SALATA 50.00 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!!!!!

GIVEAWAY TIIIIME! with the long, sugary, indulgent, holiday road ahead of us this gift card will be your saving grace!  november and december are typically the months where we tend to eat really heavy meals.  halloween actually gets that snowball rolling and it just keeps on growing...if you let it!  thankfully, Salata is filled with healthy options to help keep you on track with your nutrition throughout the holiday season.  if you're looking for a healthy, super quick lunch break or dinner option, you are in luck and in the right place.

 i would love to gift one of my supporters with a 50.00 gift card!!! so that's just what i'm gonna do!  i'm hosting this giveaway via here and Instagram, so you can enter via both places by answering this question:

Q: how do you plan to stay on track with your nutrition during the holidays?! 

BROWNIE POINTS: if you tag two friends on Instagram, that will double your chances of winning, FYI!

we had dinner at Salata tonight and it was incredibly delicious, filling, and healthy, as always.

i got 5 zillion fresh toppings along with the seafood mix (salmon, crab, shrimp) for my protein. clearly Dego was gunning for that multi-grain roll!

 i also got some chipotle ranch & fat-free mango dressing on the side.

there are SO many toppings to choose from (i know!), but below are some lighter lunch and dinner combos you could stick to during the holiday season. see, i got chu.

Antioxidant Rich:

Spinach, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Pumpkin Seeds, Red Beans, Carrots, Cucumber,  Cabbage, Salmon.  Dressing: Fresh Herb Vinaigrette.

Post-Workout Fuel:

Salata Mix, Carrots, Pineapple, Red Onion, Dried Cranberries, Almonds, Grilled Chicken.  Dressing: Honey Mustard

Salads Men Love:

Romain, Red Onion, Bell Pepper, Corn, Black Beans, Cheddar Cheese, Avocado, Bacon, Cilantro, Spicy Chipotle Chicken.  Dressing: Chipotle Ranch

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next thing on my agenda, the 5/10k TURKEY TROT is upon us!! i've been doing this race for like the last 5 years and i'm gonna keep the tradition going! join me if you're local or have a great run in your own city if you're participating!  i just registered and the price goes UP on November 21st, fit friends.  i'll see you out there that morning to make room in our tummies for Thanksgiving goodies!!!!

now, who wants this gift card!? a random winner will be selected on the morning of 11/23! good luck, fit friends and thank you in advance for entering :)

products that change the game

goooood morning!

i'm feeling pretty darn good today- had an energizing, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast:

 i can eat peanut butter by the spoon and jar-full. sucks that it's almost 100 cals per tablespoon and 8 grams of fat (2 saturated) though.  i've tried adding it to my oats before, but 1 tbsp doesn't provide a strong enough pb flavor, and anything over 2 makes the nutritional stats of my oatmeal skyrocket. you can't just get all willy nilly with your pb serving sizes- it adds up so fast.  even nutella- it's DELICIOUS (although way too high in sugar) but i honestly can't stay under the recommended serving size sometimes.  let's be real.  which brings me to a product that has very well changed my LIFE, overnight. thanks, Alli!!!

 PB2.  i can't tell you how many times i walked past this stuff in the store thinking 'uh, i bet that fake, powder pb crap tastes horrid.' well my friends, let's just say i was in my kitchen toasting bread at 11pm just so i could slather this stuff on there.  it comes in two flavors- original peanut butter and chocolate.  it's in powder form, so there's a little mixing required. no big deal.

2 tbsps of PB2 +

 1 tbsp of water and..

 BAM.  sweet, creamy, peanuty, chocolaty, the real deal.  i was immediately reminded of a pb smoothie my college roomy introduced me to @ Jamba Juice- Peanut Butter Moo'd.  i went to their site to check the nutritional stats on that thing and i was completely blown away.  it's a DIET DISASTER.  for the original size, it's 770 cals, 20 grams of fat, and 126 carbs.  however, can you believe we both used to get the Power size (one level above that)?! and NO we didn't buy one and share either. my goodness- i don't event want to know what those stats look like.  ironically, the power size isn't even available anymore- maybe JJ saw just how ridiculous a 1000 calorie smoothie is. *shrugs*. man, we must've had crazy high metabolism back then. nevertheless, peanut butter everything (cookies, smoothies, etc,) seem to always be calorie/fat loaded...but now, just LOOK at these stats:

2 TBSPS	PB2	Peanut Butter	Nutella
Cals	45	200	200
Fat	1g	16g	11g
Sat. fat	0g	3g	3.5g
Carbs	6g	6g	22g
Sodium	70mg	110mg	15mg
Protein	4g	8g	3g
Fiber	1g	3g	1g
Sugars	3g	3g	21g

all natural.  i can recognize and pronounce every single ingredient.

*faints*

i'm ok. next up, green tea. i am SO on the green tea kick.  i was going hard with coffee before i got preggo.  my OB told me to cool it, so my 'addiction' eventually wore off after going so long without it.   besides, i was only adding coffee to my cream and sugar- it has to be super sweet.  sure i used low cal sweetners like torani's sugar-free vanilla syrup (great stuff) but ultimately, coffee does nothing for me but stain my teeth.  i occasionally have a treat from starbucks- a tall skinny vanilla latte when it's cold out, and any of the light frappucino drinks in the summer.  but now, green tea is def my daily drink of choice these days.  i tried a different brand at WF- the 'with white tea for a smoother taste' sold me because green tea can leave quite a bitter aftertaste.

why you should drink green tea every day too:

• aides in burning fat!!!! EGCG speeds up the rate at which fat is burned in your body which produces a faster metabolism.  music to my ears.
• calorie free. long as you stick with those zero calorie sweeteners:)
• provides stable energy. no spiking of your insulin levels which means no crashing and/or burning.  also wards off fatigue, irritability, and fatty food cravings. helps keep your appetite in check!
• aides in lowering the risk of several types of cancers, including heart attack, and stroke.
• antioxidant loaded = cell regeneration = 200 times more powerful than vitamin E when it comes to destroying those skin damaging, wrinkle causing free radicals.
• the tannins in green tea help with digestion after a meal.  however they also give it that bitter aftertaste.  that's nothing a little squeeze of lemon or lime can't fix though!

*just a tip:  green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, but consider switching to decaf if drinking before bed so you can get to sleep.  for real. staring at Sonny getting some good sleep gets old real fast.

le