As long as you have the opportunity to produce hot water The Grower’s Cup promises you an unseen alternative to your freshly brewed at home coffee! According to their website they are only using the best beans, careful roasting, organic farming and it is a Fairtrade product.

The use of The Grower’s Cup is simple – brew hot water, open the bag, pour hot water in, let stand for 5-8 minutes and enjoy freshly brewed coffee! Sounds a lot like instant coffee – doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t! According to the producer it works more like a french press. It preserves the natural oils of the coffee and therefore enhanced the overall taste! If you take a closer look at the website – it really looks like the product is thought through: The beans are ground in the bag and then directly aroma sealed, hand picked and carefully selected berries and slow roasted….. Well, enough of the talk! All that really counts it: What is it all about!!!

One thing we can tell you for sure – we won’t be able to tell you anything about preserved oils or anything scientific, we haven’t been to Bolivia or Guatemala ourselves to check out the conditions there but frankly: We take their word and trust in the Fairtrade and Organic Farming label on the coffee bags! What we will be able to tell you about after testing a couple of coffees is – the TASTE, the SMELL, the EXPERIENCE…and isn’t that what it comes down to in coffee. At least for the everyday John and Jane like you and me??!!

We had the first cup earlier today – their Guatemala Blend (they also have Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ethiopia in their organic range) and we were pleasantly surprised! It is a simple to use product, the smell when opening the pouch was surprisingly fresh and the taste after brewing it for 8 minutes was actually quite enjoyable! Enough to finish the entire cup and to be willing to take the Grower’s Cup to a further test!

Over the next couple of days you might wanna stay away from us as we’ll be high on coffee and pacing up and down like a comic character on speed cause there is a lot of coffee to be tested. We’ll try to find out which is the tastiest blend, how simple is the handling in the outdoors, what is the perfect brewing time and so on!

So stay tuned for your coffee fix – The Grower’s Cup might be the perfect solution for your next adventure trip, 24 hour bike race, multi-day running race or everybody who doesn’t own a coffee maker!

Rock on!

Pictures, text and recipe are all by Angie a Seasaltwithfood

I get energized everytime I make Raw Energy Bars at home. I have tried several recipes and flavors before; but, this Chocolate, Cashew, and Almond flavor is currently my favorite! It’s made from scratch using raw ingredients, such as Medjool dates, cashew, almond, cocoa, and coconut. You will be amazed with the end result. Not only are these bars good for you, they also taste great! So, if you are into raw energy bars, then you may want to try this recipe. If possible, please send me your feedback as well. Have a great weekend.

Raw Energy Bars~Chocolate, Cashew, And Almond

Ingredients

2 Cups (300g) Moist Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped
2 Cups (280g) Raw Cashew Nuts
½ Cup (60g) Raw Almond (without skin)
¾ Cup (75g) Cocoa Powder
A Pinch Of Sea Salt
½ Cup (40g) Unsweetened Shredded Coconuts
2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 to 3 Tbsp Cold Water

Equipment: Food Processor
11 ½ x 4 ½ inches (29 x 12 cm) Loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil

Method

Combine chopped dates, cashews, almonds, cocoa powder, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse and process all the ingredients together until the texture is coarse. Then add the shredded coconut, a quick pulse, and add the vanilla extract, a little water at a time until it reaches a dry but moist dough consistency. Scrape the dough mixture into the lined pan, press evenly with a rubber spatula, and chill for about an hour before serving.

Before we start our series of minimalist running shoe / sandal / socks reviews let’s talk a little about why people run barefoot, what the benefits are and if we really have to be barefoot to be barefoot.

By now most of us have heard of barefoot running (which we will be using as the primary term for barefoot, natural and minimalist running in this article) because it is becoming more and more popular. More companies produce minimalist running shoes, more magazines start reporting about the potential benefits of barefoot related forefoot / mid-foot running and more professional athletes are endorsing natural running shoes and brands.

A couple of years back Daniel Lieberman and his colleagues researched Biomechanics of foot strikes on barefoot and shod runners and to this day this study is one of the most quoted when it comes to advertising barefoot running – yet funny enough Lieberman clearly states that there is no proof that heel striking actually does cause more injuries than forefoot / mid-foot striking. However, they did prove that you have up to 7times as much impact on your body with every hell strike in comparison to fore/ mid-foot running which is a huge indicator that you can avoid many injuries with a more sufficient running style as produced when barefoot running.
Source: http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

Positive impacts of barefoot running we have heard about or experience ourselves include: Less stress on bones and ligaments, a more natural shorter but quicker turnover, improved endurance before muscles tire, improved speed, better body feel, more natural stance, huge endorphin boosts and so on!

Others like me had absolutely no idea this research existed much less cared about reading it. I simply wanted to try the ‘new’ thing once we started hearing about barefoot running in Europe and it all snowballed from there.

Then again others have to change something or have a life altering experience such as the near death experience Michael Sandler had. He almost lost his leg and was told he could never walk again and found a way back through barefoot running.

At the end of the day – it doesn’t matter why you want to be running barefoot. If you decide to try it follow some advice: Find your own way and level of barefoot running. This can be by running minimalist shoes with no heel drop and little cushion, or cushioned shoes with zero drop. You can take the next step and run in running sandals to go even more minimal or you can go ahead and try the all natural barefoot running. Try for yourself, find the level that works best for you and enjoy the positive impact it can have on you. Hey, and should you figure out it doesn’t work for you: Good on you. Go back to what used to work for you and enjoy every run and every mile you’re out there! There is no right or wrong to it. If Lieberman can’t tell you it’s gonna make everything good so can’t anybody else but you…but you’d be a fool not to try it!

Rock on!

There is a vast number of new running shoe companies flooding the natural running market such as Stem Footwear, Fut Glove and Skora Running – there is older more established ones like Vibram 5Finger or Vivobarefoot but even bettern known running and outdoor brands such as New Balance, Merrell or Adidas are making their push into this steadily growing market.

The shoe alone however doesn’t make you a natural or minimalist runner and that’s why there is a growing offer of educational and inspirational books as well as natural running workshops! It is worth taking a look at books like Born To Run by Chris McDougall, the Barefoot Running Book by Jason Robillard or ChiRunning by Danny Dreyer. Those are only 3 choices out of many! Companies like ChiRunning and Newton offer their own running workshops or even natural running coach certifications (of course each certification has a different name but it all comes down to a similar technique)

There you go – you got your minimalist running shoes, you got your technique going, you are running less pain free (potentially! – we’ll find out) and you sit at your next runners get together telling your mates that you’re a barefoot runner now and the runner hiding in the corner suddenly goes all ballistic on you. ‘WTF just happend’ might cross your mind. Don’t you worry – that was just one of those running snobs. Yes, they do exist not only in golf, high society or lawn tennis but also in running. You will find an elitist group that insists on making a difference between natural running, minimalist running, barefoot running and so on. We will try to explain the difference during the months we are taking a closer look at natural running. Should you cross path with one of those guys in the future simply hold it like our man Jason Robillard who simply decided to say: If you’re not running barefoot but minimalist shoes, call yourself a ‘barefoot shoe runner’!

With those final words – we are very much looking forward to testing all the different shoes coming our way – we have Kigo, Vivobarefoot, Merrell, Newton, Leguano, Sole Runner, Nimbletoes, Inov-8, Vibram 5 Fingers, Saucony, Ecco Biom on board already and there will be more coming! We will also be looking at different educational books, running seminar. We’ll give you advice on how best to transition from cushioned shoes to minimalist shoes, talk about the advantages of barefoot running to your body and mind, look at other sports that are adapting to the minimalist shoe style, introduce great website and blogs where you can find your regular natural running update (yes, for now we’ll call it natural running or should we say Barefoot Running. Arrrg, We’re so lost ) and tell you everything else there is to know about this growing movement.

Rock on and stay tuned!!!

On the natural side we’ll start with a closer look at natural running shoes and socks – not the kinda ‘natural running shoes’ that still have a 9mm heal drop or a 12mm cushioned sole! We are talking as minimalist as we can get! For example. Sole Runner, VivoBarefoot, Vibrams, Merrel Gloves and so on! We are also taking a closer look at the whole natural running movement versus barefoot running (yes, there is some divas insisting on the right use of words here ). There is some great interviews with the real starts of the natural running movement in the pipeline!

On the not so natural side we have some cutting edge sports nutrition for pre, during and post workout coming our way! We’ll be looking at new bikes for 2012, functional clothing and so many more things! You can also expect a new look to the blog in the early season and a little more modern touch with more video reviews!

Of course we always welcome your feedback and ideas about things you want to get tested, reviewed or simply introduced!

Stay tuned and keep rocking!

The Dudes!

1. Brownlees’ Brotherly Domination in Madrid
Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee could have handily won the ITU World Championship Series race in Madrid last June. Instead the 23-year-old opted to slow down and slap hands with fans while waiting for his younger brother Jonathan to round the bend. The pair then draped their arms around each other and approached the finish line arm in arm before Alistair stepped ahead at the very end. The elder brother officially beat his brother by two seconds, but it was a memorable moment for both Brownlees.

2. Emotional Finishes At Kona
Whether it was the warm temperatures or just something in the salty air, the tears were flowing like lava from pro athletes at the finish line of the Ironman World Champs. Who could forget the emotional embrace between Mirinda Carfrae and Tim O’Donnell, or the way in which Chrissie Wellington burst into tears as she broke the tape? Perhaps Carfrae phrased it best when she said, “That race is something else. … It was tough—physically, mentally, it was a real battle inside my mind. There were a couple tears at the end of the race, but not because I didn’t win, but from exhaustion.”

3. Macca’s Olympic Attempt
In an interesting turn of events for Chris “Macca” McCormack, the two-time Ironman world champ announced in February that he would be returning to his ITU roots in an attempt to qualify for the Australian Olympic team. Meaning no Kona in 2011—and a switch to draft-legal, Olympic-distance racing. The 38-year-old competed in five ITU events in 2011, his best finish being 26th place in Hamburg.

4. Wiltshire’s Unsportsmanlike Act
Triathletes may get their fair share of licks during races, but usually the elbows to the stomach and kicks to the head are unintentional. During June’s European Champs, however, it was clear that something shady was going down between Great Britain’s Harry Wiltshire and Spain’s Javier Gomez. A video of the swim shows Wiltshire pummeling Gomez on the head numerous times. Later reports indicated that Wiltshire was attempting to block Gomez as part of Great Britain’s team tactics. The ITU disqualified Wiltshire from the race and ultimately issued a six-month suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct.

5. Chrissie’s Crash
It was a tweet that sent shudders around the world when three-time Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington posted a photo of the damage she sustained after a harrowing bike wreck in Boulder, Colo., just two weeks before Kona. With her legs covered in a gnarly road rash and purple bruising, many wondered just how much damage had been done. Indeed, the injuries—torn pectoral and intercostal muscles and deep bruises and cuts—were severe. But not enough to cost her Kona, which she won, road rash and all.

6. Crowie Wins 70.3 Worlds on an Unbranded Bike
When Craig “Crowie” Alexander arrived at the 70.3 world champs on an unbranded bike, it was like Jimmie Johnson rolling up to the start of the Daytona 500 with a logo-free car. Many speculated that the bike was an unbadged Cervélo P4, indicating that the Aussie had abruptly cut ties with longtime sponsor Orbea. The latter was later discovered as fact when the 38-year-old announced the end of his relationship with the company in October. Days later, Alexander became an official member of the Specialized team, and rode to a victory in Kona on a new Shiv.

7. Challenge Roth Records
What exactly was in the water in Roth? Or, to be more direct, just how fast is that course? A duo of iron-distance world records was set at the July race—one by Germany’s Andreas Raelert (7:41:33; 46:18 swim, 4:11:43 bike; 2:40:52 run.); the other by Chrissie Wellington (8:18:13; 49:49 swim, 4:40:39 bike, 2:44:35 run.). Adding to the super-speedy theme of the day, men’s runner up Sebastian Kienle of Germany also dipped under the 8-hour mark (7:57:06), while Germany’s Julia Wagner (8:56:23) and Australia’s Rebekah Keat (8:59:22) both broke nine hours.

8. Michael Raelert’s Re-Routed Season
Hopes for a Raelert brother one-two finish in Kona were dashed when younger brother Michael withdrew from the Ironman European Champs with a hip injury. As a result, the 2009 and 2010 Ironman 70.3 world champion failed to meet the qualifications needed to race in the Ironman World Championships. Raelert’s season was not over, however: The 31-year-old rallied to win the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship in December by more than five minutes.

9. Gomez’s Great Comeback in Sydney
In one of the finest comebacks the sport saw this season, Spain’s Javier Gomez rebounded from a bike crash on a rain-slicked course to win the opening round of the ITU World Championship Series in Sydney. The Spaniard rode solo for the last 10K of the bike course, eventually catching the chase pack, then running his way to his 13th ITU victory with a 30:09 10K run.

10. Armstrong’s Return to Triathlon
When Lance Armstrong returned to triathlon—the sport where he honed his cycling skills before winning seven Tour De France titles—tongues wagged and message boards buzzed about the super-athlete’s potential. After some speculation he’d compete in an Ironman, Armstrong, 40, opted to go off-road, finishing fifth at the XTERRA U.S. Champs in September and 23rd at November’s world champs in Maui.

SOURCE: Triathlete Europe Online

The concept we have seen before – no doubt but there is a couple of unique attributes to GROUNDED. Some other companies offer you a 2 year life span on the hologram- whereas GROUNDED is using a high end quality that promises a long lasting life span of the hologram. The come in many different stylish color schemes and the minds behind GROUNDED put a huge emphasis of giving back to the community. The reason being that GROUNDED in their eyes is not only a product that can influence your life in a positive manor but as we mentioned before – a lifestyle. The goal is to reach people and have an impact on their life with every step GROUNDED takes. May it be through their product or their charity and club work.

We have tried the GROUNDED bracelet and talked to the makers of GROUNDED and here is what we can say for sure:

- The silicone bracelet is very comfortable to wear and comes in 2 sizes from small (Number 6) to large (number 8).
- We like the choice of color schemes from laid back black to stylish transparent with light blue lettering.
- The guys behind GROUNDED leave a genuine impression

…and here is what everybody has to try for themselves:

- It is hard to tell with a product like this what the real influence on your lifestyle is and how much of it comes with the hologram or how much of it is simply your mind. The great thing about it: It doesn’t really matter as long as it you feel a positive impact.

If you ever thought about trying a hologram product – this might just be the one to go with. It’s stylish, it feels good, it offers high quality materials. The rest is up to you to find out!

STAY GROUNDED and if you want to find out more check out their website or Facebook

Well, we were lucky again and got our fingers on a pair sent right over from the Inov-8 headquarters.

The Evoskin comes with an optional ‘activity strap’ that keeps the skin in place even during rough activities. The skin has the expected feel of rubber on your feet thanks to the silicon and it fits really nice and snug. When putting the Evoskin on it helps if you are used to five finger shoes or socks already – otherwise estimate 2-3 weeks until your feet automatically know how to spread out those toes for easy access.

Another thing that bothered us a little at the beginning that 2 toe boxes on one of the shoes felt kind of narrow and put a little pressure on the toes from the side – an issue we were easily able to resolve by stretching the toe box a little with our hands.

The first run was confirmation – due to the 0mm drop and of course the fact of having no more than one layer of silicon between your feet and the ground – makes for a near barefoot feeling. Definitely closer to barefoot than anything we have experienced before and still it offers needed protection from stones and sharp objects.

We did not take the Evoskin out on the trails yet – but a review on Runnersworld.com suggest that they might not survive a rough trail session (the reviewer did not actual run the skin on trails – it is just a guess of his). What can we say – YOU’RE ON MATE! We will take the Evoskin on the trails the next couple of days cause we doubt they will rip!

As for the street and fire roads – the Evoskin offers plenty of protection from stuff laying on the ground – however, take it easy when getting used to them. It is not only your joints, muscles and bones that need to get used to the stronger impact in comparison to ordinary running shoes but also your feet need to get used to work around sharp objects.

- For those of you not familiar with the concept of minimalist and barefoot running – one of the key points is that your foot’s sensor feel uneven terrain, objects you are stepping on and so on – the less cushion / shoe is between the object and your feet, the more accurate is the feedback your nerves are sending to the brain and the likely is an economic response sent back down to your feet. This is how you avoid injuries, twisted ankles and so on in the long run – but after years in cushion shoes you need to train your feet and sensors slowly.

In the Evoskin you can literally feel exactly this sensation – your nervous system reacts and responds way faster and your feet work way more economically.

The silicon also offers great grip and therefore makes for a great shoe on wet surfaces – not only when running but also for water sports, yoga and many other activities.

The Evoskin comes in several different colors – some brighter as you can see in the pictures, some less but get used to the idea that not only your feet need to get used to your new footwear but also your neighbors.

One last great feature to mention – you can easily roll the skin up and fit them in a small pocket – the easiest way to have your running skins with you at all times!

Natural running and rock on!

We quickly got our hands on a pair of Sziols – which we would call Concept-Sunglasses – thanks to their well thought through concept and the mix and match options between frames and lenses.

The idea behind Sziols is to produce long lasting, durable sun- and sports glasses with a superb vision.

We got ourselves a frame and several different lenses from clear to dark and in different shapes for running and cycling. Sziols is offering different shape lenses with different filters to assure perfect air circulation and clear vision without fogging even during extreme workouts.

We have tested the Sziols for a couple of months now under several conditions – bright sun, rain, storm, running, cycling, 24 hour bike racing and so on. The frame fits very nicely and comes along very light. Each frame comes with 2 nose pieces that allow for 4 different fits depending on your facial shape and preference. In general the lenses are a little further away from your lashes to avoid discomfort and allow for prescription glasses to be fitted underneath.

The different lens shapes for running and cycling do a great job no matter if it is raining outside or you’re sweating in the sun like crazy. There is no fogging but also no wind in your eyes. The different color and shape lenses can be easily switched with a single twist of a pin on the frame that is keeping the shades in a fixed place. A fantastic tool especially when you’re out trail running or cross cycling and mountain biking. You can easily switch lenses depending on where you ride – the woods, in the soaring sun and so on. (TIP: If you don’t want to switch lenses in between go for the red ones. They are especially made to keep the sun away from your eyes but also to show the contours on the ground in the woods.)

All materials Sziols is using are anti-allergic and the glasses are indeed very durable. Each frame comes with a special add on that keeps the sweat away from your eyes when cycling (can easily be taken off with one single move if you don’t like it)

The one downside with Sziols is – they are made for sports and  activity. From cycling to running, skiing or indoor sports – for that they have sacrificed the style a little. Sziols are sunglasses we would wear for sports anytime but not necessarily for the Sunday afternoon walk with friends and family For sports though those glasses are perfectly thought through allowing for more individual adjustment than we have seen at any other brand – and all that for a great price.

So if you don’t belong to the category that needs / enjoys designer glasses – this is the one to go for if you want the best glasses for a steal!

Check out their website to find out more about their design, special glasses for kids indoor activities and much more! There is so many great features and ideas behind it that it would take up to much space to get into detail with all of them.  SZIOLS

Rock on!

We will go a little more into detail about the product this time as their own website is in German only at this point.

THE PRODUCT:
Brain Up! itself is a product that is focusing on the popular market of micronutrients. The nutrients the human body requires to function perfectly but unfortunately hardly receives through modern day nutrition. The product was invented by Dr. Karl-Georg Mothes – a physicist and student of nature – to promote his own mental endurance during long hours of work and research. His aim was to find a combination of natural ingredients that deliver the necessary micronutrients to promote mental strength and stamina that can be added beyond sufficient sleep and meditation. With the help of leading physicists and nutritionists he developed Brain Up! with natural ingredients such as Guarana, Green Tea, Mate, Koffein, Vitamins and Magnesium. One of the key ingredients setting Brain Up! apart from other products with similar claims is Glycerlyphosphorylcholin – part of the Soy Lecithin which has shown tremendous effect on mental endurance in recent research.

WHAT IS AN EFFECT DRINK?
The Effect Drink is a newly developed chain of drinks to promote mental and physical endurance. In the case of Brain Up! it was possible to produce this drink in a handy 60ml portion thanks to the new LIQUITECH-Technology. Dr. Mothes is currently planning do develop further EFFECT DRINKS to effect individual problems such as mood swings, insufficient sleep, tension, etc)

THE TEST
Intrigued by the claims and the natural ingredients we decided to go for a 9 day trial. We also wanted to see how being mentally more alert could effect our training.  We started off with 3 days of 1 portion before a work out and 1 portion after the workout followed by 6 days with just 1 portion during the day. After 2-3 days we couldn’t tell that there was an immediate effect or anything – we had solid workouts but didn’t feel any major changes. By day 4-5 we started to feel the difference. We actually became more awake – not only during the workouts but also after tough workouts – allowing us to get back into work with a stronger focus than usually after a tough session. By day 6 it became evident that the mental focus had increased and actually helped us perform better during interval sessions and sprints. Now after 9 days we can say that Dr. Mothes Brain Up also seems to have a positive impact on recovery after sports.

SIDE EFFECTS:
There is no real side effects but there are 2 things to watch out for:

1. if your react sensitively to product such as caffein, green tea or guarana – start of slowly and increase the dose day by day. You don’t have to drink an entire daily portion at the beginning. Otherwise it can give you the jitters.

2. During morning sessions on an empty stomach with only Brain Up! we developed a slight heart burn. So try to eat a little something before using Brain Up if your stomach reacts the same.

THIS PRODUCT IS FOR YOU IF -
- you want to increase mental performance during long hours in the office, presentations or studies
- improve athletic performance
- speed up recovery
- you don’t have long hours to recover after a sports session and need to be instantly alert when returning to the office
- during long drives or any other activity that requires you to stay alert and awake
- if you are looking for a natural product that is backed up by research and studies

Enjoy and rock on!