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July 24, 2012

4 Products I’m Loving Lately

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Morning, friends! I’ve received a number of products lately to review so I thought it would be fun to do one big post sharing all of them at once. Enjoy!

Products I’m Loving Lately

1) Cascadian Farm’s new Ancient Grains granola. They sent me a couple boxes last week, Matt and I have already finished 1.5 of them. His favorite way to eat it? Straight out of the box, usually pouring it directly into his mouth. I take a classier route and enjoy it on top of plain Greek yogurt with fruit for breakfast.

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2) This fun Quinn popcorn that arrived last week for me to review. Apparently Matt liked the look of it because he sampled two of the bags before I even realized it! He’s really enjoying this whole blog sample thing. 🙂

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Quinn popcorn markets themselves as “microwave popcorn reinvented” — unlike normal microwave popcorn brands, their popcorn kernels are organic and non-gmo, and their bags use recycled and compostable paper, expeller pressed oil instead of hydrogenated, and no artificial flavorings. Sounded good to me!

The popcorn comes in the three flavors you see above — each popcorn bag includes a little seasoning packet and a small packet of oil to flavor the popcorn with.

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So far I’ve only tried the lemon and sea salt, but it’s delicious. Matt says the parmesan & rosemary flavor is great, too. My only complaint is that I wish the bags were portioned out smaller — each bag allegedly contains 3 servings (although I ate most of it myself, with a small amount of help from Matt) and if you use all the oil (I only used half), it can be rather caloric. At least you can use as much or as little of the oil and seasonings as you like, though, and the flavor was awesome. Love that I’m not eating a bag of weird chemicals like with the other microwave popcorn brands, too!

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3) These minimalist New Balance running shoes — called the Minimus Zero. New Balance sent me and Matt a pair of these a few months ago to try out and we both really love them. They have zero drop, meaning they are designed to feel like you are barefoot or close to it when walking or running.

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I haven’t been wearing mine for any runs longer than 2 miles (I was thinking of trying to build up to doing longer runs in them, but decided I’d better not mess with what’s been working for me so far, so I stick with regular running shoes for longer runs), but I really love them for any sort of short runs, gym or strength workout, boot camp, bike ride, etc. Not only are they extremely lightweight and comfortable, but they have great grips on the bottom — perfect for quick side-to-side movements like those you find in boot camps! They’re awesome for sprinting, too.

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Here are Matt’s — they are the same exact shoes, just in a men’s version. Matt’s been wearing his pretty much for any and all workouts — including runs up to about 4 miles! Apparently they feel like his soccer shoes so it was easy for him to get used to them (vs. normal running shoes) for running really quickly.

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We’ve also both been wearing them to Crossfit quite a bit. Since there’s no lift in the heel of the shoe, you’re really close to the ground, which helps me to feel more stable.

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Thanks again to New Balance for letting us both review the shoes. Huge fan and highly recommend them if you’re looking for a minimalist shoe for running or for strength/boot camp type workouts where you want more stability. They also have a trail running version, and two other versions with a slightly higher lift in the heel, if you don’t want full-on minimalist style shoes but still want something less bulky than regular running shoes. Here’s their website with all the options!

4) The Samsung Galaxy S3 phone. I was sent this phone to review as part of round 2 of my Verizon Wireless Ambassador* program. I was pretty excited to check it out, but my excitement level was nowhere near that of Matt’s — he was basically dying of excitement when the package arrived on Friday.

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Within about 5 minutes, he’d set up the phone, downloaded about a million apps…

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…and changed my background photo to this hilarious one of himself. Lol!

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Boys. 🙂

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I’ll share more thoughts once I get used to the phone, but so far, it’s pretty amazing (Matt agrees). Very easy to use, beautiful screen, etc. If you have any specific questions about it, let me know!

And with that, I’m off to work. Have a great Tuesday, friends!

What products are you loving lately? Any fun new food finds I should try?

—-

*Disclosure: As part of the Verizon Wireless Ambassador program I have been provided with a wireless device and three months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

- anne
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19 comments
  • Danielle
    July 24, 2012 · 8:16AM:
    I've heard awesome things about the new balance minimus for CrossFit!!! Good to hear you like them!
    Reply
  • Kim@hungryhealthygirl
    July 24, 2012 · 8:18AM:
    I would love to try that popcorn. I'll have to be on the lookout for it. My kids love popcorn, but I hate to buy because of all of the chemicals and I love that the seasoning packet is separate.
    Reply
  • Tabitha
    July 24, 2012 · 8:42AM:
    I love my new balance minimums zeros! I run all my runs in them, just did 8 miles last week. It takes a lot to build up to that if you are using other shoes though. My other shoes are Vibram five fingers.
    Reply
  • Mom July 24, 2012 · 9:05AM:
    Haha, boys and their toys! Glad Matt's enjoying the swag!
    Reply
  • cathy@1970kikiproject
    July 24, 2012 · 9:14AM:
    i enjoyed reading your thoughts on the NB minimus shoes, anne! i just ordered a pair through our employee purchase program at the running store i work at...i can't wait to try them out! i agree that they're a great shoe for many types of workouts, not just running! (the ones i am getting are turquoise-y!).
    Reply
  • Allison @ Running Through Red Lights
    July 24, 2012 · 11:16AM:
    That popcorn looks amazing! Popcorn is my favorite snack, so I'm going to have to keep my eyes open to see if I can find these in our local grocery store. I just got a pair of Saucony Kinvara 3s, and I LOVE them! They're a great transition to a true minimalist shoe.
    Reply
  • clare @ fittingitallin
    July 24, 2012 · 11:36AM:
    I use those same new balance for crossfit:)
    Reply
  • Adventurer July 24, 2012 · 12:35PM:
    Love the pic, Matt. How heroic!
    Reply
  • Sarah @ The Chunky Tales
    July 24, 2012 · 1:04PM:
    That popcorn looks so delicious!!! And adorable. Who says aesthetics aren't everything?? :)
    Reply
  • Renie July 24, 2012 · 1:17PM:
    That popcorn looks great. I want some. Love Matt's shoes and so glad to see hair on a man's legs again.FYI Look around you, men don't have hair on their legs anymore for some reason or another.
    Reply
  • Sam @ Better With Sprinkles
    July 24, 2012 · 2:01PM:
    I bought that cereal a while back - super tasty! I just bought liquid stevia for the first time about a month ago - one of my better purchases! I try not to use it too often (try to keep it to once or twice a day) but I love the fact that's it a zero-calorie sweetener that isn't creepy chemicals. It makes plain greek yogurt a million times better!
    Reply
  • Lexi @ You, Me, & A World to See
    July 24, 2012 · 2:11PM:
    hahaha that picture of Matt! And I love the idea of that popcorn--simple but with better ingredients. Is it comparable calorically to storebrand popcorn?
    Reply
    • Anne P
      July 25, 2012 · 7:17AM:
      I'm not sure since I haven't bought popcorn in like 10 years, hehe. I think it's a bit higher calorically though because the calculations have you using the whole bag of oil included - I didn't use it all.
      Reply
  • Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
    July 24, 2012 · 4:04PM:
    oh my gosh that popcorn is amazing! non GMO!! yay!
    Reply
  • Kath
    July 24, 2012 · 8:58PM:
    JEALOUS of that phone!!!!!!!! That's the one I want - but it's $700 until my AT&T contract is up like a year and a half away!
    Reply
  • Jessica July 25, 2012 · 5:03PM:
    Cascadian Farms is HERE, in Skagit Valley! I will miss all the amazing farms and food here. I have driven by one of their farms (I think) but I loooove all their cereals, right now I am obsessed with their Plainly O's (aka, tasty cheerios). Anyhoo. Sounds like some good stuff!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      July 26, 2012 · 6:46PM:
      Oh how cool!!
      Reply
  • Laura July 28, 2012 · 5:04PM:
    The popcorn sounds delicious but it is pricey! At that price, I think they'll have a hard time getting it to become popular. Maybe you could pass along trying to lower the price point? $15 for 6 bags of popcorn is a lot....
    Reply
    • Anne P
      July 29, 2012 · 5:34PM:
      Good point - I'll tell them!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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