In All Your French Press Glory: A Review of

Over the past year, I have completely fallen in love with the french press. Sure, it seems tedious, especially in this day and age where we have our preset coffee makers and our keurigs. But there's nothing like sitting on the porch on a Saturday morning, reading the paper (or constantly updating your Twitter feed ), and drinking some fresh coffee - from your french press. And, really, they're not all that difficult.

Basically, you boil the water for your coffee (or tea! This works well with loose leaf teas and herbs too!), put your coffee grounds in the bottom of the French press... Add water, then attach the lid with the plunger. Slowly push down on the plunger, then let seep or "brew" for 5 minutes or so. And, that's it! After this time, your coffee will be ready to serve from this snazzy little pitcher and will taste SO much better. Come to think of it, this really doesn't take much longer than it would to wait for your standard coffee pot.

There  are plenty of different kinds of french presses on the market today. Try come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. I always used a standard french press, like this one by Kitchen Supreme.
If you're feeling a bit fancy, the stainless steel coffee presses by Francois et Mimi are absolutely gorgeous. The stainless steel, coupled with their vintage designs, are incredibly elegant and may be worth the extra dollars. They even make a huge, 50 ounce french press, which is very convenient for those hosting a few people. You can check out a few of Francois et Mimi's french press designs on Amazon, here and here.

While I admit that the french press may not be for everyone, I do encourage those that enjoy a relaxing Saturday morning coffee hour to invest on a french press. And by "invest," I do not mean spending an arm and a leg- many french presses only cost $20 or so, and these fabulous kinds are no exception!

Summit Nutritions Pure Whey Protein Isolate: A Review

Protein shakes have been my "thing" for the past year or so. They're easy to make and are especially helpful for those that don't have time for a sit-down meal. They say that it's super important to eat something every few hours- so hard to do! Although I think a protein shake is too much to supplement for a snack, I do like to use it as a lunch replacement. In addition, they're super fun! The varieties of shakes and smoothies you can make with a few ingredients are endless. And I'm all about consuming my protein. Currently, I use Gold Standard whey protein; however, I am always down to try something new. Such is the case with Summit Nutrition's whey protein isolate. 

They sent me a few single serve packs of their dutch chocolate flavor- which is awesome from a reviewer's standpoint- in my opinion, chocolate protein powders can be the most difficult to pull off. Often, chocolate protein powders have a chalky aftertaste and, in general, just don't taste all that great.

Summit Nutrition's dutch chocolate protein powder is the exception. I found the chocolate flavor to be light and sweet- maybe too sweet. It mixed very well, but, to be fair, I mixed it with a banana and some unsweetened almond milk, so I had to use a blender.

As for the nutritional value, this stuff is spot on. It only contains 0.5 g of fat, is low carb (two grams!), and contains 25 whopping grams of protein- which is a lot. It emphasizes how there are "no other ingredients" and "no fillers, hidden ingredients, or banned substances..." yet I wonder where the sweetness comes from. I understand that my little banana added some sweetness, but I mean, jeeeeez. I love sweet stuff, but even I think that this stuff is intense. Wowza!

I'm excited about this protein powder and would love to try their vanilla flavor. I do wish that they had more flavors, but.. they say patience is a virtue, right?? The nutritional value is pretty difficult to beat in comparison to other brands out there. The protein level is sky high, making it way more worthwhile- plus, if you feel  that it's too much protein, you can always use less than a serving size of protein powder, therefore  making your supply last longer. Rad!

You can purchase Summit Nutrition's whey protein isolate here on amazon. A 2 pound container will cost you $36.99. Not interested in such a commitment? Try their single serve pack of 3- it'll only knock ya back $7.99 and is crazy convenient for those that just wanna throw an emergency pack in their bag for later.