Good Things Can Come From Boxes

Tonight had a few fun surprises all from boxes!

First. . . to get to the boxes, I had to do one of my favorite activities.  Run errands 🙂

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Who doesn’t love doctors offices. . .

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Yes — I DO need 16 3 inch floating candles. Don’t judge, I’m getting married.

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Spoiled furballs…

And it’s a good thing that I got all that done during lunch, because we had a fun, boxed evening at home 🙂

August got to play with her new scratch pad, from the first box

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Thanks Mom!

She goes crazy on these things

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August played while Zach and I cleaned the cupboards .  Guess what we found 🙂 A BOX cookie mix.

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Sometimes it’s just fine to use a box!

So of course, I baked 🙂

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Much to Zach’s chagrin I healthified even a box mix a bit by using applesauce instead of butter, and half the sugar and again applesauce versus butter in the icing.  Once he tried them, he didn’t complain 🙂

BOXED pumpkin iced cookies for all Zach and I

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Then. . . we got a BOX delivered!

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Wedding presents!

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How adorable is this throw pillow?

I guess good things do come from boxes 🙂

Even dinner, which was full of fun and fresh ingredients, partially came from a box!

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Salad with

  • farmer’s market carrots
  • garden tomatoes
  • farmer’s market greens
  • BBQ and mustard as dressing to go with the….
  • Veggie burgers! (Morning star veggie burger, from a box, am I stretching this now? haha)
  • and a side of garlic parmesan  toast.

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Yum!

Now it’s time to relax and enjoy family time.  And try to not eat all those boxed cookies. . .

Question of the night:  Do you ever bake from boxes?

Nature Box!

Zach and I find our “new favorite” wedding gift with each one we get, but we got one last weekend that is right up my alley.

My amazing maid of honor knows me well and got Zach and I a subscription to Nature box!

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Open Me! I’m full of healthy, nutritious and delicious snacks!

I was itching to get our first box ever since I got the email notifying me of my gift!

Just check out their website, there’s no way not to fall in love with the company and their mission.

Discover a Healthier You

NatureBox helps you eat healthier without needing to change your eating habits. We focus on snacks because that’s the easiest habit to change. Do you know that the average American eats almost 25% of their calories from snacking? In fact, snacking is the leading cause of childhood obesity. NatureBox helps you get more out of your day without wasting calories on the bad stuff.

Food You Can Trust

Every NatureBox item is carefully sourced and nutritionist approved. Everything inside your NatureBox will be guilt free so that you can feel great about what you’re eating. You can trust that our products will be made from the most wholesome ingredients and will be minimally processed, if at all.

Try Us Risk Free!

Each box costs just $19.95 and shipping is always free with NatureBox. You can pause or cancel anytime, and we’ll happily issue a refund if you’re not 100% satisfied.

Together, We Give

NatureBox works with WhyHunger to solve the problems of hunger and poverty, while working to make more nutritious food available to everyone. Aside from making donations to WhyHunger, we also donate our healthy snacks directly to WhyHunger partners, including community-based organizations, emergency food providers and summer meal programs for low-income children.

Naturebox also guarantees that all of their foods have:

  • No high fructose corn syrup
  • No partially hydrogenated oils
  • No trans fat
  • No artificial sweeteners
  • No artificial flavors
  • No artificial colors

My subscription was gifted to me, but Naturebox is something I would absolutely get for myself as well for 19.95 a box.

Our box came this Saturday and Zach and I couldn’t WAIT to dig in!

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The first item that grabbed my attention was the cherry ganache granola

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The cherries and whole pecans are my favorite part of this granola.  The bag only has 2 servings, and I’m BEYOND thankful for that because quite frankly there is no self control around this stuff.  It was the perfect snack for our hike with Gus!

The first item that drew Zach’s attention were the whole wheat blueberry figgy bars.

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These are basically healthy, REAL, delicious and WAY better versions of fig newtons.  This was Zach’s go-to snack post hike last weekend, and it hit the spot.  I tried one a little later myself, and was impressed with the dough and blueberry flavor!

My third treat was the lemon tea biscuits

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These are basically just little mini shortbread cookies with a hint of lemon to add some freshness.  There are about 12 in a serving, which is good because you’re going to eat AT LEAST that many!

The other three items in our box that we are excited to try are

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Perfect way to keep fruit in my snack drawer at work!

big island pineapple

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Saving these for our hike next weekend!

garden tomato almonds

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Perfect Salad Topper!

country ranch sunflower kernels

(all pictures and links are directly from their website)

We are just as excited for these snacks as we were the first, but are trying to practice control!  Otherwise, all these delicious snacks would be done and gone already!

Side note:  they even have a blog! http://blog.naturebox.com/ <– check them out!

Honest Review

Zach and I have done boxes similar to this in the past, primarily with fresh local produce and loved it.

Naturebox is different as they are sending pre-packaged “snack food” in a healthy, nutritious manner. But, they seem to have many of the same values/ideals of the boxes we use in the past.

What excited me most about Naturebox is that they are providing us with healthy snacks that seem indulgent, but are made with whole, natural and nutritious REAL ingredients.  These are snack foods that you are going to love and that your body will love!

You know me, life is all about balance.  A big part of satisfying my body’s cravings are giving it WHOLE REAL foods.  And let me tell you, there is nothing artificial about what you’re getting with Naturebox.

I love it — I am excited to finish our snacks from this box and am really looking forward to the next 6 months of boxes I have coming 🙂

Disclaimer:  I was in no way compensated for this post. Naturebox was given to me as a gift and this review is completely my opinion and experience with the product.

Noosa!

18 days . . . AHH!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday 🙂

I’m in a great mood this morning because I found a new flavor of my favorite yoghurt . . .

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If you guys like yogurt and haven’t heard of Noosa, please try and find it.

As a Colorado local now, I’m a bit partial to this stuff, but honestly this stuff is the best yogurt I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot).

Per their website:

You honestly can’t believe how beautiful it is in Noosa until you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Tucked away on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, this little shire is surrounded by sandy beaches, cool fresh rivers, and lush rainforests. There’s even a national park, where you can go walkabout and spot sleepy koalas swaying in the gum trees above.

“Sounds positively lovely,” you might be thinking, “but what does any of it have to do with this delicious yoghurt I’m eating?”

Don’t get your knickers in a knot! We’re getting there.

You see, we don’t think it’s a coincidence that the recipe for our uniquely thick and velvety, deliciously tangy/sweet yoghurt was created in such a paradise.

Nor is it a coincidence that when our founders landed in the Colorado foothills and found a similar culture here—gorgeous natural scenery and locals who love to play in it—they felt instantly at home.

They also knew it would be a great place to make the best yoghurt in the world for their mates in the US of A, which is how Noosa got its start here, and why you’re enjoying it now.

Cheers!

I’ve tried many of the other flavors, and am very excited about the peach!  Now go find yourself some 🙂 Trust me you won’t regret it

Workout 

I really had to talk myself out of bed this morning . . . but after an indulgent meal and 2 glasses of wine last night, I shouldn’t have been too surprised about that.

Either way, after 20 minutes of some serious self chat, I put my big girl pants and hit the gym for my speed workout.  And now, I’m so glad I did 🙂

Today’s Workout: 45 minute speed work out 4.75 miles

  • 1-10 progressive run 6.0 – 6.9 increasing on the minute
  • 11-20 1 minute at 8.5-9.3 (progressive increase each minute) followed by 1 minute at  4.1 at 2% incline
  • 21-30 1 minute at 8.5-9.3 (progressive increase each minute) followed by 1 minute @ 6.1 
  • 30-40 6.0 – 6.3 progressive run increased every other minute
  • 40-4.5 3.7 @ 8% incline

It was a tough, sweaty work out that left me whipped but happy!

Challenge

Yesterday was day 6 of the challenge, which means today is the last day!  I’m really looking forward to doing a recap and review of this past week because it’s been eye opening!  Yesterday I completed:

  • 150 second plant + 10 hip hips
  • 50 calf raises (2 sets of 25)
  • 32 push ups (real)
  • 50 reverse crunches
  • 50 squats

Not my best day — but work was busier than normal and I had date night…so that’s OK.  I still squeezed in some strength that otherwise would have been neglected!

Ok — time for work 🙂  I’ll be back this afternoon with a review of an exciting new product that Zach and I received as a wedding gift.  Here’s a hint

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