let me be honest....after reading the box..well...I thought to myself "this is going to taste like dirt!". I was wrong!! I added one packet of the mixed berry flavor to my water and I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle berry flavor. It mixed well with water, didn't smell funny, and didn't have a weird aftertaste!

In addition to the products in the box, Designer Whey included several coupons that I could use to purchase a new yogurt called Smari. This is a thick and creamy, organic Icelandic-style yogurt and is available in four flavors – pure, vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry. In Tucson, you can find this particular yogurt at ONE store so I made the drive (42 minutes!) during a lunch hour to pick it up.

From my Instagram 

When I made it back to library, I tore into the Vanilla flavor like a scavenger. My first taste made me stop, look at the spoon, and say "Ok...that's pretty good". I added half of a Len & Larry's Muscle Brownie to the cup, stirred, and just savored my tasty snack. I promise when I tell you that it was totally worth the long drive and fighting traffic just to get to the store - don't believe me - check my twitter account where I tweeted about the yogurt being worth the 42 minute drive :)

Smari is made in Wisconsin with organic milk from grass-fed cows that live on small family farms, organic cane sugar, fruit from Oregon with no preservatives, and uses natural tapioca starch as a thickening agent. This yogurt is so thick, you can stand your spoon in it without it falling over! It’s also gluten free and kosher!

My in-laws have a pomegranate tree in their backyard so each year, I impatiently wait for pomegranate season to arrive and the free pomegranates I know I will be receiving. On Tuesday, I got my first one and I knew exactly what I was going to eat it with! Wednesday morning, I put together this snack before heading to work. I put my spoon in the Pure flavor before adding anything to it and WHEW! It's tart!! Consider this your warning. If you don't like tart, then this flavor (by itself) is not for you. I think it's the perfect base to build upon. You could add fruit, protein powder, granola, or whatever you would like to it!

This simple snack is yogurt + pomegranate seeds (1/2 a pomegranate) + honey (to taste). I took it to work and shared it with one of my co-workers. For a second there, I thought it was going to get ugly because she liked it so much she ate more than half :)

You can win some free yogurt and have some Halloween fun at the same time! There are 100 chances to win! 1.) Click here to download & print the viking hat! 2.) Take a picture wearing your Viking hat - perfect for a Halloween costume 3.) Post it on Designer Whey's Facebook wall & share! The first 100 people to post their Viking hat #selfie will receive a FREE Smari Yogurt coupon!

Be creative & have fun with it! I can't wait to see what pictures you guys post!!

Was It You??

It's time to announce the winners of my Designer Whey Sustained Energy giveaway! 

Designer Whey is being incredibly generous and allowing me to 

select 6 winner so...

get ready....

The winners are.....

LPM

Liz

Nikki

Georgiana

Tracy

Ray

I will be emailing each of you for your mailing address so you can receive your goodies!

Thanks everyone for reading my review and participating in the giveaway. 

Also, check out FitFluential Finds for deals on this particular product

and others that might be of interest to you!

#DesignerWhey Sustained Energy Review & Giveaway!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with products from Designer Whey to review as part of my affiliation with FitFluential.  
As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Off-season aka improvement season is in full effect!! You guys, this is the first "real" off-season I've had since I started competing three years ago! I know I haven't officially shared what's next on my competition agenda but here's what you should know, my clear 5 inch heels will be resting comfortably for at least the next 7-8 months.

During these next few months, I have certain goals I am working towards which include adding muscle to my upper body. Yes, you read that right - I am working on adding muscle! The feedback I received after Junior Nationals included a portion about adding mass to my upper body and you know I had to make sure I was reading the email correctly!!

 The past several years I have focused on decreasing size and now I was being told I needed to add some. I am also still focused on Operation Build-a-Back and gettin' that booty like Serena! This means a change in training and slight changes in my diet which is why the opportunity to try the new Sustained Energy protein powder from Designer Whey® was perfect!

From the Designer Whey® website:

"Designer Whey® Sustained Energy™ is specifically formulated with our proprietary Endurance Blend™. Designed to give you balanced, stimulant-free, sustained energy through fast absorbing whey protein and slower absorbing soy and casein proteins, giving you a steady supply of essential amino acids while helping you control hunger with fiber.  Packed with 16 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and 19 Essential Vitamins & Minerals and naturally flavored and sweetened – all for only 100-good-for-you calories!"

When prepping for shows, I normally use a whey isolate protein powder for any shakes that I may have. Whey isolates are generally lower in taste calories, fat, sugar, and carb grams. Since I don't have to keep as close of an eye on these numbers (improvement season equals a small amount of wiggle room), I decided that I would replace my whey isolate with the Sustained Energy powders I had received.

Post-cardio deliciousness!

The first shake I made was a fairly simple one. I'm always scared of getting fancy with new ingredients so I tend to stick with what I know...lol! I decided to treat myself by drinking my shake out of my Wonder Woman glass instead of a plastic shaker. It's amazing how awesome you feel having a healthy meal out of a real cup :)
Ingredients:  water, 1/2 cup of raspberries, 1/4 cup of chia seeds, Vanilla Bean Sustained Energy

In addition to confessing my fear of fancy protein shakes, I will also admit that I rock bandannas while drinking my protein shakes in the kitchen! I will also admit that I drink Metamucil to help me stay regular. Metamucil is not the easiest thing to drink so I will mix it into other things if I can (remember my Power Slushie?).

This shake was really a spur of the moment idea but it came out perfectly, not too thick or chalky!! As I was making it with the ingredients I listed in the shake above, I remember that I hadn't taken my Metamucil so I added a scoop to the Nutribullet and threw in a banana since it was obvious things were gettin' cray cray up in my kitchen :)
Ingredients:  water, 1/2 cup of raspberries, 1/4 cup of chia seeds, 1 banana, 1 scoop orange flavor Metamucil, Vanilla Bean Sustained Energy

If you have not had the chance to enjoy the yumminess that calls itself "Cream of Wheat Instant - Chocolate", you must to do so immediately. I am obsessed with mixing my cream of wheat with protein powder and so I had to try the Designer Whey® with it. The Chocolate Velvet flavor is quite strong so you know what that means? I did my happy wiggle while enjoying my pre-workout carb meal. It pains me to think about giving up this meal when prep starts but that's so far away, I'm blocking it out :)

Designer Whey® has a pretty great product on their hands. I like the idea of a protein powder giving you long-lasting stimulant free energy! What a simple yet amazing concept! I will admit that I am a bit disappointed by the nutritional facts but only because this is a product I personally would not be able to use during competition season due to the number of protein grams (too low) and carb grams (too high) per serving. But again, it's not competition season so I'm enjoying my two new protein powders!

Guess what?? You can enjoy them too! Designer Whey® has generously offered 6 of my readers the chance to win their own canister of Designer Whey® Sustained Energy!  To enter, you just need to comment below with which flavor you would choose if you won.

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