Juvo- My Green Powder of Choice

Most people don't get their recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables all in one day.  I am one of those people. SO... how does one solve this horrendous problem?  Well, we purchase "greens."  Greens come in a form of a green powder that includes a bazillion fruits and vegetables. ONE SCOOP boosts up our veggie servings up to SEVEN servings!  Seem to good to be true?  Well, consider this. The leafy veggies and fruits are FREEZE DRIED. Yes, this is different than dehydrated.  It's better. This means that NO heat was used in the processing and therefore all of the cool vitamins and minerals stay in tact. After the freeze drying process, the fruits and veggies are ground into a fine powder. That means something that was big is now very small.  Thus we see, we get a lot of punch in one small package.   WHAAA!?!?!

Most people mix their greens with water, juice, or throw it into their green smoothie- which is what I do. The problem is that a lot of greens have a HORRIBLE taste!!  Oh yes.. I'm talking NAS-TAY!  Well, my lovelies, I have finally found a brand that has everything that I am looking for, AND the taste is....non-existent.

What to look for in a greens drink.

Not my Kid

In looking at different greens, it's important to know WHAT you are looking for them to accomplish.  If you work out a lot, you might want something that is heavy protein.  I was looking for a little of everything.  I wanted something to serve as a protein, a meal replacement (should I be in a hurry,) a weight loss aid, and
an immune booster. Yup, I wanted ALL (or a lot) of the "superfoods" as I could find. Leafy green vegetables are often called superfoods as they are packed full of vitamins and minerals.They are rich in folic acid and B vitamins, which are necessary for healthy cell growth. Leafy greens such as spinach, broccoli, and parsley are loaded with vitamin C , vitamin A and powerful antioxidants, which support a healthy immune system.They are high In nutrients and enzymes such as iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium, which keep muscles, ligaments and skeleton healthy. Plus, Phytonutrients protect your cells from damage and maintain good vision. (Insert Charlie Brown "wah wah" voice)  I know, not too interesting, but still important to know.

Many greens are also rich in Omega3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are essential to healthy brain development. So your greens powder breakfast smoothie helps to keep you and your kids focused during the day.According to science writer Susan Allport, Omega3 fatty acids have also been lnked to reducing the risk of heart disease, arthritis and cancer.

Many of today’s food are overly acidic and greens help balance your body’s pH, which in turns leads to a good night’s sleep. And chlorophyll detoxifies your blood, which leaves you feeling more energized during the day. So, Superfoods are HUGE in the greens powder catagory.

In addition to superfoods, I wanted something with mushrooms. Known as the Herb of Good Fortune, the Reishi mushroom has a long tradition of supporting the immune system, cardiovascular system, and for stress support. Mushrooms are also known for their role in mental clarity and immune boosting.

Seaweed was very important to me as well. Seaweed's best-known benefit is that it is an extraordinary source of a nutrient missing in almost every other food: iodine. Consuming healthy levels of iodine is critically important to maintaining a healthy thyroid. For those that don't know, the thyroid is a gland in your neck which helps produce and regulate hormones. A malfunctioning thyroid can result in a wide range of symptoms such as fatigue, muscle weakness and high cholesterol (to name a few). So, you can see why I wanted some seaweed in the greens.

FINALLY, I, of course, wanted to make sure that I wasn't ingesting pesticides and other GMO's. SO.. I looked for something RAW (meaning freeze dried,) and ORGANIC.  I also threw in kosher, gluten free, dairy free and vegan. OH, and pretty fair on the price as well.  I don't want to pay $75+ for a 30 day supply. Not too much to ask for, right?

What I found?

I found Juvo Superfoods. Juvo has a unique an interesting formulation that, I think, you need to try for yourself and see if it works for you. The mixture is fairly heavy in grains (millet, rice solids, various beans), which some say is more of a filler, but they also provide some cleansing action and protein. It has quite a lot of veggies (kale, beet, parsley, carrot, tomato, pumpkin, radish, and cabbage) and a huge amount of alfalfa as the primary green superfood (other greens include spirulina and chlorella, radish leaves and seaweeds). The mixture also offers a lot of fruits (lingonberry, black currant, aronia, concord grape, pomegranate, sour cherry, acerola, blueberry, cranberry, elderberry, and others).

Finally, the formula includes a larger than normal amount of mushrooms. Mushrooms include Shitake, Reishi, and Agaricus. This impressed me since it is hard to find a greens drink that includes mushrooms. They can be expensive to add and usually bring the cost up quite a bit.

What Do They Have to Say For Themselves?

According the the website ( www.gojuvo.com) JUVO retains nature’s purity without any modification or additions. The whole grains, vegetables, sea vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits of JUVO are grown organically in fertile land to bring you the purity and full vitality that mother nature offers. JUVO is made with organic, kosher, and NON-GMO ingredients from whole grains, vegetables, sea vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits that are grown organically in fertile land to bring you purity and full vitality of nature. JUVO ingredients are freeze-dried to keep nutritive properties and enzyme. It’s absolutely free of preservatives, whey, yeast, dairy, artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners.

The price is actually really good at $35-$45 per bottle and that will usually last 1-2 months (depending on how often you use them.) The taste is non-existent and the powder really packs a punch.  (I might warn those that try it for the first time that there MIGHT be a SLIGHT detox that happens... stay close to a bathroom.....not that I know from experience, but.... just sayin.)

In my opinion, Juvo has a little bit of everything.  They have a protein and weight loss formula as well, but really, if you are going to just live a healthy lifestyle, go with the superfoods.  This will enhance your already awesome, whole foods, diet.

I like to purchase it from Lucky Vitamin.  They do a "the more you buy, the more you save" sort of thing.

I'm in a GIVING mood!!

This is what I use, and will continue to use until I find something better! In fact, I like it so much, I feel a giveaway coming on!!! Want a bottle of Juvo Superfood to try for yourself?

1. Leave a comment on the blog and make sure that you "like" the Facebook page and/or Follow me on Twitter.  I will choose a winner from the comments and announce it on my social media pages! Winner will be chosen on February 5th! 

2. Want an EXTRA entry?  Share this with your friends and tell them to mention YOUR NAME in THEIR comment on the blog!  

Do you have a greens drink that you love? Share it with us! Any comments with a link to personal websites for products will be deleted.  But, feel free to mention the brand!  Thanks a bunch!

For my Green Smoothin Recipe that includes Juvo CLICK HERE. For more info on supplements that I add to my diet CLICK HERE.

TL;DR- I choose to use Juvo Superfood as a green powder supplement for my green smoothies.  It is a great blend of powerhouse ingredients and packs a punch! Plus, how to enter the new Giveaway.

Wii Fit U Experience

Last year, our whole Christmas was "Wii" based.  It became the first gaming system that our little family owned.  The boys got the Wii U, games, remotes, the works!  THIS YEAR around Christmas time, Nintendo finally came out with the Wii Fit U. Basically, it's the Wii Fit but...with a U. Ok, so there is a little more than that!

Like the normal Wii Fit, this takes your body calculations (weight, height, etc...) and then it comes back and tells you how out of shape you are.  (I am assuming that it does this with EVERYONE since even my 6 year old shows as out of shape.) You get to have a little cartoon character (Wii Mii) that you create to look like the over-weight you as well.  So, now, I get to look fat in cartoon form as well!  (And the peasants rejoice!)

Once you finish all of this, you have the choice to choose a personal trainer, play some balance games, learn some awesome dance moves, do some yoga or find just about any other exercise that is out there.  Staying true to the name, the Wii Fit U really DOES Fit YOU!  The information is saved for each user, and it gives suggestions for exercises based upon the info that it receives from the assessment and from your performance in the games. 

Since we didn't have the regular Wii, I don't know how all of this compares to the "old" Wii Fit.  But, all in all, this is pretty cool.  The BEST feature that I KNOW didn't come with the "old" Wii is the nice little pedometer! It is called the "FIT METER."  This little buddy counts your steps and measures your movement throughout the day.  THEN, when you log into the Wii Fit U, it syncs up with your little fat cartoon and tells you how you "measure up" towards your goals.  Check out Nintendo's WEBSITE to see all of the cool features.

I tell you this because although I have had the Wii Fit U game and meter for about a month, today, yes, TODAY, was the FIRST time that I have REALLY used it. Even then, it was my second choice because I was not able to use Maj. P.I.M.A today. (Maj. P.I.M.A is my awesome treadmill.  Aptly named because it is a Major Pain In My A**......literally.) See, I went to USE Maj. P.I.M.A and realized that hubby brought the key HOME with him and now, it is in a "safe place."  ANYWHO..... what did I think of the Wii Fit U?  Well, it was actually pretty fun.  Minion #2 and I played for quite some time!  I broke a sweat.  I pushed him off of the balance board proclaiming "It's MY TURN!" And, according to the fit meter, I burned just under 100 calories!

You all know that I don't really CARE how many calories I take in or out, but it's nice to know that it was doing SOMETHING.  The key point is that I FELT like I was getting some great activity in!  We only used it for 30 minutes (it took 30 minutes to figure it out... don't judge) So, after my hour of exercise time was over, I was happy with the results.

This is one of the dancing games.... I rocked it! "Center Stage Dancer!"
Yup, That's me! 

I'm not sure that I would do this EVERY day, but maybe for about 10-15 minutes as a cool down from Maj. PIMA would be pretty good. The dancing is fun, the snowball fight is a blast, and the mulit-player games are super! And, as a HUGE fan of the PLANK, I actually liked doing it on the balance board with the game better than just normally!  See, there is this little dot that shows you where your center of gravity is and how shaky you are.  It really helped me to see how much control I really had!  That was fun!

So, today's activity time was a success!  If you have a Wii U, or even just a Wii, give this game a shot! If you already have a balance board and have just purchased the Wii U system, you can buy the game plus the meter for $49.99 from the website.  $89.99 to purchase the balance board with it!  I don't think that you will be disappointed.

TLDR: Wii Fit U Review

Choffy Tasting

THE PARTY!

 It's been a week since my tasting party for Choffy. To make this a little different than other reviews that I have seen, I decided to see what some of my friends thought of Choffy as well.  So, I sent out the invites, cleaned the house, and made way for 15 of my closest friends to come and TASTE!

If you don't know anything about Choffy, it's brewed hot chocolate.  This isn't full of sugars and powdered milk like your normal hot chocolate.  Nope, this is the pure stuff.  100% pure, roasted, cacao bean! The beans are roasted, ground, and even prepared like coffee (best done in a french press,) without the side effects of coffee such as caffeine or tannin.  Sound to good to be true? Just wait!

According the the Choffy website, an 8oz cup of Choffy has more antioxidants in it than almost two servings of blueberries! PLUS,  Choffy naturally contains a gentle yet long lasting stimulant called Theobromine. This healthy stimulant provides you with a energy lift by dilating the cardiovascular system, making the heart’s job easier and delivers energy without a crash or the other negative effects of caffeine.

To sum up: Choffy is a "healthy" hot chocolate that gives an energy boost similar to coffee....without the addiction.

THE TASTE

Choffy currently comes in three flavors: The original Ivory Coast blend, Ivory Coast Dark, and El Espanola (the flavor that is supposed to be the closest to coffee.)

Ok, here we get down to the nitty gritty!  When I first tasted Choffy, I was given the Ivory Roast- Dark flavor to taste.  I thought that I would be brave and try it just straight.  As you can imagine, it was bitter.  The taste reminded me a lot of eating 100% pure dark chocolate would taste like... go figure.  Having said that, there were 2 of my friends that actually LIKED it this way the best! After I tried a few blends of almond milk, cinnamon, peppermint, coconut milk, etc, I wasn't THRILLED with any of them and decided to wait for the tasting party.  I figured that I was probably doing something wrong.

At the party, we were able to try all three flavors with multiple creamers and sweeteners to create our favorite combination. The Ivory Coast Dark was iced, the other two were hot.

Christmas in a Cup

Our presenter was a friend of mine that I found out actually sold it. I had to hunt her down and ask her to do a tasting party for me.  She accepted and did a great job. After taking about 10 minutes to tell us about the benefits of Choffy, she let us go at it.

We had a lot of fun!  My favorite combination was the Original Ivory Coast with the peppermint patty creamer and a little cinnamon and nutmeg.  OH. MY. GOSH!  It's Christmas in a cup!  I also tried the pumpkin spice creamer.  That was tasty! Finding the right balance of sweetener, creamer, and choffy is really important.  It took me SEVEN different cups to find my favorite Choffy flavor, creamer and sweetener (which I don't add.) I DEFINITELY liked it better this time around than I did when I first tried it.  My second favorite blend was the Dark, and the Espanola was last.

WHAT THE FRIENDS THOUGHT
My friends had various responses.  Some of them loved it right off the bat!  Others took a little more convincing.  I actually had one friend that didn't like it at all- but she bought a bag!!  When I asked her why, she told me that she thought that maybe it would grow on her. At the time, she was drinking hot chocolate every morning to give her some energy.  Two days after the party, she called me and told me that she made it with coconut milk and said that she LOVED it!

Another friend bought a bag for herself and members of her family!  And yet, another one, liked it just straight with a little sugar and left my house to go order some!

THE VERDICT
This is really something that you have to try for yourself to see what you think.  However, at $15 per bag plus the cost of a french press (if you don't own one) it can be a costly venture just to "try."  My best advice would be to attend a tasting party or throw one of your own.  This way you can try all of the flavors that you want and not have to worry about getting the wrong kind.  If you like it, you can make the jump and purchase the french press- like I did.

I really like this!  It is not as thick as your normal hot chocolate, and not as sweet (unless you add a lot of sugar or other sweetener.) I am not one that drinks coffee every day nor do I drink hot chocolate every day, but I think that this will remain a staple in my house as a nice treat!



HOW TO BUY
Choffy is sold through independent distributors. You can purchase on the website, and skip the distributor, but if you know someone that sells it, you might as well give them the commission that they are trying to earn. If you don't already have a friend that sells it, I would suggest ordering from my friend Kristie.  She is super nice and is genuinely willing to just let you order and not pressure you into becoming a distributor (something I think we ALL can appreciate!) You can access her website HERE.  Be sure to put in 124539 as the referral number!

As a healthier alternative to hot chocolate that tastes just as good, I suggest that you give Choffy a try!