Life's A Bowl

WIAW: Van’s is Divine Giveaway

June 12, 2013 by Allison · 37 Comments

First, since I’m two days late, the winner of the Stubb’s Bar-B-Q giveaway is…

6-12 Stubb's Giveaway Winner

Wahooo! Molly please email me your mailing address at lifesabowlblog@gmail.com and I’ll forward it to Stubb’s.

The one thing that I need more of right now is time. More time laughing with Ryan. More time cuddling with Charlie. More time sharing memories with my momma. More time goofing off with friends. More time unwinding after work. More time zoning out in an intense workout.

Mornings have always been, and most likely always will be, my favorite time of the day. It’s eerily calm, quiet, and somewhat surreal. I typically take Charlie for a short walk around the neighborhood, watch the news, pack lunches for Ryan and myself, and enjoy a sweet breakfast. Mornings are when I have the most time.

Being completely honest, I’m feeling overwhelmed at the moment. We’re loving out new apartment but we still have boxes to unpack, things to organize, furniture to assemble, and an old kitchen table that needs to be replaced. Work is busy with deadlines that need to be met. And yesterday I received some health related news that I’m not ready to accept.

With all of that said, my posts the next couple of weeks are going to be sporadic – lately they’ve been sparse, but they’re gonna be even less frequent until things settle down. I need a break from something and sitting behind my computer is the one thing that I can currently afford to take a break from. I selfishly need more “me” time.

Sticking with Wednesday tradition, my recent eats. Yesterday I completely forgot to photograph my lunch since it was eaten while I worked at my desk and dinner was eaten in a ravenous state since I got home late. Sooo… Here’s a combo of some of my favorite recent eats!

Thanks Jenn for hosting another tasty link-up!

I feel like I’ve been living under a rock, my first time trying chopped dates – they’re nature’s candy

honeydew, turkey breakfast sausage links, & Van’s frozen waffles topped with Chobani + Earth Balance Crunchy Coconut Peanut Spread + Van’s Cinnamon Heaven Cereal + chopped dates

sweet strawberries

unpictured veggies & a mile high turkey sandwich with lettuce + tomato + dijon mustard

Van’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewy Snack Bar

an unpictured salad & [my first ever] spaghetti squash topped with a breaded chicken cutlet + Stubb’s BBQ sauce + cottage cheese

a couple of chunks of Theo dark chocolate

Guess what? I’ve got another tasty giveaway for y’all! I feel truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to try a handful of new products lately that I’ve really enjoyed. One of the many sweet perks of blogging = exchanging products for honest opinions. As someone who likes to eat and try new treats, I’m all for it! And so is my hungry husband who hardly ever says no to taste testing. There have been a few products that weren’t my cup of tea, so I haven’t mentioned them on LAB. I don’t think it’s fair to the company, to all y’all, or myself, to say things that I don’t support. Agreed?

I’ve always been a carb lover – I joke about it, but I seriously think that I could survive off of bread, fruit, and veggies… Carbs! Not that I ever hope that my eats ever become limited to only those, but if they do I’m not worried. So as you can imagine, when my doctor suggested a while back that I try a gluten free diet thinking that it could possibly help calm my digestive issues, I was bummed. No bread? What ze heck?

I tried a bunch of different gluten free products but I was less than impressed. A lot of them were full of sugar, lacked fiber or protein, tasted like cardboard, crumbled or cracked unless they were heated up, and many of the products were frozen. Not very appealing in my opinion.

Thankfully, after sticking to a gluten free diet for a few months and seeing no improvement, my doctor let me incorporate gluten back into my diet and I couldn’t have been happier. I swore that I’d never eat another gluten free product again. That is until the kind folks at Van’s offered to send me a few coupons to try their new gluten free line.

Screen shot 2013-06-12 at 6.54.51 PM

Some information about the products…

This summer, Van’s Natural Foods offers healthy new snacks with its all-natural, nutrition-packed whole grain snack bars and crackers. The portable treats – perfect for day camp backpacks, family road trip snacks, pool totes or beach bags – offer a delicious and nutritious way to snack that the whole family can enjoy. Bonus – they’re gluten-free!

Finding nutritious, better-for-you snacks like Van’s snack bars and crackers is more important than ever as we get more of our daily calories at snack time. In fact, according to a recent article by Stuart Cantor, Ph.D., in Food Processing magazine, they have become as nutritionally significant as regular meals.

Van’s Whole Grain Crackers (MSRP: $2.99): deliciously light and perfectly crispy. A fun addition to a school lunch or a party snack everyone can enjoy, they’re baked with nutrient-rich whole grains, including gluten free oats, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and amaranth. Available in three flavors – Multigrain, Lots of Everything! and Say Cheese! – these gluten free crackers are full of nutrition and flavor, with 16 grams of whole grains per serving – and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Screen shot 2013-06-12 at 6.53.08 PM

Van’s Whole Grain Snack Bars (MSRP: $4.49): in chewy, delicious Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Almond and Peanut Butter Chocolate, are perfect for breakfast on-the-run, snack-time or an anytime nutritious treat. Baked with real, all-natural ingredients and nutrient-rich whole grains, the bars have 8-10 grams of whole grains and 4 grams of fiber per serving – more than four times the fiber of other gluten free bars on the market today, according to our research.

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The verdict? They are AWESOME! We tried the Lots of Everything! Whole Grain Crackers and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Whole Grain Snack Bars and have been enjoying them daily in our lunches. The flavor of the crackers remind me of an everything bagel [one of my favorites] and the snack bars remind me of a super soft cookie [another one of my favorites]. We will definitely purchase these products again in the future… Even if they’re gluten free

Want to win 3 free coupons [valued at $12-14] and 3 $1 off coupons to get some tasty snacks for yourself? The giveaway is open until Sunday, June 16th at 11:59PM EST and I’ll announce the winner on Monday. Please note that this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.

There are 6 ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. You can enter once, twice, or all six times – the more entries, the better your chances…

Leave a comment answering: What’s your favorite gluten free product?
Tweet about this giveaway and tag @lifesabowl and @vansfoods
Follow Van’s on Twitter
Follow Life’s a Bowl on Twitter
Like Van’s on Facebook
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Disclaimer: I was provided free products from Van’s Natural Foods for the purpose of this review, however I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

— Allison

Box It Up

June 8, 2013 by Allison · 22 Comments

It’s here…

6-8 Moving Day

Yesterday I stayed home and went to the chiropractor [a topic worthy of it's own post], packed, and napped. When Ryan got home we stuffed my car full of miscellaneous items that didn’t make it into boxes and headed over to our new place.

While Ryan unloaded the car I scoped out the gym. It’s nothing grand but it’ll do… 4 treadmills, 3 ellipticals, 3 bikes, a spider web stretching thingamajig, weight machines, and a set of free weights.

By the time we got home at 9PM a frozen pizza eaten on paper plates, followed by a bowl of cereal was the perfect no fuss dinner. Protein, carbs, and fats – it’s all about balance y’all

The alarm went off bright and early this morning because we had a few more things to pack before the movers arrived. At 7:50AM Ryan’s phone rang and there was a big truck out in front of our building… Perfect, except our neighbors didn’t think so. Oh well, whatcha gonna do.

We showed them everything that needed to be moved and they said it would take only an hour or two. What these guys do on a daily basis is intense. They carry couches on their backs, lift furniture as if it was light as a feather, and hustle as if they were being chased by a fire. It’s really impressive.

It’s only 9AM and both our family room and kitchen are empty and they’re working on our bedroom. I’m actually not there but Ryan is keeping me updated. He sent me up to Starbucks to “get myself a coffee and him a breakfast sandwich,” aka to get me out of the apartment so I wouldn’t freak out if something went wrong. I married a smart man.

I feel guilty leaving Ryan this afternoon but I’m headed to Richmond to a bridal shower for my cousin. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and looked stunning so I can hardly imagine how beautiful she will be as a bride!

Tonight and tomorrow Ryan and I are planning to finish moving everything out of our old place and getting things situated in our new place. And perhaps we’ll share one of the bottles below, dine out at one of the many restaurants that are less than 50 feet from our front door, and see a movie.

I hope that y’all have a wonderful weekend and the weather is better wherever you are than it is here. It’s been raining since Thursday night and the forecast for this weekend doesn’t look any nicer.

P.S. Have you entered? Hurry, hurry, it ends tomorrow at 11:59PM EST and the winner will be announced on Monday!

Question: Have you ever moved? Does it make you anxious? Yup, it definitely does. I feel the need to get everything moved and in “it’s place” as soon as possible. But I’ve been very lucky to always have had help – my family, relatives, and Ryan.

Question: Share a joke We all could use a good laugh

— Allison

WIAW: Two Thumbs Up for Stubb’s BBQ Giveaway

June 6, 2013 by Allison · 58 Comments

Good morninggg, thank you all for the well wishes I actually typed and meant to publish this post yesterday but my foggy sick brain forgot the last step, to click the “Publish” button. Whoops. That said, I’ll save my ZOOMA Annapolis race recap for another day – my Tuesday eats and a giveaway is enough for one day.

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling better but this morning I’m feeling not so hot, er rather, I’m feeling really hot and think my fever is back. My doctor thinks that I caught a virus because of the sudden onset and my other symptoms – if I don’t feel better by Friday I’ll meet him for an exam and have my labs drawn. To the average person a virus is never fun, but because lupus suppresses my immune system, anything that I “catch” is exacerbated and hard to get over. Boo.

I’m going into work today though because my inbox is bursting at the megabyte and is starting to stress me out. Yesterday the highlight of my day was this…

Eeek, shield your eyes! Charlie is in ze buff!

It took a lot of bribing and coaxing to get him into the tub. He isn’t the biggest fan of water, so much so that whenever we pass by a lake on a walk, he sticks out his claws to grab the ground below him. He’s gotten better over time and nowadays he will walk out onto a dock but still refuses to go anywhere close to the edge.

Moving on… My Tuesday eats. One perk of being sick is having easy access to the kitchen. Eggs for lunch? Heck yes!

Thanks Jenn for hosting another tasty link-up!

frozen berries & a pancake pile [aka the pancakes didn't cooperate] topped with Kashi Go Lean + cottage cheese + crunchy PB + blueberry preserves

cottage cheese mixed with blueberry preserves & topped with Joe’s O’s

carrots + celery, apple slices, eggs stuffed with shredded light taco cheese + avocado + salsa, & a toasted TJs Berry Mango Bran Muffin

afternoon snack of an unpictured banana & popcorn

6-5 Park

Charlie & I were antsy from sitting inside all day so we went to the park with Ryan to watch him skate

Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q sauces, rubs, & marinades

The kind folks at Stubb’s contacted me, asking if I’d be interested in trying a few of their products. Since summer is quickly approaching and knowing that Ryan is a big fan of BBQ, I couldn’t say no. They sent me a couple of rubs, bottles of marinade [seen in the picture above] – I was psyched! Evidently I couldn’t wait because BBQ was what was for dinner.

Stubb’s is the industry leader among small batch sauces. Stubb’s products are all-natural, certified gluten-free, and contain no high fructose corn syrup, yet retain their deep-rooted, authentic Texas tastes and barbecue cook-off credibility. They offer a great way for people to add flavor and interest to sandwiches, burgers and grilled meats, fish and veggies, while avoiding the fat, calories or artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, or preservatives often found on the condiment aisle.

Like ants at a picnic, hidden dietary pitfalls are unwelcome – but all too common – guests at spring and summer cookouts. Condiments from mayo to soy sauce can be the biggest offenders, with artificial ingredients, fat, sodium, and gluten. Did you know? A new survey reported that 1/3 of Americans are eating gluten free diets. Woah!

Check out this link for information about common nutritional pitfalls found on the condiment aisle.

6-5 Dinner

chicken tenders with Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Spice Rub + Sweet Heat Bar-B-Q Sauce served with sweet potatoes & an unpictured salad

Sauces: The link-up includes Original Sweet Heat, Spicy, Hickory Bourbon, Smokey Mesquite, and Honey Pecan. At an average of 20 calories, 110 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon, and no high fructose corn syrup, Stubb’s is a healthier option with no sacrifice in taste.

Marinades: From light and tangy Chicken Marinade with brown sugar, onion, garlic, and citrus, to zesty Beef Marinade, made with soy, lime, ginger, and red pepper, Stubb’s marinades [also including Pork and Steakhouse marinades] add interest to everyday cooking and grilling. Stubb’s injectable marinades in Texas Butter or Chipotle Butter come with their own injector and help create moist, flavorful holiday turkey, summer briskets, weeknight beef and pork roasts, and more.

Rubs: Stubb’s savory spice blends in Bar-B-Q, Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Steak can be used to prep meats for the grill or used to boost flavor and add a kick to any dish.

The verdict: Two thumbs up!

Ryan and I thought the Bar-B-Q Spice Rub was full of flavor, spicy but not so overwhelming that we couldn’t taste anything. The Sweet Heat Bar-B-Q Sauce lived up to it’s name, it started out sweet due to the molasses and brown sugar, and packed a punch of heat from the chipotle peppers.

We cannot wait to host a BBQ with all of our friends at our new apartment and try all of the other sauces. Stubb’s is definitely a product line that I will purchase in the future.

6-5 Almond Butter

an almost empty almond butter jar stuffed with cereal + Silk Light Vanilla

Want to win 3 coupons so you can cook and grill with Stubb’s? The giveaway is open until Sunday, June 9th at 11:59PM EST and I’ll announce the winner on Monday. Please note that unfortunately this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.

There are 6 ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. You can enter once, twice, or all six times – the more entries, the better your chances…

Leave a comment answering: What’s your favorite thing to BBQ?
Tweet about this giveaway and tag @lifesabowl and @stubbsbbqsauce
Follow Stubb’s on Twitter
Follow Life’s a Bowl on Twitter
Like Stubb’s on Facebook
Like Life’s a Bowl on Facebook

Disclaimer: I was provided free products from Stubb’s Bar-B-Q for the purpose of this review, however I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

— Allison