I hate when someone tries to be who they are not.  Don’t you?  I also hate when food products try to be something they are not.  But, along came Gardein buffalo wings (meat free) trying to be the old stand by pub  dish.  I just had to see if they would even come close the real deal.  Because, really people, who does not love some greasy spicy tangy buffalo wings?  But, I had to give them up long ago ever since my body told me NO to the all that FAT!

As a huge ellen fan, I know she does not eat meat and raved about the Gardein ‘chicken’ breast on her show.  I will still not convinced.  I have tried to make my tofu taste like chicken in a stir-fry and I have tried many vegetable burgers claiming to taste like a real beef burger but the taste was way too gross to continue my efforts. 

The picture looked really good on the package.  I know they always do.  But, it made my mouth water just looking at it.  I opened the package up and they ‘wings’ looked like chicken nuggets.  Also included was the hot sauce in a separate package.  They were super quick to pan-fry, 4-6 minutes.  I used an oil spray instead of the tbsp of oil that was stated in the directions.  Why add fat, right?  I ran the sauce package under hot water and than added it to the pan when the ‘wings’ were almost done.  There were 10 ‘wings’ per pack so I decided to make them all.

OK…..the first bite….wait for it…..was DEVINE! I used a blue cheese yogurt dressing to make the perfect low calorie, low fat pub dish around.  The serving size was 4 ‘wings’ at 90 calories but they were so good I ate all 10 without any guilt at all.  Lick your fingers GOOD!  I can’t wait to try other Gardein protein products. 

Have you tried any ‘faux’ meats out there?  Let me know which ones are a hit and which ones are a miss!

Reviews on GirlGetStrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly.  No compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.

What do you drink after or before working out?  Or maybe you use a certain drink as a mini-meal/ snack?  Well, we wanted to test some pre-bottled milk drinks and let YOU know what this GGS gal thought of some flavored POWER milk.

Shamrock Farms sent GGS 3 flavors of Rockin’ refuel to try out.  Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.  Before I tested them, I wanted to find out the nutritional stats and how much this drink retails for.  Here is the nutritional facts for the chocolate and the other flavors were very close to the same:

Click picture for a larger image.

I thought these nutritional stats were impressive and I really liked the fact that there was no high glucose corn syrup.  Also stated on their site is:

d

Rockin’ Refuel is available in leading grocery stores and convenience stores with a shelf price of around $1.39.  Wow!  I what a great price for POWER milk!

Let’s get on with the taste!  I thought each flavor really tasted just like flavored milk.  It was rich and creamy.  My favorite being chocolate, least favorite strawberry.  I did, however, find each flavor super duper sweet.  I would love to see Shamrock Farms to come up with a this POWER milk in a plain flavor. 

Get a great coupon to try out for yourself here!

Bottom line for over all taste, nutritional facts and price:

 out of 5 dumbbells

The other Power Milk I tested was Gaterode Pro 01 Prime.  I received chocolate and strawberry flavored milk.  The main nutrients facts I wanted to compare were:

• Calories 370
• Fat 8g
• Carbs 55g
• Sugars 28g
• Protein 20G

To get the full nutritional facts, click here.  The facts are very similar to the milk above except the sugar was almost double for the Shamrock Milk.  Yikees!  That is a lot more sugar than I would like to chug.  But,  on the other hand Shamrock was made from real milk and some of the ingredients in the G Series milk were very questionable, with the first 5 being:

• Water
• Sucrose
• Maltodextrin (Maltodextrins are easily digestible carbohydrates made from natural corn starch)
• Milk Protein Isolate
• Canola Oil

Hmmm….

The retail price is approximately $3 for one serving. 

OK, now for the taste. It was a lot less sweet than Shamrock’s milk but, I did think it also tasted less like milk.  But, it was rich, smooth and very tasty. 

Bottom line for over all taste, nutritional facts and price:

 out of 5 dumbbells

Both of these milks were very tasty.  There is further information for both of these milks on there site.  I would not hesitate to buy either one of them again.  Maybe Rockin Refuel for all of the calcium in contains 60% and G Series for all of the added nutritional value in it.  Have you tried either one of these POWER milks?  Have you tried any?  Please do share!

Reviews on GirlGetStrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly.  These product were supplied to GGS, however no compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.

Winner~Pammi Wammi Congrats!

It’s summer and the kids are off school.  My active  two kids constantly are thirsty and it is hard ,and just not practical, all the time to offer only water.  I wanted to find something that my kids would like and was fairly good for them without all the chemicals and other additives.  KIDStrong was kind enough to send the GGS crew 2 cases of their Hydration Beverage to try out.   Hmmm…maybe this was the answer.

Upon viewing their site and reading the nutritional facts, I was impressed with what I saw.   Such as:

• All-natural
• No artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners
• Preservative-free
• Low in sugar
• Low glycemic index complex carbohydrate blend
• Optimal electrolyte profile
• Power-packed with 20 vitamins, minerals, and nutrients
• Scientifically formulated for kids’ hydration and energy
• 30 calories, 0 fat and 3 grams of sugar per bottle

There is a whole Science on how they came up with this product!

I rounded up a group of 9 kids from around the neighbourhood to try out two flavors:  Grape and Orange.

Out of the 9 kids, 6 enjoyed the Grape.

Out of the 9 kids, 7 enjoyed the Orange.

3 of the child did NOT like the taste at all.  I tried both flavors as well and I thought they were pretty good.  The drink was definitely different tasting.  It did not taste like juice or even powder flavored drinks.  It was a very unique taste but if you were one of the lucky ones that your kids enjoyed the taste, I would recommend KIDStrong beverages to any mom.

You can find Kidstrong on Facebook for new updates, tips and information.

Now to the giveaway!  One for you and the kids!

Minute Maid Enhanced Juices and Juice Drinks (MME)  has introduced two new flavors:  Pomegranate Blueberry and Strawberry Kiwi:

• Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored 100% Fruit Juice Blend – Made from a blend of five juices and enhanced with 50mg Omega-3/DHA per 8 fl. oz. serving and four other nutrients to help nourish your brain and body
• Strawberry Kiwi Flavored Juice Drink– Made with Yerba Mate (pronounced yer-bah mah-tay) extract – a plant native to South America that contains natural caffeine – and real fruit juice to deliver a delicious flavor and natural energy boost to consumers.

Yummy!  Don’t those sound good?  You have the chance to win a whole month supply of  Minute Maid Enhanced Juices and Juice Drinks!

Tell us in the comments below what flavor you would like to try!  They have many more than just the two above. 

 A random winner will be selected on July 26, 2010. Good luck!  US residents only please. Juice will be supplied to the winner in the form of coupons.

I would have to say that Summer is my favorite time of the year.  I really do enjoy the long lazy unscheduled days when the kids are off school.  Anything goes.  Along with pesty bugs, sunscreen is BIG thing in our family that no body enjoys.  So often it runs in their eyes and makes them sting for hours after.  BUT, everyone in our family knows that it must go on each and everyday, no matter what the activity is. 

So when I was sent some SCRAPE Athlete Sunblock  to try out, I was crossing all my fingers and toes this was going to be the answer to all of our summer sun screen complaints.  So we put this sun block with the extreme test with my two very active kids.

My son, Connor, just finished a hockey tournment in Whistler, BC and he went from the pool in the morning straight to full hockey gear in the afternoon and than back to the pool after dinner.  It was very hot and yes, it was exhausting but we had so much fun.  Each morning, he applied the sun screen with this super handy face stick and the rest of him with the liquid.  The liquid was very thick and really needed to be rubbed in.  It did stay on him and did not run into his eyes even while getting drenched with sweat playing hockey and while in the pool.  There was no sun burn all week long.  We really should have re-applied but didn’t and still no sun burn.  I really was very impressed. 

My daughter, Lauren does swim meets on the weekend and if going in and out of the pool is not the ultimate test, I really don’t know what is.  It did not run, drip or smear at all and she was in and out of the pool all day long.

The stick is the best invention ever for the face.  I love it and really now will not use anything else and I don’t think my kids will either.  So quick and easy. 

Like, I said I know I should really re-apply each time but my kids are fast to get to the next event BUT please follow the  directions on the package.  I highly recommend this for you and your active family.  Just think if it lasts on my sweaty wet kids all day, it would be great for your next race! 

Check out their site.  They have more information, like how you can apply it to wet skin.  How cool is that?

What do you use for sun screen for you and your active family?

Reviews on GirlGetStrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly.  This product was supplied to GGS, however no compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.

We are continuing our “toning’ shoe ultimate show down on the pros and cons of all of these toning shoes, shaping shoes, wellness shoes or whatever the heck you want to call them.   I was stoked when it was my turn (there are  3 GGS girls) to try out another pair of  toning shoes. And, they were the New Balance Rock&Tone shoes.  Yippeee! I Love New Balance and I love to burn more calories/ tone more muscle when doing my everyday chores. 

When these shoes first arrived, I would have to say they would not be my first pick of shoes, on looks alone, to try on at the store.  The laces were very stand out white with the grey colored shoe.  Most shoes I own or have owned match the laces with the shoes so perhaps a matching lace would make them more attractive.  It’s an easy solution for me to fix.  I did like the fact that they did not scream ‘toning’ shoe.   Some of the ‘toning shoes’  really look like orthpedic shoes.    I slipped the Rock&Tone shoes on and they were very comfortable and you could feel the ‘rocker’ bottoms with the heel toe action when walking.  I kept these shoes on doing errands, power walks outside and on the treadmill. 

My findings were, like all ‘toning’ shoes, they are meant for walking only and not for the elliptical or anything else at the gym besides the treadmill.  I went on the bike at the gym with these shoes and they really did start to hurt my feet. The treadmill workout was great as I could adjust the incline and really feel the burning sensation in my glutes, hamstring and calves.  My power walk was also excellent and had the same sort of feeling of the workout with less of the intensity because of the lack of incline.  On my errands, I did not feel much difference except these shoes are super comfortable. 

My other findings about these shoes is that they are not breathable at all being all leather.  So in my summer power walk and heating up at the gym, my feet got super sweaty.  My regular training shoes that I wear to the gym, have mesh uppers and are very breathable. Hmmm…so I may have to wear these shoes only when it is cool outside.  Overall, I really do feel the ‘toning’ in these shoes. 

Also, check out who was spotted in the exact same New Balance shoes that I just tried out.  Hey, tastes vary and the BIG O obviously likes the look of  them!

Have more questions about toning shoes and the New Balance Toning shoes?  Many are answered here!

Check out our Quick Toning Shoes Review Guide to help you pick the ones that are for you.

Check out all of the FULL reviews here:

• Reebok Toning shoes-
• Sketchers Shape Ups-
• EarthFoot wear Toning shoes-
• FitFlops-
• Champion Pace Toning Shoes~
• MBT’s-

Reviews on GirlGetStrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly.  This product was supplied to GGS, however no compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.