Product Review: Neocell - Collagen Sport

If you've been following my sport-related banter for the last few years you know I'm not a big fan of processed anything. I don't care if it's "natural", "organic", or even "healthy". For me, I like seeing all of the ingredients in what I ingest and I prefer to get all of my nutrients from what I eat and drink without using supplements.

I was contacted by someone at Neocell recently and they asked if I was interested in trying out their powder. I was reluctant but thought I'd give it a try. I'd been a little tired and had some decreased performance in the water lately and figured it may be worth it.

The sample I was sent was quite large and when I read the ingredients and the process I felt a little better. For about 4 days I gave it a try, mostly as a pre-surf drink. The flavor was good - not really sweet or processed and you could add it to water. I mixed it in my cocktail shaker as that seemed to work better than trying to stir it.

The thing that I like the most is that there is no gluten, sugar, or lactose. There is xylitol but it isn't overwhelming. Again, I'm really not a fan of sugars (or sugar alcohols) unless they come from fruits (or beer - haha). This powder also contains collagen, which is touted to have great health benefits.

Overall, I was satisfied with my Neocell experience. I've still got some left and will probably use it for pre-surf or pre-early morning workouts.

Book Review: Her Team

"In a nutshell, it's about a woman who wins the chance to manage the Red Sox. It's a fun, vicarious read - women's sports fiction. A League of Their Own turned on its head...sort of.

HER TEAM is available ONLY in eBook format (The perfect read for a 21st century, technologically connected, woman!) and can be downloaded for $2.99 at Amazon and read on any kindle, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android Phone, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone 7. Amazon makes the process very simple. It is also easy to give as a gift as long as you have the recipient's email address."

This was a piece of the email that I was sent last month from Jane Newcomer, author of Her Team. I told her that I'd love to check it out and I had an email from Amazon about my gift from Jane shortly thereafter. It took me a while but I finally downloaded it to my Android phone yesterday. I got through several chapters on the first sitting as it is a really easy read. In fact, I feel like it's light enough for the mature high school set. There are mentions of "love scenes" between the heroine and her man but nothing outwardly graphic (at least not in the first few chapters). Honestly, Judy Blume is far more descriptive in that category.

If you want a feel-good story that has an overall happy tone, this seems to be the read for you. I'll keep going back until I finish it, especially since it's just in my phone and super convenient. So yeah, what I really love is that this book is only digital - it forced me to give up the paper and read it on the DROID.

If you're interested, spend a mere $2.99 and download the book here or check out Jane's site here.