Keurig 2.0 K200 & Van Houtte Specialty Coffee Review

Sep30

As some of you know I was lucky enough to be chosen by Influenster to receive a complimentary Keurig 2.0 K200 Brewer and Van Houtte specialty coffee for testing and review purposes. While these items were provided to me free of charge, I guarantee you these opinions are my own.

Let’s start with Keurig 2.0 K200. I love the coffee maker! No really I’m seriously smitten with this shiny little black despenser of hot coffee goodness!!

As a new Mom who often has her hands full in the morning the K200 is a life saver. It’s fast, easy to use and doesn’t take up a ton of counter space! I love being able to pop in a K-cup, push a button and a few minutes later my coffee, tea, or hot chocolate is ready to go!!

I love that with this machine I can brew a single cup of coffee or an entire carafe when friends and family stop by! I also love that it despenses hot water! I’m a big tea fan and this definitely makes life easier.

Im also enjoying trying all the varieties of pods available for the Keurig Brewers! I found a local store that lets you pick out 24 K-cups for $17.99! I’m not going to lie, it took me over 30 minutes to pick out 24 K-cups!

On the topic of coffee variety and K-cups, Influenster also sent me Van Houtte coffee’s new specialty collection. I received their new cappuccino and vanilla latte coffees.

These new coffee are a two step system consisting of a powder and the coffee k-cup. Simply dump the powder in your mug and brew the k-cup into the mug then stir! Super easy coffee house inspired drinks at home!

They are definitely a step up from your regular K-cups and quick easy specialty coffee when you can’t get to your favourite coffee house.

I enjoyed both varieties but I liked the vanilla latte the best. Both varieties have a Sucralose flavor I could live without but overall they are a nice change. At 110 calories they also fit nicely into my day as a sweet treat.

Thank you Influenster for including me in the Keurig and Van houtte Voxbox! I’ve throughly enjoyed trying these products and sharing my opinion!

RUNLOVEBOX

Sep29

I was recently lucky enough to have the opportunity to receive a Runlovebox to review and share my thoughts! I heard about this new company through Seawheeze and was more than excited to see this box show up on my door this past Saturday!

Runlovebox is a monthly subscription box company based out of Vancouver BC! They are a new company that is already doing great things! Runlovebox is the brain child of Alyssa, a busy triathlete who is also a Family medicine resident! I love ambitious women and I think starting a business while a full time Resident counts as seriously ambitious!! Alyssa knows how hard it can be for busy runners to get their hands on new products and knows we don’t always want to commit to a full size version of something prior to trying it. With this knowledge her vision was born!

Each month for $15 Runlovebox subscribers will receive a box full of running goodies! My favourite part of this subscription box is each month is based around a theme! Septembers theme was “The Early Bird”, a collection of things to help runners start their day off right! More on that in a minute! I also really enjoy the fact that Runlovebox takes the time to list the company information of each goodie to save subscribers the time of sourcing out company info. All the info is listed right there on the included card! It’s nice to know where the products come from and how to get our hands on more of the things we love!

Okay on to the goods!!

I love local products, so I was excited to find Orgins coffee in this months box!! Based out of Vancouver, freshly roasted organic artisan coffee! Delicious! My faveorite sample this month was the Go Macro Chashew butter bars! Oh my gosh, so yummy! I found these were great to grab in the morning when I was wrangling Jacob to get his day started! You really can’t go wrong with these bars as they are vegan, non-gmo and delicious! This months Runlovebox also included Burt’s Bees lip balm! This is a welcome addition at this time of year as my lips start to suffer in the crisp air and running outside makes them worse! I love the addition of peppermint in this balm! I’d recommend this balm to anyone who suffers with dry lips. A genius product addition I found in this months box was the paper shower! A large wipe to freshen up after a run and a dry towel wipe to dry off. This is such a great idea to keep in your gym bag or purse for after a run or a workout! I love running at the park and often feel gross afterwards and avoid even quick stops before going home. With this product I can wipe sweat away and not feel so gross prior to getting a shower! Also included were Nuun hydration tablets. Electrolyte drink tabs without added carbs! At 8 calories each they are much easier on the diet than other sports drinks. Plus they taste great! It’s safe to say I am seriously impressed with Alyssa and Runlovebox! The fact it is a local company is the frosting on the cake!! I think $15 a month is a great price for the opportunity to try out products and sample goodies!

If you’re a runner or even a walker check out Runlovebox. A monthly subscription would make a great gift for the runner in your life. There is no minimum on the number of months you must sign up for so ordering one month or a number of months as a gift is easy.

Check out this great subscription box! You won’t be disappointed!

RunLoveBox

Naturebox Review

Sep17

I’m a big fan of healthy, fun snacks so when I got my free Naturebox I was super excited to bust into it!

Naturebox is a monthly subscription box that ships right to your door. You can choose 3 or 5 snacks and add on premium snacks like turkey jerky for an additional fee.

Naturebox allows you to pick your own snacks each month from a huge list of snacks. They have something for every type of snacker! Sweet, salty, crunchy, soft. Nuts, cookies, dried fruit, crackers, popcorn, etc.

It took me a while to pick out what I wanted to try but I finally settled on Prailne pumpkin seeds, Peanut butter yum yums, Harvest nut mix, Sweet and Salty nuts, and Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

It is safe to say I enjoyed all my selections but the Harvest nut mix was my favourite!

I am a huge trail mix fan and the flavours in this mix were delicious! I loved the corn and the cracker sticks! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a slightly salty, crispy snack.

My second favourite selection was the Praline pumpkin seeds.

These are sweet little bites of crispy goodness! They are a very Autumn feeling snack thanks to the pumpkin pie spice. They cured my sweet tooth without breaking the calorie bank!

My next favourite snack was the Sweet and Salty nuts.

I am a big fan of nuts on salads and these mixed sweet and salty nuts where perfect for that!! They weren’t overly sweet or salty, as Goldilocks would say “Just right!”

Next I tried the Peanut butter nom nom’s.

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about peanut butter!! Very amorous is how I feel for those who don’t know!! These were tasty little treats but ring in at 100 calories each! It is hard to eat just one as they are like soft little cookies but 100 calories each seemed high to me.

My final snack was the Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

I enjoyed these and think they would make a great snack to grab to keep in my bag for those days we are out and about longer than expected. They packed a big fig flavor and the whole wheat made them feel more healthy than a traditional fig cookie.

Over all I really enjoyed my Naturebox sample box and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys healthy snacking. A box of 5 full size snacks will run you $19.99 a month and you can cancel your subscription anytime or order your box more frequently as you choose. In my opinion the price is totally fair given the high quality, full size snack you receive.

I’m definitely looking forward to picking next months snacks!

Check out Naturebox here!!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies With Maple Frosting

Sep13

It’s almost the middle of September! Pumpkin season is in full swing!!! I decided today was a good day for some Fall inspired baking! These cookies are pillowy soft and delicious but the maple frosting is the show stopper!

Ingredients 1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin spice liquid flavouring (optional)

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Method

Combine pumpkin, egg, oil, sugar, vanilla, and, instant coffee, liquid pumpkin flavouring in medium bowl.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice in another bowl.

Stir wet ingredients together and use a fork or whisk to combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet and dry ingredients, stiring just to combine.

Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to fully cool before frosting.

To make the maple cream frosting simply combine the following ingredients.

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup light cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla coffee creamer

1 teaspoon maple extract

I used my immersion hand blender outside on the patio but if you don’t have a sleeping baby just toss them in a mixer!

Frost cookies and enjoy!

Note: This is the liquid pumpkin spice flavouring I used. It’s available at baking stores, online and micheals crafts.

My Quiet Friday

Aug28

I’ve decided to get back to sharing more of my life on the blog as well as the recipes and reviews.

I think sharing more about my eating, exercises, and life in general helps keep me more accountable. Plus who doesn’t want to see more of this little charmers face?!?

Today was a quiet day. I cancelled plans with a friend and just embraced the rain and being at home. I got lucky this morning and once again was blessed with a beautiful double yolked farm egg for breakfast.

I long to own my own farm with my own chickens!

This evening I took some “Me time” to make a beautiful Fall center piece for our coffee table. I was inspired by the ones I saw yesterday at Homesense.

While I liked the above store version I felt I could make one myself! My brother helped me build the Wooden box out of reclaimed wood. I love how it turned it!

My other productive activities today consisted of cleaning, vacuuming, and baking a Zucchini chocolate chip loaf.

I love this time of year. Fall is well in it’s way and I long for cozy blankets, candles, cuddles and tea. I adore the fall decor, seasonal scents and the pumpkins everywhere!!

I look forward to sharing my Fall season with you!

Argentinian Chimichurri Flank Steak

Aug27

Kevin and I have decided to seek out one new dinner recipe a week to cook together and share. This week we thought the recipe for Chimichurri flank steak in this weeks Weight watchers weekly looked good!

We made the marinade last night and let the steak marinade a full 24 hours prior to cooking. I really enjoyed the flavors of the marinade but Kevin found the red wine flavor a touch over powering. We both agreed we would double the garlic next time!

As stated above this is not my recipe. It is a Weight Watchers recipe.

Ingredients
1 Small bunch parsley
4 Cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
1 1/2 Teaspoon salt (I used 1 teaspoon)
1/4 Teaspoon pepper
1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 Teaspoons olive oil (divided)

1 Pound lean flank steak
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper pinch

Method
24 hours in advance prep and marinade the steak.

Combine first 8 ingredients and purée in a food processor until relatively smooth.

Place 3 tablespoons of Chimichurri into a small bowl and add 1 tsp olive oil.

Rub mixture over steak and allow to marinade for 24 hours. Refrigerate remaining Chimichurri after adding remaing Olive oil.

When ready to cook preheat grill to high heat. Wipe off marinade, pat dry and season steak with salt and pepper. Spray grill with cooking spray. Grill steak for 5-7 minutes per side, flipping once. Cook to medium rare. Remove from heat and allow to rest. Drizzle remaining Chimichurri sauce over steak and serve!

I would recommend this recipe to anyone looking for a flavorful healthy steak recipe.

David’s Tea Peanut Butter Cup Review

Aug23

I was given a sample of David’s tea new upcoming fall flavor, Peanut butter cup. I was pretty excited about this new flavor given how I feel about Peanut butter. That feeling is smitten incase you were wondering.

This new flavor will be released at the end of August with the rest of the Fall line. It’s definitely worth a try if you like peanut butter!

This peanut-ty little number is a herbal fruit infusion and is chock full of nutty flavor. Sorry I couldn’t resist! It does have nuts though. Almonds to be specific, along with apples, cococa peel, chocolate chips, safflower and a bit of “flavoring”. It smells amazing before, during, and after steeping.

I was surprised just how spot on the peanut butter flavor was despite not having peanuts as an ingredient. I tried the tea straight up to experience the full flavor prior to adding my cream. Yes I add cream. I’m one of those!
I would recommend anyone who loves peanut butter to give this tea a try. The chocolate was subtle but I thought that it worked well. I will definitely be adding this tea to my fall favorites list.

Run Swift As A Rabbit Like You Do…And Don’t Forget To Take In The View! Seawheeze 2015

Aug21

On Saturday I joined almost ten thousand other runners and took to the streets of Vancouver and the beautiful seawall in iconic Stanley park to run 21.1 km in Lululemon’s annual Seawheeze half marathon!!

This was my first half marathon and when I signed up almost a year ago I was pregnant but after missing out on registration the prior years (the race sells out in under 30 minutes) I figured I’d give it a shot. It was my most casual attempt at registering yet and I was shocked when I got in.

As many of you know my pregnancy was anything but text book! I suffered with Hypermeisis from start to finish. I couldn’t keep down any food, was hospitalized, hydrated and exhausted. After giving birth I hoped things would return to normal but they didn’t. In the weeks following birth I suffered with a retained placenta. Then my malnutrition issues surfaced. Since then I’ve focused on doing the best I can daily in terms of taking care of myself. It was all made harder last month when I suffered an early miscarriage. As Seawheeze crept closer and closer I considered pulling out because I was undertrained and my body was still suffering. Up until late Friday night I was still coming up with excuses about why I couldn’t do the race.

Kevin wasn’t about to let me back out easily. He insisted we take part in the activities that I had waited so long for.

My Seawheeze weekend started with dinner and drinks with some of my Lululemon friends in Mission. All of them multiple 1/2 marathon runners! They were extremely supportive and slightly threatening that I wasn’t backing out!

On Friday we spent the day in Vancouver at the runners expo. I got to meet a bunch of my lulu girls, shop, get temporary Lululemon tattoos, sample products, have an amazing dinner, hit Whole foods and generally soak in the atmosphere. I was pumped! However once I got home the fear and anxiety took over! I forced myself to set my alarm for 4 am! Lay out my race outfit and run swag, take some pictures and put my timing chip on my shoe before bed.

At 4 am Saturday morning I got up, got dressed, and ate. Before I could change my mind Kevin had me on my way to Vancouver. When we arrived at the convention center none of my friends were there and Kevin had to just drop me off because of Jacob was sleeping. I had a few minutes to soak it all in alone and give myself a little pep talk.

I was terrified. Before I knew it I was surrounded with other runners, excitement, and inspiration to do this. I hit the bathrooms one last time, warmed up, linked arms with Garett and headed for the start line.

The energy at the start line was amazing but I was still terrified! The terrified didn’t go away until I hit the via duct and the spin team was there cheering us on. At that point I started running with a stranger and we quickly became buddies! We stayed together until about km 15! The course was full of entertainment, support, and spectators. I didn’t take many photos for the first 15 Km’s because Tracy and I had a good pace going and were chatting a lot.

Hitting the halfway point when crossing back over the bridge was an amazing feeling. I started thinking about what I was really doing!!! Running a 1/2 marathon 6 months postpartum after an exhausting pregnancy all while having Lupus and being told “I shouldn’t run”!

Crossing into the Stanley park portion of the race signified less than 15 km to go!! It was also the most scenic portion of the course and for me proved to be the hardest and most intense!

Around kilometer 16 I hit the wall. My legs felt about a zillion pounds and I found myself walking when I should of been running. I could feel the two small blisters on my feet and hips were reminding me “Hey lady you have Lupus wtf are we doing?!?”. I tried to focus on my beautiful surrounding but at that point my brain had turned against me. I found the runners spaced out significantly at this point and the course almost felt isolated. Nothing beside me but rocks on one side and water on the other. Between kilometers 16-19 I had a full blown panic attack. I had to force myself to breath. I had to remind myself what I was doing and why I was doing it. I walked the final 6 kilometers. It killed my time but that doesn’t matter. I had no time goal. My only goal was crossing the finish line. Those last 6 kilometers found me constantly repeating to myself “just keep going”… I knew my baby and my husband were waiting for me at the finish line and those two things kept me moving. Kept me fighting through the pain. I’m not going to lie to you those last 6 kilometers felt like forever! In actuality there were a bit over an hour. Longest hour of my life!! I took a selfie around kilometer 17 to send to Kevin incase I died ! Around the same time Kevin sent me a photo of him and Jacob both smiling for me. When you’re that far in it really is the little things that keep you going! <a href="https://lifewiththemcgavins.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/20150819-124331-45811606.jpg">

Just keep going! It turned into my personal mantra and I’m fairly sure will stick with me the rest of my life. A moment on route that will also stick with me forever was seeing the blind runner and his guide runner.

In that moment I realized there was no excuse to not do this! To not finish! No excuse to not try everything and anything I want! If this man can get out there and run a half marathon blind I’m not about to let lupus slow me down!
Running across the finish line was indescribable. I vaguely recall someone putting my medal around my neck and handing me a hat, towel, water, Saje stuff. It was overwhelming. I don’t think I was even processing anything at that point. I remember kissing Jacob and Kevin before being surrounded by Michelle, Garett, Krista and Debra. I know there were tears. In true me fashion after a major/traumatic event (Yes running your first half is traumatic) I just wanted to go home. I skipped the runners brunch and headed straight for the truck!

Conquering a half marathon is something I’ve always wanted to do. Before my Lupus got bad I ran a lot more, I loved it. I still love it. It just hurts a lot. This was something I did for myself. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I did it by myself, for myself.

Blackberry Lime Tart

Jul31

So earlier today I posted my recipe for lime curd, well here’s what I did with it!!! I turned it into mini blackberry lime tarts and served them with a scoop of lime zested vanilla ice cream!!

These tarts are a perfect little treat after dinner! You could make one large 9 inch pie with this recipe or 6 four inch tarts.

Ingredients
1 1/4 Cups Graham cracker crumbs
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1/8 Teaspoon cinnamon
Cooking spray
1 recipe Lime curd
1/2 cup Blackberries

Method
Combine crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and mix until crumbly.

Press mixture firmly into sprayed tart pan up the sides and on bottom forming a well. Bake in 325 degree oven for 9 minutes.

Once baked remove from oven and allow to cool. Fill with lime curd and top with as many blackberries as desired. Refrigerate for 3 hours until firm.

These tarts are just the right size for a shareable treat or indulge and polish it off on your own!

Homemade Lime Curd

Jul31

A friend came over yesterday and with him he brought a bunch of blackberries!! So those blackberries are destined for blackberry/lime tarts! This afternoon I whipped up a batch of homemade lime curd to be used in the tarts. I mean doesn’t everyone keep a dozen limes on hand all the time!

This lime curd is extremely easy to make and doesn’t require a double broiler or straining. It has a fantastic lime flavor with just the right amount of sweetness! Use it in tarts, a toast, scones, cookies, or mix it with yogurt! The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients