For Goodness Shakes Protein Coconut Water

          For Goodness Shakes have launched their own protein waters in four flavours and sent me some to review.

Two being made from spring water, Blackcurrant and Mango and Orange, the other two being made using coconut water which again come  in the Mango and Orange  and a Tropical flavour.

If you haven't heard of For Goodness Shakes it's a brand that helps recovery from exercise and doesn't taste like arse!

How could I not love a product line an equally brilliant brand name as Bone Idol Fitness?

If you are in Leeds then your best bet to find For Goodness Shakes is to head to Sainsburys but they can also be found lining the shelves of Morrisons, One stops and even Boots.

Don't let the fact you can buy them from your supermarket fool you into thinking these shakes don't do their job.

For Goodness Shakes are all about convenience, from buying to drinking them.

No need to go to a specialist protein shop and no need to do any mixing when you come to drink it, you can pick up a bottle along with your toilet roll, deodorant and your dinner which will be incredibly health I am sure!

You can check out their full product range, store locator, full nutritional break down of products  and make purchases online by clicking here

On to the review.

I was asked if I would like to review the spring water versions or the coconut water ones and since coconut waters popularity doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon I opted to review those.

You get 10g of protein in each bottle of coconut protein water, a large egg only has 6grams.

 The spring water versions have 20g of protein but of course because of this it increases the calorie count but still there is only 30kcals between the two.

The coconut water has 26 fewer calories than a large egg so it's win win so far, plus you are not consuming any fat or cholesterol by choosing to skip Gaston's favourite post workout drink.

There are other protein waters out there on the market, however I have not tasted, mainly because the ones I have come across I would have specifically order in and I am not about that life.

Nutritionally the products I have come across are about the same.
I did come across a protein coconut water that had double the protein but it also had almost triple the calories.

 I am all about convenience which, thankfully, For Goodness Shakes is also all about.

On to the taste test.

I was really hoping I was going to love the taste of the coconut water but I have say it was a bit lack lustre for me, like Muscle Mousse I found I could taste the sweetener giving the drink an artificial taste.

Normally when I drink coconut water my mouth feels instantly refreshed but I didn't get that from either of the flavours, although I would say I liked the Mango and Orange more than the Tropical.

Chocolate Shake.

I didn't hate either drink but I am am far from loving them.
 I did finish them both though, for me the flavours weren't great or terrible just alright.

I personally will stick to drinking For Goodness Shakes milk shake line and will probably give the coconut water a pass unless I was going to experiment with it in smoothie.


 I do still intend on trying the spring water flavours when I next come across them though.

Don't like my opinions put you off trying For Goodness Shakes coconut water, you may love the taste!

If you are a fan of flavoured waters in general then you will probably enjoy the protein coconut water.

The product is a great idea and the nutritional content is there to support your recovery.

 Whey isolate will give you fast acting protein and leucine which is a slow release protein that will keep fuelling your recovery for longer.

2 Week Challenge: Going Dairy Free

For my latest 2 week challenge I decided to go dairy free so no milk or products containing milk for me!

Normally I would keep a brief food dairy as I have done with my 2 weeks challenges going veggie and going gluten free but with dairy there wasn't really anything interesting to write about and not really any interesting products to try out.

I buy Pure a dairy free sunflower spread for when I wanted  something butteresque and I bought in some milk alternatives, Alpro Soy Desserts and dairy free protein flap jacks but no where near enough products to warrant a food dairy.

Now the products I couldn't have include whey protein, cheese, milk chocolate, yogurts and ice cream so my calories were reduced, I don't tend to do low fat anything as it tends to upset me greatly.

I didn't find giving any of these things up hard at all.

I don't know whether this was because I knew many of the dairy products would be back on the menu once my 2 weeks were up or if my will power is just simply incredible incredible!

With cheese being apparently comparable to cocaine in regards to it's addictiveness I am going to bask in my 2 weeks cold turkey.

I am not really aware of any positive or negative impacts on my health other than weight loss and feeling quite cleansed and positive.

 I will say that once I had finished my 2 weeks I treated myself to that Northern delicacy the mighty Parmo and felt sick for the next 24 hours.

 Maybe too much too soon for my body to readjust to.

I did also get a bit of stick.
People telling they can't see the point in even attempting to give up dairy, a chorus of "but cheese though"

If you are interested in giving up dairy then check out my post on why should you go dairy free.

Like any major change in your lifestyle you should consult your doctor before undertaking anything.

I am currently reviewing some raspberry ketones and after I have completed my review on them I will be reviewing a 2 week weight loss program.

Milk Alternatives

Since I am not drinking cow's milk for my 2 weeks of going dairy free I gave some other milks a try.

Alpro make loads of different milks from plant sources so there is bound to be one that you'll enjoy.

I have tried Almond, Hazlenut, Rice, Coconut and Soy milks and I'll give my brief thoughts on each one.

Almond Milk: 

Very similar to skimmed milk with a very subtle  almond taste, if you are expecting this milk to taste like marzipan you will be disappointed.

Almond milk has next to no protein in it, if this is a concern for you then I would look else where.

Hazelnut Milk: 

Thicker than the other milks I have tried but not as thick as full fat cows milk. It has a very distinct taste.

If you like nut flavoured protein shakes you will probably enjoy this milk.

Hazelnut milk ties with Almond milk for 3rd lowest protein on my list.

Rice Milk:

I really enjoyed rice milk which really surprised me!

 I would say rice milk tastes the closest to cows milk than any of the milks I have tried and would be my top pick followed by hazelnut.

The lowest amount of protein of the milks that I have tried along with Oat milk.

Coconut Milk:

I was expecting coconut milk to be thicker but it was a lot like skimmed milk and a lot like coconut water it is an acquired taste but I did feel really refreshed after drinking it.

Higher in fat than most milk alternatives but still lower than full fat milk and has even less protein than almond milk!

Soy Milk:

I do not like soy milk at all. I have a few friends that rave about the stuff and I had high hopes but did not find it enjoyable at all. It seemed to have a slight bitter after taste not unlike natural yogurt.

Soy milk has about the same amount of protein as cow's milk with lower fat and will help reduce your cholesterol.

If you are wondering whether or not soy is good for you or not then please click here to read my post on it.






If you imagine sieving the liquid out of porridge then you have the taste of oat milk.

It may have the joint lowest protein than the other milks in this post but it also has a good amount of fibre, calcium, vitamin D, B2, B12 and a dash of vitamin A





I have only come across Cashew milk in one shop in Leeds and it was by far the most expensive milk that I have found.

I found it to be quite waterey but with a better nutty taste than almond milk and quite a lot more protein but less than half the amount of coconut milk.

The best thing about Cashew milk is that has a fair of amount of vitamin E, again more than Almond milk.




I did feel a bit naughty picking up some Hemp milk but I did check and hemp milk does not contain the ingredient that gets you stoned like marijuana.

 If you thought you were going to be having a chilled out evening after downing a carton of hemp milk you are in for a disappointment.

I really enjoyed the taste of hemp milk, it was surprisingly nutty and sweet.

Hemp milk seems to be a miracle milk with it having Omega 3 and 6, all of the essential amino acids, 2g of protein per 100ml, good source of iron, calicium, vitamins A, D, E, B12, B9, B2, Magnisium and Zinc.

Although hemp milk does contain a lot of Omega 3 it is not the kind the kind you find in fish but still has benefits for your heart and artery health.

Sadly all of these milks are more expensive than cow's milk but you are buying into something that is better for your health and not contributing to the harm of animals in the dairy industry, plus the more people buy these alternatives the lower the prices will become.

For the benefits of going dairy free then check out my post by clicking here.

Alpro Soya Dessert Hot, Chilled and Frozen

Since my post Muscle Mousse hot, chilled and frozen was so popular I decided to do the same thing with Alpro Soya desserts.

I tried the dark chocolate and the vanilla flavours, there are also caramel and milk chocolate flavours available but I haven't come across them in shops yet.

To see Alpro's full product list please click here

Hot:

I poured the dessert into a microwaveable bowl and microwaved it for a minute on full power, having a look every 30 seconds. 

The vanilla worked bested heated as the chocolate burnt slightly, both tasted great over my Cricket and Lemon Cake.

A great dairy free/ gluten free/ vegan alternative to custard.

Chilled:

Nothing to write home about, I enjoyed the vanilla flavour more than the chocolate, both were quite thin but both were nice enough.

Frozen:

I slung some the desserts in their pots straight into the freezer and left them over the night.

They froze well and the only issue I had was that I had to wait for them to defrost enough for me to eat them.

A perfect frozen vegan and gluten free dessert to enjoy in hot weather.

I think Alpro soya desserts are more enjoyable hot than frozen but give them a try for yourself for an easy treat no matter the weather.

Alpro Soya Desserts

In my quest to go dairy free Alpro Soya's dark chocolate and vanilla desserts a go.

They have slightly more calories than the mouses that I normally buy, are more expensive and I didn't enjoy Alpro's desserts as much.

That's not to mean that I didn't enjoy them but if both products were created equally, ethically and priced the same I know which I would choose to buy.

Out of the 2 flavours I tried I enjoyed the vanilla one more, I would say it is probably near impossible to notice a taste or texture difference to custard.

I found the dark chocolate flavour a bit meh, I wouldn't buy it again but I would happily eat it if offered for free.

These desserts are perfect if you are dairy and/ or gluten free or vegan.

If I come across the milk chocolate and caramel flavours then I will give them a blast and get back to you.

Alpro do a whole range of dairy free alternatives to milk, yogurt and cream and I will be writing posts in the future on them if you want to check out their whole product range then click here

If you want to read my thought on what these desserts are like hot, chilled and frozen then please click here

Why is Soy bad for you?

I have given up dairy as part of my 2 week challenges and since I still want to desserts and drink milk I have been looking at alternatives and one of them is soy.

Soy is bean that is used in loads of products and can be used to make tofu and milk.

But is soy bad for you?

As far as I can tell no it isn't if consumed in moderation.

There are claims that soy is linked to breast cancer and decreasing the levels of testosterone in men, leading to the development of breast tissue, but I can't find anywhere that says without a doubt that soy is going to ruin your life.

The studies are small in size but it does appear that soy protein does increase the estrogen levels in the blood of men but it doesn't seem to have an effect on a their outward body.

I did however come across a post on the Men's Fitness site that says that there was a case of a 60 year old man who developed gynaecomastia but was drinking almost a gallon of soy milk a day.

They did not provide a link but they cited The National Health Database as their source, I couldn't find the article but then again I was tired and hungover at the time of writing this post.

In the case of increasing breast cancer risk soy has shown either no increase in risk or it has shown to decrease the risk, as well as lowering the risk of prostate cancer in men.

If you like soy then go ahead and enjoy it just don't start buying gallon jugs of it every day.

On a side note to any guys reading.

If you are trying to blame your moobs on your girlfriend's soy milk that you accidentally drank, obesity is one of the main causes of gynecomastia which higher levels fat in your body means a higher level estrogen.

This is by means not the only cause.

Ageing , alcohol abuse and hormone imbalances caused by steroids, genetics, cancer or drugs.

If you are worried about any aspect of your health please consult your doctor.

Muscletronic

I was kindly sent some Muscletronic to review and with all the claims it makes I couldn't turn it down.

You can't throw yourself into using Muscletronic, you need to build yourself up for the first 5 days, taking them only in the morning with breakfast on non workout days and about 45 minutes before your main workout on workout days.

Once your first 5 days are over you can then you can up the dose to twice a day, taking it with your breakfast and lunch on non workout days and with your breakfast and 45 minutes before your workout on workout days.

As with any supplement make sure you are suitable before taking anything so pregnant women, children under the age of 18 and anyone on any sort of medication or with persistent health issues should consult their doctor before taking anything.

You should also cycle any workout supplements or pre workouts with Muscletronic recommending 12- 16 weeks on and 1.5 - 2 weeks off.

Mucletronic says it will increase your strength and energy flow, improve cognitive function, focus and drive, build quality, lean muscle, increase fat burning, elevate your mood and reduce stress, expand your physical capabilities and it's suitable for all fitness levels.

And breathe!

Since there's quite of but of information there I am going to take each point and tell you my thoughts and experience using Muscletronic for 4 weeks.

Strength and energy flow:

I normally take Caffeine Pro for when I need a bit of extra sparkle in my day and did find Muscletronic milder.

 Muscletronic has 50mg less caffeine per serving than Caffeine Pro and is packed full of juicy B vitamins which help   my body convert protein, carbs and fat into energy, giving me a much a cleaner buzz.

I did also feel like my workouts were super charged, seriously I almost flew off of the rower into the poor dear behind me! 

Improved cognitive function, focus and drive:

At the time I wasn't really aware of any improvement in this area but since coming off Muscletronic I did notice a decline in my productivity.

Build quality lean muscle:

I have let the gym slip again, blogging was taking up a lot of my spare time, it is sometimes like having another job in it's self, plus the title of my blog Bone Idol Fitness doesn't really give anyone the illusion that I spend my life in the gym, that and my progress pictures!

However I have noticed more muscle growth, not massively but that's because I haven't been putting the time into my own body like I should of been.

Increase Fat Burning;

Photogenic as ever.

I am not sure my fat burning rate has increased or not.

I can drop fat quickly and fairly easily when I put my mind to it thanks to my ectomorphic body type but I am sure with the caffeine, increased B vitamin levels, the Alpha Lipoic Acid helping prevent fat being stored in the first place and Forskolin Extract reducing the amount of fat your cells can hold I am sure Muscletronic will have had a positive effect on my fat levels.

Elevate mood and reduce stress:

My mood has been pretty consistent since taking Muscletronic, not that I have wild mood swings or anything like that but I have been in a good mood most of the time.

My life isn't really that stressful, although I have been in a couple of stressful situations I have managed to keep it together and not remove the heads of those around me. whether this is due to Muscletronic or a sign of my budding maturity remains to be seen.

I definitely feel that Muscletronic delivers, I felt much more energetic and my gym sessions become more intense and productive, it's also great to see that all the ingredients are explained on their website, nothing in Muscletronic is there needlessly.

Because Muscletronic helps you make the most of the nutrients in your food it's great to stack with whey protein to further post your recovery after exercise.

The only downside I found  was that because I am quite sensitive to caffeine I couldn't handle the full dose without it affecting my sleep so I did struggle to get to sleep and get up in the morning, this a factor that may not affect you, I know loads of people that sink 5 cans of Monster a day and claim to sleep like a baby.

All in all my experience using Muscletronic has been a great one and highly recommend it.

Click here if you want to give it a go, with a money back guarantee you can't go wrong.

Pure, Dairy Free Sunflower Spread

For my latest 2 week challenge I am going dairy free for 2 weeks to see what effect it has on me so I here I go again reviewing products that fit in with the dairy free theme!

Because I needed butter to bake my cricket and lemon cake I went out in search of some dairy free butter, I had originally gone hunting for some Flora Freedom but alas my local Morrisons let me down!

But there was a light in a my flora freedomless life and that was Pure, dairy free sunflower spread.

With gluten free, dairy free and vegan on the tub I didn't think I could pass it up in good conscious.

Calorie wise Pure is higher than Flora Original  with Pure having 537kcal pre 100g to Flora's 405kcal.

Pure does have more vitamins E and A than Flora.

They are both tide for vitamin D.

Pure does have some vitamin B but then again Flora has omega 3 and 6 it's corner!

Taste wise I couldn't tell you a difference between the two so your only real considerations for picking Pure over Flora would be the calorie count and the fact that one is dairy free and the other isn't.

This next bit is for the vegans or the vegan curious!

Both Pure and Flora Freedom contain palm oil, I haven't been able to find out if they source their palm oil from sustainable and ethical farms so they are not necessary cruelty free.

Flora is made by Unileaver with has a history of testing on animals so I would lean more towards to Pure as a brand.

If you want to find out more about the impact palm oil has on the environment, people and animals check out The Bite Sized Vegan's video by clicking here

Why should you go dairy free?

For my latest 2 week challenge I am going dairy free, but why should you give it a go in the first place?

 Loose weight. 

A lot of dairy has a lot of fat in it.
 With fat being more calorific than carbs or protein  ditching the cow juice and butter may have your scales going in the right direction.

Improve your skin.

There are links to dairy and acne saying no to some mature cheddar might give you a clearer complexion!

 Get rid of your bloating.

Apparently a lot of people are lactose intolerant, just like hedgehogs and cats!

You can have an intolerance without knowing it so keep a food diary for your dairy to see if you bloat or get extra gassy after that frothy coffee that cost you £4.

If you have tried going gluten free and still getting bloated this may be the cause.

Reduce nasal congestion.

If you suffer from nasal congestion then it may be due to dairy inflaming your nasal lining, with hay fever season upon us it might be worth ditching the cows milk for some almond, rice, soy or coconut alternatives.

May reduce your risk of certain diseases.

Giving up dairy may decrease your risk of certain cancer, particularly ovarian and prostate, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Help protect the environment.

Livestock take up a lot of room and resources to grow, not to mention the CO2 cows produce by opting out of dairy consumption you are reducing the demand for dairy and reducing the amount of animals needed to provide people with milk. This reduces the amount of land, feed and water needed to grow the animals.

You stop supporting a cruel industry.

I am not going to go on and on about how cruel the dairy industry is, it would make me very hypocritical to do so with me not being  vegan or even vegetarian however I would recommend checking out the on Bite Sized Vegan and her youtube channel.

She doesn't force the vegan message down your throat like some of the more excitable vegan youtubers do click here for her channel

I would love to say I am giving up dairy for the animals but that would be a side benefit, the main reason is to see the impact on my health and if the animals suffer less from it the it's win win in my eyes.

I'd like to say I am more noble but alas I am not.

New Balance Trail Running Shoes

My trainers were on their last legs so I put out a request for any suggestions for what trainers I should get next on twitter and @Al0haAlice told to get New Balance Trainers "because they are amazing"

With a recommendation like that I would be silly not at least give them a look, Al0haAlice also writes a lifestyle blog so if you fancy a gander then click here

I side stepped the New Balance website and went straight to SportShoes.com and score myself a juicy discount. 

Prices on the New Balance website started from £55 where as I bagged mine for £30 with postage and packaging.

I have used SportsShoes.com in the past and have always had a great experience and super fast delivery, my trainers have always arrived a day after I have ordered them.

I had not heard of New Balance before, I am not going to lie, I normally hit up Shoe Zone and get the cheapest on offer, great if you are on a budget just not great if you are after giving them some serious abuse when running.

My New Balance trainers are really comfortable and breathable.

They fit my size 11 feet well and give me an extra inch to my 6 foot height, all the better for looking down upon the peasants my dear!

Great grip, I have not slipped over in mud or on wet grass yet so that's always a bonus. I am yet to try them on a really muddy route thanks to summer finally arriving!

Great design and people have commented on how nice they look, my Shoe Zone classics will surely be weeping in my wheelie bin, I will pray for them.

All in all a great buy, especially if you can get them cheaper like I did.

Cricket and Lemon Cake

I was sent some cricket power by Mophagy to make some food with so I thought  would give a lemon cake a crickety twist!

I have to say I think I missed the point of the cricket powder.

 Instead of using the powder in shakes and or other recipes I have up my sleeve I used all the powder in this cake, it didn't dawn on me until after I had mixed it all into my cake!

  I had been sent a food supplement rather than cricket flour like I presumed and for that I apologise to Mophagy, I could of used the cricket powder in other recipes if I hadn't been so hasty.

I did try the cricket powder on it's own before I used it to bake with and I must say it did taste how I imagined cricket to taste like, other than that I can only say get some for yourself to try.

If you want to check out the recipe I adapted to bake this cake then please click the link here

Because I am going dairy free for the next two weeks this recipe is also dairy free!

Ingredients:

225g of Live Free Pure Sunflower spread.

225g of caster sugar.

4 eggs.

55ml of lemon juice.

225g of self raising flour.

30g of Mophagy Cricket power.

Dr Oetker Surprise inside cupcake centres, Zingy Lemon ( optional ).

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 180C then beat your Pure sunflower spread together with your sugar until it's pale and creamy.

Add one egg at a time, and slowly mix, I just tossed in all 4 eggs and got whisking like a bad man!

Add your lemon juice, the recipe did ask for actual lemons but I forgot to pick one up and the shops had already closed by the time I had started baking.

Sift in your flour and cricket powder until well mixed.

Grease up your chosen baking tin with your Live Free Pure Sunflower Spread then pour in your mix and smooth out your mixture with a spoon.

Cook your cake in the oven, mine took about half an hour but the original recipe did say 45mins.

To check to see if your cake is properly cooked then prick the centre with a fork or a knife, it it comes out clean then you have succeeded in baking your cricket and lemon cake!

Leave your cake to cool, after 5 minutes of so use your zingy lemon to inject pockets of lemon curd into your cake where ever you fancy, I personally like how it looks like the crickets have buried their way into the cake through the holes.

I really enjoyed my cricket and lemon cake although a lot of my friends declined to try it, must be the lemon.

The cricket powder does change the texture of cake, making it more like whole wheat I would say, but you should give it a try for yourself, I am hardly a foody.

The only thing I would say would improve this cake is a dollop of custard, but I am dairy free for the moment so unless I find some dairy free custard by the time I eat all of this cake I will never know the the joy!

Mophagy Cricket Powder

I was approached on Twitter by Mophagy, a company that sell edible insect products to review their cricket powder to cook with.

I was really excited to try it out as I have already reviewed Crobars and am all about insect protein right now, in fact if anyone know any insect restaurants or cafes near Leeds then let me and I will check them out!

If cricket powder doesn't tickle your fancy then don't fret too soon, you can pick up while roasted crickets or meal worms or their flour versions.

So a nutrient comparison I am going to use the body builders favourite, chicken breast!

100g of skinless chicken breast is  lower in calories than 100g of crickets, this is due to skinless chicken breast being virtually fat free. Skinless chicken breast has about 80kcal per 100g compared to 126kcal in 100g of crickets.

The fat in crickets are mono and polyunsaturated fats which are thought of as good fats.

Protein wise skinless chicken breast more protein with 17g of protein per 100g compared to crickets 13g per 100g.

But don't count crickets out, because you are eating the whole of the cricket it means you are getting all of 9 essential proteins your body needs.

Crickets have 3g of fibre compared to chickens 0g, in your face chicken!

Cricket powder absolutely destroys chicken in it's vitamin and mineral content.

   21% of your RDA of iron compared to a measly 2% in you boring chicken.
,
14% of your RDA of calcium compared with 1% in your dry chicken breast.

A whopping 55% of your RDA of potassium compared with 2% in your poor old chicken.

And if that wasn't enough for you cricket powder also contains 2.81g of omega 3 and 6.28g omega 6  where as chicken doesn't even make it out of the milligrams!

Crickets are also full of B vitamins including B12 and zinc.

If you are up for trying crickets for yourself then just be aware that if you have a shellfish allergy there is a chance you may have an allergy to crickets, I imagine this is due to you eating the exoskeleton of the cricket along with everything else.

Aside from the amazing nutrient content of crickets it is worth pointing out that farming crickets is much more environmentally friendly then farming bigger livestock, not only do you not need to cut down as many trees to make room to grass cattle etc but they don't produce as much C02 either.

Invest in Mophagy is also investing in the future of orphans in Democratic Republic of Congo, giving them the skills and support to create a sustainable source of income and food security in a country where 1 in 7 die before the age of 5.


Don't be squeamish at the thought of eating crickets, if all the hasbeens on I'm a Celebrity can stomach them then I am sure you can too.