Veggie Reviewed 2

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope the end of your workweek is going great and that your weekend gets here before you know it! I’m so excited for the weekend, one of my best friends is in town from Hawaii and I’m getting to visit family in NJ/my sister and nephews in northeast PA. In the meantime, I’ve been really lucky to have some fun review opportunities lately so I thought today would be a great day to do another Veggie Reviewed! I hope you like it!

Swiftwick was so incredibly kind to send me a whole assortment of running socks. The three types of under the ankle running socks are Vibe, Aspire, and Pursuit. So far I’ve run in the Vibe and Aspire and I love them. The Pursuit are made with merino and sound great for colder temperature running. I can’t wait to test those babies out once my lungs get the all-clear.

(My doctor thinks I might have exercise induced asthma. It’s a post for another day but I’ve noticed during/after running my chest can feel a little tight, I get these little coughs to clear my throat, and sometimes I hear a faint wheeze when breathing in. It hasn’t been anything bad but is still enough of something that I want to find out what’s going on. Pending a methacholine test I’m taking it a bit easier and trying to rest up.)

It’s really true, once you start using running socks you never go back. I’m kind of seriously hooked on Swiftwick now, they keep my feet cool and dry and comfy. They’re all I’ve been wearing to exercise in lately and when Josh asked me if I’d recommend them to him as he’s in the market for new running socks and wanted to know if they were worth the price I said 100% absolutely. They are a great company that makes a great product.

Besides Swiftwicks running socks I’ve been testing out their over-the-knee compression socks and absolutely love them. They make my calves feel so good and are tight without being uncomfortable. I’ve been lucky to not suffer from any real calf soreness when I run (probably because my distance is not super long yet) so while I haven’t really needed compression I figure it can’t hurt to relax my muscles anyway. So far my calves are happy!

When I got the mail and saw a return label from Big Machine Records on a package I started jumping up and down. Could it be the new CD of my long lost best friend that I just haven’t had the chance to meet yet? Seriously, in so many ways Taylor Swift and I are the same person. I love how real she is, what an amazing role model is, and how appreciative she is of all that she has. That said, I was also a little nervous for this CD. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is a great song but it wasn’t my favorite. One of the best things about Taylor is how relatable she is and how well she is able to connect with her listeners. I was a little nervous that now that she’s no longer on the same track as people her age (graduating college and starting their lives) that she would lose touch and only be singing about bad relationship after bad relationship. I was so happy to hear her songs and realize that while she is definitely not your average 22 year old anymore she really does still understand what a lot of us are going through. (And all her bad relationship songs, while still about bad relationships, are really good!) Her new CD is one I’ve had on repeat for weeks.

As much as I love so many of her new song All Too Well is far and away my favorite. It is so beautiful and real and heart wrenching. It captures the highs and lows in a relationship and is so poignant at expressing how she thought she had found the one (spoiler alert- it’s about Jake Gyllenhaal) only to be so disappointed when that turned out not to be the case. I think not only can people dealing with heartbreak relate to the song, but people in amazing relationships as well. It makes you feel lucky to have the highs without those devastating lows, and reminds you to always be present because you’re living your future memories now.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now you know I am a HUGE smoothie fan. I make one nearly every day and love to blend up greens with fruits. To give it a little more consistency as a meal I always make sure to add protein and fatten it up. Did you know fat is essential to your body absorbing nutrients? It also gives a meal staying power and keeps you from getting hungry 2.2 seconds later. Swanson reached out to me and asked me if I would like to try out an item on their site. I’ve heard many good things about their brand and was excited by all the health food options they had. Being a green smoothie addict as soon as I saw they had chia seeds I was sold. I was running out and desperately needed to replenish my stash.

Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are great for brain health. As a vegetarian it is so important to make sure I’m getting enough of these every day from plant based sources as they are typically found in meats. I ordered the Chia seeds and within days they were at my doorstep and ready for eating. I’ve only ever used red chia seeds before so I was a little perplexed why they were white. I did some research and it turns out they’re all exactly the same with the same nutritional makeup and health benefits. It’s just that different areas grow different looking food. They were delicious and blended perfectly into my smoothie. If you haven’t check out chia seeds yet I definitely recommend them! Swanson’s price was also really reasonable!

Another CD I was recently given the chance to review is Kylie Minogue’s new album The Abbey Road Sessions. Kylie took her top hits from the last 25 years and re-recorded them at a slower tempo in front of a live orchestra. I grew up playing the violin so I love songs that feature deep cellos and soaring violins. The world could definitely use a little more classical music! 😀 The songs were really good for listening to in the car on long drives, they felt like songs you listen to when you’re bundled up in a sweater on a cold day. That said I wasn’t blown away by this CD. She has a great voice, it’s just not my favorite type of music. Her songs are ones I’d listen to if they came on the radio but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to play them.
I hope you enjoyed my second installment of Veggie Reviewed!

Question of the Day: What’s something you’ve tried lately that you have an opinion on? Review away in the comments, I love learning about new products!