Healthy Happy and Free

I can be your hero baby. I can kiss away the pain. Too far? Can Quest live up to being a hero?? I've been a long time fan of Quest bars. I liked (and still do) the original style protein bars they made that are chewy and chunky and can be baked into cookies. They've definitely improved on having consistently good texture and chunkiness. The newer flavors are fantastic too! But they didn't stop there. Quest recently came out with a "Cereal Bar". This bar was a lighter bar with a crunchy cereal type texture. Many people really enjoyed these bars, myself included. At about 100 calories, these are a nice light snack that packs a pretty good protein punch. (Alliteration much?) THEN, Quest did it again. They came out with the Hero bars and they really hyped it up on social media. Could it live up to the hype? I, personally, really enjoy them! The interior of the bars is just like the cereal bars. It is layered with a caramel, or blueberry coating and then fina...

I finally went on a new hike! Rainbow Falls - 150 ft falls I really enjoy hiking but sometimes it's hard to find new places to hike within driving distance to my house. Last weekend, my mom and I took a little trip to Asheville, NC. We started our day with paddle boarding on the French Broad River which I highly recommend. The river was peaceful and it was so much fun! After paddle boarding, we decided to go for a hike! We quickly took to Google to find a relatively close hike. The tricky thing is, if you google hikes near Asheville, websites list hikes up to 100 miles away! Um, no thank you, Google. However, we found a hike about 50 minutes away which is doable! The hike was Rainbow Falls! I love a good waterfall hike. This actually had two sets of waterfalls! Rainbow Falls is the larger set of falls, about 1.5 miles from the parking area at Gorges State Park. The hike is mostly downhill and stays pretty close to the Horsepasture River. There are a lot of places you coul...

I absolutely love just taking off for a day trip! I often don't have the time or money to spend the night and make a whole vacation out of a trip but that doesn't mean I can't explore new places and travel often. I have the benefit of living in the Piedmont region of North Carolina so the coast is 3-4 hours away and mountains are 2-4 hours away so both options are feasible for day trips! I also enjoy visiting different urban cities! You'll find them to be full of culture, cuisine, entertainment and sometimes, history! So just how do I prepare for successful day trips? Well, my mom and I have it down to a science! Here are a few tips and tricks for your next day trip, whether it be spontaneous or more planned out: 1. Pick your location based off of weather and your main activity. This can be tricky because the weather can change on a whim but try to avoid massive disappointment if at all possible. Choosing based off of main activity is fairly obvious but if I w...

Will Run for Pizza and Donuts! The China Grove 5K is one of my favorite 5K races! It's in my town, just down the street! It has a fun post-race spread of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Pizza Hut pizza and fresh watermelon! The atmosphere is fun and family friendly! It's at 9pm at night which I think is pretty fun! Flat course! This means people come from far and wide to set PRs and it's very competitive! Photo by Aaron Cress - Facebook The China Grove 5K Main St. Challenge  This was my first race since my diagnosis of iron deficient anemic which had really affected my running - in fact, that's what prompted me to go to the doctor! My running got so bad that I couldn't even run half a mile at a ten-minute pace! I've now been taking prescription iron supplements for about two and a half months and have seen much improvement, however, I'm still not at my all time fastest, so I was very apprehensive about this race! Thankfully, my age group is ...

One week, Seven days, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, 604,800 seconds Without sugar. Wait, that's too easy. The internets tell me I must eliminate ALL sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, and yes, even stevia) to really change habits, curb cravings and discover how my body reacts. So I tried this once before but I crashed and burned! I made it one day and I felt miserable all day. What was wrong? Maybe I was just having a bad day anyway but I simply felt irritated all day and that was not fair to the people around me lol! So I quit. However, about a week or so later, a #healthspo account on Instagram did it and I regained my motivation and determination. This time, though, I had a new mindset! I focused on the fact that this was my personal choice. I am in control. I am choosing not to consume these things because I want to be kind to my body. I want to see if I will feel any different/better. I choose not to consume these things versus I can't, I'm not allowed, etc. This s...

Hey there! I've decided to share a few products, services, podcasts, etc. that I've been enjoying lately! First up is a practical one: Yes to Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes (can be found at Target) I don't know about you, but when I go to the gym (especially if I hit the StairMaster or bike!), I get SWEATY. I had bought some cheap facial cleansing wipes from the Dollar Tree but they just weren't cutting it. I felt like I might as well be using a dampened paper towel. I've also recently been breaking out in little bumps on my face so I decided to try something different. I haven't been using these long but they feel really good on my skin. They have cucumber, aloe vera, and other natural ingredients to cleanse and nourish your skin . I'm hoping the breakouts will stop! target.com Workout Apparel: Kitty Gains Who here is addicted to buying workout clothes? I'm guilty. I just recently got a Kitty Gains crop top to workout in. It says ...

Have the countless posts on social media of this healthy ice cream and that healthy ice cream left you scratching your head wondering which (if any of them) are worth the hefty price tag? Maybe with summer temperatures on the way, you want to know which frozen treat is best! I'm here to help! Here are some pros and cons of several "healthy" frozen dessert options! Enlightened Ice Cream is probably one of the more scarce options. Thankfully, a grocery store near me recently started stocking the pints! You can also order online at icecreamsource.com and submit product request forms to your local stores. I really like this brand - they have a lot of great flavor options and when they say they have swirls they're not kidding . I have been told that the company has made arrangements with retailers that if the product has been damaged (ever open up a half filled pint?), you can return it to the point of purchase!  Arctic Zero - ah, some love it, some love...