Products We Love: Pocket Fuel

As you may know, my family and I are great outdoor enthusiasts. We hike, fly fish, XC ski, downhill ski, camp, etc, and for the last two years I have spent a lot of time training for competitive XC ski races. Training sessions usually last 1-2 hours and sometimes more. During and after long and hard workouts, I am always looking for good, quick and easy "fuel" for my body. I hate gu's and gel's so my choices have been limited, until now.

My most recent discovery is called Pocket Fuel, a local Oregon company based out of Hood River (even more reason to like them). Their nut butters come in five flavors, my favorite being Chocolate Haze.

Chocolate Haze is made with hazelnuts, almonds and rich chocolate blended together into a silky smooth sweet delight and served up in a cute little pouch. It's loaded with essential minerals – potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and sodium – in the form of electrolytes. 

Even if you are not a competitive athlete, Pocket Fuel is a great snack to keep in your purse, at your desk, in the car, etc. They are 100% natural and 100% tasty! :) 

You can buy their products on their website and on amazon! Try it! You won't be sorry. 

Happy Trails! 

A Little Self Promotion

Today is a bit of self promotion, I recently filmed another online workout for barre3, and today it is live on the barre3 website. The workout is called Interval Strength and it is a total butt kicker. This workout is a 40 minute workout full of heart pumping, high energy movements that will challenge even the most athletic viewer.

If you are not a subscriber to barre3 online workouts, I highly suggest you try it. For only $15 it's a great way to get amazing workouts, at home for a minimal cost. 

Speaking of a great deal (sorry to sound like an infomercial), but earlier this week barre3 launched it's first ever mobile app! For only $4.99 you can get access to workouts, recipes and daily tips on how to live a more balanced and healthy life. You can download the link here. 

Introducing the barre3 Mobile App from Chris Lincoln on Vimeo.

Enjoy the weekend!

Products We Love

For those of you not familiar with barre3 workouts, the class is done either barefoot or with socks. With the barre craze sweeping the nation, of course Nike was going to design a shoe to be worn during this type of workout. So, for the last few months I have been wearing my Nike Studio Wrap at barre3. 

The wrap set includes the ballet ribbons and a "street flat". To be honest, I don't wear the street flat or use the ribbons, but the wrap is fantastic! They come in pink and black as well as a few polka dot colorways. I have the pink.

Watch this video to learn more about this great innovation for yoga, Pilates and barre classes! And a quick side note, check out today's barre3 blog post for my prenatal fashion tips!

28 to Great Update- Day by Day

Three weeks down and only one to go! As I mentioned last week, I am spending this final week in Sun Valley. I wouldn't call it a vacation, as only trips that don't include children are truly a vacation. This my friends is a trip!

Back to 28 to Great (or what might end up being 21 to Great)....Last week I pushed reset after Sunday night's gluttony and gave it my best effort to follow "the rules."

Let's take it day by day...

Monday- I taught class and went for a 5 mile walk. Then in the afternoon I made these homemade granola bars (recipe here). I modified the recipe adding almonds, coconut and raisins. Honestly, I don't think I will ever buy a granola bar of any type ever again. When the Mini Fashionista starts school, these homemade treats will be going into her lunch box.

Baking these was my way of avoiding the barre3 bars. Really it was just replacing one poison for another. And, once again I ate too many. However, I figure once they are gone, then I can't eat anymore...so the faster I eat them, the sooner they disappear (completely illogical, I know).

Tuesday- Tuesday I actually made it to the studio and took an entire 60 minute class!! It doesn't happen often, so It was a rare treat! I made a delicious "28 to Great approved" lunch of DIY salad for my fellow instructor Bonney. Here is a picture of Bonney and the Mini Fashionista at our lunch table. I really wanted to open a nice bottle of white wine, but instead we drank lemon water. Refreshing!

Bonney brought over some healthy energy bars she had made and we commiserated on our lack of self control for these "healthy treats". Misery loves company, so it was nice to know I am not the only one with a portion problem! Tuesday night I made a great flank steak and roasted vegetable dinner and finished it off with a class of white wine. I guess I hadn't stopped thinking about it since lunch, and the lemon water just wasn't cutting it! 

Wednesday- I ate too many "homemade" granola bars. End of Story.

Thursday- I once again made it to the studio to take class and then I taught class. There were no more barre3 bars or granola bars to eat, so I stuck to the rules. I ALMOST made more, but I used all the self control I had and instead ate blueberries. Let's be honest...they were not as satisfying.

Friday- Let's pretend I'm keeping score: +2 for Regan...taught the 8:45 barre3 class and then took the 10:00 class. Then let's talk about dinner. We went to Ken's Pizza, and if you go to Ken's, you can't not eat Pizza. It's an unspoken rule. Let's call this -2 (I ate two pieces). Oh, and there were those two pieces of dark chocolate that I ate after lunch....maybe I shouldn't be keeping score...

Saturday- Quite possibly the worst travel day of my life. We started with a 3:15 wakeup call for a 5:30 flight to Sun Valley. Due to weather we never made it to Sun Valley. We made it back to Portland after  a refuel in Bend and a flight change in Seattle....8 hours later. Oh, and did I mention only 1 of our 3 bags made it with us? Needless to say this was not a day of exercise or healthy eating. I was lucky to eat at all. This is life though! And sometimes you just have to go with it.

Sunday- The final day of the week! We finally made it to Idaho and let's just say I'll be back on track come Monday.

I hope you all have a great start to your week! Look for two posts from Katie's recent trip to California! I'm sure she'll have plenty of non-28 to Great approved food and wine to share with you!

Barre3 Butt Kicking

As I mentioned in Monday's post, last weekend I filmed an 10 minute ski conditioning workout for barre3 online. Well, the video is posted and ready for everyone to try (here)! Get ready for a butt kicking! This workout is awesome, if I do say so myself....And if you want to read more about my barre3 journey, you can read more on the barre3 blog!

Here's the really exciting news, for anyone who hasn't tried barre3 online, C&C is offering a 15 day free trial using the code 15barre3CC. The code must be redeemed before February 8th and is only available to first time barre3 online users! 

P.S. I like watching myself on video about as much as like looking at pictures of myself on the the blog. Too bad I couldn't cut my head off in the video like I do in my blog photos! :)

28 to Great Update- The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Week 1 of the 28 to Great challenge was good...I'd give myself a B+ for overall effort and compliance. Week 2 wasn't quite so great. It quickly went to s**t when the Mini Fashionista and I got colds, and we became, for the most part, on house arrest at the beginning of the week.

Working Out
All of my barre3 workouts, except the classes I taught (6 in 4 days) were online at home. I got in one 40 minute workout and two or three ten minute workouts. The dog got walked nearly every day, so at least I was able to get outside and get some fresh air. It wasn't the week to challenge myself in the fitness department. Sometimes it's okay to take a bit of a break, especially when you don't feel 100%.

The Good
As for the dietary portion of the challenge, let's start with what I did right...I drank lots of tea, did my best to drink water, and for my meals I managed to eat lots of vegetables, good fats and lean protein. I was especially proud of myself for taking a salad (photo 1) with me to my Junior League meeting on Wednesday night. Photo 2 is the barre3 Red Bean Quinoa Chili (recipe here) which is my favorite dinner dish so far! Photo 3 is a lunch salad which consisted of roasted vegetables and pork tenderloin that we had eaten the night before. Photo 4 is a breakfast of Greek yogurt, berries and walnuts. As always, we drank lots of smoothies too. I revel in that fact that the Mini Fashionista knows what flax and chia seeds are!

The Bad
As for my bad choices of the week...I once again ate too many of those delicious barre3 bars. I will NOT be making anymore this week. I splurged on a glass of red wine at dinner on Saturday night, but stuck to the "rules" of eating...while eating out, so I was proud of myself for that.

The Ugly
And then there was Sunday....well Sunday night was a complete right off. We were invited to a dinner party and all rules were broken. We enjoyed a most delicious Raclette dinner, complete with wine cheese, meat and more cheese and meat. It was worth every calorie! There were some green vegetables involved, but really, who wants to see that when you can stare at all of that animal product?

Onward to Week 3
As for this week...it's most likely my last week of really giving the challenge my best effort. We head to Sun Valley on Saturday for a week, and it will be challenging to keep up my disciplined eating, although I plan to give it my best efforts. It will be nearly impossible to resist a Bowl of Soul and a raspberry muffin at Java.

As for getting in my barre3 workouts...it all depends on whether or not my parent's Internet cooperates. I'm not holding my breath. Regardless, I will be getting in lots of alpine and cross country skiing and probably some snowshoeing as well, so it's not as if I will be sitting on a couch stuffing my face with Bon Bons.

Speaking of skiing...on Sunday I filmed a 10 minute barre3 ski conditioning workout, perfect timing for my trip!  Stay tuned for news of it being posted online for all of you to workout with me!

28 to Great

As many of you know, I am an instructor at barre3 (read more about my barre3 journey here) in Portland, and Katie works out at the barre3 in Georgetown. 

Yesterday began barre3's new year challenge called "28 to Great". Clients are challenged over the next four weeks to do barre3 (and some sort of additional activity: running, walking, etc.) six days a week. 

My barre3 "arm candy". I decided these hair ties make great workout bracelets! 

The barre3 workouts can be done in the studio, online or a combination of the two. The challenge also includes a nutrition plan created by Andrea Nakayama of Replenish PDX.  

It may surprise you, but this is the first time I have ever participated in any sort of a workout/nutrition "challenge". For the most part I lead a balanced life, exercising, eating well and splurging when I want to. So what motivated me to join? Well, there is always room for improvement in our lives, so why not. Here are a few of my motivations for participating in "28 to Great"!

1) Since having a baby I find that eating a full, healthy lunch has become a challenge. I spend so much time preparing food for the Mini Fashionista that my needs are often overlooked. One day in, and I already see how my lunch is healthier and more filling.  

2) We eat a lot of fruit, but sometimes I fall short on the vegetables. The challenge has me thinking more about veggies, veggies, veggies, which is always a good thing.

3) I'm competitive, and I love a good challenge, so bring it! 

It's not too late for anyone who wants to join. You can find more info here. I promise to report back in the coming weeks on how it is going. Katie has a lot of travel planned in the next month, so this will definitely be a challenge for her, but I know she is equal to the task. 

In the mean time, let me share my new favorite snack recipe, the barre3 bar!! 

barre3 bar
These bars are so easy to make you can whip them up within minutes. They don’t need to bake and all you need is a glass dish and a food processor.Feel free to adapt the recipe to suit your needs. Sample before pressing into the dish and adapt anything to taste.

Ingredients:

6 dates, pitted

2 TBS coconut oil

1⁄4 cup sunflower butter or almond butter

1⁄4 cup goji berries (raisins work too)

1⁄4 cup shredded coconut flakes

1⁄4 cup ground flax2 tsp ground cinnamonaCouple pinches of sea salt (unless sunflower or almond butter is salted)1 cup almonds

Handful of cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips (I prefer cacao nibs)

Preparation:

1 . Place the pitted dates and coconut oil in the base of your food processor. Add the seed or nut butter. Whirl these three ingredients until blended.

2. Add the goji berries or raisins, the coconut flakes, the ground flax, the cinnamon and the sea salt and whirl in the food processor again, until the mixture is well incorporated. It’s OK if its a bit more chunky at this point.

3. Add the almonds and the cacao nibs or chocolate chips and pulse your food processor until you have a chunky mass that looks like cookie dough.

4. Scoop dough-like mixture into a 8×8 glass container and press the mixture down with the back of a spoon.5. Store in the fridge for at least one hour to harden. Cut into bars to grab-and-go to your barre3 class and store extras in the refrigerator.

Skeletons in Your Closet

There is nothing more appropriate for a Halloween blog post than these incredible Nike Pro Tights. I think I need a skeleton in my closet! These tights are amazing! I totally need a pair for barre3! 

images via

So, would you wear these?

And, don't forget, today is the last day to save 10% at Serena Italian Imports to get that Angela Caputi bracelet you've been dying for! Use the code "fallcardicouture"! 

Bust a Move

You know I am always on the hunt for cool leggings! I was recently contacted by Pins by Lydra, a company in Melbourne, Australia. They take art and showcase it on leggings. Seriously cool stuff! Here's a short poem to tell you more about the company:

"If you’re a lithe legged lovely with legs right up to there,

Or your limbs are slightly shorter and covered in fine hair.

Just don a pair of Pins and you’ll feel five million bucks,

With these luscious leggings on, you’re sure to gather looks.

Choose tailored tights by Breslin with crazy bright designs,

Or Pins by Lilli Waters where hidden beauty shines.

And those from Abby Seymour are a two-colour delight,

Hand sewn by careful fingers to fit your legs just right.

And, if you’re a cool designer, then why don’t you apply,

To see your great creation on some luscious ladies thigh?"

Poem by Kate Toon

Photo by Calvin Tiono

These photos are from the SHE raw exhibition (inspired by the upcoming Olympics). Can you imagine me showing up to Barre3 to teach in these? I better be able to bust some serious moves like these ladies.

photos by Tristan Manas

Artists can submit their work to be featured on Pins leggings here. 

The Low Down

Thanks to my friend and fellow fashionista Amy, I am now in the know about yet another fantastic lifestyle/workout brand, Solow!

Solow features great clothes to wear for working out and for kicking around town. Their prices are reasonable and the styles are chic and fun. Did I mention my friend, and Barre3 Founder, Sadie Lincoln is an ambassador! No wonder she always looks so good while working up a sweat! If I didn't have access to Nike at a discount, I would definitely be tempted by all of these pieces.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from their current online selection. I am especially in love with the ruffle pants!

Black Milk

Thanks to my friend Meredith for introducing me to Black Milk Clothing Company. In fact, thanks to Meredith for inspiring me to begin this blog (nearly 3 years ago)! If it weren't for her, C&C wouldn't exist. Love you Mere!

Now, back to Black Milk...This company started with an Australian girl (a Sheila, if you will) and a dream of fantastic leggings. Dream no more...Black Milk Clothing offers the coolest leggings as well as dresses, skirts, tops, etc. Here are a few of my favorites.

I know I would definitely turn a few heads and stand out from the crowd if I wore these at Barre3!

This final pair would require an incredible amount of guts...no pun intended.

These are so crazy... but crazy cool!

Work it Out

Since I spend most of my day in workout clothes, I try to add at least a little bit of fashion to my look. Katie so kindly sent me a link to this Old Navy Waffle-Knit Sweater which would be the perfect addition to my pre and post Barre3 wardrobe.

It comes in three colors and is on sale for $28.99!

mybarre3

You've heard me (and Katie) talk about Barre3 a number of times, and sadly many of you don't live in towns with a Barre3 studio. Well, it is your lucky day! Launching today is mybarre3.com

For $15 per month, mybarre3 subscribers get unlimited access to streaming workout videos (you can also watch on your iPad or smartphone). Classes come in 10-, 20-, 30-, 40- and 60-minute increments and were designed for everyday environments like the deck, kitchen, living room or office. Each month, new classes will be added so you (and your muscles) will never get bored.


Props from Chris Lincoln on Vimeo.

Check it out...you won't be sorry!

Barre3 DC

Sound the horns! Alert your Facebook friends! Get thee to the Twitters! Barre3 Georgetown is open! If you follow C & C, you know that Regan is a Barre3 instructor in Portland, where all the magic started! And you probably know that she stayed in rock-star shape during her pregnancy in large part to this amazing workout. Founder Sadie Lincoln created a combination of ballet barre work, yoga, and pilates, designed to shape and lift the entire body, that has even kicked Madonna's tush into shape! 

Photo from Barre3.com

Photo from Barre3.com

So you can only imagine how excited I was when I learned that a studio was opening here in D.C.! And let me tell you, it's gorgeous! Centrally located on the Georgetown Waterfront on K Street (on the corner of K and Wisconsin next to Chadwick's), the historic building is the perfect place to get your sweat on! The studio opened on Wednesday and I've already been to 3 classes. Today is the last day of free classes, but you can check out class options on their website. I'd recommend getting the introductory special of 3 classes for $45. It's a great way to get a feel for the workout...and trust me, you'll feel it. 

Since all of our readers aren't in Portland and D.C., check out studio locations around the country. And get to the barre! We all know that fit is fashionable! 

Don't forget to follow C & C on Facebook and Twitter! 

What I Wore to Workout

Katie frequently posts on what she "wore to work." If I were to do similar posts, I would probably have to call the posts "what I wore to workout" since my only official job (at the moment) is teaching at Barre3. And since I spend most of my time in my workout clothes (mostly Nike) I thought I would share an often forgotten about brand, Hardtail Forever. They offer great rocker inspired clothes that can transition from the gym to errands to lunch with a friend. All of the following pieces are available at Nordstrom.  I especially love the keyhole top!

A Legend is Born

Workout pants are like jeans....they have to be a nice material, fit like a glove, make the bootie look firm and lifted (you know you want that) and be somewhat affordable... or they make your bootie look so good, you don't care how much they cost.

Say hello to the Nike Legend Pants.

I have a pair of the capri pants and just bought two of the full length. Check em' out! You won't be sorry! And here's a little of the back story (pun intended).

Splits Fifty Nine

In honor of my first "official" barre3 class this Sunday, let's talk about workout clothes. I've decided to stay true to the swoosh and represent it proudly as a barre3 instructor (we have a history the swoosh and I), but that certainly doesn't mean I can't tell the C&C readers about other fabulous brands. So here's a new one for you: Splits Fifty Nine. Simple and chic workout wear that is even made in the good ole' US of A!

Here are a few of my favorite pieces. I especially love the scooped back sweatshirt!