Do you sneak food?

there's squash in here ya'll!

This post has been languishing in drafts for a while.

It’s something I think about pretty much daily—yet I wasnt sure it was completely post-worthy until a Twitter chat last week.

The chat focused on healthy living & children (starting NOW please to feel free to substitute spouse/partner/friend for the words CHILD or KID). 

One of the questions asked for our best tips on sneaking healthy food into our kids’ meals.

And, as per this languishing-in-drafts post, I thought:

Im completely, entirely, wholly & utterly anti-sneaking.

And, as per my lack of filter these days, I tweeted precisely that. 

Out of all the chat attendees only one other woman agreed with my perspective.

Allow me to back up a moment.

Remember when Jessica Seinfeld came out with her Deceptively Delicious cookbook and prattled on & on about how she’d created a way to sneak veggies into her kids’ (& Jerry’s) meals?

I rolled my misfit eyes.  Hard.

This concept is nothing new (which she eventually acknowledged).

My own mother–back in the 70s–experimented with black bean brownies.

I remember because she laughed to me about how we werent supposed to be able to taste the beans and invited me to help her concoct them (you cant taste the beans. the brownies rocked).

Ive chosen to parent in this same way.

I love the notion of slipping veggies into unexpected places and all the better if in said places you cant taste them at all tell they’re there!  (ala our fave Shrek Shakes).

Where the other twitterchat attendees and I parted ways was in the sneaking.

Id be lying if I didnt say it can be a struggle to maintain the Tornado’s healthy eating habits (thanks Kinder!), yet I firmly believe if I “sneak” veggies she’s not creating a lifestyle she’ll maintain.

We make a game of sneaking on ourselves.

We slip in things we both dont really like arent tremendous fans of & see if we’ve created a way in which we’ll eat them!

We make a game of sneaking on ourselves.

We use our imaginations in the kitchen to find a tastier vehicle for our veggie consumption.

We make a game of sneaking on ourselves—but she’s always aware the healthy, good-for-you stuffs are in there.

I agree with the men & women who asserted pureeing/sneaking is an easy, painless method for getting our kids (spouse/partner/friends) to eat more veggies.

I just question, still, if it’s a method which will be a disservice to them in the long run?

And you?

have you successfully sneaked veggies into a loved one’s food & feel firmly it’s the way to go?are you a fan, as I am, of the open-sneak and believe we can teach healthy eating that way?do you wish this post had remained in drafts where it mightcould really have belonged?

Please to hit us up in the comments below.

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Sneak Peek of the Foods Going Into My Stomachs Today

Hey guys. How the hells are ya?! Just thought I’d share a glimpse of my daily eats for today. This is what’s on my menu for chewing. It’s a peek into the foods I eat that help me be all sexy ‘n stuff.

THE FOODS GOING INTO JOSIE’S STOMACHS TODAY

(…and please don’t get it twisted. I do, in fact, have two stomachs: One for normal eating, and a back up chamber for increased food-storage of the extra delicious kind).

Breakfast was: Fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries and cantaloupe) mixed with homemade yogurt bought from the Amish peoples. No Shakeology this morning because my butt was running late. Dammit! 

Mid-morning snack: Clementine

Lunch: Brown rice & steamed broccoli, plus a chicken Caesar side salad.

Mid-afternoon snacking: Cup of Bigelow Mint Green tea (very flavorful) sweetened with Stevia and a Kelloog’s Fiber Plus Bar (their Dark Chocolate Almond is pretty tasty).

After work snacking: Handful of cashews and some more Mint Green tea.

Dinner: Homemade turkey burger made with recently killed meat (gasp!) from the Amish market, plus some fresh baked, homemade sweet potato chips.

Evening snacking: Cup of coffee with light cream and NO sweetener (yep). Oh, and the evening cereal whoredom shall continue. Gonna have me a bowl or two.

So you see, I’ve got my fruits, veggies, protein, and whole grains with very minimal carbs and dairy products (because that stuff bloats me), and barely any fats. Except for my I-didn’t-get-my-Shakeology-today snafu, all my other meals for today were planned ahead of time.

Make sure you are planning ahead as well. It’s going to set you up for fitness success and reduce your chances of veering into a food ditch filled with all kinds of delectable high calorie treats that were never supposed to be on your menu.

Have a great day!

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My Bikini Body Sneak Preview!

Welp, here I am. This is me (about a week ago). I snapped some body part pics to get a good idea of my progress for the Bikini Body Challenge. The camera pretty much tells the dang honest truth.

I’ve been working really hard since the Challenge started back in February. I’ve gone from size Medium to size Small in tops, and my overall healthy living disciplines have been refined. I learned that the disciplines you develop over time are what bring about major, lasting change – not willpower.

So back to the pic: I still have some trouble zones that need fixin’ (my stomach and inner thighs), but the body transformation is on course and getting done! I’ve gone from annoyed with the idea that my stomach and inner thighs in particular would NEVER deflate, to right NOW, where I’m estatically excited that, yes, those areas and can and do lose the fat as I remain consistent in my healthy disciplines.

For those of you who committed with me, I hope you’ve stayed the course because we’re not done just yet. July 1st is my complete bikini reveal, and I will also soon select a grand prize winner of the Body Transformation cash prize of $200.

For those of you who did NOT commit to the Challenge, these 4-months have gone by anyway. Just like the next 4-months will. And the next 4 YEARS after that. Just imagine where you could be today had you started with me back in February??

Look at where I was a few years back before I started doing anything healthy…..

…and me again right now (just for dramatic effect).

…and I’ve birthed 4 child-spawns. Remember that little tidbit?

Although I’ve still got some fat burning and muscle toning to accomplish in this second half of this year, my bikini has been purchased and I’m gonna be rockin’ it just like I decided I would back in February.

Decide where you will be in the days to come. Then make it happen.

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Tae-Bo Workout - Advanced and Tae-Bo Live! Sneak Preview [VHS]

When Billy Blanks called this workout Advanced, he wasn't fooling around. This 57-minute workout will have your heart racing, your pulse pounding, and your sweat glands working overtime. The familiar moves from Tae-Bo Instructional and Basic are here, but Blanks has put a little razzmatazz on them, adding slightly more complicated combinations that should be fairly easy to master if you've completed the first two tapes. The new moves--which combine Tae-Bo's patented mix of boxing punches and martial arts kicks--make this video much more exciting, but they also considerably raise the bar on the difficulty factor. In addition to the short warm-up, the cool down, and the 30 minutes of Tae-Bo, Advanced Tae-Bo also includes 18 minutes of muscle-crunching floor work. You know you're in trouble when even the guys in the tape have trouble keeping up. As Blanks says, your "butt should be on fire," and if you need to, "go ahead and scream a little." But, as always, Blanks is a supportive coach, reminding you to go at your own pace (stop for water if necessary), yet encouraging you to push yourself as much as you can. The music is still cheesy, and some of the camera work somewhat confusing (the overhead angle makes the body positioning in the floor work hard to follow). However, this is a terrific workout when you're ready to take Tae-Bo to the next level; just make sure you have truly mastered the first two tapes before attempting Advanced. A 20-minute sneak preview of Tae-Bo Live is included with this video. --Jenny Brown

Price: $34.95

Click here to buy from Amazon

Tae-Bo Workout - Advanced and Tae-Bo Live! Sneak Preview [VHS]

When Billy Blanks called this workout Advanced, he wasn't fooling around. This 57-minute workout will have your heart racing, your pulse pounding, and your sweat glands working overtime. The familiar moves from Tae-Bo Instructional and Basic are here, but Blanks has put a little razzmatazz on them, adding slightly more complicated combinations that should be fairly easy to master if you've completed the first two tapes. The new moves--which combine Tae-Bo's patented mix of boxing punches and martial arts kicks--make this video much more exciting, but they also considerably raise the bar on the difficulty factor. In addition to the short warm-up, the cool down, and the 30 minutes of Tae-Bo, Advanced Tae-Bo also includes 18 minutes of muscle-crunching floor work. You know you're in trouble when even the guys in the tape have trouble keeping up. As Blanks says, your "butt should be on fire," and if you need to, "go ahead and scream a little." But, as always, Blanks is a supportive coach, reminding you to go at your own pace (stop for water if necessary), yet encouraging you to push yourself as much as you can. The music is still cheesy, and some of the camera work somewhat confusing (the overhead angle makes the body positioning in the floor work hard to follow). However, this is a terrific workout when you're ready to take Tae-Bo to the next level; just make sure you have truly mastered the first two tapes before attempting Advanced. A 20-minute sneak preview of Tae-Bo Live is included with this video. --Jenny Brown

Price: $34.95

Click here to buy from Amazon