paleo

Healthy Eating Made Easy with FITzee Foods + Discount

October 22, 2016 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

A couple weeks ago, I looked in the mirror and decided I really, truly needed to make a change. I’ve gained a significant amount of weight in the past few years, and not only does it look terrible, but I FEEL terrible. I’ll admit, this was largely in part to my poor nutrition choices. Luckily there’s FITzee Foods.

Disclosure: I received 14 meals from FITzee Foods in the hopes I would give an honest review on my blog. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own.

FITzee Foods is a company in San Diego, Calif. that offers fresh (never frozen) pre-packaged, pre-portioned meals. The food is made with all-natural ingredients, including 100% grass-fed beef, 100% free-range chicken, and nitrate + hormone free turkey. The meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks) come in little plastic containers that you put in the microwave when it’s time to eat. So simple!

What is a FITzee, you ask? As it states on their Facebook page,

“A FITzee is a busy professional, entrepreneur, mom, dad, athlete, weekend warrior, fitness enthusiast, and anyone else who seeks a nutritious, delicious, great-tasting alternative to the world of over-processed fast food. A FITzee believes that the path to living well is through eating foods that give you energy & taste great!”

Pictured: Red Chicken Enchiladas

The meals are seriously SO good. You can pick anything you want (and however many you want) if you order a la carte, or get a set amount if you order the meal plans or big boxes (but you still get to choose the meals). You also get to choose between small, medium, and large meals. I can’t eat a lot at once, so the small and medium were perfect for me. I ordered lunches and dinners since I always have a shake for breakfast.

The meals I tried are as follows:

Red Chicken Enchiladas
Paleo Carne Asada Bowl
Paleo BBQ Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Creamy Spinach
Paleo Spaghetti
Grilled Steak Quesadilla
Paleo Thai Coconut Curry Chicken
Paleo Chicken Cauli Rice

My favorite meals were the red chicken enchiladas and the grilled steak quesadilla (pictured below). They’re seriously AMAZING! And so filling. I liked the bbq pork, as well!

There are a lot of companies/services like FITzee Foods, so you’re probably wondering, what makes FITzee Foods stand out? One thing that’s great is that they ship anywhere in the US (and no subscription required!). I’ve tried a different service in this past, but if you don’t live near their retail store, you can’t get their meals. There’s nothing really like FITzee Foods in Las Vegas, so I’m really excited that I can place an order online and have the food shipped to me within a week! It comes in a cooler box, and everything was cold when it arrived. I also like that they have so many Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free options. I don’t follow the Paleo diet, but I try not to consume too much dairy, wheat, soy, refined sugar, and so on. It’s nice that it’s pretty simple to pick meals that align with what I like to eat (or not eat).

Side note: There are also a few retail locations in San Diego where you can pick up your meals!

Photo courtesy of FITzee Foods.

FITzee Foods is graciously offering a 15% discount for my readers! Visit www.fitzeefoods.com , use promo code lyndsinreallife15, and you’ll get 15% off now through Oct. 31st!

I’m really enjoying the convenience of FITzee Foods, and the fact that the meals are incredibly healthy! It’s helping me stay on track with my healthy, active lifestyle, and I am definitely a lifelong customer. Thank you FITzee Foods!

Follow FITzee Foods on Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube (+ their website).

Have you tried a service like FITzee Foods? If not, is it something you’d be interested in?
What types of foods would you like to see in a service like FITzee Foods?
Do you consider yourself a FITzee?

Thank you so much for reading! Subscribe below if you’d like to receive my new posts by email. 🙂

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Ambassador Nutrition Reviews

Get Your Nom On With AMRAP Nutrition Bars + A Giveaway

September 4, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 4 Comments

Disclosure: As part of my #sweatpink ambassadorship with Fit Approach, I was given the opportunity to try AMRAP Nutrition bars (plus give away one box) for free in exchange for an honest review on my blog. I did not receive any monetary compensation. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

When I heard that AMRAP Nutrition bars were Paleo, I was all in! I don’t necessarily consider myself Paleo, but I tend to follow it more than any other lifestyle. I had never heard of AMRAP before, but here’s a little bit about them (on their website):

“The AMRAP Team is no one to trifle with. Actually, they are more likely to invite you in their homes and cook you a Paleo meal than intimidate you. Everyone involved in this project brings several talents and skills from a wide array of backgrounds. The people that make your nutritional lives easier are just like you; athletes, parents, health-nuts, adventure addicts, and lovers of quality.”

There are three flavors:

Almond & Honey | Cashew & Vanilla | Fig & Cacao (photos courtesy of AMRAP)

I figured they were either going to be hit or miss. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about fig & cacao. But that’ll teach you to never judge a book by its cover, because let me tell you… THEY WERE DELICIOUSLY AMAZING!! I was really sad when they were all gone, and I seriously need to order myself some more. I’m a pretty picky eater, but these were hands-down some of the absolute best bars I’ve ever tried.

The best part?

There are few ingredients, and I can pronounce them all!! Here are the nutrition facts:

In Order: Almond & Honey | Cashew & Vanilla | Fig & Cacao

Ingredients:

Almond & Honey: Almonds, Honey, Unsweetened Coconut, Egg-White Protein, Sesame Seeds, Cinnamon, Sea Salt.
Cashew & Vanilla: Cashews, Honey, Cashew Butter, Unsweetened Coconut, Egg-White Protein, Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt.
Fig & Cacao: Dates, Egg-White Protein, Figs, Almond Butter, Almonds, Unsweetened Coconut, Cacao Nibs, Coconut Oil.

I truly don’t know if I could pick a favorite flavor. If I could only get one, I would probably get the almond & honey. But now as I’m saying that, I am thinking that I want cashew & vanilla. Plus, I need to have some kind of cacao in my house… the struggle is real!

But guess what? You have an opportunity to #RaiseTheBar because I am GIVING AWAY three boxes of AMRAP Nutrition bars!!! So you can try them all for yourself! Enter below through the Rafflecopter widget. Super simple! Three winners will be chosen at random. You will win a box of 8 bars (flavor of your choice)! The box will be sent directly from AMRAP Nutrition. You must live in the United States or Canada to be eligible to win. The giveaway will end Thursday, September 11th! Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you Fit Approach and AMRAP Nutrition for the opportunity to try and review AMRAP bars!

What kind of nutrition bars do you like?
Would you try AMRAP bars? What flavor would you like to try?

XO, Lyndsay

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Ambassador Nutrition

Who Wants To Go Sugar-Free With IDEAfit & Katie K Active, & Win Prizes For It?

May 31, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 4 Comments

In the month of June, I am hosting a FREE challenge with IDEA Health & Fitness Association, sponsored by Katie K Active! The challenge is called the Sugar Free Challenge, and it’s going to be awesome!

It’s super easy to enter. Create a free account on Challenge Loop, then join the challenge here! The challenge starts June 1st and ends June 30th.

Rules:

Make/create a sugar-free snack, meal, or drink, and post a picture and/or recipe on Challenge Loop and Twitter (Instagram optional)! If you don’t have Twitter, no problem!
You must post at least 8 times in the month of June to be eligible to win the prize (a $25 gift card to Katie K Active!)
Sugar-free for YOU can either be no artificial sugar, added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweetener, etc. OR no sugar at all. It’s up to you! (So fruit, honey, stevia are okay)

Prize:

One lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card to Katie K Active! #definebrave

I am incredibly excited to be hosting this fun challenge as an IDEA Inspired Blogger! I cannot wait to see all the amazing recipes you come up with!

Email me at lyndsay@thebalancedbrunette.com if you have any questions, or you can find me on Facebook! 🙂

xo, Lyndsay

Bipolar Disorder Fitness Nutrition Personal

After An Entire Year, My Mindset Is Finally In Alignment

May 28, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 40 Comments

I have so much excitement and happiness, I don’t even know where to begin! The past year has been wonderful, but very rough. I moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland in February 2013, and the life event threw me into the worst bipolar depression I have ever experienced. It hit me hard at the end of April/beginning of May 2013. I barely left my apartment for five months. I laid on our mattress.. in my living room.. on the floor.. in the AC.. with the blinds closed.. for FIVE MONTHS. I watched 14 seasons of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. That takes serious dedication (to my living room floor).

During this time, I didn’t care about my physical health. When my mental health is that messy, it’s hard for me to even shower (my boyfriend can vouch for this). As hard as it was to admit, I gained a lot of weight. I ate the worst possible foods, and my addiction to soda showed up again (I had given it up for good that past December).

Fast forward to today. I read somewhere that our mindset needs to be in alignment with our nutrition plan, or we won’t stick to it. Well, guess what? My mindset is finally in alignment with my goals! Oh my gosh, it feels SO good! I have had a serious sugar addiction that seemed almost impossible to get through. I’m currently detoxing and withdrawing from sugar, and these are the symptoms I am experiencing right now:

itchy ears (how weird, right?!)
itchy eyes
sinus congestion (immune system becomes suppressed)
severe migraine (withdrawal is no joke, I have no idea how I’m even looking at a computer screen lol)
hives

But it is worth it. Because these symptoms will eventually go away, and I am finally able to not have soda! I’m finally able to not have chocolate, or ice cream, or grains, or refined sugars/carbs. Yeah, it’s still challenging, but my mind is so clear on my goals that I am able to not have those things! I so badly want to be healthy. I want my digestive issues (candida, leaky gut, etc) to be better. I want to lose this weight (not necessarily to look better, but to feel better). I want to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) this year. I want to be able to somewhat control my moods and emotions.

I posted this status on Facebook yesterday:

“It’s an amazing thing, when you REALLY start to pay attention to how certain foods affect your body. Something that is healthy for one individual may not be as healthy for another individual. I always ate what I perceived to be “healthy” and never truly paid attention to how my body was affected by it. This is why one “diet” (diet meaning what you eat.. the actual meaning of the word) is not best for everyone. I follow mostly a paleo diet, however there are certain paleo-approved foods that I cannot have (and certain non-paleo foods I can have). Tailor your diet/nutrition to whatever fuels YOUR body best.”

Life is completely different when you learn to eat for your health, as opposed to weight loss. When you learn how to have a sustainable diet (again, diet meaning what we eat). I am even learning how to cook and enjoying it! I have never liked cooking haha.

cookbooks

I am loving my Practical Paleo and 21-Day Sugar Detox cookbooks from Balanced Bites! I used them to make dinner for my boyfriend yesterday (which he loved!). *Side note: the 21-Day Sugar Detox comes in two parts: the cookbook and the guide book.

I am learning to love my body and myself each and every day. People who say “I’ll be happy when I am this weight.. this size.. this wealthy..” and so on, those people will not find happiness. Not authentically, anyway. I used to be one of them. But we get to live in the moment, and love ourselves every single day, as we are.

Photo of me at a self-love yoga session with my friend & mentor Elyse

So my point of all this is that it feels so good to have my mindset on track after an entire year! I cannot stress enough how important it is to practice self-love and personal development (read books, go to therapy, join a support group, whatever it is for you), and also to really listen to your body. Pay attention to the foods that serve you and the foods that don’t. Eat for your health. Our bodies are so incredible, they fight so hard for us, don’t we want to fuel it properly?

xo, Lyndsay

How do you get your mindset in alignment with your goals?
Was it easy for you, or a struggle? Share below in the comments! 🙂

Holistic Living Nutrition Personal

GAPS Diet Update – Week 3

May 11, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 10 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I posted about my new nutrition plan and why I was doing it. As a recap, I am following a plan called the GAPS diet, which basically means my digestive system is not a happy camper. The past four months have been very stressful, which led to an excess of cortisol being released (stress hormone), sugar and refined carb cravings, poor nutrition, and then an overgrowth of candida.

(Image Source)

Candida is a fungus/yeast that we all have a little bit of in our digestive systems. However, if it grows out of control, you get pretty scary symptoms. Since starting to detox from things like sugar, soy, dairy, gluten (grains), and refined carbs, these are the symptoms I have experienced:

hives (daily)
migraines (6 days in a row)
fatigue, no matter how healthy I eat
difficulty sleeping
abdominal/digestive pain/bloating
irritability, mood swings, depression
muscle pain, especially in my legs
weight gain
acne (I haven’t had acne in YEARS!!!!)
intense sugar and refined carb cravings

I could go on and on, but those are the ones that really stood out to me. It has been a rough 3 weeks! But I feel like I am finally getting over the hump of the worst part. I started a 21 day cleanse (through Herbalife), I’m taking a supplement called FloraFiber daily (probiotics), and I just ordered goldenseal root (to push the candida out) and another probiotic. I already feel so much better!! I definitely have a ways to go with getting healthy again, but I can already feel a difference, and it is soo comforting!

(Image Source)

Sugar addiction and sugar detoxing are no joke. I was blaming myself for having a hard time cutting it out completely, but I was reassured that it really is my body that craves the sugar! It’s so similar to a drug addiction, it’s crazy. Did you know sugar is 8 times more addicting than cocaine? There was a study done on rats, and the rats chose the sugar over the cocaine every time.

Anyway, I feel like I’m rambling. I wanted to share a little bit of an update about this sugar detox since I know a few of you are following my updates (which I so so appreciate!!). If anything, I have totally learned how essential it is to truly take care of our bodies. Yes, I knew it was important before, but I feel like now, I have a deeper understanding of why we need to nourish our bodies with real food and get those toxins out through exercise. So many of us are living with poor gut health, and we don’t even realize it! I can’t stress enough how important it is to take care of our digestive system. 90% of our immune system is in our gut.

Healthy gut = happy life. 🙂

Ambassador Fitness Nutrition

I Am A #SweatPink Ambassador!

May 10, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 9 Comments

A few weeks ago, I was accepted as a brand new #sweatpink ambassador with Fit Approach! It has been an amazing few weeks already!

This is the Fit Approach mission (borrowed from the Fit Approach website):

We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick.

How awesome is that?! The mission is what attracted me to Fit Approach in the first place. Pink is my favorite color, so this was a no brainer! I am all about pink shoelaces. As a welcome, I was sent a #sweatpink tank and some pink shoelaces:

Everyone in the #sweatpink community is SO welcoming! I love the feeling of being a part of a community of like-minded people, and knowing that I can go to any of them even though I don’t physically know them! I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity. <3

If you’re interested in becoming a #sweatpink ambassador, apply here! 🙂

Check out Fit Approach on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Disclosure: I received 14 meals from FITzee Foods in the hopes I would give an honest review on my blog. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own.

Pictured: Red Chicken Enchiladas

Photo courtesy of FITzee Foods.

FITzee Foods is graciously offering a 15% discount for my readers! Visit www.fitzeefoods.com , use promo code lyndsinreallife15, and you’ll get 15% off now through Oct. 31st!

Have you tried a service like FITzee Foods? If not, is it something you’d be interested in?

What types of foods would you like to see in a service like FITzee Foods?

Do you consider yourself a FITzee?

Thank you so much for reading! Subscribe below if you’d like to receive my new posts by email. 🙂

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