So let me report on two of my Rosie relationships.

Over the last year, I worked with Rosie on a variety of projects, mostly writing and proofing: among them promotions, electronic press kits, web pages, cooklets™, her signature cookbook Cooking Naked After 40, and her second edition program book Sleeping Naked After 40. My role is tough to define, best to say I am her copy doctor and idea-flesher outer with a goal to always make sure Rosie’s unique voice stays true to Rosie. Working with Rosie in this capacity is a creative person’s dream. Rosie listens to ideas, is liberal with praise, is funny and fresh, and, she is such a creative force herself that together you arrive at places and ideas you never could have found alone.

Now for the magic… as a skeptical person, I didn’t really know what to think of the program’s ability to work on my less than healthy diet. I “thought” I carefully separated my work from my own struggles in that area. Then as I pared down or up a few of her mini Cooklets™ and started on her cookbook, I felt my jeans getting bigger. You see, Rosie’s ideas for adopting healthy eating practices are so sustainable, easy, fun and delicious, that almost in spite of myself I’d try different recipes and techniques. And I look better, feel better, and no longer stand behind the next tallest person in photos any more. Before I even started working on her program book I’d dropped over 25 lbs.

The Naked Truth about working with Rosie Battista of Sleeping Naked After 40 – she can guide you to a new level of success in whatever capacity you combine your efforts.

Fruit on the top or bottom flavored yogurts as a snack. REALLY?

NO NOT REALLY! It’s Garbage!  and you know where garbage belongs.

Not real food. None of it and not an option if you want a healthy sexy body…

And you do. I know that.

So here is another option for breakfast if you are bored or confused about what to eat to get your day started and not set up for craving all kinds a crap through the day.

Quinoa and Brown Rice.

Instead of OATMEAL?

Yay Baby!

Make either of these amazing grains the same way you would make oats and you can mix them together for another option. Top them the same way you would your oatmeal:
blueberries, banana, flax, coconut, nuts… GOT IT?

Here’s a great brown rice pudding you can make with your left over brown rice:

• 1/2 cup left over brown rice
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp raisins

Heat it in a pot until warm.

Then add:
1/4 cup blueberries, 1/4 sliced banana, 1 tbsp flax, 6 walnuts, cinnamon (drizzle of pure maple syrup if you need sweeter)

YUM-AZING! Easy, filling and satisfying. Look at all the “naked” goodies you’re getting in your first meal.

***Even though we are in the thick of winter, spring will be here before you know it. GET YOU HEART IN THE GAME of weight loss if you want to win! Fall in love with the idea that everything you eat is getting you closer to the healthy body you desire!  Click here if you want to get more daily tips like this delivered personally to your email inbox. Everyday simple, easy ideas and strategies  that will have you sporting a rockin’ hot bod for summer.

It is possible. (Really, it is.)

When you eat better, you WILL look better NAKED. That’s a fact.

The better you feel about and in your body, the more self esteem you have and the more likely you are to put your best self out there in whatever it is you are up to in this world. When you feel rockin’ hot, sexy and gorgeous, everyone believes you. Even you believe you.

Here are 5 top “romantically naked” foods that when you eat them will promote health and support you in building the healthiest, sexiest version of yourself. An immediate increase in your confidence and self esteem with ensue.  These 5 delicious foods not only have a nutritional punch but a fun symbolic reference to love, intimacy and pleasure.

ASPARAGUS
It’s been said that asparagus stirs up lust in men and women.
This vegetable is a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin and folic acid. The latter is said to boost histamine production necessary for the ability to reach orgasm in both sexes. The shape of the asparagus spear can be somewhat suggestive as well.

ALMONDS

Long ago, the almond was regarded as fertility symbol.
It was even said that Samson wooed Delilah with these nuts.
Almonds provide vitamin E, magnesium and fiber and improve your general well being. The better you feel in your body, the better you perform in every area of your life.

AVOCADO

Avocados are voluptuous and feminine in shape and size. Back in the day, the Aztec’s thought that the fruit resembled the male testicles as it hung on trees in pairs. The avocado is a really healthy fruit filled with necessary good fat and quite helpful for enhancing hormones.

BANANAS

According to some myths, Adam (as in Adam and Eve) covered himself in banana leaves. Bananas are loaded with potassium, magnesium and B vitamins. Another great “naked” food that will help you build your healthiest, sexiest body with its nutritious value.

FIGS

Figs were Cleopatra’s favorite food and they are very sexy looking in appearance and texture. Cut one open and you ‘ll see why they are synonymous for sexual organs.

Here’s a simple recipe that is yummy delish, satisfying, body enhancing, weight loss promoting, and energy booster.

“Naked” Salad Dressing:

• 2 figs
• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp almond butter

Mix all ingredients until creamy in high powered blender (or vitamix). YUM.

For the base of your salad, simply chop some lettuce leaves in a bowl. Slice up your asparagus spears and your avocado onto the lettuce.

“Remember that if you eat processed, refined food, it will show up on your body. When you eat pure and “naked” foods like the ones listed above, the body of your dreams will show up and you may just fall in love with your “naked” self.”   Just saying.

Here are 3 secrets to a sustainable, implementable successful New Years weight loss goal:

1. Fall in love with the idea of building your healthiest, sexiest body ever at any and every age and stage, right now, at this very moment. Love makes any task feel simpler, easier, lighter and wonderful.

2. Become less interested in why you can’t. Stop making up ridiculous excuses for not making this moment the very best moment it can be. Can you imagine if you made each moment the best, what kind of life you would be living? WOO HOO.

3. Loose the fake stuff and get real. When my daughter says, she’s eating whatever the *blankety, blank* she wants, she doesn’t mean some processed, fake, phony box of chemicals. She won’t eat that crap because we don’t eat crap.  But we will have yummy treats and decadent dark chocolate, and homemade healthy killer bean brownies, naked pizza, and irresistible brown rice krispy treats and healthy, delish, naked versions of snack food.

When you begin to acknowledge that the body that you live in is the only one you got, you’ll be more apt to put the crap where it belongs, in the trash. You cannot treat your body like trash or feed it left over garbage without having some adverse affects. For your one very precious body, you want the good stuff, and you’ll want to cook naked. For the game of weight loss to work you need your body, mind and heart in the game, not a list of restrictive resolutions.

P.S. Some Rockin’ Hot Daily messages of inspiration, knowledge and support can help to.

How many times are you gonna make the same New Years Resolution?

All it succeeds in doing is making you feel bad about yourself as you commit just one more act of self sabotage and betrayal? Do I sound like a drama queen? Maybe, but it sure feels BAD when you fail on the one thing that you were determined to do for your new year.

Ya know those ridiculously, impossible, unsustainable, restrictive promises like:

1. I am giving up all carbs.

2. I am going to the gym every single day.

3. I am going to spend 60 minutes on the treadmill every day.

These 3 actions are the perfect recipe to perfectly turn your good intentioned yearly promise to a terribly heart wrenching, miserable yearly lie. The promise you will be breaking, the credibility you’ll be losing and the pounds you’ll gaining back when you crash and burn from burn out makes you feel like a complete failure. The ” f” word -furthering your frustration, fatigue and towel tossing in the whole diet game.

My daughter tweeted on January 1, “In honor of all those who are starting their diets for the New Year, I am going to eat whatever the F*CK I want”.

Oh yeah. She said it straight out. In plain english, she put the “u” in F*ck! But I see gold in her comment and I am so proud that she’s my girl and not afraid to tell it like it is. My daughter gets it. She gets that health and weight control happen every moment of every day. You don’t pick a day or a year to start or make the task so impossible and difficult that you fail before you even get going. You simply commit to do the next best thing at the moment. You take each meal and make it the best. You take each workout and make it the best.  Simple, implementable, sustainable living. Your natural ideal weight shows up when you take action, every single day.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you my 3 secrets for creating a year of sustainable practices for building your healthiest, sexiest bod.
For more of the story and my 3 secrets to a sustainable practice read on…

My daughter introduced me to this place. She said, “Ma, this place is the real deal. They use only the finest ingredients- real food!”. They recently opened this new place near her college and because she is gluten intolerant, and they have gluten free crust, she was thrilled. They say that their dough, sauce and cheese contain no additives, preservatives, colorants or weird chemicals of any kind. I friggin’ LOVE THAT! My daughter went on to research the company and did an article for her college paper about the and said:

New Orleans entrepreneurs Randy Crotchet and Jeff Leach have upheld the qualities that we have come to know and love about fast food, but they intend to be the solution to the obesity epidemic rather than become another contributor to it.

They must be doing something right, because their small restaurant, originally located in an area damaged by Hurricane Katrina and called “The World’s Healthiest Pizza,” has grown into the bold, quirky Naked Pizza brand that currently has over 450 locations in 10 different states.

They have kept the quick delivery: Pizza can be delivered hot to your home in roughly 25 minutes. You can still have it your way, but good luck personalizing your pie — it’s not easy deciding from three different types of crust (including gluten-free), three different cheeses, three different sauces, 15 different fresh vegetable toppings and five different meat toppings. Can’t decide? Go with one of their recommended favorites such as the “Pima,” which contains chicken, black beans, jalapeño and cheddar cheese. Prices range anywhere between $10-20 dollars depending on size and topping. I chose the SUPERBIOTIC as you’ll see below.

What sets them apart from the rest of the 30-billion-dollar pizza industry is their commitment to wholesome, healthy ingredients that do not sacrifice taste and do not leave you feeling greasy, sluggish and immediately regretful when you are finished. Calling it “Naked” is simply a sexier way of calling it natural. You know I love NAKED! and so does your body.

“A big donut slathered with tomato sauce,” is how they refer to their competition. More conventional crust is made from white flour that is stripped of all its nutrients — the same flour used in baked goods and donuts that is processed in your body the same way. Naked’s superior crust is made from a ten-grain blend of the healthiest grains, including oats, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, teff, spelt, tapioca and two kinds of wheat. Their crust also contains probiotics, beneficial bacteria that are found in yogurt and aid in healthy digestion. Naked’s sauce, cheese and meat are just as naked because they contain no “freaky chemicals.”

To be honest, the revolution of Naked Pizza has very little to do with pizza. They are starting a movement and pizza is simply their vehicle.  What better way to prove to Americans that healthy alternatives do exist than to prove it with the most loved American food of them all?

“We’ll use this pizza to have a larger conversation with you about the food supply,” Leach told the New York Times.

How are they spreading their message? Through social media, of course. Why else would the trendy, vibrant lime green and white store be equipped with iPads to play around with while you wait?  “Social media is about authentic dialogue between you and us … full frontal, no secrets,” writes Naked Pizza in its advertising brochure.

“You’ll know we’re real people with an opinion and we expect the same of you. Give it to us straight, we’ll do the same — promise, friendo,” they state on their website.

At my first visit to this clean, funky, healthy pizza place, I was confused about what to order (so many choices) so I selected one of their signature suggestions. This is my pie.

This amazingly delicious pizza is their smallest 10 inch pie. No slices here. This one is equivalent to about 2 slices of the “other kind”. This is the SUPERBIOTIC Pie, dripping with fresh mushrooms, cilantro, onions, red pepper, and spinach! I don’t usually eat cheese but when I do, I want the real cheese. Naked Pizza proclaims their freshest ingredients including the mozzarella.

Woo Hoo for this NAKED Pizza!

You know that my mission is to get you to cook and sleep naked, so this naked pizza will be an nice addition. Check out this cutting edge, social media savvy, health obsessed company. If there is not a physical location near you, at least show them some love on Facebook or tweet at them on Twitter and you can expect a response. The more we support companies that promote health, the more of these businesses will show up.

While we’re busy talking health, my daughter is a blogger, food writer, college athlete, an entrepreneur with an amazing message for young woman in her new business venture,  No Skinny Girls. Show her some Facebook Love too and give your a “like” or comment on her page.

]]> http://sleepingnakedafter40.com/general/eating-naked-pizza.html/feed 0 http://sleepingnakedafter40.com/general/scary-halloween-candy.html http://sleepingnakedafter40.com/general/scary-halloween-candy.html#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:52:23 +0000 rosie http://sleepingnakedafter40.com/?p=2494 Continue reading →]]> You know this weekend is technically Halloween and that brings out all kinds of “scary” “haunting” calls for candy (along with the sugar demons)!!
Keep in mind if your calling is fierce and your hand dips into those candy corns you should be scared.  If you’re thinking, “I’ll just take a handful, at least know what the frig’ you are eating. While there is no FAT in candy corns, they are sugar bombs with added salt (and tons of colorful food dyes).

Putting it in perspective for you; if you were to grab a handful, (which would be about 25 pieces) you’d be getting 2 TBSP of sugar right into that rockin’ hot sexy body… Surely not a healthy option for your hot bod!

It’s all a trick and one that may set you up for a sugar surge that will not end with you as a happy camper. SO… what is a girl to do on this HALLOWEEN WEEKEND with tempting goblins flying around?… Pick one TREAT that you will give yourself. Of course I would suggest you treat yourself to a manicure, a pedicure, a massage or an event of that nature. How about orange nail polish with a black stripe?  However if you want to do the sweet thing, go with the “ONE and DONE” theory. What I mean by that is: eat one and move on to the next healthiest meal you can have.

I really mean “ONE….. and DONE”. But I will give you another healthier option for a candy delite, if you are so inclined.

TREAT YOURSELF WELL with your very own personal peanut butter cups. You can even eat 2 of these yummy babies!

This 2 ingredient recipe makes 2 decadent delites and will satisfy your urge to splurge (without the scary bloat and fuzziness that comes from consuming gobbs of sugary stuff.

It’s really simple.

Melt 18 Ghiradelli brand (or other) 60% dark chocolate chips (I do in the microwave).

Take 2 mini paper muffin cups and spread a layer of melted chocolate in the bottom (use 1/2 of your melted chocolate)

Put in freezer for about 5 minutes until chocolate hardens. Remover and place peanut butter (1/2 tbsp in each paper) on top of the hardened chocolate and cover with the remaining melted chocolate. Freeze for 20 minutes (if you can hold out that long).

Now I would say that this homemade delite is much better than your store bought peanut butter cups that contains all kinds of nasty additives. One popular brand (I ain’t saying who) has something called TBHQ in it’s description and when I further researched it, EEWWWIE!~ I have no desire to ADD that additive to my beautiful body.  There is a great site called Foodfacts.com “that will help you learn about what controversial food additives are being put into your foods. They say that …”TBHQ is the acronym used to describe tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is an antioxidant that comes from petroleum and is related to butane. It is often used as a preservative, applied either to the carton of fast food items or sprayed directly onto them, as well as in various other prepackaged food items.”

Do we really need that crap in our candy?

I think that is enough said from the folks at Foodfacts and I will now say “if you need sugar at least get real sugar and know what the frig’ you are eating”. If you are indulging and enjoying some dark chocolate, the ingredients in your chocolate should be simple; you should recognize what they are. Again I’ll remind you that you should know what the frig’ you are eating.

One nugget of gold you can take from this post is to keep things simple. Read the label; if there are too many ingredients, or you don’t know what they are, neither will your body. Treat your body well by feeding it pure and naked. It will thank you and the body you dream of and the health you desire will show up.

And the good news, last night I saw two people  (My sister who I hadn’t see in a month) and a girl friend from LA who I hadn’t seen in a couple of months and both of them said the same thing, “You look good…have you been losing weight?”

I wanted to note that my boobs are shrinking – this isn’t my husbands fav part of my eating Naked…haha…get used to it I say.

The program not only helped me fall in love with the idea of treating my body right, it also gave me great recipes, never left me feeling deprived and – for the first time ever – I’m never anticipating going off this “diet”.  It’s my new normal.