FREE Stride or Dentyne Gum

FREE Stride or Dentyne Gum Receive ONE (1) FREE Stride or Dentyne Gum single packs, any variety (14-16 ct.). Available in most stores.

Exp 09/28/2016

This Friday, September 9th, 2016 – ONLY, you can load a coupon to your Kroger (or Affiliate) Plus Card for one FREE Stride or Dentyne Gum

Although 9/2/16 is the only day that you can load the coupon, the coupon offer is redeemable through 9/28/2016

                             http://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/freefri/

While you are downloading your coupon check out the Game Day Greats.

Save with digital coupons, play the instant win game for a chance to win prizes, find game day recipes and more! I won soup the other day.

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Probiotics Have Many Uses Beyond Gut Health

This post contains sponsored links

   When you think of probiotics, you think of gut health. Most people think probiotics are great for keeping your tummy happy. They are correct as probiotics contain live beneficial bacteria that promote the growth of good bacteria in your stomach. I like to visualize probiotics as little guys that gobble up the bad guys, kind of like a PacMan game. It is awesome that people take probiotics when they have tummy troubles or when they take antibiotics. Probiotics are so much more than that and there are many reasons why you should be taking a probiotic daily. I am not the expert in this area, I am just speaking from my personal experience.

  I was introduced to daily probiotics last year at a conference and have slowly learned how awesome they are beyond gut health. Last year at the conference I received almost a case of probiotics from a company. So not wanting to waste them I had my whole family take a probiotic a day. They were chocolates with probiotics in them so it was easy to convince the younger boys to eat one a day. My husband, on the other hand, was harder to convince as he complained that the probiotic was making him go #2 more. Hello, it is natural to go #2 once a day as probiotics will make it easier to go #2 and he needed that help.I finally convinced my husband to take a daily probiotic once I showed him research that it might help his gum disease problems. He had almost all his teeth removed the year before and he still had problems with his gums. The teen was also hard to convince too and would not take them until last month when I told him it might help clear up his acne.

 My family, except the teen, took the probiotics daily for about four months and I was amazed at how they helped our family. My youngest boys no longer complained their stomachs hurt and I no longer had to tell them to sit on the potty, the cure for everything. They also did not get any colds during this time and it was cold and flu season. The teen, on the other hand, came down with strep throat. My husband finally had a good dental appointment. I know what you are thinking that it was just a coincident. I have no proof that it was the probiotics but I am not taking any chances as research has shown probiotics to be beneficial beyond gut health and my family will continue to take a daily probiotic. Sadly the expensive chocolate probiotics ran out. I did some further research and discovered a probiotic that has more strains of the good guys and is also dairy and gluten free.

 Our new probiotic that my husband and I take is made by a company called Island's Miracle. The younger boys take a chewable one as they still have trouble swallowing pills. Ultra-50 Probiotics contains a proprietary blend of 18 strains and 50 billion CFUs of good bacteria and is 100% natural. My husband and I are happy with this high dose probiotic and will continue to take it as we are heading into cold and flu season again. Now to just remind the teen of the strep throat  he has last year and hopefully he will continue to take probiotics every day. I looked at his face, last night, and the acne is getting better after only two weeks of probiotics.

So here at the reasons that my family takes a daily probiotic. A happy gut equals a happy body!

                                                         Immune Health

                                                         Dental Health

                                                         Stomach Health   

                                                         Skin Problems-acne

There are many other uses for probiotics. I have heard that they are good for yeast infections, eczema, and even seasonal allergies. Since probiotics are the good bacteria even babies can take them at a lower dose. I just wish I had discovered probiotics sooner. Do some research and soon you will see why probiotics are a good thing. Probiotics are a small cost compared to doctor appointments and missed days of work. This brand says to take two capsules a day but once you get your gut happy, you can reduce it to one to maintain the great benefits.

Protecting Your Skin from Harmful UV Ray

The sunlight can wreak havoc on your skin. Even the mildest of sunburns can leave behind damage that could evolve into skin cancer later. When you want to protect your hands, face, arms, and other parts of your body from the sun's harmful UV rays, you may do well to wear sunscreen before going out each day. Rather than buy a single bottle of this product, however, you may find it better to stock up now and buy sunscreen in bulk by shopping online today.


Choosing the Best Sun Protection

When you shop online, you may wonder what kind of UV ray protection is best for you and your family. You may read different advice online and have no idea what SPF number to choose for you and your loved ones. 

The SPF number that you choose can depend greatly on how much you go out in the sun each day as well as what kind of skin you and your family have. If you are light skinned and go out in the sun frequently, you may benefit from choosing a product that has a higher number. However, if you have darker skin and only go out in the sun occasionally, you may do well with a lower SPF number sunscreen.

You can find out what each number offers you and what benefits come with each sunscreen product by clicking on the website's pictures. You can also read about the ingredients and recommended usage for the products. Once you have the information you need, you can then select a sunscreen that will help keep you and your family safe from harmful UV rays.


Other Protective Products

Your skin is not the only part of your body that can get sunburned when you go out in the sunlight. Your lips likewise can suffer burns and develop blisters. However, you may not want to put sunscreen on your lips because of the texture and taste of the product. Rather than leave your lips unprotected, you can keep them safe from UV rays by using sunscreen lip balm.

The lip balm is for sale on the website as well. You can check out the varieties and read about the usage and ingredients by clicking on the lip balm link online.


The sun can damage your skin and leave behind long-lasting sunspots and tumors. You can keep you and your loved ones safe from UV rays by investing in sunscreen products today.

Exercise And Celebrate What Your Body Can Do

I just love this saying! It gives me motivation to run.

   The Olympics may be over but they have left a lasting impression on my family. My family enjoyed watching the athletes compete. I think the event we watch most was track and field as we are a family of runners. My teen son and I are both runners who like to compete. My son is on the track and cross country team at his school while I just do local races. I have been running since I was 18 years old, taking some breaks when the kids were little, so it was only natural for my son to want to run. My son is a fast runner while I am striving to be faster. The Olympics has shown me that exercise should be a celebration of what my body can do. They have also helped me to realize that if you take care of your body it can perform better. For me, that means eating healthy food and exercising daily. The Olympics also reminded me that it was a year ago that I choose to start my mornings with a high protein plant-based smoothie. I make a delicious smoothie every morning with protein powder, fruits, veggies, and supplements like chia seed. My favorite smoothie is a nice green color as it has spinach, my favorite veggie, in it. My boys turn up their noses at my green smoothie but I don't care as this smoothie has help me to be able to tone my body and see some wonderful muscles in my legs and arms. I think my body needed the extra protein as my diet was lacking protein. My choice of protein powder for the last year has been Garden Of Life as they make wonderful plant based protein powders that taste wonderful. I like that these protein powders are plant-based and contain no unwanted sugars or chemicals. I work hard with my running to have a nice looking body and I am not going to put toxins like sugar and chemicals into my body. I also do not eat meat so why would I want my protein powder to be animal based.

 This morning I made my smoothie with vanilla protein powder, frozen spinach, an orange, and flax seed.  I drank this delicious protein-packed smoothie and went for my morning run about an hour later. I decided to push my body to run for 5 miles. Last week I was running a mile at a time then walking before I ran another mile for a total of four miles. It was a tough run but my smoothie gave me some great energy. It felt so good to be able to run the whole five miles. It has been a long time since I ran five miles straight as I have been recovering from a pulled hamstring. The best part of my run was no pain afterward in my muscles. I think the extra protein in my morning smoothie also helps my muscles recover faster.

  My favorite protein powder just got better. My Raw Organic Protein is now it is made with the goodness of peas. The peas provide me with 30% more protein and gives my daily smoothies a smoother taste. Of course, this tone- my- body- protein, is still organic and vegan. It also contains no sugar, no dairy, no soy, no gluten, or no GMO's. I love that it also contains probiotics and enzymes. I never get bored with my morning smoothies as Garden Of Life Raw Organic comes in four flavors.
                                                         - Chocolate Cacao
                                                          - Vanilla
                                                          - Vanilla Spiced Chai
                                                          - Unflavored

  I just choose my protein and then add fruits and veggies to make a different flavor every day. On days that I am in a hurry and don't have time to make my smoothie in my blender, I just combine a scoop of protein powder and 3 tablespoons chia seed in my blender bottle. I then add water and shake for a wonderful on the go protein drink. This protein powder is also great to use in pancakes and those wonderful energy balls.

 Did you know that some of the Olympians this year are Garden Of Life ambassadors?

  Abbey D'Agostino was one of the Olympic runners who fuels her body with Garden Of Life Products. Garden Of Life also sponsors the USA Track & Field (USATF) and provided these talented runners with plenty of protein powder at a recent training camp. I may never be as fast as these talented runners but I can feel good about my body knowing that Olympic runners enjoy the same protein powder that I use in my morning smoothies. I can't wait to see how my body will look in 6 months as I continue to run and enjoy my high protein healthy smoothies. Until then I will push my body to run faster as I want to be able to compete in a 5k on Thanksgiving with my son.

Check back later as I will be hosting a giveaway and the prize will be a container of Garden Of Life Raw Organic Protein.

"These opinions are my own and I received samples of Garden Of Life Raw Organic Protein to facilitate this post."

Free Yoplait Single Serve Cup

Free Yoplait Single Serve Cup Receive ONE (1) FREE Yoplait Single Serve Original, Whips!, Light, or Lactose Free Cup, any variety (4-6 oz). Available in Most Stores, Not valid in Louisiana.

Exp 09/18/2016

This Friday, September 2nd, 2016 – ONLY, you can load a coupon to your Kroger (or Affiliate) Plus Card for one Free Yoplait Single Serve Cup 

Although 9/2/16 is the only day that you can load the coupon, the coupon offer is redeemable through 9/18/2016

                                                 http://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/freefri/

Are Pain Relief Ointments Useful For Pre And Post-Workouts?

My discovery of a Menthol roll-on product has done wonders for my workouts.

  It has been about six weeks since I did something to my hamstring. I either pulled it or tore it, I am not sure which one. I was good and stopped running for a while so it could heal. Having suffered a big hamstring tear last year, I knew the symptoms and what I needed to do while it was healing. I also knew that I had to take it easy after it healed. I am confident that my hamstring has healed and have started running again. I am now, of course, experiencing some muscle pain and my hamstring is getting used again. This, of course, is literally, a pain in the butt as that is where it hurts after running making sitting hard to do. It is not a big pain but a small annoying pain that I just try to ignore. i wanted some pain relief but did not want to take any pills as they tend to make me drowsy. I also know that long term pain pill use is not good for the stomach. So I just did a lot of weird sitting to avoid sitting on my sore muscle.

 I was so happy when I received a sample of JointRitis the other day. It never dawned on me to use a pain relief ointment on my hamstring/muscle pain. So I opened up the box right away and rolled the menthol based product on my leg. I was expecting a bad smell but was surprised by its pleasant aroma. My 9-year-old said it smelled like peppermint and I agreed. My leg immediately experienced a cooling sensation and my pain seemed to vanish. I was able to sit once again without pain!

   So the next day when I went out running, I decided to use JointRitis on that area on my leg before I went running to see if it allowed me to run better. Now I was not expecting to run faster or longer, I was just hoping to run without that tightness and small pain that I was experiencing in my hamstring. I still did my usual stretching and I was able to stretch that leg better as I did not have that tightness in my leg that made me hesitate thinking that I might hurt my leg again. You stop using a muscle for 4 weeks and it is going to be tight. I then started running and I did not have any pain so I was able to run longer before needing to walk. The past year and a half has been filled with too many running injuries so I am still hesitant to run when I have any aches or pain. It is a fear that I have to work through and I have to realize that they are typical muscle aches. So the menthol pain relief in the roll-on of JointRitis will be able to help me do that.

  When I finished running, I applied some more JointRitis on my leg and I was able to sit without any pain! I love that I can use a 100% all natural topical ointment for pain relief and not have to take pain pills that make me drowsy. This nice smelling ointment does not irritate or dry my skin out either as it does not contain alcohol. It does contain lanolin which helps keep my skin soft and the roll-on applicator means no greasy hands for me as I don't touch the ointment. Note to self, I need to use JointRitis more often after running. Next time my husband complains that his back hurts, I will rub JointRitis on it and maybe I will not have to give him a back rub as that tends to hurt my hands. The company also recommends this product for arthritis so I need to send some to my mom for her hands.

 I am hoping by next week when I write about my running progress that my muscle ache/pain will be all gone and that I will be running longer periods of time. My goal is running for a mile before I have to walk.

"These opinions are my own and I received a sample of JointRitis to facilitate this post."