Mini leg workout challenge this week USE THE STAIRS

With a lot of people requesting another mini challenge, I thought I would come to the party as everyone did extremely well with our 1000 squats in 5 days last week!!! Jeepers were my legs sore! Yours??? Yes, I know. 

Step it up. Take the stairs challenge

Fitness


This one is pretty easy. I didn't want to stretch our friendship so instead of 200 reps per day, I have dropped it down to 100 step ups per day over the next 5 days = 500! Which simply means, go hard for 60 seconds and slow for 30 seconds. 

Example 20 step up x 5 sets

The aim of this challenge is to get your heart rate up and I will be doing mine as part of my interval training which gets my heart pumping and body sweating. So just because you go up a flight of stairs everyday at your apartment block, at work etc... you're not really working up a sweat are you?

For those unable to do this type of interval work, simply take the stairs and avoid any escalators and lifts. This also applies to parking. Park as far away from wherever you are going so it forces you to make more steps in your day!

Food

Our Stand Up And Be Rawesome challenge AKA #standfullyraw is going great guns and people on Instagram have been tagging some amazing meal ideas. Here are just a few AMAZING people that I truly adore and they inspire me daily!!!! YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM if you are on Instagram.

justglowingwithhealth
purtyvicky
realfood4thought
rawnaeima

Fully raw meal ideas 

We have been enjoying our juices and smoothies this week, here's just a few of our favourite ones.

Banana chocolate smoothie

2 bananas

1tsp vanilla essence

1tsp chia and sesame seeds

1 scoop of 180 Nutrition chocolate protein powder

handful of walnuts

almond milk

Chocolate smoothie

Strawberry banana and coconut smoothie

2 bananas
1 punnet of strawberries
1 scoop of 180 Nutrition coconut powder
almond milk

Strawberry banana smoothie

Here was our lunch today, my Dad loves french toast. I made it with a twist.

French Toast club sandwiches

Simply mix eggs, a splash of water with salt and pepper, dip in wholemeal bread and cook in olive oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and start building your club sandwiches. 

We had smoked ham, parmesan cheese with spinach. Amazing!

French toast club sandwiches

BTW here's a picture of Zali and I with our final squat last week. She's a trooper. Monkey see, monkey do. Or is it like Mother like Daughter?

Drop it like a squat

Please note, I was heading out that evening so all I had to do was put on my stiletto's and a leather jacket and my rockstar outfit was complete. I am loving Lorna Jane's active gear and loved Lorna's twitter back to me when she saw this pic: 

"Your Active Life extends beyond the walls of the gym. It's for the girl on the go - glad you love it. Lx" 

Love it I do, Lorna. Thanks for being such a great designer. 

Goodnight from me. Until we meet again xx Dani

This post is proudly sponsored by 1st Available. Click now to register for free.

Fresh fruit and vegetable exclusive 10% offer at Peach's Fruit Market

I have some fabulous news for my local readers here in Ballarat.


Mention Fitness Food And Style for your exclusive 10% discount off all your produce next time you go and shop at Peach's on Eastwood St! I am so overwhelmed and so thrilled that owner Vicki wanted to collaborate with me for this months STAND UP AND BE RAWESOME challenge.

Why is this so important to me? 

It will be so nice to know that Ballarat families have specifically gone to Peachs on Eastwood St, and are putting fresh fruit and vegetables on their dinner table!! It's all about encouraging their kids to eat more produce too!!!

My aim is to improve families awareness of healthy eating and help children feel confident about preparing vegetables and fruit. Our kids love prepping food, seeing it in the juicer or blender and then drinking it. Nothing is more powerful than watching your kids eat those vegetables that so many parents struggle to get their kids to eat. That is why I want to help in some way! 

It also helps when your kids can help you peel, grate and cut the vegetables rather than going through a drive through or relying on convenience foods. There are hardly ever any vegetables when you get take away foods and that is why I ran last months challenge, PUSH UP YOUR GREENS and followed this month on by eating fruit and vegetables RAW for our STAND UP AND BE RAWESOME challenge.

So please share the love and come "LIKE" their Facebook page;

www.facebook.com/pages/Peaches-Fruit-and-Veg-Eastwood 
(drop them a message saying you have come from Fitness Food And Style) 

You can also visit them online (which is currently being refurbished) SO WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

www.peachs.com.au

Juicing with kids is so much fun

Above is our weekly supply of fruit and vegetables which our kids washed, peeled (where necessary) and chopped to make their designer juices!! As you can see by the jar, they left me some to try! Gee thanks guys...

It was a bit tough today, Day 2 of our fully raw challenge which by the way, I am so grateful our kids are participating also (2nd level not fully raw). I just didn't realise how much food we all needed as we were pretty hungry after each meal which I didn't calculate properly, per person. That is why I got my hands on The Raw Food Diet Plan which saved me soooo much time. It is jam packed with a starter kit, meal planner, shopping list, recipes and much MUCH more! For $29 (that's only $1 per day over our 30 day challenge) it will be such a terrific resource for me now and any future raw challenges/detox's we want to do.

I will be posting weekly recipes courtesy of Peach's and sharing it on their Facebook page as well, so please make sure you come and "LIKE" their page and posts.

If you live in Ballarat (or know anyone that does) would you take up this offer and share it with your family and friends?

Xx Dani

Is a Vitamin Supplement Necessary For your Kids?

When it comes to your kids and vitamin supplements, you should know that most children do not need extra or supplemental vitamins or minerals. If you base your children’s diet on the food guide pyramid, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you shouldn’t need to give your child vitamin supplements. However, it is important to know that of all the age groups, children can be the one that is the hardest to control when it comes to diet. Children don’t understand what it means when something is essential for their bodies, and they are much more prone to being picky eaters or having poor diets. If you child is eating a special diet, they might need more vitamins or minerals. These can include vegetarians, children with allergies, or children that have religions which state certain foods shouldn’t be eaten.

The most important thing for you to keep in mind when it comes to making sure that your child has a healthy diet is to ensure that they are getting the proper amounts of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. If this isn’t happening because of what they are eating, you either need to change what they are eating, or make sure that they are getting the vitamins in another way. Vitamin supplements can be purchased in kid-friendly shapes and flavors, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have your child take them.

There are several vitamins and minerals that are going to be important for your child to have enough of. These include, especially, iron, which is needed in children to prevent anemia. This usually happens if children aren’t given enough extra iron after they are six months old, which happens often if a baby drinks cow or goat milk instead of formula. Young and adolescent girls are also at a risk of having an iron deficiency.

Another important thing that children need is calcium. This is something that is completely necessary for healthy bones and teeth. If children are drinking milk and eating dairy products, they are probably getting enough calcium, but if they aren’t, you might need to supplement this in their diets.

It is also important that children are getting fluoride. This helps to build healthy teeth. However, it is important that they only get enough fluoride, and not too much, so don’t add to their intake unless your dentist or doctor thinks that you should.

If you don’t think that your child is getting enough vitamins or minerals, you should consult with your doctor to make sure that you can find a good balance and a good children’s multivitamin for them to be taking. However, it is crucial that you realize that a vitamin is not a replacement for food and is not a substitute for a varied diet.

Some Typical Causes Of Childhood Obesity

Being concerned with the causes of childhood obesity is a
very good idea for any parent. It's only when you
recognize the true causes of this condition that you can
truly work toward fixing it. Dismissing the situation will
not make it disappear. And when a youngster grows up heavy
or obese it's far more difficult to control the weight
as an adult. So, what are the common causes of childhood
obesity and what may a family do to come to grips with these
causes?

Think of the typical lifestyle that many people lead today
and you may get your first clue as to the typical causes of
childhood obesity. Children just don't go outdoors and have
fun anymore. They usually spend their free time playing
video games or computer games or watching the television
set. Physical inactivity is one of the reasons for
childhood obesity. The body must burn the calories it takes
in from eating. Any extra calories not burned off are stored
as fat.

Today people also typically drive everywhere rather than
walk. Children ride the bus to school and are often driven
to the bus stop itself. They're driven to their friend's
house and to the corner store. And when it's time to do
chores around the house we have many labor-saving devices
that limit physical activity as well. Power lawn mowers,
snow blowers, and leaf blowers mean that even when doing
work around the house there is very little exertion
expended. All of this lack of activity and lack of physical
exertion is another one of the causes of childhood
obesity.

The diet that many people follow is another part of those
causes of childhood obesity. Most food that people consume
is very unhealthy. It is commonly cooked with added oil,
butter, and sugar to heighten the flavor. Unfortunately, this
also enhances the calorie count! Fast food and junk food are
two prime culprits. Hamburgers, fries, potato chips, and
items like these are very calorie heavy, meaning they have a
lot of calories for the amount of food you get. Fast food
restaurants are definitely a large part of the common causes
of childhood obesity! Enclosed in this are the numerous
vending machines that are just about everywhere, including
the schools. Most of their contents contain sugary foods and
sodas. It's not strange for youngsters to eat literally
thousands and thousands of surplus calories every week.
This, even if it doesn't appear as if anyone is overeating.

These common causes of childhood obesity can be treated by
any responsible parent. There's no need to go to extremes
or to never have a hamburger again. But being balanced and
moderate can go a long way in this respect. Addressing these
causes of childhood obesity may be as simple as walking
after dinner as a family or going for bike rides on a
regular basis. Serve healthy and nourishing foods at home to
balance out the excess calories children consume when on
their own, and your child should maintain a healthy weight.