What Rachael is currently loving

This is the first of a new monthly practice we are starting. Every month, we will provide you with a resource page of things “Rachael Recommends.” These posts/articles will consist of products we find ourselves recommending often, products we feel our members may find particularly useful at the time, or just things that are currently making us extra happy. Hopefully, you find fun little “happies” here too! (These posts contain affiliate links).

Hello hello! Rachael here! I’m excited to share my current obsessions with you this month. Here’s what I am currently loving:

Glass Dishes

I love my glass dishes! Food prep is a common activity in my home, meaning I need dishware to store the meals in. I try to avoid plastic because of the chemicals they contain. These harmful chemicals can leach into our food and cause health concerns. For more information on this, click here. Food prep is never the favorite activity of the week, but it helps to have the right tools for the job!

Naked Pea Protein

This brand is great! Joey uses this protein powder for his post-workout protein shakes and loves it! We like this product because it’s not full of sugar or has a long ingredient list of chemicals, flavors, etc., that we can’t identify. Clean protein is sometimes hard to find for a good price. This one checks both boxes! The taste isn’t bad either!

BCAA’s

BCAA's = Branched Chain Amino Acids (i.e., the basic building blocks of a protein structure).

Lately, I have recommended this product more and more. There are tons of branched-chain amino acids on the market, but most (like protein powders) are loaded with needless ingredients. Our bodies run best on ingredients that are naturally occurring and easy for them to process. There are many benefits to supplementing with BCAA’s; muscle mass retention and improved recovery are a few. This product tastes… terrible. But most people who regularly include BCAA’s into their routines swear by their effects! The poor taste is worth the results!

(hint: I think the best ratio for BCAA's is 2:1:1)

Foam Roller

If you’ve done a Fitness Collective workout, you know we are all about the roller! But most recently, I have requested that the virtual members I train purchase these for their workouts. Besides rolling out your muscles, foam rollers can be utilized in other ways in exercise workouts. They are versatile! Even better, if you train with us in person, you can buy one at Fitness Collective!

In reality, what has led me to recommend them so much lately is my current focus on health, longevity, and moving well FOREVER. Movement can be equated to life, and if we lose our ability to move well, our quality of life plummets. Foam rollers are a tool that can help us maintain good posture, flexibility, and mobility for years and years to come.

If you have one at home, lie on it for 5 minutes tonight for me, will ya?

Kids' dumbbells and barbells

Love, love, love these! Friends of ours gifted these to my son a while back, and I am obsessed! If you have young kids and desire to teach them the importance of working out, this is a fun, inexpensive way! I love doing “family workouts” with my son while using these. He probably has better form and technique than me!

Thanks for checking out the things I recommend! I hope you find them helpful! Let me know your thoughts if you choose to get yourself some of these goods!

Cheers!