Sponsored: New Red Mango Frozen Yogurt Smoothies

Hi guys! 

I have an AWESOME giveaway for you today! That is, an awesome giveaway if you love smoothies and frozen yogurt. So basically, it's an awesome giveaway, because who doesn't love those? 

Now, before I go further, I should mention that Red Mango compensated me for this post. But I would not have accepted the campaign offer if I didn't already know that I liked Red Mango's fro-yo and, as they always will be, all thoughts and opinions on the products are my own.

But first, some background. Yesterday, after taking a Barry's Bootcamp class with Ashley, I headed downtown for jury duty. I had forgotten my change of clothes that I'd laid out the night before so I was wearing workout clothes -- at least I'd brought a pullover! 

If you've ever served jury duty, you know it's a lot of "hurry up and wait," as you're moved from one room to another, waiting to see if you'll be selected or not. Finally, at 12 PM, we were given a two-hour lunch break. So I headed immediately to Red Mango to try out their brand new SuperBiotics Summer Smoothies!

Red Mango just launched 22 brand new probiotic smoothie flavors and approached me about trying out one and blogging about it. I said yes immediately. You may have detected the hint of a smoothie obsession around these parts, and I love frozen yogurt, so there was no way I could say no. 

However, whenever I work with a brand, I make it clear that I reserve the right not to like the product and either not to blog about it or to be honest about my dislikes. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue -- these smoothies are delicious!

I ordered the Strawberry Energizer, with an energy boost, and it was exactly what I needed on a hot and humid day after a 6 AM Barry's class and several hours of jury duty (with more to come). The smoothie was sweet, but not too sweet -- just tasty enough to feel like a treat. And at 220 calories, I could pair it with something else for lunch, which kept me going from 12 PM until 5:30 PM!

The girl manning the counter was extremely helpful and not only discussed the smoothies with me, telling me that yes, they're made with fresh fruit (yay!), she also told me about their new fro-yo flavors, including Wild Raspberry and Lucky Taro. I tried both and they were fantastic! At that point, I basically wanted to make fro-yo my lunch, but knew the resulting sugar crash would leave me napping in a courtroom. Not the classiest start to my legal career.

But I'll be back for those flavors! And to taste more of the smoothie types because my Strawberry Energizer was seriously tasty. It was full of strawberry and banana and didn't have that sometimes-chalky taste you get at chain smoothie places.

I also love that the smoothies are made with probiotics, live bacteria in yogurt that have health benefits. Red Mango has a great infographic about their particular probiotics here.

Red Mango has also introduced new boosts for their smoothies, in addition to the protein, energy, immunity, and multivitamin boosts they already had. I'll let them tell you about the new boosts:

• Metabolic Fit 360™: A proprietary blend of protein, calcium and African Mango which supports metabolic balance and promotes healthy weight management.
• Dark Chocolate Mate: Finely ground, Brazilian roasted maté and dark chocolate; a delicious, rich, low-calorie flavor which also supplies a nice dose of antioxidants.
• Tropical Hibiscus: Finely ground, premium Nigerian hibiscus blossoms infused with natural pineapple and lychee; a bright and tropical low-calorie flavor and antioxidant boost.
• Green Tea Acai: Finely ground, premium green tea with açai berries, the Amazonian superfruit; a low-calorie antioxidant boost made with the best ingredients.

Giveaway!
Now for the giveaway: THREE of you will be winning $25 gift cards to Red Mango to try their new smoothies and fro-yo! 

You have four different ways to enter!

1. Leave a blog comment telling me what your favorite fro-yo topping combination is.
2. Tweet about the giveaway, using the following: "I want to win $25 to @redmango from @jensbestlife! bit.ly/14MeW5F" AND leave me a comment telling me you tweeted.
3. Follow me on Twitter AND leave a comment telling me you followed me.
4. Like my Facebook page AND leave a comment telling me you liked it.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM on July 9, 2013, so you have a week to enter.

And everyone gets to enjoy a discount to Red Mango that they have going on from now until July 5. All day, every day till Friday, Red Mango is offering their Super Biotic Smoothies for only $2 plus tax for the regular size. No coupon is required, just pop into your local location and try them out!

This post was sponsored by Red Mango. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

My Go-To Breakfasts

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? I always eat breakfast. It's my favorite meal. I get excited about going to bed so that I can wake up and eat breakfast. Seriously. I'm special, I know. 

These are my go-to breakfasts, the ones I make consistently; sometimes I change it up, but at least six days a week, I'm having one of these. Obviously, if I'm out to brunch I eat something different! (egg and hashbrown scramble with copious amounts of ketchup, hi.)

These are also super basic, I admit, but I love them all so much that I figured, on the off chance someone doesn't eat one of these, I had to share.

P.S. A smaller version of the parfait or protein smoothie are also great snacks!

Greek Yogurt Fruit Parfait 

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• sliced fruit (mixed berries are fantastic)

• drizzle of maple syrup

• 1/8 cup granola

• sprinkle of chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seeds, etc.

Last summer, when I was a summer associate at the firm I'm returning to this fall, I would eat this for dinner all the time. Typically we'd have large lunches, so on a hot summer day, coming back around 8 or 9 PM and downing a big bowl of berries and Greek yogurt was the perfectly light and refreshing meal I craved. Nowadays, it's one of my favorite warm weather breakfasts. The fiber from the berries keeps you full and the Greek yogurt gives you that protein punch that's great in the morning.

Nut Butter and Toast

• 1-2 slices whole wheat toast (depending on size of bread)

• peanut butter or almond butter

• topping (banana, apple spread, etc)

• sprinkle of chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts

This is a frequent breakfast but also my go-to pre-long run meal. It seems to fuel me pretty well and there's something to be said for feeling like a long run or race day is just part of the routine.

Protein Smoothie

Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake 

• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

• 1 small spoonful peanut butter

• 1 frozen banana

• 1/2 cup almond milk

Chai Tea Latte Smoothie

• 1 scoop French vanilla protein powder

• 1 frozen banana

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• generous pinches of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and ginger

This is my number one summer go-to right now. With hotter temperatures comes me not wanting to eat anything hot in the morning, and I love a protein boost first thing. I use Designer Whey and Whole Foods generic brand of whey protein powder (I prefer the nutritional stats on Designer Whey).

Oatmeal

OMG! A blogger who likes oatmeal! But oatmeal is so gooooood. I love a bowl of oatmeal, particularly mixed up with banana and a spoonful of peanut butter. Go crazy and add a few chocolate chips. I also posted this Very Berry Banana Oatmeal recipe back in January and stand by its deliciousness. 

What are your go-to breakfasts? 

Giving up on TV shows and a Green Smoothie Recipe

Giving up TV shows
I have a very full DVR waiting for me when I get back to New York. Sourabh and I watch quite a few shows, but rarely when they air because we hate commercials. Instead, we typically wait until later in the evening or the next day to watch our shows.

But this year, since I want to disconnect more, I'm going to try to purge some of those shows from our viewing list. Being here in Washington and not being automatically able to pick up shows again has made me realize how much I don't need to watch TV. It might mean that Sourabh watches without me, since we have different tastes and he still likes some shows that I don't.

Bea is so bored by TV. Also, she does not like Kanye's leather skirt (pic taken during the 12-12-12 concert) 

For example, I used to like Big Bang Theory, The Office, The Good Wife, and How I Met Your Mother, but at this point I'm bored with all of those series. I'll probably stick with The Office since it's ending this year, but otherwise I just don't want to waste my time anymore on a show that leaves me cold. Besides, I have Revenge, Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Community (finally returning), and Modern Family to keep me warm (if we're keeping the hot/cold metaphor going...). I just don't want to waste any more time on shows that I feel frustrated by!

Mini Vacation!
In other news, we're off to Seattle today! Sourabh and I are spending two days in Seattle. We're leaving Mason with his doting grandparents (aka my parents since he's their grandpuppy).

see? doting on the grandpuppy

I am super excited to spend two days exploring Seattle since I haven't spent that much time there. While I grew up two hours away from the city and have been there plenty of times, I've never really done more than a few touristy things there. Besides the obvious Pike Place Market and Space Needle, Sourabh and I want to explore a few of the cool neighborhoods like Ballard and Queen Anne's Hill. It's sort of a belated anniversary trip since we didn't go anywhere for our four year anniversary in October so it should be really fun.


Mean Green Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

Mmmmm this smoothie is SO good. I've made it while I've been home when I'm craving some greens. And since I've been home for the holidays, I've craved greens several times. I love to indulge, but at a certain point, my body basically yells at me until I eat a green.

The best part about this smoothie, though, is that it tricks your brain. You can't actually taste the spinach at all! Just the pear, banana, almond milk, and the sweetness of the maple syrup. I would love to say that I was a spinach junkie who did whatever it took for my next spinach hit, but sadly, I don't really like spinach.

Ingredients
1 pear, chopped
1 banana
1 c. almond milk (more for more liquid smoothie)
1 c. spinach
1 tsp. maple syrup (optional)

1 tsp. chia seeds (optional)

Directions

Add all ingredients to blender and mix!

Do you give up on TV shows or do you see them through to the end?