A Case of the Runs

The nice folks at Kardea Nutrition sent me a sample of four of their nutrition bars. I am quite the fan of eating "food in bar form," especially vegan ones such as these. These bars are smaller than more energy bars but are dense. The consistency is very much like Power Bars (something I haven't reviewed yet because I have not had enough of them). The bars are held together by what I'm assuming is agave nectar. There are no weird chocolate bits that will melt everywhere, which is a plus. Each bar has about 140-150 calories and around 7 grams of protein, which is pretty good. They seem like they would make nice, healthy snacks. And since they are vegan, I'm sure eating these would help with digestion, since I remember clearly having good digestion and high energy when I was eating vegan for a month. Here are the four flavors I tried: - Cranberry Almond: I'm not a big fan of almond-flavored things (though I do like almonds), so this kind of tasted cherry...

I'm always trying to get my protein needs fulfilled. Bars are nice, but they melt and are boring after a while. Drinking protein is actually easier and probably more economical in the long-run. I tried straight-out soy protein, but due to the taste, I decided maybe I should try some soy/whey or pure whey formulas. However, my lactose intolerance has increased over the years, making this a poor option, which is too bad, since those are among the most inexpensive. (And luckily, I was able to pawn them off.) Spiru-tein is a mix of soy/rice/pea protein that I found out about as I was on one of my signing-up-for-free-sample blitzes. I ended up with a free shaker cup and a sample of Cookies and Creme Spiru-tein... plus a coupon for future purchases of it. Given the fact that I don't drink milk, I go against the instructions and mix it with water instead. Yeah, that probably worsens the taste of everything, but what else could I do? It still comes out thick, maybe not as thick as it w...

EVENT: Nike+ Human Race 10K DATE: Sunday, August 31, 2008 LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA (and all around the world) RACE BEGAN: 8:31:08 pm FINISH TIME: 00:57:38 This race course took place at Exposition Park near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, down and out of Figueroa and some smaller streets, passed USC, and made its way back to the start. I was/am starkly disappointed by my race time. Charging down a hot, stuffy, dark, narrow path on an August evening with 12,000 runners, weird smells from restaurants and ot her runners, and a revisiting lunch was not the best. However, knowing that Kanye West and Common were at the end definitely kept me from puking or quitting. They really did deliver an awesome post-race concert performing all of their hits with "flashing lights" abound! Upon crossing the finish line, everyone was awarded a "baton" with a wristband thing. There is not much else I can say about this race, particularly because I am unhappy with my lackluster race...