Walk into any convenience store and you will see, fountain drinks, snacks, coffee, and coolers of water, soda, alcohol, and energy drinks. Row after row of energy drinks. With names like Rockstar, and Monster, NOS and Amp, they are hardcore energy, one boasting more caffeine than the other and basically marketed to men.  I used to be a hardcore energy drink fan.  Rockstar pomegranate was my favorite.  I would follow a large coffee with a caffeine laden, sugar coma inducing energy drink, and have tremors all day.  I needed something new.

Thumbing through one of my magazines, I saw an ad for Neuro® drinks claiming they are The Operating System for Life.  These weren’t just energy drinks geared towards women, they were a whole range of drinks focusing on what women want or need throughout the day.  Turns out, Diana Jenkins, along with a team of nutritionists and researchers launched a line of drinks that taste good, and promote well being, without all the chemicals, known as Neuro®

Neuro’s Mission

The company was started in 2008, after founder Diana Jenkins had a bad experience with an energy drink.  Diana, along with a team of nutritionists and researchers created and launched Neuro, in an attempt to launch a line of drinks that promotes well being without a lot of chemicals.  Their mission states the drinks are designed to sustain and enhance your active lifestyle with natural ingredients.

Neuro Drinks

neuro Bliss

neuroBliss in the white bottle, uses L-Theanine, an amino acid that reduces stress, and Chamomile (like the tea)

• to help reduce stress,
• enhance moods,
• support memory and

neuro Sonic

neuroSonic in the red bottle, sounds like an ad for the Army helps you to be all that you can be”

• Provide mental energy
• Support focus and concentration
• Promotes healthy aging
• Supports memory

neuro Sun

neuroSun in the neon yellow bottle, is loaded with Vitamin D for days when the sun just isn’t doing it’s job

• Supports healthy immune system
• Provides 1000IU of Vitamin D
• Helps maintain healthy bones
• Supports balanced moods

neuro Passion

neuroPassion (formerly known as NeuroGasm) in the maroon bottle gets you up, and keeps you going.

• Sustain energy
• Improved performance
• Increased drive &  Stamina
• Enhanced cognitive function

neuro Trim

neuroTrim in the purple bottle, uses the highest quality fiber to fill you up, without weighing you down.

• Promotes Healthy weight loss
• Better digestive health
• Promotes Healthy aging
• Helps curb appetite
• Caffeine Free

neuro Sleep

neuroSleep in the bright orange bottle, uses melatonin to aid in getting a good night’s sleep.

• Provides restful sleep
• Relieves muscle cramps
• Supports relaxation
• Promotes feeling of well being
• Supports healthy mental function

neuro Sport

neuroSport in the blue bottle helps get the most out of your workout and replenish your body

• Active lifestyle formula
• Electrolytes for hydration
• Energy replenishment
• Replaces depleted minerals.

Each drink is only 35 calories.  Some drinks are carbonated, some are not.  They are not the high sugar almost syrup drinks like most energy drinks.  There is a slight aftertaste but not overpowering, and not something that is overly distracting.

So, where can you find your neuro® drink?
You can use their handy dandy Store Locator or you can buy online at DrinkNeuro.com, at Amazon, or check your local convenience store.  I bought my first one at a QuikTrip in St. Louis.

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The website/app are very easy to use-check it out. You sign up, and then fill in a form about your weight loss goals (and yes-your goal can be as realistic or optimistic as you want. You can even choose to follow a plan that will help you maintain your weight.)

After you set and record your goals, you start keeping a food diary on the site/app that you can choose to share with others or not.

You note everything you eat and drink, they have a pretty good collection of food and drinks to give you the calorie count. They also have an automatic calorie adder, in case you already know the exact numbers and the food/meal isn’t already in their HUGE database.

Here’s an example of a meal entry:

You can also record your workouts and be aware of your progress at any given time. It allows you to see how many calories each work out and basic daily activities are allowing you to burn! You simply click add, click cardio and search the work out/activity you’ve just completed, click on it, add the minutes it took to perform the work out/activity and BAM it calculates it for you!

And the best part is, the site calculates how many calories (both in total and divided into protein, carbs and vitamins) you need to take each day to reach your goal. And after you finish completing your entry for the day, it shows you how much you will weigh in a given amount of time if every day goes like that day. And you can find friends that are using the app to stay connected and accountable while on your healthy journey!

All in all My Fitness Pal is a win win so download it today and friend me! I’m teranorberg1

Healthy Wishes, T

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Le Veneziane Pasta

Last year my husband discovered that he had a gluten allergy. I don’t know how many of you have ever had to switch to a gluten-free diet, but I assure you that it can be difficult at times, especially if you don’t want to have to give up… everything you like. Like pasta.

We avoided pasta for a long time because, quite frankly, most gluten-free pasta is horrid. The rice pasta we tried was mushy, even if you undercooked it a bit. The corn pasta we tried next tasted like, well,  corn. Which wouldn’t have been bad except we were hoping for pasta that tasted like pasta.

Then we went to LA.  One night we had dinner at an Italian restuarant that had gluten-free selections (much easier to find in a town like LA than here in South Florida). He had a pasta dish that scared the life out of him. Why? Because he couldn’t believe it was gluten-free. I tasted it. I actually called the waiter over to have him verify that it wasn’t wheat-based pasta.

That pasta was Le Veneziane.

It’s 100% corn pasta that doesn’t taste like corn (hallelujah). It’s made in Italy, which probably explains why it’s so good. They take both their food and their gluten-free seriously over there. It is, quite simply, the only gluten-free pasta I will bother with. But for the slightly yellower color, you’d never even know it wasn’t regular pasta. It cooks perfectly al dente and will make your pasta-deprived heart sing. I swear. I’m picky about these things, and I stockpile this stuff like it’s gold.

It comes in several different shapes, from spaghetti and fettuccine to penne and eliche (corkscrews). The only drawback? They don’t seem to make a lasagna noodle and my husband would love a nice lasagna. The price is fairly reasonable at $3.95 a package, only a few cents more than other premium semolina pastas, a big plus when you’re eating gluten-free, which can be expensive. It’s hard to find locally, so I buy through Amazon and stock up on several shapes.

This has been a godsend because it is a lot of work to make two separate pasta dishes or, worse yet, skip pasta altogether. If you’re new to the gluten-free lifestyle, try this. You might actually cry with joy.

About The Author:  Megan is a professional writer, amateur photographer and an accomplished beauty product crash test dummy. She'll try anything once, especially if it's a free sample. She's still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up, but it will probably involve travel and Colin Farrell. And maybe some writing and photography. You can visit her at onethousandwordsormore.com or follow her on Twitter: msmegan.

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Hollywood Body Wrap: Boo.

With awards season upon us, I like many others have been glued to my TV watching the SAGs and the Emmys, the Grammys and soon the Oscars. Oh the fashion, it parades past with bright colors, flashy prints, and expensive accessories galore! The one thing I wanna know is, how do they get in those dresses?? After checking out a few things I googled, one name kept popping up. Hollywood Body Wraps.

According to the Hollywood Body Wrap website:

The safest, most effective body wrap on the market today for toxin removal and guaranteed inch loss! With this wrap, you can expect to lose 6 to 20 inches in your first wrap, tighten and tone skin, reduce stretch marks, smooth ugly cellulite, increase energy and enjoy a healthy, refreshed feeling. The Slim Wrap is our signature wrap. This is the Body Wrap that you have seen on The Tyra Banks Show, The Rachael Ray Show, Ellen, The Fabulous Life of, Fit Nation, The View and many more. This is THE wrap that all of the Hollywood Stars get before their Red Carpet events — now available to you!

I was curious, so I said what the heck and scheduled a wrap the next day. When I arrived at the “spa” (it was literally just a store front in a strip mall with no real spa facilities what so ever.) I filled out a health sheet that asked the usual questions about if I was in good health, no heart problems, poor circulation, etc. I completed  that  and was shown to a small dressing room behind a curtain where I stripped down to my unmentionables and waited for the wrap tech. She was a pleasant little woman. She had a clip board with a sheet on it and as she calculated my before measurements with a tape measure and wrote them down, a plastic bin appeared under the curtain that had large, rolled ace bandages in it. The tiny woman didn’t tell me what my measurements were, but got right to work mummifying me in the warm, wet ace bandages. Quickly, she wrapped me from head to toe in the mineral soaked bandages with a strength that belied her small stature.

After I looked like I belonged in ancient Egypt, she threw a tarp over me for modesty (The website showed plastic body suits) and asked me to hop on an elliptical machine where I did about a 45-minute set. I was guessing that I needed to keep my blood moving while wrapped so tightly, but this was only a guess since after I was wrapped and placed on the elliptical machine my small, Herculean assistant disappeared. No explanation of what was going on or what I could expect. After 45 minutes on the elliptical, I was finally approached to move to this Segway-looking machine where all I did was stand on it while it vibrated at 22 miles per hour! (I can only imagine what my fanny looked like all wrapped up and jiggling at that speed!) After 30 minutes of that, I was ushered back into my private dressing room to be unwrapped and remeasured. Like before, I was measured almost in silence except for the questions I would pepper in here and there. After she was through she left and I got dressed to meet her in the lobby. When I got there she had added up my “inch loss” and told me I had lost 19 and a half inches. I was skeptical. I saw myself in the mirror when I was getting dressed and I didn’t really see it. My clothes fit a little looser, but I didn’t really see any change.  When I went to pay I got the hard sell for buying a package of 3 to 6 wraps that would be like upkeep for my 19 inch loss today. The website says to lose one pant size you need to do the wraps 3 to 6 times, but really, who has the money to drop on that?? I politely said no, paid my $159 plus tax and tip, and went home to check out this loss in my own mirror. Yeah, I still didn’t see it.

So there ya have it. Does the Hollywood Body Wrap work? Maybe yes, maybe no, but at $159 a pop, I think I’ll just keep doing the running and dieting thing. That’s free!

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Low-Key Valentine's Gifts

While some ladies dream of a big, romantic gesture on Valentine’s Day, I am not one of them. Certainly if you had the means and wanted to fly me off to Paris for a romantic long weekend, I would be in heaven (I’d even settle for New York. Just sayin’.), but realistically, I prefer an acknowledgment of the day in a way that shows that my husband gets me. And that is the key, I think. I’m not into a lot of bling. I don’t care for roses, and although I like flowers, I am allergic to them.  Truth is, I don’t really want or need much. If your significant other is the same way, here are some ideas that may help you be the hero this Valentine’s Day. 

Four Low-Key Valentine’s Day Gifts

Divine Calm - Great Gift

1. A Relaxing Bath. Light some candles, draw her a bath with a lovely, skin softening additive like The Body Shop’s Divine Calm Serenity Milk Bath Powder ($18), then leave her alone for 30 minutes. Then greet her with a warm towel and robe. It will be worth your while. Promise.

A Just-Right Treat

2. Chocolate-Covered Strawberries ($19.99). A little chocolate plus a berry packed with fiber and vitamin C. Great for your health-conscious sweetheart. A half dozen will do nicely; she might even share.

Casual, But Not Sloppy

3. A Cool Leather Bracelet ($65).  This is a cool-looking, casual bracelet that you can make her own by getting it personalized for her.  Another idea that’s as unique and rare as she is.

Say It Simply

4. A Personalized Ring ($109.98). If you’re looking for a more grand gesture, this demure ring, make personal with her initial and maybe a little love note from you. A gift that’s one of a kind. Like her.

If all else fails, clean the house. Without her asking. Make her dinner and do the dishes. It’s the little things that mean a lot—and get the biggest rewards. Wink-Wink.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Featured Photo Credit

About The Author:  Megan is a professional writer, amateur photographer and an accomplished beauty product crash test dummy. She'll try anything once, especially if it's a free sample. She's still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up, but it will probably involve travel and Colin Farrell. And maybe some writing and photography. You can visit her at onethousandwordsormore.com or follow her on Twitter: msmegan.

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Cook This, Not That And Love Eating Healthier

I do not diet. I do not like diet food: fat-free this, light that. Yuck. And really, most of that stuff is so chemical-laden that it negates any calorie benefit it might have. Over time I have discovered that the key to eating healthier is making better choices and watching portion sizes. This is where Cook This, Not That comes in. It’s a cookbook that will help educate you on how to make better food choices and give you some awesome recipes in the process. It was written by the editors of Men’s Health magazine.

The book calls itself the “No Diet Weight Loss Solution,” but you should be aware that they are basing this statement on the fact that many of us eat out way too much and that restaurant food is, on average, horrible for you. It gives you homemade alternatives to some popular restaurant dishes—alternatives that seriously slash calorie counts. If you eat out a lot and stopped doing that and ate from this book instead, you would lose weight. That being said, if you are trying to lose weight overall, you’ll still need to keep a good eye on your calories, etc.

350-Calorie Version

But for those of us who just want healthier food that tastes good, this is a godsend. Seriously. I’ve had this book for a few months now and don’t think I’ve had a bad meal from it. It has everything from appetizers and snacks to dessert. It gives you some great ideas for branching out on your own and making healthy choices while doing it. I love this book so much when I found out they had a new, 350-calorie version, I had to have it. It’s been a few weeks and so far, I love it.

What I like best? The recipes use real food and not weird-tasting substitutes. It educates you about healthy fats and portion sizes and how to eat to stay fuller longer so you don’t binge on things you shouldn’t. It’s the healthy eating information most of us probably knew back in the day before the fat-free revolution loaded us up on sugar and chemicals. This is eating more like people ate back when I was kid. Nothing was completely out of bounds, but people didn’t eat out for every meal and they didn’t eat hamburgers the size of their heads.

For me, this is a return to eating sanity. I heartily recommend both of these books; they’ve become household staples for me. My son even likes the stuff. Go figure.

Wanna learn more? Follow Eat This, Not That on Twitter at @EatThisNotThat and check out their Web page.

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A Damn Good Workout

I’ve been exercising for like 150 years. OK, maybe it isn’t quite that long, but it feels like it. Why? Because I get bored. Lift weights, hit treadmill, blah, blah, blah. Meh. So over it. What I am not over is how exercise makes me feel – lean, strong and healthy. I recently set out to find a new exercise program that would give me a good workout but be different what I’ve been doing. Enter Rodney Yee’s Power Yoga Total Body.

This is not for wimps. I only recommend it if you have a some yoga experience under your belt. It’s done in a flow style, where one pose flows into the next. Rodney calls the poses by their names, so if you don’t know Warrior One from Downward Dog you’re going to be lost. Even if you are an experienced yogi, this is a challenging workout. It’s meant to help you gain strength as well as flexibility. You will sweat. You will curse Rodney repeatedly (or maybe that’s just me). But in the end you will be damn glad you plunked down the $8.99 plus shipping for this baby. Like I said, I’m an experienced yogi/exerciser and this is challenging for me.

The workout is 60 minutes – that’s one hour of almost constant movement. The pace is quick, not relaxed like you may have experienced with other yoga workouts. This is not for relaxation and centering, it’s for toning and conditioning your body.

I like Rodney Yee as a yoga instructor. Sometimes I giggle at him, but it’s in the privacy of my own home, so it doesn’t count (does it?). Other instructors  irritate me because they talk too much or too slowly or whatever, but I think Rodney gets it about right.

If you’re looking for a new challenge or just want to add new dimension to your workouts, try this video. It’s under $10 and since you do it at home, no one can see you when you can’t get your head off of the floor in Reverse Bow.

Namaste indeed.

Oh! Look what I found at Target! Why did no one tell me about this before?!

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Running Gear For The Digital Age

I love to run and when the weather is nice, I would prefer to be running outside than on a treadmill. I am considering training for my first half marathon this winter and as I start increasing the distance of my runs, I don’t always want to drive them first to check the distance and I don’t like to run on a track so figuring out my miles has always been a problem.

With regular pedometers, my gauge is always off. I’m never sure if it’s because they’re attached to my hip in the wrong place or if I am doing something wrong when I set them up and I tend to get frustrated with them and give up after a few months. For the past year, I have been using a new method of mileage tracking, the Nike + iPod Sensor. If you have an iPhone or an iPod and like to run or walk, this is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

The kit comes with a tiny sensor that fits into a pocket on your running shoes.  If your shoes don’t have pockets – mine don’t – you can buy separate little pouches that strap onto your laces to hold the sensor for about $5.  The kit costs $39, but if you have an iPod touch or an iPhone 3GS or newer, the receiver is built in and you can buy just the sensor for $19. Once you have the sensor on your shoe, you open the app on your iPod and start walking. The receiver picks up the signal, starts tracking your mileage and you’re on your way.

There are a few things I really love about the Nike+ system, the first is that it saves all of your data from every run so you can keep track of your speed if you are trying to decrease times for marathon training.If you run different routes from day to day you can title them and save them. The next time you run that route you tap on it in your list and all of your previous information comes up for comparison. The app also uses music you already have in your playlists to play durng your workout. You can build a new playlist specifically for the app or use one already in your library.

The only con I have found in the system is that the sensors do burn out.  My first one lasted about 9 months before I had to replace it, but that’s longer than I have ever had a single pedometer last before. All in all, it’s a great tool for runners and walkers looking to keep track of their workout information whether it’s simply for exercise purposes or for marathon training.

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Amy's Ravioli Bowl

Throughout the chaos of plumbing that falls out of the sink and cabinet paint that blisters like a bad sunburn, we are trying to maintain our organic lifestyle as much as we reasonably can while we remodel the kitchen. This weekend when I did my grocery shopping I was the lady with the full cart of Amy’s frozen dinners. I don’t think I even had my wedding ring on and it’s almost certain I hadn’t showered, so I was 35 cans of cat food away from being a that lady.

If you shop at Whole Foods there is a surprisingly large variety of organic options in the frozen pre-made meal department. The majority of them are Amy’s brand, which are all vegetarian meals, and they’re really good. I guess at $5 a pop they should be, but I was actually kind of shocked at how good they’ve been. In my previous weight loss lives I established long-standing relationships with Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones, which are mediocre-tasting at best, so the Amy’s experience really was a pleasant surprise.

Amy’s kitchen makes over 88 different frozen meals running the ethnic cuisine gamut from Mexican to Indian, with Italian thrown in there along with good old-fashioned pot pies, and I haven’t yet tried one I haven’t liked. I’ve had stuffed shells, ravioli, tamales, burritos, enchiladas, and more and they’ve all been really good. Each meal has been well within the calorie range I like to maintain, and yet the portion sizes have been on the generous side of just right.

With my refrigerator parked in the dining room and the microwave the only cooking option available I’m glad we’re still able to follow a mostly organic food plan. Since the plumbing fell out of the kitchen sink (how does that even happen???) we’ve been doing dishes in the bathroom, which I have to say is NOT fun and possibly not even sanitary, (although I feel it necessary to interject that we have stopped using that bathroom for anything else) it’s also helpful that they come in disposable and mostly recyclable containers. It’s important to me that they are conscious of their packaging contents. From their website:

The concern about the use of plastic films and coatings in food packaging is based on research showing that some plastics, including PVC, have plasticizers in them that could leak into food at low levels. Because of this, Amy’s Kitchen requires that all plastics and coatings used in the packaging of our frozen products be free of plasticizers.

They are expensive, there’s no way to get around that, but I’m a firm believer in “you get what you pay for” and the combination of great tasting organic ready-made food and responsible packaging is worth it to me.

Anyone want to come for dinner?

Photo Credit: theimpulsivebuy

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I searched the Zumba website for gyms that had a class near me and found one that offered free trials. Did you know you can go to a gym you don’t belong to and try out a class? You totally can at some gyms, you just have to call them and ask.

I had no idea what to expect at the class, but YouTube and the Zumba website gave me a general idea. The room where the class was held was tiny and packed with women. I was glad to see that there were women of all ages and sizes there, and their Zumba skills ended up varying just as widely so I fit right in.

When I arrived I told the instructor that it was my first class. I do this with any fitness class I go to for the first time because I’ve found that they are extra helpful if they know you’re a newbie. They want you to like their class so you’ll come back and they’ll get to have more classes, so set your shyness aside and go talk to the instructors. Even the shoutiest spin class instructor doesn’t really bite and you’ll probably learn something that all those people who were afraid to talk to the instructor wish they had asked before you. They’ll also keep an eye on you during class and offer suggestions to help you learn the steps.

The class started off pretty quickly, and it got even quicker from there. The Zumba music has a Latin beat as the name would suggest, and it’s lively and energetic. The steps start off pretty basic, then they add on more and gradually become more complicated. It’s ok if you don’t get them right away. There are other people in the class who aren’t getting it either, I guarantee it!

The class lasted an hour and it definitely lived up to its promise of a high-energy cardio workout. Between the heat of the room and the non-stop movement of the class I was worn out and drenched by the end. And I had fun! A lot of fun, actually, and the hour flew by quicker than most hours I’ve ever spent at a gym.

If you are thinking about taking a Zumba class, you can find one on their website’s class locator. You don’t need special clothing, although you will want a sports bra to combat all the bouncing. You will also need a towel and a bottle of water. That’s about it!

If you’re shy, or just don’t want to go to a gym, you can order their DVDs, which are available on their site and on Amazon. I used the DVDs at home for quite a while before actually joining a gym and found them really helpful because there is an entire DVD dedicated to just teaching you the steps.

If you are bored with your current routine and are looking for something new Zumba might just be the thing for you!

Featured Photo by: Cimm

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