Garden of Life Raw Protein & greens Giveaway

  Make this the year that you are committed to health. Start your day with a healthy shake or smoothie that is made with the goodness of greens. I just love how this protein powder contains many different green veggies but does not look or taste green. Garden Of Life Raw Protein & greens is my favorite protein powder and you can win a canister. Check out my full review and come back and tell me what kind of smoothie/shake that you would make with the Garden Of Life Raw Protein & greens. The pictures below show some smoothies that I made with this wonderful protein powder and they don't have a bit of green to them.

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/01/how-to-make-green-smoothie-that-does.html

                                        Chocolate Banana Peanut butter smoothie


Would you like to try this wonderful protein powder and get more greens into your diet? Then find out more and where you can purchase Garden Of Life Raw Protein & greens.
                                       http://www.gardenoflife.com/

                                          Vanilla Peach Smoothie

                          Giveaway

Enter to win a canister of Garden Of Life Raw Protein & greens. Just enter on the giveaway form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This giveaway is open to US residents 18 years of age or older.  Chances of winning giveaway depends on number of entries. All entries will be verified. Winner will be notified within 24 hours of end of contest and will then have 48 hours to respond to the email or a new winner will be chosen. Sponsor is responsible for shipping out prize. Void where prohibited.

Wonderful Halos Are A Perfect Sweet And Healthy Valentine’s Day Treat

Think outside the chocolate box and replace unhealthy snacks and candy for a sweet and healthy Halo that’s sure to win your Valentine’s heart!

       Valentine's day at my kid's school means parties with way too many unhealthy treats. The teacher always sends home a sign-up list for the class party and the list is filled with items like chips, cookies, candy, and cupcakes. I get it, it is a party and kids deserve a treat once in a while but, why not have more healthy items on the list like fruit, veggies, and whole grain crackers. I don't mind my boys having some treats, but I would like them to eat healthy items along with the treats. So I am the mom that sends in the baby carrots to the class parties as most kids do not eat enough if any veggies. Last party, my son brought the carrots and his teacher placed a couple on each kids plate. The cool thing was that most kids ate the carrots and asked for more. So this year I am going to bring the baby carrots along with some wonderful Halos mandarins. My boys love eating Halos so I want to show the kids how awesome they taste.

These cute little balls of orange are a sweet, seedless and easy to peel snack and are a great alternative to candy. Halos are great to bring to parties and are also great to put into the Valentine bags. This year my boys are going to make Valentines that include Halos instead of candy. When I mentioned this idea to my teenager, he said " I would love for someone to give me a Halo, a whole bag of them would be even better!" I will mention this to his girlfriend. My teen eats four Halos at a time.

Halos even makes it easy for your child to give their wonderful fruit as a Valentines day treat. They even have ideas and printables on their website and Facebook page. I just love all the many ideas that they have, some are even very simple for us uncrafty people. I did some searching on the website and discovered these cool printable tags and coloring pages.

http://www.halosfun.com/halos-blog/valentine-halo/

I printed out the cute Halo tags and attached them to the sweet delicious orange Halos. I then had a wonderful way for my boys to give them as a treat in the Valentine bags. A 3 pound bag of Halos has about 21 pieces of fruit and they are about the same price as a bag of candy, but way healthier. Did you know one Halo has 50 calories and 45  percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C?

 You can even put the Halos into bags and tie them up with cute ribbon. I just love that this treat is ready to peel and eat.

So take a look at Wonderful Halos website to get some inspiration for other ways to wrap up those delicious balls of orange fruit. The below picture shows some cute boxes that you can make to put the Halos in. They even have a how to videos on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/halos/videos?ref=page_internal

So this Valentine's Day be the mom that gets an A+ for originality and think outside the chocolate box. Replace unhealthy snacks and candy for a sweet and healthy Halo that’s sure to win your Valentine’s heart! A box of Halos makes enough valentines for an entire class! 

How will you wrap up your Wonderful Halos?

http://halosfun.com/halos-blog/

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"These opinions are my own and I received a yummy bag of Wonderful Halos to facilitate this post."

$50 Luck of the Irish Giveaway Event

This post contains affiliate links.

Welcome to the Luck of the Irish $50 of choice Giveaway! 
Try your luck and win $50. Maybe being Irish will bring you good luck.

Hosted by: Southern Mom Loves

One winner will receive $50 via Paypal cash or an eGift Card of choice!

Giveaway begins on 2/9/16 at 1:00 am CST and ends on 3/10/16 at 11:59 pm CST. Must be 18 years or older, open Worldwide (void where prohibited.) Once winners are confirmed, they will be added to the Winner's List here.

Entry-Form

Disclaimer: The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. No purchase is necessary to enter. One entrant per household, per IP address. All entries will be verified. Void where prohibited by law. Winner will be contacted by email; Please add southernmomloves@gmail.com to your whitelist. Southern Mom Loves will be responsible for prize delivery to the winner. This giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest, or any other social media platform.

Contact Holly at southernmomloves@gmail.com if you have any additional questions or comments, or would like Southern Mom Loves to organize your next giveaway.

Day One Of Running After An Injury.

 The weather was nice out so I decided to start running again. I have been putting off starting my running as it has been cold outside. I also have been afraid to start running again as I was afraid of falling or getting an injury. After three falls and two injuries, I admit I was afraid to run again. I had to overcome my fear and just do it. So I stopped making excuses and decided that I was going to run again. Maybe my dress shopping adventure the other day helped me to take the running plunge. I put on five pounds since I stopped running and it was all in my belly. I needed a dress for my son's military ball and did not like what I saw in the mirror. So I am hoping that running will help me lose the belly weight in three weeks.

  I laced up my new running shoes and out the door I went. I decided to walk a block first before I stretched. When I got to the top of my block, I then did several stretches on my legs and feet. I then walked two more blocks and turned on my music. I told myself, just run. So I started to run. I followed the run/walk/rest schedule and ran 15 seconds. Then I walked for 45 seconds. I was running again and it felt ok at first. Five minutes into my running, I started to feel pain. I knew that some pain was expected so I continued to run/walk more. The pain was in my shins and hamstrings. My endurance was fine and I had to pace myself with the running as I wanted to run fast, but I knew that might lead to an injury. Half-way through my run/walk, I had to do some stretching as my muscles felt tight. That helped me to continue on. I still had some discomfort, but it was mild. I accomplished my thirty minutes of exercise today! My legs are a little sore and my ankle is too. So as I am writing this, I am icing my ankle with my Cold Therapy Socks. I am glad tomorrow is a walk day.

How To Run Again After An Injury

This was a run that I did called The Dirty Dash 

 I love running, but I have not ran for six months. I had to stop running six months ago due to a hamstring tear. Now most people get hamstring tears from too much running, but not me. My hamstring tear was the result of a bad fall. I fell while I was running because I was wearing the wrong type of running shoes. It took me three bad falls, with the hamstring tear being the final fall, for me to finally realize my shoes were causing my falls. I was starting to think I was just clumsy, but my falls were the result of me wearing train running shoes while running on pavement. I bought the shoes online and did not even realize they were for trails.The traction on the shoes were getting stuck in cracks on the sidewalk and street, thus causing me to fall. I learned my lesson about buying the right shoes for running.

 I am now ready to start running again. My mind has been ready to run for a long time, but I delayed running for six months as I wanted to make sure my body was healed not only from the hamstring tear but also from an Achilles tendon problem that I also have been dealing with way before the hamstring tear. I know I have to start easy with my running as to not have any other injuries. Here are some tips that I want to share about running after an injury.

Running shoes

I bought a new pair of running shoes. When buying running shoes, it is important that they fit well and are designed for your type of feet. I have high arches, so I always look for shoes that are made for high arches. Try several brands of shoes on to find a pair that fits well. I recommend buying running shoes at a running store that has a treadmill as the staff can make sure you are wearing the right type of shoe. This is very important for us people who have had an injury, as the injury may have been the result of wearing the wrong shoes. However, if you want to explore online options, I would recommend to go for Loom running sneakers. Specially designed for outdoors, Loom shoes are 100% waterproof and lightweight and offer the utmost comfort to your feet.

Stretching

I hate stretching before I run, but I have learned through my physical therapy appointments that I received after my injury, that it is important. Stretching will prevent many injuries. Don't know where to start with stretching or what type of stretching to do? I found many good stretching exercises for runners just by doing an online search. Here is a video that shows the ten best stretches for runners that I found helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF8x_SIPRYo
 The main thing about stretching is to get those tight muscles ready for running. Stretching also good for after running to help your muscles recover.

Warm-up

I like to fast walk for about five minutes before I start running as it is a great way to get your heart rate up and also get those muscles warmed up.

Running

 I have found that a schedule that incorporates a mix of running, walking and resting is best for beginner runners. This combination helps reduce the risk of injury and fatigue while also boosting your enjoyment of a physical activity. When one takes up running, they will find it hard at first but with the run/walk/rest schedule, it helps your body get used to running. I found a great run/walk/rest schedule on the Mayo Clinic website that was created by Olympian Jeff Galloway.  http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/5k-run/art-20050962 This schedule has you starting with 15 seconds running and 45 seconds walking on some days, repeating for a 30 minute exercise period. Then the next day you just walk for 30 minutes. You alternate these days so your body has time to rest and recover. It is a seven-week plan that increases the time you run every week and gets you ready to run a 5K. Here is what week one looks like.

Week 1

On run/walk days, walkers walk only. Runners run for 15 seconds/walk for 45 seconds.

Monday	Run/walk 30 minutes
Tuesday	Walk 30 minutes
Wednesday	Run/walk 30 minutes
Thursday	Walk 30 minutes
Friday	Rest
Saturday	Run/walk 3 miles (4.8 km)
Sunday	Rest or walk

Pain management

I know that I will have some soreness in the first week or two of running. I have discovered that treating pain right away with ice helps it to feel better. I like to these flexible gel packs as they are so much more comfortable than a bag of ice and less messy too. The large gel pack is awesome as it is big enough to wrap around my leg. The other gel pack item is these cool socks that have cold gel packs in them and they feel great on your tired feet. The company makes many other cold and hot packs that are great for running. Check out this link to find out more.

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/01/my-plan-to-start-running-to-win-5k.html

So this is my plan to get back to running. I am hoping all goes well and I am able to start running again without any injuries. I will keep you posted on my progress. I will also include tips that I discover along the way of my journey. My goal is to run a 5K this summer.

My Oolala OOFOS Are Crazy Comfortable

Once you put these recovery sandals on, you will never want to take them off.

   Last year I attended my first ever blogging conference and it was the best thing ever for my website. I was all nervous and excited at the same time. I did tons of research about what to pack for my first conference, thank goodness I was able to find articles from other bloggers who had attended conferences. There was also a Facebook page devoted to the conference. This page was a great place to ask questions and learn about the conference. One of the questions that people asked was what to wear to the conference. The answer was always comfortable clothes and shoes, as we would be doing a lot of walking and standing. People would also ask about what kind of shoes others were going to wear. Many bloggers wanted to wear their cute shoes that made their outfits look wonderful, but others said wear comfortable shoes. The one shoe that many bloggers spoke of was a shoe with a unique name. They bragged about how these cute shoes were so crazy comfortable. The shoes everyone was talking about were OOFOS.

    I had already purchased another brand of shoes for that conference so I did not think about my shoes until I attended the conference. The other bloggers were so right about all the walking and standing. My conference took place in several different rooms, including a 2 story exhibit hall. By the end the day, my feet hurt from all the walking. I wish I had listened and bought a pair of OOFOS.

     I have several blogging conferences planned for this year, so I contacted OOFOs and inquired about their sandals as I wanted to try them out. They sent me a pretty pair of sandals that were called Oolala and the name was perfect for these purple and gray sandals. As soon as these shoes arrive, I just had to wear them. They felt incredible on my feet! These purple shoes felt like I was walking on a memory foam bed. My nine-year-old son saw the shoes and said, " those are awesome looking shoes".  I agreed with him as I knew these pretty shoes would match all my favorite dresses, especially my favorite pink polka dot dress.  

I am happy to say that I have found my new favorite shoes for all my future blogging conferences. These OOFOS are more than just a pretty shoe. These shoes are designed to help your feet recover in ways that typical footwear can’t. Just read the below description of the shoes as These shoes truly live up to this. 

OOFOS are made from a unique and proprietary material called OOfoam, which is 37 percent more impact absorbent than EVA, OOFOS allow the recovery process to begin as soon as you finish your workout and slip them on!

OOFOS offer unparalleled impact absorption and arch support, yet they are soft and insanely comfortable. Our biometrically designed footbed massages the foot, causing you to feel the OO as you tackle all of your daily responsibilities.

  These shoes also have great arch support and come in many different colors. I might just have to buy a couple more pairs as you can never have too many shoes. Click on the below link to see all the wonderful benefits of these crazy comfortable shoes.

           http://www.oofos.com/pages/your-feet-earned-this

   I have shown you just one type of OOFOS shoes, they have many more styles and colors of their wonderful recovery shoes. They even have shoes for guys and clog style shoes. I just love all the different colors that these shoes come in. These shoes are great for everyday and awesome to put on after doing sports like running. Your feet work hard so treat them to comfort. Check out some more awesome facts about OOFOS.

                                                

• OOfoam: Absorbs 37% more shock than other materials
• Reduces stress on sore feet, knees and lower back
• Cradles your arches
• Biomechanically designed footbed allows natural motion
• Soft, conforming toe post eliminates toe chafing
• Shower/beach-ready — moisture and bacteria resistant; doesn’t retain smell
• Durable OOfoam holds its cushion
• Machine washable
• So light they float

                 http://www.oofos.com/

"These opinions are my own and I received a pair of OOFOS of my choice to facilitate this post."