Just one more post about these bottles...

Okay I know you might think I’m obsessed with the new NaturaStride thinkSport bottles. You’re right – I totally am. Allow me a moment to further illustrate why:

First, they’re surprisingly larger than they appear online – 25oz packs plenty of water for an intense workout, an afternoon on the beach, a long walk with the dog, etc.

And this is my favorite part. thinkSport was brilliant enough to include this removable mesh filter which keeps ice from blocking the drinking spout. This is also useful if you’re using it to filter tea while on the go. I, personally, am a fan because I often pop a few lemon slices into my water and no longer have to worry about choking on the unexpected lemon seed.

 Ahhhh…  This is the most refreshing water I’ve ever tasted!

Get your NaturaStride thinkSport bottle here!

Okay we can move on now. Hey! It’s Friday! We did it again. This weekend is gonna be great. It’s Joe’s birthday weekend, and we have a bunch of fun dinners & nights out planned with some of our favorite friends.

I kick-started the weekend this morning with yet another treadmill workout. After last week’s horrible workout, I was determined to actually feel good this week.

Woke up early, and decided to fuel up a bit with ½ deli thin with natural PB and cherry jam.

Manny: “Mom – sure you don’t wanna stay and cuddle on the couch?”

(He’s not the most motivating of dogs.)

I ended up doing 5 ½ on the treadmill with some “rolling hills” at 7:30 pace, and walked an additional mile at the end. Felt okay. I think it’s safe to say treadmill workouts generally are not awesome. I’m planning on getting in a nice easy long run tomorrow OUTDOORS to hopefully kick this running funk. Ooh you know what else will help to get me out of the funk? When these bad boys arrive at my front door today:

Puma Faas 300

New minimalist running shoes for my recovery days from the NB minimus. Stay tuned for review.

So, for Joe’s birthday, he asked me to make him peanut butter cookies! Cute. Of course, I obliged, because we all know that licking (vegan) cookie batter off the spoon doesn’t “count” as calories. Yes?

I adapted this recipe from (never home)maker – lots of delish, healthy, and vegan recipes here that I’ve been meaning to try. This one looked particularly yummy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Coconut Oil (I didn’t have coconut oil and neither did the market near my house. So I used olive oil and they came out fine)
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• ½ cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 ¼ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• ¼ cup Ground Flax
• ½ tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips (If you’re going for vegan, be sure to get vegan CC’s. I just used regular ol’ Nestle Milk Chocolate)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 315 degrees
• Slowly mix together the peanut butter, coconut oil (or olive oil), and brown sugar
• Slowly add the applesauce to the mixture, as well as the vanilla extract
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, salt, ground flax, baking soda, and baking powder
• Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir well
• Now add the chocolate chips! You’re gonna have to use your (clean) hands *just to be sure* the chips are evenly dispersed :) And then you can lick your fingers (Everyone wins!)

• Roll about 1” balls onto your parchment-lined baking sheets & slightly flatten with the back of a spoon
• Pop into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. (The original recipe called for 12-15 minutes. I kept them in for probably 18 minutes probably because I used olive oil instead of coconut oil which apparently has a higher tendency to burn. So just keep a good eye on ‘em).
• Allow to cool & enjoy!

These cookies are AWESOME. Joe is one lucky guy.

In our household – when we enjoy a cookie, all household members enjoy a cookie.

(Note: This recipe makes a TON of cookies. I like making smaller/bite-sized cookies, and it probably yielded 50. Next time I’ll probably halve the recipe.)

Anyways – what are you guys up to this weekend?? Big Plans? ...do you need a new water bottle?

:)

NaturaStride thinkSport Bottles!

Happy summer, guys! Got big plans? Beach? Biking/Swimming/Running? BBQ-ing? Margarita-ing? I’m planning on incorporating all that into my schedule over the next three months for sure.

To kick off the season, NaturaStride’s so excited about teaming up with thinkSport to finally provide NaturaStride reusable sports bottles. These will keep you hydrated, BPA-free, and looking pretty damn sharp all season.

 

A little about thinkSport and thinkBaby – these bottles are the brainchild of their founder, Kevin Brodwick, whom has a biotech background. thinkSport and thinkBaby set out to create products using safer materials for us and our children.  They recognized that bottles made with BPA (Bisphenol-A) are potentially harmful to our bodies – yes, these bodies we work and train day in and day out to keep healthy. BPA has been used to make plastics for decades and is commonly found in everyday products including baby and water bottles, epoxy resins within most food and beverage cans, aluminum bottles, PVC pipes, and so on. Studies have suggested that BPA can cause serious health effects, especially in babies and children, and those who have frequent intake of BPA. (Cancer? Type II Diabetes? Infertility? Hormone disruption? Yikes.) Canada and the European Union have already banned BPA in baby bottles. Typically, however, if your water bottle has recycle code 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 on it (in the middle of that triangle recycle symbol) it likely does not contain BPA. But, if you know you won’t take the time to check every single bottle, can, and plastic container you use everyday – best to play it safe and avoid when possible.

Fear not. Our friends at thinkBaby originally created these excellent BPA-free baby bottles...

And then, thinkSport set out to create sports bottles for us athletes. I immediately wanted to offer them for NaturaStride’s customers, too! thinkSport bottles are made with 18/8 medical grade stainless steel (bad-ass), are insulated to keep your beverage hot or cold, won’t “sweat”, and are dishwasher safe (just remove the cap & strap). Learn more about the potentially harmful effects of BPA here at thinkSport's website and here at Wikipedia.

I also must mention that not only will you be doing yourself a favor; you’ll be doing our planet a favor by reducing your water bottle consumption. Look, I’ll be the first to admit – before I got my hands on a thinkSport bottle, I purchased at least one plastic water bottle a day. At least. But I figured that as long as I was popping it into the recycle bin like a good little tree hugger – I was free and clear. Right? Wrong. Unfortunately, according to this article from msnbc,  the recycling system hasn’t been able to keep up with the ever increasing plastic water bottle consumption. Although improving, only about 31% of plastic water bottles are actually recycled, according to this article from the International Bottled Water Association. So, even though the system is trying to keep up with demand, I was horrified to learn that two out of three times, MY bottles that I tossed into the recycle bin weren’t actually being recycled! And, what happens to those non-recycled bottles, you ask? Welp, they just end up here:

Point taken? Good thing you have your friends here at NaturaStride to suggest one of these bad boys:

Get your NaturaStride thinkSport bottle here!

And learn more about thinkSport and thinkBaby products here!

Happy Summer!