Tag Archives: Product Reviews

We Love FILA

Trying to find great workout clothes can be an impossible task. Sure, you could work out in an oversized t-shirt and baggy basketball shorts, but let’s face it – stylish exercise clothes can be practical and inspiring. The workout gear of the 70’s and 80’s has thankfully gone the way of the 8 track player and many companies use technology to create clothing that wicks, breathes and does everything except the super set, all while incorporating style and keeping you looking good! One such company is FILA.

Since it got its start in Italy in 1911, FILA has been well known for creating comfortable, functional exercise clothing that is both beautiful and high quality.

This fall, FILA announced two new product lines: Supplex and Body Toning System. Offered in bright jewel tones and modeled by real women in their advertisements, these workout clothes have quickly become my own personal favorites.

I was sent a pair of Supplex yoga pants, a BTS tank and capri pants for running. All three items fit well and made for comfortable exercise, with a bonus that they helped me look good while exercising. If I look good, I feel good. Silly and vain, but I’ll bet you nodded as you read it, didn’t you? But, you might ask – what’s so special about these new clothing lines?

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Posted on December 10, 2025 by Carmen

Bob’s Red Mill Soups Make a Healthy Hostess Gift

You no doubt have a million holiday parties to attend this year, which leaves you with the dreaded decision of what to bring as a hostess gift. If you are sick of giving out the same bottle of wine to every host and hostess, go with a healthy, nutritious gift that is fun to give and can be personalized for every occassion.

For me, there is nothing I crave more on a cold winter’s day than a big bowl of thick, filling soup. Curling up on the couch to watch a movie with the cold rain falling outside (I live in Seattle, snow is a rarity) really gets me into the holiday spirit. Give your hostess everything they need to make a big batch of healthy, filling soup in one easy package using Bob’s Red Mill soups.

Bob’s Red Mill soups come in handy bags full of all the delicious and wholesome ingredients you need to make a big batch of hearty soup. Available in a variety of flavors and full of beans and whole grains, Bob’s Red Mill soup mixes are ready to go*- you can just pour the soup mix into a pot with water or broth, add any of your favorite spices, and let simmer.

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Posted on December 8, 2025 by Kelly

3 Minute Egg Adds an Extra Edge to Your Yoga Routine

The 3 Minute Egg is perfect for beginner or experienced yogis who like the added benefit of yoga blocks. While traditional yoga blocks are rectangular in shape, the egg shape of 3 Minute Egg is designed to work with the shape of your body and offers a combination of comfort, protection and support in all yoga postures. 3 Minute Eggs come in a variety of colors and DVDs are available to help you get the most from your yoga practice.

Yoga blocks are most commonly used by beginners to rest and support their body when their muscles or lack of flexibility don’t allow them to hold more advanced poses, and to actually increase the difficulty of stretches for more advanced and more flexible yogis. If you are used to using yoga blocks in your routine, either to help you if you are new or lacking flexibility, or to increase the intensity of your poses, these little eggs are for you.

If you are a beginner, the 3 Minute Eggs can be used in place of rectangular blocks seemlessly. If you are more advanced, however, the egg shape of the 3 Minute Egg acts much like a stability ball. The rounded surface rocks, literally, so placing them under your hands during poses like Downward Dog engages more muscle groups to hold them steady, creating a great burn in your shoulders that will build sleeker muscles faster. You can also increase your stretch by rocking them forward, increasing your range of motion.

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Posted on December 5, 2025 by Kelly

Meals to Live: Healthy Frozen Entrees for Diabetics

The frozen food aisle can be a forbidden realm for anyone on a diet or participating in a healthy lifestyle. Meals to Live frozen entrees want to change that perception with meals targeted specifically at diabetics who lead an active lifestyle and may not always have time to cook a fresh meal.

Based out of Dallas, Texas, Meals to Live boasts a team of nutrition experts and chefs that help to tailor their frozen entrees to provide nutritional value while still having a fulfilling taste. Currently there are eight frozen flavors available ranging from a White Chicken Burrito, to Turkey Meatballs to a Spinach Omelet as a breakfast option. They also market a pixie-stick like powder called Glucose Quick Sticks. They come in Sour Apple and Watermelon flavor and can be used to prevent low sugar episodes.

Meals to Live is currently available at over 1,100 stores with local retailers like Walgreens, Meijer and Kroger in twelve states. Their website has a store locator option to find one nearest to you. If you would like to request this product in your area there is a form available to give to your local retailer. Amazon.com also sells the Meals to Live products on their website.

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Posted on December 1, 2025 by Sarah

Beanitos Tortilla Chips Add a Satisfying Crunch to Snack Time

I’m a sucker for Mexican food, and eat it all the time because it is so easy to get the same delicious flavors you would find in your favorite cheesy, greasy restaurant entrees in a healthy, fresh and easy meal at home. I always have fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro and avocado stocked to dice and add a little Mexican flare to chicken, fish, fajitas, and salads for hardly any calories. Keeping soft, corn tortillas on hand over the bleached flour ones lends a more indulgent restaurant-style feel to a meal, but, you know, I could never find a healthy and satisfying substitution for the crunch of a traditionally lard-laden tortilla chip.

Enter Beanitos: crunchy, yummy tortilla chips made from whole beans and whole grains. These fiber-filled little guys are always gluten-free, wheat free, and soy free, packed with 4 g of complete protein, with no cholesterol and no trans fats. They come in 4 great flavors, including Pinto and Flax and Cheddar Cheese, which boasts whole pinto beans, whole brown flaxseed and whole grain rice as their first three ingredients and Black Bean and Chipotle BBQ, whose first two ingredients are whole black beans and whole grain rice. At 140 calories per serving, and 20 percent of your daily fiber these make a healthy filling snack that fits into almost anyone’s diet.

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Posted on November 25, 2025 by Kelly

Heart Centered Manduka Yoga Company Does More Than Attract the Rich and Famous

The Manduka Black Mat Pro, which retails for $94, is known not only for its high standards of performance and comfort (not unlike a BMW or Jaguar) but also because it is the preferred mat and mat company of celebrities such as Lady Gaga, LeAnn Rimes, Kate Hudson and Katie Holmes.

However, just as we are not the clothes we wear, the car we drive or the size of the house we call home, we cannot and will not be stereotyped by what kind of yoga mat we use, it’s just not the way we yogis roll. But this particular mat has had people awestruck for over a decade.

Designed by Peter Sterios, architect turned yogi and the founder of Manduka, this unique and best selling mat not only offers the ultimate in support, it is eco friendly and non-toxic. Built to last a lifetime, the Manduka Black Mat Pro has flaunted other colors, each for a limited time only. Black, the standard color, expresses this company’s commitment, not in making a status symbol or a fashion statement, but rather in creating enduring and timeless products.

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Posted on November 6, 2025 by Jill

Biggest Loser’s Simply Sensible Meals Make Dinner for Two a No-Brainer

So you want to eat like a Loser? Then Simply Sensible meals seem like an easy solution. You’ve probably seen them in your grocery store, in the refrigerated prepared meals section. They’re relatively affordable, about five dollars for a meal that will feed two people.

But are they really that good for you? We spoke with Cheryl Forberg, RD, the nutritionist for Biggest Loser, and she told us that she was involved with the creation of the Simply Sensible meals, albeit “not in the kitchen.” We also spoke with Mary Hartley, RD, the nutrition director at Calorie Count, for a more third-party voice.

“Anything with the Biggest Loser brand is something I look at,” Forberg told us about her involvement with the show’s branded foods items. “This is especially true of the [Biggest Loser] eating plan because I co-wrote it.”

Forgerg explained that the meals were developed based on the Biggest Loser eating plan, a balance of lean protein, carbs, and good fats. (more…)

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Natalie K

Soffe’s New Styles Amp Up Summer Fitness Fashion

In the winter months, it is nice and easy to cover up in sweats and baggy t shirts in the confines of the gym, but in the summer, taking your fitness routine outdoors will give you an extra boost of mood enhancing vitamin D. That mood, however, can quickly drop when you realize that taking your workout outdoors means being seen in public- and those ratty cover ups aren’t going to cut it.

As shallow as it sounds, many women say their motivation to workout correlates directly to how they think they look: if you feel down about your appearance, you are less likely to workout. Conversely, if you feel good about the way you look, you are more likely to not only show your hot self off, but continue to improve on your appearance with exercise- and a cute outfit is the fastest and easiest way to feel good about yourself.

I know when I think of Soffe, I think of comfy baseball tees and solid cheer shorts, but Soffe is ramping up their style to help you not only beat the heat while exercising outdoors this summer, but make a fashion statement at the same time.

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Posted on August 15, 2025 by Kelly

The FIRM Express Promises to Get You Thin in 30 Days

Thin in 30 days? Maybe. Doing it in three 20 minute workouts a week? Prove it.

I’m always wary of workout programs that offer more results with less effort. Turns out, in this case, less effort doesn’t mean less exercise, just less of a time commitment, which I can get behind.

The FIRM has been a trusted name in exercise and fitness for years, with workouts designed to empower women to work towards their best bodies and achieve total body fitness in the comfort of their very own home.

The FIRM has introduced a new workout series called The FIRM Express, which takes their successful fitness philosophy and condenses it down into three times weekly 20 minute workouts that promise to get you “thin in 30” days. Like all of the workouts by The FIRM, this program combines effective cardio exercises with weight training to get results faster and help you burn more fat than traditional cardio or weight lifting alone.

This 12 DVD program includes 12 workouts you will use through four different cycles that are specifically sequenced to optimize weight loss. The FIRM Express boasts that you can burn up to nine times more fat with this program than traditional workouts.

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Posted on August 1, 2025 by Kelly

Cybex’s Arc Trainer Supports Two-Time Cancer Survivor’s Weight Loss Journey

I’m Andi Guthrie, a wife, mother of two and Naunie to one. I am also a two-time cancer survivor diagnosed first at the age of 22 when my children were 4.5-years old and six-months old. I’m a fighter that never gave up and never had pity upon myself. Thyroid cancer was my first cancer and it had spread into my lymph nodes and also my parathyroid. I went to the doctor because I was unable to lose the weight after the birth of our daughter and I had never had a weight issue before. This was when the doctor found a tumor in my neck and two weeks later I was having the first of two surgeries.

Since that time I have been battling to lose weight and have not been successful. I’ve used diet pills, I tried out for the Biggest Loser twice, then finally was approved for LAP-band surgery. It was at that point when I was picking up the phone to schedule my surgery that I could not rightfully admit that I had 100 percent tried to lose weight the healthy way on my own. Instead of scheduling surgery I cancelled all appointments and removed my name from the surgery list. On January 25, 2026 I started my journey of a happier, healthier me and have given this journey 100 percent of me! (more…)

Posted on July 20, 2025 by GuestBlogger

New Wedges Make Exercise a Little Easier for Beginners

fitness-wedgesOne of the most common complaints I hear from beginner exercisers is that their knees, wrists or necks feel uncomfortable — or even painful — during common moves like push-ups, planks and ab work. When you’re just starting a new workout program, there’s already enough things to deal with, from making room in your schedule for exercise to properly hydrating to having the right form to delayed onset muscle soreness. The last thing you need is extra discomfort, right? Right!

The company Do or Die Fitness recently sent me their new fitness wedges for just this problem. Made of soft yet supportive latex-free foam, the wrist wedges, neck circle and knee donuts are a new exerciser’s BFF. All of the supports reduce discomfort and stress on your joints by improving your ergonomics. I was especially a fan of the knee donuts. Whether it’s being in table-top position in yoga that’s uncomfortable or doing a modified push-up that puts too much pressure on your knees, these little donuts do wonders. The wrist wedges were also easy to use, even including a little diagram of where your hand goes, so that you use them correctly. The neck circle was my least favorite of the three, but it wasn’t because it didn’t work — it did its job. I just feel like, for neck support, you could easily use a towel, pillow or something else that’s soft you have around the house. (more…)

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Jennipher