Harmless Harvest Coconut Water + Giveaway!

November 7, 2014

Let’s talk coconut water

Harmless Harvest is the best commercially sold coconut water I have tasted. Bold statement, isn’t it? And for those of you who have been long-time followers of Honestly Fitness, you know my philosophy is to let you make your own decision based on the facts that I provide for you. But being someone who is a bit of a coconut water snob (come on, I grew up in Thailand after all!), I can happily say that Harmless Harvest is one of the best coconut waters on the market that I have tasted so far. Most commercial coconut waters have a weird and unflavorful taste which just makes me sad. I hate to think that people will get a negative image over coconut water from trying some of the unpleasant coconut waters that are on the market.

I wanted to hold this giveaway so that I could let two lucky people experience for themselves why this is the best coconut water on the market [details at the end of the post].

Who are Harmless Harvest?

Not only do they make the best tasting (raw and organic) coconut water out there, but Harmless Harvest have an ecosystem based business model. What does this mean? This means that Harmless Harvest “respects each person and community contributing to the creation and purchase of a product”. They are committed to sustainable farming, environmental conservation, supporting research and development for better foods and sourcing, and the community at large. They are a unique company and one that I fully support for their ethical efforts and their incredible coconut water.

You can read more about them by visiting their website: http://www.harmlessharvest.com

What makes the coconut water so great?

Most coconut waters are from concentrate, whereas Harmless Harvest coconut waters are raw and undergo high pressure processing. Harmless Harvest coconut waters undergo high pressure processing to protect the flavor and extend their shelf life. A really quirky aspect of their coconut waters which made me a little hesitant at first was the fact that some are pink! Yeah, you heard right. My first pink coconut water was met with a “Uhh, I’ve never cracked open a coconut to see pink water before …”. But never fear; Harmless Harvest explain that some coconut waters are pink because “some bottles turn pink with time due to varying levels of antioxidants, or phenols, interacting with light”. Does that make sense? Coconut waters in a coconut cannot go pink because they are never exposed to the sun. These coconut waters are stored in a clear bottle which can expose them to sunlight. They are still completely safe to drink and actually rather pretty!

Furthermore, coconut water is extremely healthy for you. They contain many vitamins and minerals including high levels of potassium which is crucial for the proper function of your cells, tissues and organs. It is also low in calories and naturally fat and cholesterol free. I love having coconut water as a sweet and healthy alternative to drinks high in sugar such as soda.

How do I win some Harmless Harvest coconut water?

Oh, it is so easy! Follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter box below to see how to gain entries. It is mandatory to leave a blog post comment, and then there are lots of other options to help you gain more entries such as following Harmless Harvest on their Twitter and Instagram, and liking them on Facebook.

There will be two winners. Each winner will receive 3 coupons which will allow them to buy Harmless Harvest coconut waters 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all. I can’t wait for you to try this delicious coconut water!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Disclaimer: I did not receive compensation to write this post. I was given coupons to review Harmless Harvest. Reviews always remain my own and unbiased opinions. I made my own opinions on Harmless Harvest months before I was given the coupons to review.

Blogs I love, Fitness, Health

The Balanced Blonde App

October 23, 2014

The Balanced Blonde (a.k.a Jordan Younger) is a blogger who recently released her own app! For those who do not know Jordan, let me give a little bit of background information about her.

Who is ‘The Balanced Blonde’?

Jordan was formerly known as The Balanced Vegan, before changing to The Balanced Blonde (read more about that interesting development here). She is a gorgeous and very sweet blogger whom I recently discovered, and who is one of the few bloggers in the health and wellness sphere that is relateable. She is very down to earth and is honest in how she tries to keep an active, healthy, and happy life. Jordan was kind enough to answer some questions I had about the app.

HF: Where did the inspiration come to create an app?

TBB: I wanted to create an app for a few reasons. The first and most important reason is because I am hugely passionate about bringing health and wellness to as many people as possible, and creating an app seemed like the best way to reach the largest amount of people in the most affordable way for them. There is a stigma that eating healthy has to be expensive and time-consuming. While I do invest quite a bit in organic produce and fresh fruits and veggies, I do NOT spend a lot of time in the kitchen. These apps were created for the busy, on-the-go, kicking booty young/old/everything in between business women and men, and moms and dads who want to be as healthy as they can without dedicating their whole lives to cooking healthy food. It’s all about BALANCE, yes?

Secondly… I am totally obsessed with creating as much for my readers and following as possible, and an app seemed like the logical next step. I love sharing healthy recipes, wellness tips, food photography and above all else CONNECTING and giving back to the amazing following who I appreciate ever so much. I could go on and on, but these are the main reasons. Oh! And Cyrus Kiani from TouchZen Media reached out with his expertise and an amazing plan, and the rest was history!

HF: What else can we expect to see from The Balanced Blonde and TBB app in the future?

TBB: Well, The Balanced Blonde is doin’ some exciting things over here!! I am working on my memoir right now titled Breaking Vegan that will be out in October 2015. The memoir is a firsthand account of my battle with orthorexia, my journey through veganism, and how I found balance again. The second half of the book is a step by step guide to finding balance in your life and living healthfully without letting it take over. There is a fitness guide, 25 recipes never before seen on the blog or app, and a lifestyle guide. And TBB App will continue to be updated once a month with 4 new (free) recipes per month, and 1 new (free) healthy living guide per month. I hope to continue adding and creating as much as possible! And of course TBV Apparel is up and thriving, and we are hoping to get that into stores ASAP. Right now it’s available on www.theblondeveganstore.com and we have a ton of fun with it. And of course I will continue blogging on the daily, because that’s my bread and butter! And connecting with all of my amazing peeps.

All exciting stuff, huh?!

My Thoughts on TBB app

Jordan asked via social media to email her if anyone wanted the pre-release link for the TBB app, and of course I did! She was kind enough to send me the link and I wanted to let you all know what I thought about it. I downloaded it on Wednesday afternoon and my first thoughts upon opening it were “SO CUTE!!!”. The app opens up with a beautiful collage of various recipes and then takes you to a recipes page which features breakfast recipes, dessert recipes, and more. The ‘Jars of Yum’ was probably my favorite section as I love anything that I can put in my mason jar and easily bring around with me. You can favorite recipes you like and you can also add them to a ‘shopping list’ so that you know exactly what ingredients to buy. There’s also a section where you can view Jordan’s clothing line ‘Truth, Balance, Virtue’. I think this is a great idea because a lot of times, I find browsing through online stores on my phone to be such a hassle. They are not optimized at all, whereas TBB app is 🙂

A real stand out feature for me was the ‘Guides’ section. It contains several guides which give you really detailed and informative advice. Here’s a teaser … “Debunking the Diet Myths” and “8 Tips for Losing Bloat & Water Weight”.

Stand out recipes: Blueberry Mint Cocktail, Chocolate Quinoa Dessert, PB & J Chocolate Oats, and the Mashed Avo Breakfast Pizza

The app does come with a price however. At first, like most people, I was not too happy about paying for something. But I got over that really fast because you know what? $3.99 is the price of a latte from Starbucks and quite frankly, I could tell that Jordan put in so much hard work and time into the app. The app gives you a wealth of resources and will be updated once a month with more free recipes. Although yes, you can find healthy recipes online, I absolutely love the variety and creativity of the recipes and the fact that you can create shopping lists, organize your favorites and have it all stored in one easy place. Also, just an FYI, there are no recipes involving meat. But you can add meat to a lot of the recipes if you want, and it’s always fun to experiment with meatless meals.

Do any of you know about The Balanced Blonde? What are your experiences with the app?

Honestly yours,
Alice xx

Fitness, Health

What is Fitmob? + Athleta Giveaway

October 20, 2014

This weekend, I had the good fortune of attending a Fitmob class and seeing for myself firsthand what Fitmob was all about. I first heard about Fitmob from my boss of all people, and I had been interested to learn more ever since. So …

What is Fitmob?

What is Fitmob? Good question – Fitmob wanted a way to help motivate people and make fitness fun again! They have a really cool community based approach to fitness that let people workout both indoors and outdoors within their own neighborhood. They essentially are creating fitness communities within San Francisco and holding great workout classes for people to attend! It’s a very innovative approach and so on point, as most people enjoy working out with others and not alone. Fun fact, Tony Horton is one of Fitmob’s co-creators. Yep, the P90X guy, how cool is that?!

My experience with Fitmob

If you go on the Fitmob website, you are prompted to enter your zip code and are then brought to a page where you can browse through a bunch of different workout classes. I decided to try a class called ‘UrbanKick’ this saturday because I absolutely love kickboxing.

Fitmob Headquarters; easy to spot!

I went with a friend (double the fun!) and unfortunately, we could not do UrbanKick because there was no power in the Fitmob HQ, and the door was locked! The instructor, Justin, was quick thinking and asked if we would all be alright with going to a park nearby and doing a bootcamp style workout. I did not mind although I asked if we could do a more cardio focused bootcamp since I had done a Kayla Itsines circuit the other day, and he was very accommodating. The workout itself was great! We started out with a warmup consisting of high knees, jogging on the spot and sprints (shudder) and moved on to some leg work (think squats, squats, and more squats!) and then finished up with some core work. It was definitely a good workout although the park was pretty muddy and I got my new Asics all muddy!!! I wish I had worn my old Nikes haha, but oh well. Justin was such a fun instructor and kept us all laughing despite wanting to yell obscenities at him when he made us do jumping lunges (they are HARD!).

Me and my lovely friend, Amy

Me and Justin, our instructor!

Although I do prefer doing my own workouts, I think Fitmob is definitely something to try if you want to be motivated and to have fun whilst working out. There was a great community feel and everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

Athleta Giveaway

Onto the fun stuff … giveaway 🙂 Who doesn’t like the chance to win free goodies? And this is a truly good one as you get the chance to win a $25 gift card to Athleta! Athleta is a chic brand that sells activewear such as yoga pants and lots of other fun workout clothes. All you have to do is follow the instructions below, easy peasy!

EDIT: Although it is not required, I would love for you to leave me a blog post of what you answered for the question. I was supposed to make that option ‘Leave a Comment on the Blog’ as opposed to ‘Answer a Question’. You don’t have too, but I would truly appreciate it 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you all enjoyed this post. I am so happy I finally tried out Fitmob and I hope you try it out soon too!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Special thanks to Sverve on behalf of Fitmob for sponsoring this post & giveaway. All views remain my own unbiased opinions.