There are some good Pre-Workouts left in the world!

** Disclaimer... I am NOT a six pack having, keto counting, bulky kinda girl, which is why this is perfect for me lol***

A few weeks ago I attended this great event put on by Cincy Chic, it was the Baseball and Baubles event, while there I won an awesome gift bag with a super cool shaker bottle and a few AdvoCare products I’d  never tried before. The product I was most interested in was the Spark energy pack!! Typically I don’t take anything before I work out and I’ll admit I pay for it, I mean for real it takes a good 15 minutes to get my head in the game lol. Also, in the past I’d taken a pre-workout supplement and it was TURRIBLE (in my Charles Barkley voice), not just taste but the way it affected my body. I seriously thought I was having a heart attack, I can honestly say I was scared! A few of the symptoms included severe dizziness, rapid heart rate, confusion, and crazy nauseous.

(Pre-workout, hair on fleek, still cute)

Spark was completely different! I purposely chose to take it on a day when I was tired as hell and didn’t feel like working out, basically I set my self for a potential work out fail! I poured the whole packed in a regular 16.9 FL oz. water bottle shook it and drank some prior to my workout, about 15 minutes ahead. First thing I noticed was it actually tasted good, I’m huge on “if it doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it!”

Southern Comfort Tea

                        

Yep... I said it. Yep... You heard right. I made a drink with 3 of my FAVE ingredients! Tea, melons, and alcohol --- I'm not the only one! There's nothing better than a cold, smooth, strong grown up drank on cool summer nights. It's super easy to make and can be made ahead so the flavors can meet, greet, and love each other.

Another good things about this drink is you can make it virgin for the kiddies!! Plus, I mean really, who doesn't like to use a melon baller? Yep a melon baller as in fancy pants tea party melon balling. 

I used honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon for my ice cubes! I balled out (you see that there...) all the melons and placed them in a freezer bag ahead of time! I also brewed about 4 cups of Apple Cinnamon Herbal Tea. I prefer Celestial Seasonings because it's a great overall tea brand that produces consistent cups each time. 

Fresh to Death - Why You Should Visit Your Farmers Market

Top 3 Reasons to Visit Your Farmers Market

Every city has a local farmers market, is most cases they offer the freshest fruits and veggies at the best prices. For years living in Cincy I never fully took advantage of our Findlay Market located downtown. I treated it as a tourist location that I had to plan my whole day around instead of seeing it for what it really was, the freshest grocery store the city has to offer!

1. SHOP LOCAL
I can't scream this loud enough!! It's so incredibly important to support your local small businesses, not just at the farmers market but clothing stores, food trucks, local services (dry cleaning, boutiques, etc). These people are our friends and family and help to invigorate our local communities one purchase at a time, as well as driving our economic freedom as small biz owners.

White Castle + Chicken and Waffles = Hol' up...Slider?

Yes... it's true y'all White Castle (what you crave) now offers a Belgium Waffle w/ Chicken Slider and den a breakfast slider and den a strawberry and cream dessert slider. I could only eat so many sliders in a row so I started off with the Chicken and Waffle.

Prior to ordering the Chick and Waff I wondered how big the slider would actually be? Should I go with 2 for $5 or just get one for $2.69, I went with one and also got a veggie slider, but that's a whole different post! Back to the Chick and Waff... let me start off by saying they were delicious!! Not at all what I expected, I thought it was going to be like those bland funny tasting waffles you get at continental breakfast.

Ray's All Purpose Smoky Spice Rub!

Ray’s All Purpose Smoke Rub

This rub goes perfect on just about anything! I typically use it on chicken or pork chops because they tend to dry out more when you bake them.

(Side Note: I don’t use oil or butter to keep my white meat juicy, I wrap it in 2 layers of aluminum foil. This way the meat cooks evenly and it creates it’s own steam and juices to keep it nice and moist! Best part is nearly all the fat renders down when you cook it this way instead of you eating it all greasy YUCK. Plus, I don’t have a gallbladder so I stay away from grease as much as possible!)