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Posted on April 14, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

Stop Freaking Out About Sugar! 5 easy steps to read labels like a pro, drop fear and stay healthy.

Packaged Foods are bad for us and Sugar is evil… Right?

That’s the reaction I get from most people. They know that sugar is bad, but aren’t sure of what exactly should concern them and why.

Now, as a girl that likes to stay lean, strong and healthy.. I totally get watching sugar intake. I read labels wherever I go and put a lot of products back on the shelf.

But we busy people, gotta keep it real! Sugar is in everything.

We gotta stop freaking out when we see more than 4 grams of sugar on our favorite Kombucha

That just makes us feel like there’s no good choices in our daily life. Soo wrong!  There’s tons of good choices, we’re just missing them because we’re staring at those sugar grams.

Plus deprivation will always wreck you.  If you run from that sugar all day, you’re just gonna end up face first in a bowl of ice cream or giving yourself a mental lashing for that chocolate you snuck last night. I know I’ve been there 🙂

 

Here’s how to stop freaking out about sugar WHILE keeping lean, strong and healthy!

Yeah, we want to eat more foods that don’t have labels… but let’s face it busy days call for foods we can grab and go with and these are often packaged options.

Even the most healthy packaged options have sugar in them. Let’s look at bars and smoothies.
I’m guessing you often buy protein shakes and nutrition bars.

I’ll walk you through my two top picks, what to look for and why

My favorite bar option is Perfect Bar.

(I love the almond coconut one)
Gluten Free, Non GMO, Soy Free and jam packed with superfoods including alfalfa, celery, kelp, spinach, flax, organic pumpkin seed oil, egg &rice protein.

Outstanding! Right? Now let’s take a look at the label.

If you can’t read it below-  CLICK HERE FOR PERFECT BAR NUTRITION INFO

 

 

It’s got 20g of sugar. I’ve had many clients see this and put it back on the shelf.

Noooo!   The fear of sugar just made them opt out of a great choice.
I’ll break down exactly how to fix this.

 

First, let’s look at mēle my favorite on the go smoothie.

 

I love mēle Specifically the supergreen shake.

Like Perfect Bar, this company found a great way to get high quality veg, protein and healthy fats in the hands of busy folk trying to eat healthy.

Ingredients:

grass-fed whey protein isolate, pineapple, mango, coconut milk, almond, organic carrot, organic flaxseed, organic wheatgrass, organic barley grass and less than 1% of each of the following: xanthan gum, maltodextrin (from corn), sunflower lecithin (carrier), sodium caseinate (casein).  allergen info: contains milk, peanuts and almonds. processed in a facility that handles wheat and soy

 

Did you see those fantastic ingredients? Ya got clean, lean proteins, healthy fats, high nutrient veg and fruit.

Now let’s check out that nutrition fact label.

There’s 18g of sugar in One serving.

Does that freak you out?  It should NOT

But, I know it’s turned many away

Again, I say “Noooo! “

This is a great choice.

So, how the heck do stop fearing sugar and
stay lean and healthy?

 

Good freakin’ question!

Here’s 5 Steps to Quickly & Easily Make the Best Choice

One that fills you up, keeps you lean, boosts your energy and makes you look gorgeous!

CLICK HERE to get this super awesome PDF Cheat Sheet 

 

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Tagged: mele, meleshake, Perfect Bar, sugar

Posted on April 12, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

Wheyt a minute! How to know you’re picking the BEST protein

If you’re like me, you’re used to saying no cow dairy.

For me, I must because my body hates dairy. It basically does everything it can to kick it out in a violent manner.

Now, many are in this lactose intolerant boat as well. But many people are cutting out cow dairy so they can lean out and stay healthy.Now, cow dairy isn’t evil, it’s just that there’s this pesky protein in cow dairy that slows us down and bloats us out. That’s the casein.

What’s important to know is that there’s another protein in milk that can be great for us. I say “can be” because benefits hinge on the quality and type.

Don’t worry, I’ll break it down for you, without boring science or annoying opinions 🙂

 

Why ONLY one kind of whey is the best for you

 

So for years I avoided whey (Whey is the other protein found in cow’s milk). This may not be a big deal, but you know what…

For active people who wanna get stronger and leaner, cutting out whey is a nuisance!

  • First, it’s got tons more bioavailable protein than egg, pea,hemp,pumpkin,goat milk or any other you can think of
  • Second, It’s in many of our protein shakes and bars, stuff that active and busy people need.

I mean it’s pretty hard to go home after soul cycle or kettle bell and make up a veg scramble with 3 eggs.

It just doesn’t work in our busy days.

What does work is guzzling down an awesome green protein smoothie on your way to your next awesome thing in your day. Yes, real whole food is always ideal. But for most of us, that’s just not gonna happen.

Thank goodness there’s more and more great juice bars and packaged protein drinks we can grab!

But we gotta be smart. Buy the wrong protein and you will be wasting you money and wreaking havoc on your gut.

 

You should get really excited right now, because I’m about to tell you how you can easily pick the best protein powder (and nutrition bars) and why it’ll make life easier for you!

Ever notice what’s in most protein powders and shakes – whey!

Now whey is not casein, both are from cow’s milk – but your body quickly absorbs whey. It also doesn’t get tired and bloated like it can from casein.

 

Wait, WAIT!

Before you go thinking that whey is great, read on. If you buy the wrong kind, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.

(Not that I’ve ever done that, but it looks really hard in the movies)

 

So listen here – What you want is GRASSFED WHEY ISOLATE.

 

You wanna see those 3 words whenever you opt for whey protein.

Let me tell you why without boring you. I’ll also give you some names of awesome products to buy.

First lets talk about what the heck whey really is

How do we get this from cow milk and why can it work fine for the lactose and dairy free folk?

So you most likely know that whey is found in powder form. Let’s look at how that happens.

  • Start with a glass of cow milk. To get the proteins out ya gotta start with coagulated milk.
  • Milk is purposefully left out and coagulates. It turns into a solution of 5% lactose and super mineral rich water.
  • One by product of the coagulation- is whey.
  • It’s in there with the casein, so we gotta separate them. This is done by taking that coagulated milk and pushing it through filters. This divides up the whey and the casein.
  • The more filters the whey is pushed through and the more it is purified, the more isolated it is.
  • Whey turns into Whey Isolate when it’s pushed through micro filters and turns into lactose and ash.
  • That ash is sent to the dry tower to dry and turn to powder.

This is huge: You want extra filtered, purified whey – otherwise known as Whey Isolate.

You also want this from Grass-Fed Cows ONLY
If you don’t already know why grass-fed is a must with your meats- I gotcha covered.
CLICK here for my post on Grassfed meats

 

So, let’s do a quick review on why we must see “Grass-fed Whey Isolate”

First it has almost no lactose

Hooray! for us lactose intolerant folk.

Second – it has way more protein than plain whey. Non Isolate whey has about 11- 15% protein & up to 75% lactose. Whey isolate is more than 90% protein and has about .5 percent lactose.

Pretty huge difference! Now – if you’re like me that measly less than 1% lactose still has you concerned.

So get this: If you get whey isolate from a higher quality cow, that .5% will feel like nothing to your body.

So what’s a classy cow? One that eats grass!

Grass eating animals roam around,live better and have a better diet, they digest better. Not only do we get more nutrients from the happy cows (Vit D, B vitamins, omega 3’s …) but we absorb the nutrients with less work on our own bodies.

My body could never stand whey until I used Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate. Now I can get more high quality protein in my body, every day.

Makes ordering a smoothie at my fav juice bar way easier. Also – this makes it way easier to pick a great protein bar, or grab a prepackaged drink at the airport.

Just remember, you need to see all these words:

Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate.

Here’s a super cool new product that makes life waaaay easier for you!
MELESHAKE.

It’s basically awesome protein drinks that for people on the go.

Chockfull days and travel can be almost impossible to get in healthy meals. That’s exactly why mele shake was created.  IT’s your all natural meal replacement.

This awesome NY couple that love to work out and eat healthy were sick of crap choices on busy days. They wanted to make it easier to eat healthy AND keep up with a busy life.
Whallah! Mele

It’s a dried powder you can take anywhere. It’s got exactly what you need to stay lean, strong and boost your energy. Oh and look! It’s got Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate.

Thanks Meleshake! CLICK HERE FOR SITE

Tagged: grass fed, mele, meleshake, protein powders, whey. whey isolate

Posted on April 11, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

How I got from Veg Head to Meat Snob

So you should know that I used to poo poo eating animals. Then I had a bunch of weird stuff happen to me that basically made me a hot mess- Blech!

After some digging (and testing) I finally got why my body truly needs meat and Exactly what kind I need to buy. One company that’s made this super easy for me is Butcher Box.

Here’s a guest post I wrote for them, so we can all make the best choice for our bodies AND brains!

Featured on ButcherBox

Read More

Tagged: Butcher Box, grass fed, why meat

Posted on April 10, 2017  |  Podcasts

MiiR. From Dbag to Philanthrophy Game Changer. Story of your new fav water bottle

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5244364/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””]

CLICK HERE for iTunes

This podcast episode is all about the best water bottle ever. Sounds a little dry?  (pun intended)

Think again.

MiiR water bottles were born from the head of founder Bryan Pape after a near fatal skiing accident.

You gotta hear how Bryan went from “Self indulgent douche bag”  to  purposeful entrepreneur that creates positive change on a daily basis.

Get this!

Every time you buy one of these perfectly designed bottles, you help build a well or a water project in a 3rd world country.

You get this sweet bottle   

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They get a better life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s what Bryan calls ” Product to Project”

What’s jaw dropping is how many projects MiiR has created. Not just water, but building schools and donating bikes to communities so we can all do better daily!

 

Hit Play (Below)  to Learn 

  • Why these are the BEST designed bottle (fits your hand, one twist, stays cold and NO water beards)
  • How you pay it forward a new bottle, bike, bag, cup of coffee or even craft beer.
  • How you can check up on exactly what project your MiiR product is building.
  • How MiiR gets hands on and keeps connected with communities
  • How Bryan stays fit and healthy daily as a busy business owner, community activist and family man.

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5244364/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””]

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Tagged: B Corps, Bryan Pape, MiiR, water bottles

Posted on April 6, 2017  |  Podcasts

Cool stuff to buy that Gives Back.

Have you ever wanted to somehow give more?  But either the thought gets pushed to the side, or you end up waiting till some massive disaster happens?

I totally used to do that. I’d think of volunteering at shelter during the holidays or think of donating to kids in need, but something always distracted me and once again I waited till some tragic event unfolded to help others in need.

I really think we all want to serve more we just don’t know how to immediately do so in a super easy way.

Now we can! And get this you can actually give back when you buy great stuff you love

Imagine buying a quality bag and knowing that some of your money is going to build a school for kids in an impoverished community.

I mean we all love those FEED bags and TOM’s – they look great and we know we’ve done something really good.

How cool is that?!

This episode fills you in on some super awesome up and coming companies that have amazing products I know you will love and feel good whenever you use them.

What’s even more exciting is that I’ve got tons of guests lined up that have amazing products that I know you are gonna find super useful and sometimes delicious.

They are all hand picked to bring you stuff you can grab hold of daily, stay healthy, look amazing and feel great about how you are spending your hard earned cash!

Listen up and stay tuned!!

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5244318/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””]

Tagged: awesome products, Bcorps, companies, serve more

Posted on April 6, 2017  |  Podcasts

Two Top Tactics to keep you from turning into a hot mess when life sucks.

You know those times when life just sucks.

Say in one day you got fired, ripped your favorite expensive jeans and found out your kid broke his arm. (Or something like that)

When crappy stuff happens, what happens to you?

For many of us we slide backwards, all of a sudden we get way of track on all levels of life and can quickly become a hot mess.

This podcast episode is all about how to keep from becoming a hot mess when life sucks. Literally!

I’ve actually got the TWO TOP TACTICS from Todd Durkin one of the world’s best coaches (NFL, olympic athletes, TV trainer & mastermind coach to Fortune 500 execs)

I can’t wait for you to check it out!

This is game changing stuff from one of the most sought after coaches straight to you. So you can stay awesome everyday!

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5244191/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””]

Tagged: chin up buttercup, motivation, Todd Durkin, weight loss

Posted on April 6, 2017  |  Strong Moves

The BEST workout for radiant skin

If you read the subject line and your mind went to the bedroom, I get ya… but you’re wrong!

There’s an exercise that’s even better for your skin 🙂

I’ve often wondered why people who did these types of workouts looked.. well, hella sexy and glowing afterwards

Thanks to Dr. Michael Hartle   We now,know exactly why these types of workouts give you a glow you just can’t bottle AND why you can continue getting younger looking skin by keeping certain moves in your routine. Read on to get the goods!

Read More

Tagged: better skin, perfusion, strength training, weight training

Posted on March 31, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

New Cooking Vid + Recipes!

https://youtu.be/i1Flzoxg8II

Check out this month’s new recipes. Just for you from Galen and I.

We are Cooking with Currans. We have past months recipes and vids on You Tube at my channel: Breanne Curran

Read More

Posted on March 28, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

What Channing Tatum told me to drink, and why I don’t go a day without it

I love coffee, more specifically I love the high quality espresso shots. I love it simple and dark with nothing added. I’m all in for the focus and energy it brings me.

What I don’t love is the crash it brings me and cravings for more. I’ve tried tons of alternatives nothing has worked for me-

Until, I was on a beach in Mexico and Channing Tatum told me about this amazing drink that has high quality caffeine, but no crash or jitters!

Plus it’s got amazing antioxidants and tone of other health boosting properties.

You probably aren’t as much excited about the anti-oxidants as you are that Channing Tatum turned me onto this:)

 

Okay, So I gotta be honest.

I did not meet Channing Tatum in person.

I was on vacation and read THIS article in  Men’s Fitness Magazine. Tatum was ga ga over this new drink and the company behind it.

 

You should know that I’m not into energy drinks (since they are typically artificial and give you a giant crash

That’s why I was super enticed by this drink he was going on about. Not just cause one of my favorite Hollywood actors was telling me about it – but because it could totally solving my daily energy problem

And it totally did! In fact, I’ve been drinking it  every day since I read that article (or rather – after I got back in the US, went to Whole Foods and picked it up)

Channing Tatum’s become such a fan that he’s an investor in the company.

Not just cause the drink kicks ass, but RUNA’s owners, Tyler & Dan are up to some serious humanitarian good.

The  drink and the Company is called   RUNA.

Runa is a tea made from guayusa. A leaf in the Amazon that has some serious kick ass properties.

It will boost your energy and mental focus without giving you a crash or keeping you up.

PLUS it’s got awesome antioxidants AND caffeine ( more than green tea on both) But it won’t make you jittery.

It’s  keeps me alert, focused AND gives me way more power in my workouts. Runa has what they describe as “clean energy” – it’s a sustained lift that doesn’t give you a crash like other caffeinated drinks.

Plus I know it’s all natural and giving me huge health boosting antioxidants without keeping me up at night.

RUNA has an awesome video that tells you all about how this works, with owner Tyler Gage and Channing Tatum

CLICK HERE for video

This amazing company sent me a huge box of samples for me to try and let you know what’s awesome. Read on for my review

Read More

Tagged: Runa

Posted on March 17, 2017  |  Awesome Foods

Shamrock Shake. The Healthy Version:)

Bummed that you can’t enjoy a real Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s?

I’ve got one that’ll give Mickey D’s a run for it’s money! Plus it’s dairy free and refined sugar free

What you need
1 ice cube tray
  • Coconut milk – full fat
  • 1 avocado diced

put diced avocado in a small container.

– You need to freeze the avocado and coconut milk cubes. Give that at least 5 hours to happen
Take avocado and coconut cubes out of freezer – let them sit and defrost for 20 mins
Then just dump the rest of this goodness with the coconut ice cubes and avocado in a blender.
blender
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
  • Almond milk – 2 cups
  • 2 tsp  Peppermint extract
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 2 dates
  • 1/4 cup raw honey
Combine all ingredients in blender and enjoy!!

Tagged: green shakes, shamrock shake, st. Patricks Day

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