News and New Things #3: Grain Free Edition

Find out new products and new things I’m trying and loving here at The Fit Cookie! Upcoming races, jicama “chips, bulletproof coffee, and more

Can you believe that April is almost over?! And it’s been a while since I have posted anything, yikes! It’s unreal how fast time flies by when you’re busy having fun. I have been training hard for my upcoming (and first!) sprint triathlon, which is only 1 week away!

I’m a bit nervous – I have been working on my cycling, running, and swimming, but I am slow and I will probably not place in this race. But right now, going for it is more important than winning!

Now on to my Fit Life: News and New Things around my house: I am officially a Cocogo ambassador! I have been doing reviews and helping to promote them since last year, but it’s now official. My favorite flavor is the Raspberry Passion Fruit.

You can also get 40% off the Cocogo.com shop with code FITBETTY40 🙂 I have some new coupon codes up on my Discounts page so don’t forget to check those out too!
I am also now an official Sverve + Parade contributor! Sverve is a network that connects bloggers and brands, and they have provided us with some great opportunities to work with Parade Magazine online! So far I have had 2 fitness posts published: Five Ways to Help Your Kids Love Fitness and Fat Loss 101: Strategies that Work

I’m going to IDEA BlogFest and World Fitness Convention in California in August! If you’re going, let me know so we can meet up! I am so excited to meet some great blogger friends and learn new things for my personal training and blogging. I can’t wait!

I have also had fun trying out the new Under Armour Marbella shades during my outdoor training since the weather has been great here!

The Marbella is new for 2014 and is specifically designed for women who love outdoor sports:

• Adjustable nose pad
• 3-point grip
• ArmourSight®
• ArmourFusion®

I was sent a pair of the women’s Marbella shades in the Shiny Black and Peapod Green, and I have been trying them out for the past 2 months and loving them! They are lightweight so they don’t feel heavy when I run and bike, and they are comfy and stylish.

I have been going {mostly} grain-free these days because my seasonal allergies have caused some flare-ups with my IBS. I attempted to cut back on coffee, but that hasn’t been successful for obvious reasons. This girl needs a caffeine boost!

That is kinda sad, but I still love the taste of coffee and treasure my occasional bulletproof coffees and lattes. Before going grain-free, I tried a couple protein and sports bars that I like that use brown rice protein powder in them, like the Hammer bar, the Bonk Breaker bar, and the Oskri protein bar.

And…lucky me! Larabar sent me some new Larabar Uber flavors to try out and share: Dark Chocolate Peanut and Dark Chocolate Turtle. They are so good!! I would take these over any candy bar (even Reeses) any day of the week, they are a fantastic sweet treat.

Speaking of grain free,  jicama makes nice grain-free “chips” for dipping in fresh pico

Sweet potato “rice” is now one of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes! It has more carbs for my training than cauliflower rice and it cooks quickly. I posted the recipe up on my Instagram page.

Got some little additions for my water – not too bad! No artificial sweeteners or colors, (just stevia). I think these could use some tartness to them – I like to add lime or lemon slices to my water for flavor, but these are a nice alternative to soda or soft drinks if you’re trying to cut back on those, or if you need a little help getting your water down.

I truly love learning and think it’s critical for personal trainers and group fitness instructors to stay educated! I got a new book for my fitness library to help me in designing sports specific training programs not only for clients but also for myself. This book is full of great stuff!! The NSCA always has top-notch info for trainers

Bulletproof coffee is so delicious, one of my favorite treats! As I said earlier, I have been trying to cut back on my coffee some since it seems to bother my IBS especially since my seasonal allergies have been kicking my butt lately…again. I posted the recipe for my bulletproof coffee here on my recipe blog. I even experimented with some bulletproof chai following the same recipe – not too bad! I still prefer coffee though 😉

 I received free Larabars and a free pair of UA Marbella sunglasses; all opinions are my own