Healthy Product Spotlight (& Giveaway!) - Squarebars

Hi, friends! Happy Monday! 

Today, I'm excited to share another "Healthy Product Spotlight" post. I can't remember exactly how I found out about Squarebar, but I'm sure glad that I did! I recently snagged a sample box that was advertised during an Instagram flash sale, and got to try all 5 organic, vegan flavors. These bars are delicious!

As mentioned above, these bars are made with only organic, vegan ingredients. The five flavors of cherry, almond spice, mint, crunch and coconut are all chocolate coated and uniquely flavored to perfection. Though I loved all 5, my favorites would be crunch, almond spice and mint. The mint one tasted like a healthy version of a thin mint!

{And all girl scout cookie lovers celebrated}

The size of the bars are perfect for a mid morning snack, which is how I enjoyed mine all of last week. They are a satisfying treat that will leave you full for hours. 

Another thing I love about this company? They make a quarterly contribution to the nonprofit Not For Sale, which means that each time you make a purchase, you are helping to end slavery & human trafficking. 

Considering that I was such a fan of these bars (& what they help support!), I'd love to give one of my readers the opportunity to try them. Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And have yourself a very happy Monday, my friends!

Healthy Product Spotlight! - Nikki's Coconut Butter

Hi, friends! First off, thank you all so much for your support & encouragement on last Friday's announcement. I am so excited to be embarking on a new adventure with Beachbody coaching! 

In all honesty, it's taken quite a few steps outside of my comfort zone to get here, but who wants to live inside their comfort zone, right? Not me, that's for sure. :) 

As I've begun prioritizing my health & nutrition, I've been discovering all sorts of delicious and healthy treats. I thought eating healthy would be tasteless and boring, but turns out I was way wrong. Discovering how flavorful and yummy real food can be has dramatically decreased / eliminated my cravings. So 3 cheers for that!

I want to start highlighting the healthy products I find, as good news deserves to be shared! So today, I kick off the "Healthy Product Spotlight!" series with a recent favorite, 

Nikki's Coconut Butter.

I discovered Nikki's Coconut Butter while on my 21 Day Fix, and with flavors like "Vanilla Cake Batter" and ingredients that a paleo can eat? You bet I was sold. I have now tried 2 of their 5 flavors, and ohhhh my goodness. This stuff is heavenly!

I've blended it in my Shakeology, mixed it with melted semi-sweet chocolate for a healthy dessert, and most definitely eaten it by the spoonful. It's amazing how ever you choose to enjoy it!

If you like coconut, you will love this coconut butter. Almost as much as your body will love the healthy ingredients!

Try it for yourself! You won't be sorry.

What are your favorite healthy products? I want to know!

*The links in this post are affiliate links, 

meaning that I will receive commission 

on any sales generated from this post.*

Giving Up Bondage For Lent

Last week, I posted this picture:

and shared that I was endeavoring to give up bondage for lent. No big deal, right? Pretty simple, just cut it out all together. 40 days won't be that bad. 

{Everyone is allowed to roll their eyes with me. }

Let's keep it real: it's daunting, big, unknown, and slightly confusing. But it's something that I want to dive into in this space, for anyone else who may be battling a similar struggle. For anyone who might be finding themselves twisted in some chains, all the while knowing that Jesus is holding the key to remove them. Or, if you're anything like me, maybe you've come to the realization that you're not just twisted in your chains; you're holding onto them. 

This really has nothing to do with lent. It's something that I hope to continue doing for long after the 40 days pass, and hopefully, something I will start carrying into other aspects of my life where those pesky chains can be found. But right now, my focus is on one rather large area in my life where I've been in bondage for a long, long time. And it's something that I desperately need to experience the kind of freedom only Jesus can bring, because it's something I can't simply cut out of my life. 

It's food. 

I have so much to say about this struggle. So much that I have on my heart to share in hopes that it may bring freedom into others' lives, as I'm praying it does in mine. But for now, I'll start with this: last year, I gave up chocolate for lent. And then, enjoyed it for just one day before giving up sugar all together for the month of April. If I'm being perfectly honest, it felt great. Liberating, even. 

But the fact that it only took me a mere few months to get knee deep back into a struggle with food and cravings and perhaps even addiction shows that I was in no way free. I had cut a part of "the issue" out of my life for a portion of time, maybe even developed some self control. But lasting self control can't simply come from self, can it? It requires the Holy Spirit to be the sweet fruit of freedom that the Lord intended it to be. 

I don't think I knew what true freedom was until my birthday of last year, when God so graciously plucked alcohol out of my life, and flung it so far away that I had no choice but to joyfully dance in the sweet, sweet aroma of freedom. 

I don't have to remind myself not to drink, and I certainly don't need to over analyze it. It just is; I just don't drink anymore. And with a mind at ease and a heart full of peace, I now understand what being free feels like. 

So on the contrary, I know what it doesn't feel like. And I know that I'm not living in freedom in my relationship with food. I haven't for a very long time.

So for lent this year, here is what I'm giving up:

I'm giving up eating for comfort. 

I'm giving up eating because I'm bored. 

I'm giving up over analyzing my food choices. 

I'm giving up comparing what I eat to what those around me are eating. 

I'm giving up feeling guilty over food. 

And I'm begging the Lord to reveal to me other areas in my heart that are living in captivity in regards to food. I'm asking Him to help me take that hand that has been extended out for so darn long. He's been ready all along, I'm ready to be ready, too. 

Lara Bars

Before I get started, let me just say that this is not a sponsored post. LARABAR has no idea that I am even writing about them, I just love their bars that much that I want to devote an entire post to them.

True love, folks. True love. 

***

Back in April, I did 30 days with no sugar. And "no sugar" to me meant that I looked at the ingredients in everything I ate, and if I saw the word "sugar" or "honey" or "agave" or "maple syrup" or pretty much any name that I didn't understand, I put the item down. 

I was shocked to find that many of the things I considered to be healthy snacks, had sugar in them. Now, I'm not preaching that all forms of sugar are bad. I'm fully aware that some of them are better than others, but I wanted to take time away from it all to rid myself of that dang sweet tooth. 

LARABAR was pretty much the only bar that I could find without sugar. I've been hooked ever since. They are so good, that you don't even miss the sugar or honey or agave. 

When I was on vacation with my sister, I stocked up on bars for us to have for breakfast, dessert, snack, anything. I knew my sister was a picky eater, and pretty much sticks to only carbs, turning her nose to anything with color. But I was certain that she would love these bars. 

And love them, she did!

We had three different flavors:

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bars did have sugar in them from the chocolate chips, but the Apple Pie bar? None!

And guess which one was my sister's favorite? (And mine too)

The Apple Pie bar! 

But seriously, they are all delicious. And they are all jam packed with natural, healthy ingredients.

If you haven't already, try one today! They have a ton of flavors, so be sure to let me know which one turns out to be your favorite!

I Don't Mean To Brag

But my weekend starts today. 

Because I'm going here:

I've been looking forward to this trip since I first felt called to go on it, sitting in church probably only the second time I had attended Reality. 

This trip was all God's work. He provided the finances, and He pushed me to go. Deciding to go across the country with really no one I know all that well? Yupp, that was all Him. 

Now let's just hope he can get me to the airport in 4 hours {at 3:30AM}.

I can't wait to see what He has in store for me. 

Before I go, I leave with a recipe. Can't take credit for this one folks, but I can say that it is ah.may.zing. 

When we see a recipe like this, there's no way we can pass that up. Let's just say Kristi and I have a soft spot for chocolate and peanut butter. 

Here are some pictures of how ours turned out:

{Disclaimer: May cause drooling}

So, so good.

Go check out Eat Yourself Skinny, you won't be disappointed. 

Have a lovely week/weekend everyone! Can't wait to come back and post all about Boston. 

{Don't worry, I'll still be blowing up Instagram. Can't help it, I'm obsessed}