This post was sponsored by Hillshire Farm.

When I was single, losing a few pounds and keeping them off was no problem. I simply replaced any junk food in my pantry with healthier options, scheduled a little more time at the gym and the rest took care of itself.

Now that I’m a mom, though, I have to be wayyyyyy more creative.

I suppose some moms are able to change their own diet and exercise without the rest of the family getting involved, but here at the Ferrier house, the only way I’ve been able to make it work has been to make it a family affair. And while to outsiders it may look easy, behind the scenes, it has taken quite a bit of work!

I guess you could say my ‘inner voice’ moment came when my daughter got a camera for her fifth birthday. She took pictures of everyone and everything, including me. Despite the great care I had taken cutting size labels out of my clothing and avoiding full-length mirrors, Punky’s photos presented me with the harsh reality that I was 15 pounds heavier than I’d ever been in my life — and I wasn’t exactly doing anything to reverse the situation. Seeing those images of myself over and over again, my ‘inner voice’ was more of a roar than a whisper.

YOU’D BETTER DO SOMETHING, GIRL! It bellowed. TURN THIS AROUND BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

My first step in changing my lifestyle was to get my husband on board. If you’ve ever tried to adapt healthier habits, you know it can be almost impossible if your husband is only interested in watching TV, drinking beer and eating fried food for dinner. Not that Hubs was that way! Luckily, he was totally on the same page. So when I replaced my casseroles and cakes with lean meats and veggies, he never once complained. Since the man loves food with a passion, I’ve tried to make it easier by scouring the web for healthy recipes that didn’t sacrifice flavor, and we’ve been lucky to find some new meals that are every bit as good as anything I was cooking before.

We’ve also ramped up our workouts and put an emphasis on active family together time. Often, we’ll go to the YMCA when my husband gets off of work and eat a late dinner together. It helps that the Y is right in the middle of our community and the kids almost always have friends in the nursery and in ‘hang time’ when we take them with us. On weekends, we ride bikes as a family, hike, swim, and take walks together. I’m pretty proud that my children are growing up thinking that healthy meals and exercise are normal parts of life.

Of course, my kids have no idea that so much thought has gone into this lifestyle that they take for granted. For all they know, every family goes bike riding on the weekends, shops for fruits and vegetables each Saturday at the Farmer’s Market, and saves desserts for special occasions. But I spend a tremendous amount of time planning our activities, making them nutritious (and tasty) treats at home to replace the chips and prepackaged snacks so popular among their friends, and generally making sure we’re all as healthy as possible.

One part of our meal plan has been a protein-packed breakfast. Every single morning, my husband and I have a small bowl of turkey sausage for breakfast, and the kids (particularly my 4-year-old son) often ask for it their own bowl, too. Some mornings, I’ll slice up links of Hillshire Farm Turkey Smoked Link Sausage with Pepper Jack Cheese (my personal favorite). Other mornings, we opt for Turkey Smoked Sausage with a side of Dijon Mustard for dipping. I’m crazy about smoked sausage because it tastes so hearty and delicious that my body feels completely sated, the protein boost keeps me feeling full until lunch time, and turkey sausage is a healthy meat option, but tastes almost the same as beef.

One of my favorite dinners (or sometimes, lunches) to fix the kids is Pigs in Blankets using Turkey Lit’l Smokies. I let the kids make this one themselves, wrapping the Lit’l Smokies up in their ‘blankets’ (whole-wheat crescent roll dough). Twelve minutes in a 350-degree oven later, they’re ready to eat. The kids never get tired of this meal- They like dipping theirs in a little honey mustard.

One thing I found while writing this post is a great recipe reference page that lets you type in the Hillshire Farm product you have on hand and find recipes that use it. I did a simple search for turkey and now I can’t wait to try Strawberry Turkey Wraps and this New Orleans Sausage and Shrimp Boil, which is right up our alley.

At least, that’s what my inner voice is telling me right now.

My inner voice is very hungry.

Hillshire Farm knows most of us have this ‘inner voice’ when it comes to ourselves and our families — That’s how this new commercial came about, featuring actress Wendi McClendon-Covey:

Sound familiar?

I’ll be writing more about my inner voice in the coming weeks- For now, if you have any great ideas on cooking with Hillshire Farm products, let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for great new ideas.

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