I recently ran across a cool new thing online. It is the Conscious Box and it is a monthly delivery of pure and sustainable products that are handpicked from businesses that care for the planet. As their website describes each month you will:


• Get a variety of unique pure & natural products every month

• From organic food to vegan beauty products, you’re sure to find new favorites

• Discover ethical and purpose-driven businesses of all sizes

• Get content on daily living tips, exciting monthly themes, and creative ways to use your box!

So I talked to Jesse over at the Conscious Box and they sent me over a box to check out. It was so fun receiving this package, it felt like my birthday with all these fun little treats inside.

 I opened it up and I found a variety of green and eco friendly items such as:

-organic herbal chai tea

-reservatrol winetime bar (super fruits and dairy free)

-nature crops quinoa % strawberry nutrition bar (yummy)

-C3 a sugar free drink mix

- Dr Cleangreen’s handy essentials hand purifier (love it)

- emergin C kombucha cleanser

- Olbas pastilles herbal cough drops

- Natural vitality natural calm anti stress drink

- badger lip tint and shimmer (I am addicted to chapstick so love this)

- Baby goods diaper cream (I have a couple little bums around here to try this out on)

- himala salt – pink salt shaker. (Funny I just purchased pink salt the day before because I have seen it in a lot of new recipes I am trying out)

- and more! Such treats!


As I mentioned before, I love exploring different healthy products I find and this is a way to really test things out and you can see what kind of fun things you can discover.

For $12 a month, $33 for 3 months or $64 or 6 months (plus tax) you could get your own box of presents delivered to your door as well. I think this is such a fun thing to send yourself or someone you love. Hey, we all know that some people are just extra hard to shop for….well, why not try this out! I think anyone would appreciate it.

Check out more about their company and boxes at http://consciousbox.com/

Congrat's to Sandy Miller, you are the winner of the sampler pack of Chobani Yogurt!  Thanks for playing girl :)

So, what has 2 thumbs and loves chocolate…..this girl :)  I bet you do too. I am always looking for healthier alternatives to beat my sweet tooth and also like to look for dairy free options since I have some intolerance issues. Well, I ran across a raw chocolate company called Stirs The Soul and Lisa & Daren were kind enough to send me 3 bars to review. They use organic, raw chocolate. Their bars are free from dairy & sugar. They use 3 different sweeteners: Raw Dried Dates, Raw Agave, and Coconut Palm Sugar

I was so excited to try them out. Well, let me tell you it was love at first bite – spiced chai and current was the first one to try and it did not let me down. Oh me, oh my, it was magnificent! I wasn’t sure I would like it but wow, it was my favorite by far! I would highly recommend this! So smooth with just a hint of a spice to it. Yummers! It was like no chocolate I have ever tasted before.

The ingredients in this: Stoneground Cacao Beans, Cacao Butter, Dates, Cardamom, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Pepper. What, that is it? NO sugar, all ingredients I can pronounce….love it!

It has 150 cal’s and 12 grams of fat but only 4 grams of sugar and that is lower then a traditional candy bar by far and to boot you get 2 grams of protein, gotta love that. If you don’t usually pay attention to how much sugar is in candy bars Twix for example has 27.5 grams so this is significantly less.

Maca chocolate – was the 2nd one I tried. This was definitely more plane. Still good but didn’t blow me away like the first one I tried. It’s ingredients are: Stoneground Cacao Beans, Cacao Butter, Palm Sugar, Maca, Mesquite Powder. 160 cal’s, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of sugar and 3 grams of protein.

Honey forest choc + hemp and maitake mushroom was the last one. I was a bit sad b/c I didn’t want my testing to come to an end and no I did not eat all 3 in a row, although I could have :)   Ok, lets look at that name again…What…seriously…mushrooms? In my chocolate? How can it be? I hate those slimy suckers but you would never know they are in there….thank goodness, don’t know how I would feel about chocolate covered mushrooms! Ingredients: Freshly Stone-ground Cacao*, Cacao Butter*, Honey*, Hemp Hearts*, Freeze-Dried Maitake Mushroom* Unfortunetly the current nutrition profile on the site is incorrect on this one, I thought it was too good to be true :)  So I will update when I have the correct stats. This was average tasting, kind of plan, but not bad by any means.
So with all of these bars, well more so maybe the last 2, if you go in with a snickers on your mind, you will be a little disappointed, they do not taste like a snickers but HEY you won’t get that blood sugar drop followed by crabby attitude and the need for a nap…what, is that just me? I don’t think so. These are all much better options then traditional candy bars.

I would LOVE to try the mint chocolate one next. I love MINT!!!

Stirs the Soul is based out of Portland Oregan. If you are looking for a healthier alternative to beat your sweet tooth I recommend their bars for sure. Check out their site: http://www.stirsthesoul.com/

**just a note, I do not get paid by any of these companies I am sharing with you, I just like to share fun, healthy new products I find**

Remember I am doing my drawing tomorrow afternoon (Tue) for the Chobani giveaway!

I just updated my Bootcamp page (see right side) to reflect the new round of classes that will be starting soon.  There are only a couple spots left so contact me soon if you want to confirm your spot.

Ashley from Chobani sent me a fun package of a variety of their Greek Yogurts to try out and give a review on.


First of all, what I like about Greek Yogurt is the protein! In most cases, 2 times more then regular yogurt and I am always looking for easy ways to get more protein in my and my families diet. Chobani also contains five types of live and active cultures including three strains of probiotics. If you are not familiar with probiotics they are living organisms found in certain foods and dietary supplements that help replenish and strengthen the bacteria naturally living in your body.

I also appreciate the good source of calcium it contains and the fact that they are low in carb’s.

My favorite thing to use Greek yogurt for is to substitute it in place of mayonnaise or sour cream in recipes.  I have used it in protein pancakes, for making chicken salad sandwiches, in a fruit salad and the list goes on and on.

Greek yogurt is thick and creamy.  Much thicker then traditional yogurt.  It has real fruit at the bottom and you stir it up to mix it around.

The flavors I was sent to review were: blueberry, strawberry, black cherry, lemon, pineapple, mango, pineapple and plain. My favorite was the lemon and mango was a close 2nd. The tubs are large. 2 of my kids would share one and it would be the perfect size snack. So we all tasted each one. The boys really liked the strawberry the best (their ages range from 3-6) and they didn't even realize they were eating something good for them. I would say black cherry was my least favorite. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it was just my least favorite flavor. I don’t know if I would ever eat the plain one by itself, but as mentioned above I use it as a substitute in a lot of recipes or you can add your own fruit to it or even honey or real maple syrup.

The biggest difference between the plain variety and the fruit flavors in terms of nutrition is the extra sugar and a smaller amount of protein. But the good thing about the fruit flavors is that there is REAL fruit at the bottom, not sugary flavored syrup, so make sure to stir up and then you can get fruit flavor in every bight.

In the flavored yogurts they lightly sweeten with real fruit chunks and with evaporated cane juice, a natural type of unrefined sweetener. That is why the sugar content is higher then the plain flavors.

As they mention on their site the 7g of sugar listed on the nutrition facts panels of the Plain 0% and 2% Chobani comes from a naturally occurring type of sugar found in all dairy products called “lactose.” This lactose, often called “milk sugar,” is the only sugar you’ll find as they don’t add sugar to their yogurt.

Another thing you may be wondering is – can you eat it if you have lactose sensitivity? Everyone’s allergies/sensitivities vary (I deal with them myself) but many can still eat Chobani’s b/c it is naturally lower in lactose than regular yogurt due to the straining it is made with, which removes more than 95% of the lactose.

Also, they point out that the probiotic cultures they add help to break down lactose so that it’s more easily digested.

So, overall I would recommend Chobani if you are looking for a great Greek Yogurt. If you are local I have seen it in Safeway.

**Now, lets add some fun to this and turn this into a giveaway** All you have to do to enter is like my FB page (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Designed-To-Be-Fit-Personal-Training-Studio/161279450561846 ) and Chobani’s FB page ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/Chobani) page and leave me a comment here on my blog or on my DTBF FB wall telling me you did and tell me which flavor you are most excited to try…check them all out here: http://www.chobani.com/products/c/nonfat/ and you will go into a drawing and one lucky winner will be chosen to receive a 12 cup sample case. I will be doing the drawing Tuesday afternoon. Good luck!!  You will get an extra entry for sharing this blog post on your FB wall...don't forget to tell me you did.

Congratulations to.....Kara Boyd!!  You have been chosen as the lucky winner of a new pair of Superfeet from Sole Obsession in Lynden!  I hope you enjoy them. I will be in touch with you soon :)
Everyone else stay tuned for another giveaway notice on Friday.

It is time for another awesome giveaway!  I met up with Kelly Ellis from Sole Obsession Footwear today and I am excited to be teaming up with them to announce that they are offering a pair of Superfeet to one of my lucky readers.  If you have never tried Superfeet before you are missing out.  I love these things.  Superfeet Insoles offer a variety of great insoles in different shapes and sizes to fit your feet just right.  Who couldn't use a little extra support for their feet!  I own a couple pairs and I know you will love them too.

Want to enter?  Just follow these steps:
1) Like my FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Designed-To-Be-Fit-Personal-Training-Studio/161279450561846
2) Like Sole Obsessions FB page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/soleobsessionfootwear
3) leave me a comment here or on my FB page saying you did the above AND telling me what activity you are looking forward to using your Super Feet for

*EARN ONE EXTRA ENTRY FOR EACH OF THESE STEPS THAT YOU FOLLOW*:
1) Follow by blog and post a comment that you did
2) Follow Sole Obsessions blog and leave me a comment telling me you did:  http://soleobsessionfootwear.blogspot.com/
3) Share this giveaway on FB with your friends

Good luck everyone!  I will be doing the drawing on Wednesday Feb 22nd around 4pm

Also, please note that throughout February, Sole Obsession Footwear will be holding their Annual Shoe Drive for Haiti.  Bring in your gently used or new shoes to Haiti and bless someone in need.  Maybe the winner of this giveaway especially could bless someone by finding a pair to bring in.

How many of you have heard of a vision board before?  A vision board is something that helps you concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal such as working out, losing weight and getting healthier. 
We are all busy people, it is easy to get distracted from our goals or ignore them but if you create a very visible board with pictures and big motivational phrases on it  it can help keep your attention on your intentions.
You can do this by cutting out pictures in magazines of people running or lifting weights or a picture of  someone that inspires you to work harder.  You can print out phrases from the computer such as "you miss 100% of the shots you do not take" by Wayne Gretzky or "It's never too late to become what you might have been" by George Elliot.   Or even just writing out in big fancy letters the word "FOCUS" or something that will help you stay on track.  Get creative, pick things that will motivate you.  Glue everything on a board, put it somewhere you will see it a lot and this is another step that will put you in line towards reaching your goals.
Have fun with it and good luck!!

Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway.  A big congrat's to COREY KING :)  I am a tad jealous girl.  Hope you like it.  I will be in touch about how to redeem it.  Everyone else stay tuned for more giveaways coming your way!

I am super excited to be able to announce that I have a very fun giveaway to offer to a lucky reader.  I ran across the website http://www.inspiredendurance.com/ and fell in love with their inspiring jewelry and I connected with the company and Lori is generous enough to offer this awesome necklace to one lucky reader

Isn't it great!  They have so many pieces of inspiring jewelry at Inspired Endurance Jewelry, check out all their pieces at: http://www.inspiredendurance.com/  and if you don't win this drawing you may just want to purchase one anyway. 
So what do you have to do to be entered:
#1) Like Designed To Be Fit on FB (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Designed-To-Be-Fit-Personal-Training-Studio/161279450561846)
#2) Like Inspired Endurance on FB (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Inspired-Endurance-Jewelry-for-the-Endurance-Athlete/35513397439)
#3) Follow my blog
#4) Leave me a comment telling me you did all of the above as well as answer this question for me:  what is your favorite healthy snack?

This giveaway is valued at $50!  What a great reward for yourself or a great gift for a loved one.

I will do the random drawing on Tuesday afternoon.

Want an extra entry?  Simple - share this post on FB and let me know that you did.

Looking forward to announcing the winner on Tuesday.  Best of luck everyone.  Would you all be mad if I entered myself....hehe kidding :)

Stay tuned for some more fun changes to my blog!

It is so true that you cannot out train a bad diet!   You can work your ass off and then you can ruin it in an instant in the kitchen if you grab nothing but junk.  This is not saying you have to be perfect all the time, you can let yourself have a treat once in awhile but do not let unwise decisions sabotage your road to a better body.  I am far from perfect.  Sugar is my weakness, darn that stuff!  So wish it was healthy and I could sail off with it to a dessert island and just eat it all day long in all its wonderful forms....ok, focus Amy focus.  I do my best to limit and avoid the sweet goodness but I definitely have room for improvement too!
What healthy snacks are some of your fav's?  I am always looking for healthy meal and snack ideas for myself and my family and to pass on to my clients.
Some of my go to easy snacks are:
- Apple with all natural PB on it - yummers....doesn't PB make everything better :)
- Right now I am loving roasted cauliflower with pepper, sea salt and garlic powder (thanks to Christina, from http://www.theathletarian.com/)
- love pumpkin pancakes with honey and/or apples on top
- celery with PB - there is that PB again
- plain almonds are a good quick go to
Ok, I am making myself hungry :)
Eat clean, work hard, stay dedicated.