Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Fun

Lola has a "big girl bike" now and is already stead-fast on the helmet rule.

This week she wanted to get out for a ride and her helmet was in the house, so she grabbed mine, put it on and proceeded down the driveway...out onto the street, me chasing after her with camera in hand!





Much like her bike-loving Mommy, Lola always has a blast when out on two (plus two) wheels!!
Literal squeals of delight!




She loves to descend!(see that false negative-flat she is screaming down?)

I just love her expression!













Lola often pretends to have bike trouble while out riding too--this time, she discovered a FLAT!! OH NO


take THAT flat tire!

back in action!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Vega Performance Protein POWder

I am not a vegetarian
I am not a vegan
nor do I play one on TV

I am, however, an advocate of more veggies in our lives and I am currently trying to bring more nutrient dense, veggie based meals to my table. After watching Forks Over Knives, I ran out and grabbed The China Study (more on this in a later post).
I have always had a great amount of interest in the entire Vega line and this winter purchased the Vega One as a supplement to my diet, so when a tub of Vega Sport Performance Protein came along with the package from GNC, I was pretty excited to give it a try.


Yes! GNC carries Vega ~ Talk about a One Stop Protein Shop. 


I have tried hemp protein in the past and was not a big fan of the taste and texture. The Vega Sport Performance Protein is comprised of proteins from

  • yellow pea
  • SaviSeed (TM) sacha inchi
  • sprouted whole grain brown rice
  • hemp 
  • alfalfa
but what really impressed me about the Vega is what was NOT in it.

The ingredients list looks like this 

Vanilla:
Natural French vanilla flavor, stevia extract, sodium chloride


From the VegaSport.com website


PERFORMANCE PROTEIN

A complete multi-source, alkaline-forming, plant-based protein blend, featuring 5,500mg of BCAAs and 5,000mg of glutamine per serving, Vega Sport Performance Protein is formulated to:
  • Improve strength and exercise performance
  • Repair and build muscles
  • Reduce recovery time between training
The recent innovation to Vega Sport Performance Protein comes from the addition of SaviSeed (sacha inchi) protein, a rich, plant-based source of the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is a key component of serotonin production(1). Serotonin—the feel good hormone—helps with the mental aspect of recovery, so you’ll keep the drive alive and be motivated to train again. Take Vega Sport Performance Protein within 30 to 90 minutes of your workout or throughout the day to meet your individual protein needs to recharge and repair so you can do it all again, sooner.


 I was actually really, really impressed with this powder. It is, by far, one of the better tasting protein powders I have tried.

The texture was a bit different but it blended very well and there was no sticking to the side of the cup, no caking and no clumps.





I knew right away I had to honor this vegan protein powder with my very favorite berry!
BLUEBERRIES!!
These are Maine high bush blueberries I picked myself and froze.








My very favorite Blueberry Smoothie

A LOT of frozen blueberries 
the more you use, the more it is like ice cream
one scoop of Vega
8-10 oz of coconut milk
whiz away and that's it

BERRYTASTIC!! This has definitely become a breakfast ritual, I also add a half scoop of the Vega One to up the nutrition factor. 


The Good Stuff:

  • this is one tasty powder! 
  • blends easy
  • simple ingredients, clean stuff
  • low sugar, low fat and lots of protein





The Could-be-Better Stuff:

  • sodium content (520mg/serving) 
  • cost, this is rather expensive-just about $70 a tub-but with a GNC Gold Card you can save 20% so that bring the price down to about $55 which is closer to the prices of other quality protein powders



GNC sent me product for review purposes, all opinions are my own. 








Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Chicked!

Can't go wordless wednesday on this one
though, really
there are no words...

Tuesday I had a little ride with Dawn.



It was windy, it rained. There was some thunder so that means lightening as well.
But one thing we did not expect was this...




next to the beach
along the side of the road
trotting along
do chickens trot?
there were two 
but one high tailed it into the grass.

the other one?
yeah, he begged us for snacks.
I gave the poor little chicken what he asked for....

THE CHICKEN LOVES POWERBAR ENERGY BLASTS











That chicken just loved, loved, loved my Powerbar Energy Blasts (raspberry).

Tell me:
What is something odd/different/strange that you have encountered on a ride/run/outing lately??

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pony vs Pony, The Maine Event

I have been issued a throw-down challenge for the Rev3 HalfRev Maine race by fellow "pony", Scott.
(pony is the pet name that Coach Awesome has given to her athletes)

I am not one to ever back down from a challenge so having this little "event" within the race is just extra ammo for me to work even harder.
DO WORK

Here is his official announcement-


THE MAINE EVENT
JEN VS. SCOTT
Racing for glory, pride and baked goods
WHAT – Revolution 3 HalfRev
WHERE – Old Orchard Beach, Maine
When – August 26, 2012

JEN (MilesMusclesMommyhood)



Strengths:  Swim, Bike and Run

Weaknesses: Just too darn peppy. Can actually be a bit annoying.

Recent Athletic Highlights: 2012 Rev-3 Quassy HalfRev (6:05:45) 2011 Timberman half ironman (6:00:51)

Goals for Rev-3 Maine:  To PR the HalfRev Course and execute a flawless race.

What Coach Sonja Wieck has to say about Jen:  She is very talented, enthusiastic and will do anything I ask of her training wise with a smile on her face.  I wish I had a dozen athletes like her.

Why the Experts say to bet on Jen: It is quite obvious. Jen is a dedicated athlete with a PR at this distance of 6 hours. Scott's PR is dusk. Even with Jen giving Scott an hour handicap she should be able to take a nap on course and beat the guy with an hour to spare. The only way for Scott to win is for him to take the tires off of Jen's bike in transition and we wouldn't put that past him.






SCOTT (Train Fat Boy Train)



Strengths:  Pre-race Carbo loading

Weaknesses: Old, Fat, Slow


Recent Athletic Highlights: 1997 Second place in fried cheese curd eating contest – Marshfield Wisconsin.  1982 Sportsmanship Award Mt. Pleasant Youth Softball.

Goals for Rev- 3 Maine:  To eat/drink enough Gu – Gatorade – bananas on course to recoup my entry fee. Maybe pick up  a discarded water bottle or two that are better than the ones I currently have.
  
What Coach Sonja Wieck has to say about Scott:  He usually pays his coaching fee on time.

Why Scott's volleyball friends say to bet on Scott: He's like racing a girl isn't he??