ZonePerfect Well-Being Essentials Kit Winner!

Congratulations to LaTanya for winning a Well-Being Essentials Kit from ZonePerfect! LaTanya, please check your email!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect #3 and GIVEAWAY!

It's September, and I have no idea where August went. Actually, that's not entirely true, since August was filled with finals, final papers, and studying for National Boards Part II. That's one way to make a month fly by in a chaotic mess of studying, stress, and not much else. Well, studying, stress, food, and working out, because there's always room for food and the gym. So, let's check up on those ZonePerfect Blog Forward New Year's Resolutions, shall we?

ZonePerfect Portable Charger giveaway winner!

Congratulations to Arena for winning the ZonePerfect portable charger! Arena, please get in contact with me with your address.

Thanks to everyone for participating, and stay tuned, because I have another giveaway coming up soon!

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect #2 and GIVEAWAY!

Well, that was a bit of a hiccup in blog updates. I am fairly sure that last trimester was the toughest one yet (my last blog post began with "next week begins finals," so we all knew these sparse updates were coming), and then this girl got engaged (congratulations Molly Pritz and Max Stein!), so when break finally came, I was a little preoccupied. So, you may remember earlier this year, I joined the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge and posted up a few New Year's Resolutions for 2014. Well, now it's May, and it's time to do a self-assessment!

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect

I have a confession to make: I suck at New Year's resolutions. It's not that I'm against self-improvement, but pinning it all on one day is a lot of pressure. One of my friends and I have this motto that states: "New training plans start on Mondays." It's a lot less pressure if I screw up (and it's inevitable that at some point, I will screw up), but having a definitive start date prevents the whole "I'll start tomorrow" procrastination deal. Now, of course if I mess up on Tuesday, that doesn't mean I throw in the towel for the week, but you get the point. So I was going to go another year of no New Year's resolutions...until ZonePerfect emailed me and told me about their Blog Forward Challenge. Basically, I make some resolutions to better myself, while hopefully inspiring you guys to also better yourselves. And then every so often ZonePerfect sends me ZonePerfect bars (which I already buy whenever they're on sale, so it saves this poor grad student some money), and throughout the year, ZonePerfect says they're going to be hosting giveaways and have coupons for you guys. Sounds good to me! I think I can change my Monday resolutions to New Year's resolutions for that. Plus the extra accountability of having this all online won't hurt. So here we go:

Gear Review: Perfectly Simple by ZonePerfect Nutrition Bars

One of my mom's favorite nutrition bars are ZonePerfect bars. Since this means she almost always has a box or two lying around the house, I've eaten quite a few of these bars (and let's face it, their Fudge Graham (previously reviewed), Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough bars are like crack...and I do keep meaning to review the cookie dough ones, but I usually eat them before I remember I'm supposed to take pictures). One of the cool things about ZonePerfect bars is that they're all-natural. The new line of ZonePerfect bars, called Perfectly Simple by ZonePerfect, goes one step further, limiting the number of ingredients to between six and ten, all of which are recognizable and pronounceable.

Gear Review: ZonePerfect All-Natural Nutrition Bars

Energy bars have come a long way. I think we all remember when "energy bar" meant a Powerbar, which, at the time, was a gluey tasteless sticky brick. That humble Powerbar has evolved into the mighty (and now much better tasting) Powerbar Performance, Powerbar's flagship energy bar and one of a huge selection of athletically-oriented food from that company. The Powerbar Performance is, in my opinion, the gold standard of energy bars, to which I compare all other energy bars. Of course, if I'm visiting my family for the holidays, the chances of my mom having a supply of Powerbars is pretty slim. Luckily for me and my pre-run snacks, she does keep a few boxes of ZonePerfect All-Natural Nutrition Bars handy. So, how do they stand up to my usual Powerbars?