Helpful Household Tools!

I am always looking for helpful household items to have around to make my life just a little bit easier. Here are a couple HOT finds:

Robo-Stir:

 One of the best ways to keep ourselves on track and guarantee that we will eat healthy for the week is by preparing our meals at home. But with our busy lives sometimes it is hard to find the time to cook during the week. So we find that the best practice is to prepare our meals for the wekk on the weekends. Many times that means more than one pot, burner or appliance is going at the same time. That's why we love the RoboStir.

The RoboStir is the newest way to make cooing quick and easy. It is the one tool tha let's you stir your food without actually having to "stir your food." Now while sauces, soups and gravy is cooking on the stove, let the Robo-Stir do the work so you can be doing something else. With the RoboStir it is like having your own personal sous-chef, right in your own kitchen! And it is simple to use. Just place the RoboStir in a pot or pan, turn it on and voila, no need to worry about continuosly stirring your food because it will be stirred automatically at just the right speed.  The RoboStir is battery operated and can withstand temperatures of up to 572 degrees Farenheit. It is also water resistant and specially designed to cover every area of your pot or pan. Isn't it time you made cooking in the kitchen easier?

Tarnish Tamer:

Silver! We love it but hate that it tarnishes. We clean it but the shine doesn't last. Polishing silver is a smelly and time consuming task. It's the last thing we want to do when we need to use our silver at a moments notice. Wouldn't it be great if we could save time cleaning our silver? Or  better yet not have to do it? Well, with the Tarnish Tamer your silver cleaning days are over. The Tarnish Tamer is a revoultionary new product on the market that uses a scientifically proven and patent pending formula to prevent tarnish build-up on a wide-range of silver and other metals - keeping silver presentable and ready to use when you need it.

The Tarnish Tamer product line includes Anti-Tarnish Strips, Anti-Tarnish Drawstring pouches, Anti-Tarnish Zippered Pouch and an Anti-Tarnish Six-Piece Place Setting Roll. The Tarnish Tamer does not coat your items with any chemicals. It absorbs and neutralizes tarnish-causing gases. The Tarnish Tamer is non-abrasive and safe for all metals and gemstones. It is also safe for you, your family, and the environment. It is non-toxic and specially formulated to be hypo-allergenic. And it is so easy to use. Simply place your clean silver item in with any of the Tarnish Tamer products. That’s all. Tarnish Tamer starts working immediately. Best of all, the Tarnish Tamer is designed to keep metals bright for up to 5 years. So the next time you are ready to throw that dinner party or don your precious silver jewelry, you can do so worry free.

We received samples of these products to review. We were in no other way compensated for our honest reviews. All thoughts and ideas expressed are oury own. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Two Belles Giveaway: Sun Protection Zone, Tropical Traditions, & Oregon Chai

Head on over to Two Belles Fitness to win some of our favorites!

Sun Protection Zone Booney Hat:
The Belles are always looking for ways to protect ourselves from the suns harmful UV rays. Well look no further- Sun Protection Zone offers a huge assortment of CUTE, stylish hats, jackets, and more! Sun Protection Zone has products for men, women, and children! Sun Protection Zone is one of the leading innovators in the delivery of total sun protection products. The company offers adult and children apparel with multiple lines of 100% UVA & UVB maximum protection apparel enabling active adults and children clothing choices for all of their outdoor activities.

I LOVE their hats- the Booney Hat is perfect for a day on the river or beach. SO cute, available in a variety of colors, lightweight, and of course the UV blocking qualities! And we also absolutely adore the Solar Wrapz Hats- perfect for all our outdoor workouts. Lightweight & super super cute! I love pulilng my pony-tail through the back of the wrap. I can't decide which print I like best: Pink Skull or Turquoise Daisy. In addition to their awesome sun protecting hats- we are in love with their Eco-Friendly Nano Bamboo Charcoal Anti-bacteria Permeability Wicking Technology outerwear and tops. PERFECT for all your outdoor runs, bootcamps, bike rides, hiking, or just a day of outdoor fun! The winner of this giveaway will get their very own Booney Hat!

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil for Hair Treatment:
So you all know how much the Belle's LOVE all things from Tropical Traditions- well their Virgin Coconut Hair Oil is NO exception. I am absolutely hooked on it- I first started using it when I straightened my hair, but now use it on my hair curly as well to control the frizz & flyaways. For curly hair- I just rub the oil between my palms and smooth into wet hair for ultimate NATURAL frizz control. Perfect for those humid summer days (or rainy/ wet winter days). For straightening my hair- I blow dry then rub into hair before flat ironing. Controls volume, and provides a sleek shine without being greasy and oily. I also put some in a spray bottle to spritz on for extra shine. The scent is also lovely- very light but not chemically like some of the other "oils" you buy at the drugstore. For already straight hair- just apply to damp or dry hair for a quick, easy and natural shine and for extra control!

Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft. We love using natural products on our hair and we give Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil 2 biceps up- oh and The price is an amazing value as well! The winner of this giveaway will win their very own jar of hair treatment.

Oregon Chai Slightly Sweet Original Concentrate:
The Belles are HUGE fans of Oregon Chai- whats not to love: it's a rich, creamy blend of black tea, honey, vanilla and spices. Its quite exotic tasting and Oregon Chai brings the exotic to your house with their line of Chai Teas. We love them all (Original, Green Tea, Slightly Sweet, and Sugar Free) but are featuring their Slightly Sweet version today because we feel its the perfect fit for our readers- not too sweet, but subtly delicious and lower in calories than their Original Chai.

Oregon Chai is essentially: an ancient Himalayan recipe meets traditional American palate. And voilà! Sweet, spiced, soothing Oregon Chai Tea Latte. Enjoy it hot or iced, morning or evening (also available in decaf!). I love mine iced in the morning-just add water or milk to my travel mug and out the door I go. Yum. Though I also love to enjoy a mug of hot Oregon Chai on a lazy weekend morning- just add water or milk (almond milk is a great addition) and pop in the microwave- quick, easy, and delicious.  I have also found that Oregon Chai concentrates are delicious in baked goods and adult beverages! How induldgent! Check out the Oregon Chai recipe selection here. The winner of this giveaway will take home their very own carton of Oregon Chai Slightly Sweet Original Concentrate.

Want to win the Belle's Favorites featured above? Enter on Two Belles Fitness.

I received a sample of this product to review. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I can not be held responsible for user errors in entering this contest, shipping errors, postage errors, damage in transit, or undelivered prizes.

Collage Video Giveaway: Mindy Mylrea's All Out Cardio Review & Giveaway

This giveaway is now over. Please enter my current giveaways here. 

This giveaway is sponsored from our all time FAVORITE online source for exercise videos and equipment: Collage Video! Find Collage Video on Facebook for chances to win their awesome sweepstakes, keep up with sales and promotions and to find out whats new!

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Up for giveaway today is Mindy Mylrea's All Out Cardio which is ON SALE on Collage Video right now for only $17.99! That's over 80 minutes of fun fun cardio for less than $20.00!

Review: All Out Cardio
Mindy Mylrea, 2010 ***** (5 of 5 stars)

This is a super diverse cardio workout that offers TONS of options: kickboxing, jump rope, intervals, med ball, and more. Mindy leads in a cute studio alone, or with her son in the interval segments. The dvds total running time is 83 minutes but is chaptered so well- allowing you to pick and choose your segments and includes TONS of premixes! You will need an optional rope-less jump rope (or regular rope) and a med ball for some of the segments.

Cardio Kick: (21 min) This is a basic kickboxing routine that does not contain any complex choreo and will get your heart rate up. It consists of 4 combos, which Mindy builds on to make little routines. Each combo is followed by a travelling pattern. Exercises include: punch & kick combos, V step, shuffle, jacks, speed bag, knee pulls, hi knee jog, double run, & moguls. Mindy really keeps you moving in this- no standing still & punching- your feet are always going!

Cardio Jump: (13 min) Mindy uses a rope-less jump rope (I used 1 # hand weights) for this section. Exercises include: hi jumps, lots of big arm movements, jacks, pendulum jumps, boxer shuffle, hops, hi knee jumps, heel digs, single leg hops, etc. Nonstop and heart pounding! Would probably be very good on the rebounder as well!

Cardio Strong: (16 min) This is a cardio plus very light "toning" (I used it for cardio) med ball section. SUPER fun- I love med ball work and this one was great. Exercises include: plyo lunges w/ figure 8's, grape vine- ham curls, step hop, jog- ball pass, ball through legs, knee up- ball pass under leg, cardio lunges, shuffle, flying jacks, etc. Fun but tough! I was sweating bullets w/ a 4 # ball.

Intervals: (24 min) There is an interval section coordinating to each of the sections above. They are short (8ish minutes), high energy, and each section contains six 30-60 second moves with an active 30 second break between. Exercises include: can can kick, fast feet, shuffle-180 jumps, burpees, flurry, hi knee run, pass ball under knee, Mt. climbers, skaters, moguls, ski runs, plyo lunges, heel jumps, flying heel clicks, etc.

There is also a 4 min cooldown/ stretch segment. I rate this a low to solid advanced workout- depending on which premix(es) you do. Mindy is a great lead- none of the exercises are complicated or overly choreographed but she does move fast so you do have to pay attention. High energy, pretty high impact, lots of unique stuff, and lots of fun! So many time & style options are included- this dvd has a place in everyones library! I received this dvd to review.

Want to try this video? Head on over to Collage Video & pick yourself up a copy. Want to win it? Enter here!

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to Collage Video and tell me which dvd (besides this one) that you want to try AND WHY along with your email address.

Optional Entries (after completing the mandatory entry above):

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• 1 Per Tweet: Tweet linking back to this giveaway & include @fitnessforus up to 3X daily 1 hour apart

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm on 8/12  and the winner will be selected using random.org random number generator and annouced on 8/14 . Contest open to EVERYONE! Good Luck!

I received a sample of this product to review. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I can not be held responsible for user errors in entering this contest, shipping errors, postage errors, damage in transit, or undelivered prizes.

PeakFit Challenge Review: Pure Strength 2 Review

Many Years Ago: A friend posted some OLD pics on FB the other day...lol...thats me in the gray shirt. Yep, I was a whole lotta' hot....

Today's Tip: Motivate Yourself to Workout Tip #1:

Channel that glorious post workout feeling. Whenever you feel the instinct to skip a sweat session, imagine how accomplished and energized you feel after just 30 minutes or an hour of exercise. Just get there already. Read more on Fitsugar.com


Today's Bargain: Be sure to enter the Win, Lose, or Blog giveaway to win Fake Bake sunless tanner!!!

Today's Review: PeakFit Challenge Pure Strength 2
Michelle Dozois, 2011 **** (4 of 5 stars)

This is a 52 minute strength workout- the lower body portion did get my heart rate up though. Michelle leads in a spacious white & wood room with a group of background exercisers. You will need your PeakFit band and dumbbells for this workout. Some exercise modifications are offered.


This workout is structured exactly the same as the 1st strength w/o in the set and  is a moderately heavy weight, moderately paced workout (similar to S90 in terms of poundage and pace IMO). The workout is broken up into 5 cycles. Each cycle focuses on one body area and finishes with a total body exercise. Each body area is hit 2ce. The cycles are: Back, Chest, Arms & Shoulders, and Legs.  You repeat the same exercises on the opposite side of the body in the 2nd round.


Exercises include: kneeling band pec fly, kneeling chest scoop, a unique runners arm move, band bent row, dead bug band pulldown, pulsing lunges w/ a glute raise, pushup variations, squat variations, squat & windmill, front & lateral raise, band curl, and a curtsy-set down & pick up weights. There is no core section but a few of the exercises do hit the core.

I rate this high intermediate- but easily adaptable by adjusting your poundage. This is a very solid workout that is chest & back heavy. The lower body section is short but you can easily heavy up and hit the lower body hard. The bi's, tri's, and shoulders werent worked as much IMO. Michelle is a great lead, good cuing, and the sequencing of this workout (as with all in this set) are superb.

Today's LOLz:

Asian Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe

Last Weekend: Did horrible with my eating last weekend- ugh. Havent weighed this week. Will wait till next week so I have some time to undo the damage LOL.

Recipes: Im hoping to have more recipes coming on the blog. I have been trying a lot of new recipes, especially for vegis since Ive been getting the Bountiful Baskets. Getting new vegis and lots of them is allowing me to experiment with new recipes. So when I come across a good one- I plan to post them here.

Today's Recipe: Asian Grilled Chicken Marinade 
From All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion or shallot
• 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

1. Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, green onion, sesame seeds, and pepper until the honey has dissolved.
2. I like to cut the chicken up and use it in stir fry's with lots of vegis over brown rice. YUM!

Today's Tip: Diet Food Mango

Mangoes are a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth and to help to ward off other cravings,” says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition for You. Mangoes are high in fiber, magnesium, antioxidants, and iron (making them a great snack for women who may have iron deficiency or anemia), says Batayneh. “And because mangoes aid in digestion, you want to focus on eating the fruit versus just drinking the juice. Read more on Self. 

Today's LOLz: 

PeakFit Challenge Review:Cardio Interval Burn Review

Retro Cupcakes: Made these cupcakes for a dinner party with friends. The cupcakes & buttercream were both vanilla chai. I just made random decor that I liked and matching cupcake wrappers with my die cut.  ( Custom cakes by Lindsey Lu. Phoenix custom cakes. Specialty Cakes Phoenix. Arizona custom specialty cakes. Specialty cupcakes phoenix. Custom cupcakes  Phoenix wedding cakes. )

Today's Tip: Diet Food - Jicama

Also known as yam or yambean, this Mexican turnip is a great source of fiber, says Dr. Jaime Schehr, a registered dietitian in New York City. “This plant is great for weight loss due to its high fiber to sugar ratio (a whopping 32g of fiber per medium jimaca—that’s almost an entire day’s worth). They are also a good source of potassium, an essential mineral in maintaining water balance in our body.” Read more on Self. 

Weekend Tubing: We also went tubing again with friends and our poor relaxation station bit the dust- or water? It started to lose air and we had to get out early :( luckily we were near a port but unfortunately DH had to hitch a ride up to our car. Ugh- what was really lame about the whole thing was that last weekend - we went tubing, had 1 car up top and 1 at the bottom, everything all planned out. Except our friend forgot his key so we were locked out and DH had to hitch a ride LOL...two weekends in a row. We have come to the conclusion the river is not for us and we threw our damn luxury tube away. Along w/ the disposable camera we took a ton of pics with- grrrr. But we so love tubing- so we are in search of a new hobby....So heres the one pic we got of DH & friend with our phone.....

Today's Review: PeakFit Challenge Cardio Interval Burn
Michelle Dozois, 2011 ***** (5 of 5 stars)

This is a 65 minute mostly kickboxing cardio workout. Michelle leads in a spacious white/ hardwood room with a group of background exercisers. You wont need any equipment for this workout. Some modifications are shown.

The workout is structured that you start with a basecamp move, move into ascent and then climb and finish with almost 30 seconds of peak intensity. You perform five 10 minute intervals for two rounds each (a total of 10 peaks). The majority of the exercises are kickboxing inspired and Michelle does a great job of blending high and low impact into this heart pumping workout.

Exercises include: lots of good punch & kick combos (nothing complicated though), hi tuck jumps, triple run, shuffle, hitch kcks, torso twist, double step touch to floor touch, hi knee fence hoppers, skaters, jacks, scissors, bob & weave, bang the drum w/ a hop, hi knee run, sprints, and pendulum jacks.

I rate this a low advanced or very high intermediate cardio workout. The sequencing of the exercises building in intensity allows you to keep going for the duration in this workout. My heart rate stayed high the entire time but I didnt get what I would consider anaerobic at any point. A great challenging but do-able cardio workout. Not for beginners, thats for sure! Michelle does a fantastic job in this one- and all the exercises were easy to catch onto but not boring at all.

Today's LOLz:

GIVEAWAY: 10 Minute Solution: Best Belly Blasters

This giveaway is now over! Please enter my current giveaways here. 

Today's giveaway is courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment! The lucky winner of this FABULOUS giveaway will take home a copy of their very own 10 Minute Solution Best Belly Blasters! dvd featuring fitness icons: Jessica Smith, Amy Bento, Lara Hudson, Suzanne Bowen, & Jen Galardi. The dvd also includes a fantastic meal plan to really help you shed those pounds! The meal plan is straight forward and includes lots of healthy foods that are easy to find and easy to prepare!!

Review: 10 Minute Solution: Best Belly Blasters
Jessica Smith, Amy Bento, Lara Hudson, Suzanne Bowen, Jen Galardi, 2011 ***** (5 of 5 stars)


This dvd contains six 10 minute core sections from various previously released 10 Minute Solution dvds. Each section is different and all are great choices for this dvd. As with all 10 MS dvds, you can mix & match to create a custom workout or select one for those time crunched days. 


Pilates Perfect Abs (Blast Off Belly Fat, Suzanne Bowen): Suzanne starts with breathing exercises then onto the 100, single & double leg stretch, leg scissors, roll up, teaser, and supermans to hit the lower back. As the title suggests this is pilates core work. 


Six Pack Ab Attach (Ultimate Bootcamp, Jessica Smith): Starts with some standing ab work and then goes down to the floor for crawling planks, plank twists, plank to side planks, crunch variations, and sit up variations. My abs were fried by the end of this. Unique and fun and kept in the boocamp spirit.


Dancers Abs (Dance It Off & Tone it Up! Jennifer Galardi): This is a dance inspired core workout- all done standing. Jen provides plenty of movement to get the heart up a bit. Exercises include rib-cage isolations, hop rolls, hip sways, party arms, belly dance, etc. She combines the exercises into a fun little core dance routine.


Belly Fat Burner (5 Day Get Fit Mix, Amy Bento): Amy begins with some creative standing ab exercises with light weights, then on to the floor. Exercises include: weighted side drops, windmill dumbbell swing, V-sit leg pull, and several plank and crunch variations. This workout was fun and effective! 


Waist Slimmer (Rapid Results Pilates Lara Hudson): This pilates core work includes toe drops, 100 variations, "coordination", single leg teaser, can can, lying hip circles, oblique roll overs with side leg raises, and other pilates exercises.


Bikini Belly (Quick Tummy Toners, Jessica Smith): This is a fun fun core cardio workout. You perform a fun standing cardio routine that hits your core from every angle. You do a short routine and Jessica adds on as you go. You do exercises such as knee strikes, figure 8, bob and weave, side twists, ski jumps, etc. LOVE this segment!!!! A perfect add and a great multi-tasker (core & cardio). I received this dvd to review. 


Mandatory Entry: Visit  Check out their "Products List" and tell me which dvd you most want to try!

Optional Entries (Leave a comment below for each entry)

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• 1 Entry: Tweet this giveaway include a link & @fitnessforus up to 3X daily 1 hour apart

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm on 8/12/11 and the winner will be selected using random.org random number generator and annouced on 8/14/11. Contest open to US  & Canada! Good Luck!

I received a sample of this product to review. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I can not be held responsible for user errors in entering this contest, shipping errors, postage errors, damage in transit, or undelivered prizes.