Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)

[toodles]

1 hour ago, DakotaJustice said:

I'm thinking she's counting as "members" people who are following the Strive Twitter feed, along with people who just signed up for the page updates, but haven't paid to actually access that forum which i'm sure is hearing crickets.

Makes sense to me.

[TurtlePower]

2 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

I'm thinking she's counting as "members" people who are following the Strive Twitter feed, along with people who just signed up for the page updates, but haven't paid to actually access that forum which i'm sure is hearing crickets.

What bugs me is that she's trying to market to people who don't want to go to gyms and have a hard time accessing a trainer (totally understandable), but her own trainers cost just as much! And why should people jump on her brand and pay money to tag along on her journey? I mean, the woman appears to have just figured out how to make tacos at home for goodness sake! 

[laurakaye]

The thing is, exercising for health and creating fresh meals for your family at home are not ideas deserving of their own website.  That's like me writing a blog on going for walks that says, "after you put on your sneakers, make sure the laces are tied!  If you want to listen to music while you walk, don't forget your earbuds!  And if it looks like rain, grab an umbrella!"

Janelle has nothing new or different to offer - plus she really shouldn't be a person who gives weight loss advice in the first place.  Not because she's heavy, but because her ideas of losing weight seem to be either whine to her "husband" and sister wives that the fam'ly needs to invest in a gym, or write a blog with ideas that anyone could pull up on Google in 0.3 seconds.  Of course, these are the Browns, who all feel that by virtue of their celebrity, the masses will rush to buy whatever they're selling (how'd that work out for you, Robyn)?  

To think I once believed that Janelle was the smart one.

[Jellybeans]

We are supposed to buy clothes from Meri, jewelry from Robyn and STRIVE with Janelle.  What is Christine going to hawk?

[ginger90]

12 minutes ago, Jellybeans said:

We are supposed to buy clothes from Meri, jewelry from Robyn and STRIVE with Janelle.  What is Christine going to hawk?

Not toasters.

[Christina]

On 3/30/2017 at 7:57 AM, MrSmith said:

Regarding auto-playing video, when there's a video playing or an ad making noise in a tab, there'll be a little speaker in the tab. If you click that, it will mute that tab. This works in FF and Chrome. Probably also in Safari (for those who use Macs or just like Safari), but I don't use Safari and can't say for sure.

You click on the speaker icon? I just tried it and it didn't work for me. It didn't do anything at all. Booooo

On 3/30/2017 at 10:31 AM, Jellybeans said:

I think it is beef she bought from a butcher-they use those kind of bags.  Usually when you buy a side of beef, they use packaging like that for hamburger meat.

I go in with my cousin to butcher a cow and pig each year and we split the meat. The butcher puts those labels on it because it is not allowed to be resold at farmers' markets, yard sales, thrift shops, etc. If it has the label and you resell it, that buyer has no claims against the butcher for tainted or rotten food, it falls to the reseller. People still do, though. We have a large indoor/outdoor flea market that is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday until noon, and there are always people selling food like the butchered meat with "Not For Sale" on the packaging along with the coupon matched purchased food and household products. People are always buying it, too.

I watch Hoarders so I would never buy food from one of these stalls, even if I were starving. I coupon myself so I recognize the products, and their markup is outrageous for what they spent (which is why they do it), and not a lot cheaper than buying from a grocery store, who would store it correctly or face huge penalties. I bought chicken from Kroger that had obviously been frozen, thawed and refrozen and therefore spoiled, and took the receipt and the unused chicken back to Kroger and received my money back. The yard sale and flea market sellers don't do that, and there is no guarantee that the food wasn't in a mold infested basement. Someone was complaining about a boxed meal kit they purchased and how old and stale it tasted even though it was way before the expiration. She bought it at a yard sale, and I told her that was the problem; she had no idea how they stored it, and it probably absorbed moisture, at least that is what it sounded like she was describing to me. She complained to the manufacturer and they told her to send in the receipt and tell them where she bought it, along the the lot and expiration dates, and they would send her some replacement meals. Well, she couldn't, and she trashed the product on her social media, which I thought made her an ass since it was pretty obvious to me that it was from the food stall's storage of it.

As soon as I saw the packaging of the meat, I thought of her and that she refuses to talk to me now. She wants an apology and I said she may get it after she admits on her social media that she purchased it at a yard sale and the manufacturer isn't to blame. While thinking about her, I realized how much drama has been removed from my life since she is giving me the silent treatment. I didn't realize until now how much drama she was always surrounded by or causing.  To drag the comment back the show, Cathy could teach the Browns a little about creating drama that is not so boring to watch. She also considers herself Iyana always trying to tell people how to improve themselves, while her life is crumbling around her because of her actions, actions that she blames on others. She should be the fifth Brown wife.

I'm not a huge fan of Iyana, but I would watch that episode of Sister Wives if they would bring her into their lives. Of course, they are never going to do something to make the show good, let alone great, because they hate their viewers, and certainly would never allow someone "not safe" in their homes, and anyone who points out that their family is a failure because the head is a narcissist and polygamy isn't working for them is "not safe" in the warped view of the Browns.

[CofCinci]

4 hours ago, Jellybeans said:

We are supposed to buy clothes from Meri, jewelry from Robyn and STRIVE with Janelle.  What is Christine going to hawk?

She just wants Kody to love her -- so she'll never let a career get in the way of her main goal. She needs to be available to him 24/7. 

[Roslyn]

6 hours ago, Jellybeans said:

We are supposed to buy clothes from Meri, jewelry from Robyn and STRIVE with Janelle.  What is Christine going to hawk?

Christine has been hawking it from day one.  Only problem is that us lowly monogamists will never understand.  She is the cheerleader for the Joy of Polygamy!!  Except she is just trying to convince herself of it...not very well either.

[Celia Rubenstein]

4 hours ago, CofCinci said:

She just wants Kody to love her -- so she'll never let a career get in the way of her main goal. She needs to be joyfully available to him 24/7. 

There I fixed it for ya!

(just a little Duggar humor for those that follow them)

[MrSmith]

12 hours ago, Christina said:

You click on the speaker icon? I just tried it and it didn't work for me. It didn't do anything at all. Booooo

Yeah. You click on the little speaker icon and it'll mute. Sometimes it can be a little finicky about where you clicked, exactly. (I'm assuming you're using the latest version of Firefox, but I suppose it's possible you're not.) I do this all the time at work because I open cnn.com in Firefox (because I've installed NoScript and adblockers and those take care of all the advertising on their site).

Quote

I go in with my cousin to butcher a cow and pig each year and we split the meat. The butcher puts those labels on it because it is not allowed to be resold at farmers' markets, yard sales, thrift shops, etc. If it has the label and you resell it, that buyer has no claims against the butcher for tainted or rotten food, it falls to the reseller. People still do, though. We have a large indoor/outdoor flea market that is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday until noon, and there are always people selling food like the butchered meat with "Not For Sale" on the packaging along with the coupon matched purchased food and household products. People are always buying it, too.

That's interesting. I've never purchased from a butcher, but there is a bison ranch and an elk ranch not far from here. We've purchased from the bison ranch and will be purchasing from the elk ranch in the near future. I'll have to pay attention and see if they label it that way, too. I know the bison ranchers seal the meat up really well, though.

[ginger90]

Food banks also use the not for sale label. Just saying.

Final meal in the challenge, by Janelle

https://mobile.twitter.com/JanelleBrown117/status/847981052454813696/photo/1

[MrSmith]

24 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Food banks also use the not for sale label. Just saying.

Final meal in the challenge, by Janelle

https://mobile.twitter.com/JanelleBrown117/status/847981052454813696/photo/1

Hmmm. Meat loaf. That meat loaf looks like it died a few months ago, only to be found on the side of the road by Janelle, taken home, cooked, and passed off as her own creation. And the sweet potatoes/yams ... well, I'm not much a fan of those to begin with, but hers look dry and over-cooked. Maybe I'm wrong on that count and, if I am, feel free to educate me. The asparagus looks all right to me, as does the kale or whatever the greens on the plate are. The coleslaw looks fine, but I don't eat coleslaw and so I could be wrong there, too.

Edited to add: I just noticed the ketchup in the background is not the variety of Hunt's made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. When are people going to learn to delete menu items that have high fructose corn syrup? It really does make a difference, both in how fast and how much fat you drop and in taste.

Also, they're still using ranch dressing. Idiots. I know it tastes great, but it's got so much fat and calories in it - even the "light" varieties. Damn, I miss having ranch dressing on stuff, but I had to give it up to do what's best for me. Thankfully, there are a lot of vinaigrettes out there that taste great, too.

Edited April 1, 2017 by MrSmith

[Kohola3]

Is that meat loaf?  It's quite, um, unappealing.  I wouldn't have known that's what it is unless I had been told.  At least she does have other colors on the plate.

[ginger90]

That dressing has MSG and  of a 130 calorie serving (2 Tbsp) 120 are from fat.

I am not the healthiest of eaters but this woman has a blog about it for goodness sakes. She could crop her pictures, at least!

[MrSmith]

@ginger90 Thanks for looking that up. I hadn't thought to do that. Seems like they're not bothering to even use a "light" variety of ranch. Little wonder that, after a few years of trying to lose weight, when Janelle sits around the house, she sits around the house!

[Absolom]

The meatloaf doesn't have the usual topping on it that makes it look better.  Instead it looks like she'll put pure catsup on it.  The sweet potatoes look OK to me and at least aren't covered in sweet syrup.  I'd rather see more asparagus and less coleslaw especially since the slaw still looks heavy on the commercial dressing.  I'd say she's made some progress but has a way to go.  That meal looks better for her than the drive through and that's what she needed to do.  Now she can continue to refine the choices.

[CofCinci]

I can't imagine her Strive makes any money. 

[AZChristian]

15 minutes ago, CofCinci said:

I can't imagine her Strive makes any money. 

Probably about as much as MSWC.

[Aethera]

Hey guys - I know it's hard with the Strive thing, but please keep this thread actually about Janelle, and not about the tasty food you're making. Take that to Small Talk please!

[Celia Rubenstein]

I don't understand why Janelle can't do a better job with these pics (if not the meals themselves).

She needs to get rid of half the meatloaf to start with.  Go back for seconds later if you must, but at least make a showing of exercising portion control for your audience.  She should have twice the green vegetables and yams, and just lose the slaw altogether.  It's preposterous she has a bottle of ranch dressing in the shot!  You just know she is going to drown that tiny pile of lettuce with it the second she puts her camera down.  And for god's sake, lose those ugly brown plates.  Brown table, brown plate, brown food ... yuck! 

I feel extremely nit-picky and I do agree with absolom that it's an improvement over her usual diet of tacos and Big Macs.  But the woman is trying to start a business that teaches people how to be healthier.  She needs to SELL her program.  Pictures like this one only confirm to me that she has no clue, isn't serious, and joining up with STRIVE would be nothing but a complete waste of time and money.  She is probably doing her "business" more harm than good with this schlock.  Don't the other people - nutritionist and trainers or whoever it is she is working with - have any part in what she puts out there?  Because I can't believe anyone who knows anything about health, fitness, or nutrition (or marketing!) would think this picture is a good idea or that it shows STRIVE off to its advantage.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Celia Rubenstein
to add that it's the ranch dressing that is really ticking me off! get serious Janelle!

[lookeyloo]

@Christina and you also have to make sure your volume is up.  On my iMac, if I have the mute button on the keyboard pushed, it still won't have sound if I un click the icon.  

[MrSmith]

@Celia Rubenstein All good points about the photographs she's putting up. The framing is poor, the plating is poor, and nothing about the pictures really makes you think "Man, I really could learn a thing or two from this woman. I better get involved with STRIVE right away!" Like you, I don't understand why her partners aren't more invested and involved. One of my problems was portion control. When I was in the gym constantly, I was able (and needed) to eat a lot more. My wife got used to those portions and has had trouble helping me cut back. We're getting there. Americans in general have to learn that going back for seconds is better than having too much food at "firsts". Really, we need smaller plates.

Edited to add: I showed the picture to my wife and she thinks the orange things are supposed to be roasted carrots, not sweet potatoes. She says they're awfully veiny for sweet potatoes.

Edited April 2, 2017 by MrSmith

[Kohola3]

I thought carrots as well.

[CofCinci]

Basically if you put a handful of salad with any meal it instantly becomes healthy.

[Jellybeans]

I thought sweet potatoes.  

You would think she would identify each food item with pertinent info since she wants people to STRIVE with her.

We should not have to guess if it is carrots or sweet potatoes.

[MrSmith]

@Jellybeans Isn't it funny that the longer we talk about this, the more we find she could be doing to improve her business?

[Jellybeans]

1 hour ago, MrSmith said:

@Jellybeans Isn't it funny that the longer we talk about this, the more we find she could be doing to improve her business?

We could offer ourselves up as STRIVE consultants.  For a fee, of course.

[VedaPierce]

On March 30, 2017 at 0:47 PM, Galloway Cave said:

And THAT is the problem with her thinking. Can't change up the diet to a healthy one because, whaaaa, we LIKE it crappy and unhealthy!

I have been off of processed and salty/sugary food for so long now that when I get a taste of it, it tastes horrible and makes me sick.

This is her way of shutting down any advice or criticism or recommendations. She is that insecure/defensive because she knows she has no business having a Health & Wellness blog for which she wants to charge a subscription. She doesn't want any input because her (or her partners'-KODY) thinking is, that it dilutes her image as a Health Guru that you would want to pay to get information and direction from. Delusional as usual. The problem with this clan is that they are always looking for ways to get over, to sell us garbage, in one form or another, whether it's ugly-ass jewelry, or a phony lifestyle, or green goo, or Walmart leggings or white rice and a handful of peas disguised as health food.

Edited April 2, 2017 by VedaPierce

[VedaPierce]

On March 31, 2017 at 3:22 PM, Jellybeans said:

We are supposed to buy clothes from Meri, jewelry from Robyn and STRIVE with Janelle.  What is Christine going to hawk?

Whatever Christine decides to hawk, it won't be on a Saturday.

Edited April 2, 2017 by VedaPierce

[VedaPierce]

Gotta say, I'm actually learning a lot from you guys about eating healthier! I mean, it's stuff I know but didn't really pay attention to or focus on lately, and it's actually subliminally working on me! Lol I'm going to try out some new healthy ideas I got from all your critical posts about Janelle's stupid blog! Lol So...thanks....Janelle?...I guess...lol lol!

[MrSmith]

LOL! @VedaPierce, it's a good thing I'm not at work today because everybody would be prairie-dogging it in their cubicles trying to find out where that really loud, belly-laugh just came from!

[AnnieBeez]

I don't understand the cole slaw. More asparagus is needed, and I'm siding with roasted sweet potatoes. They don't look very "roasted" though. 

[Jel]

On 3/27/2017 at 5:05 PM, Galloway Cave said:

Well, I think I would give her a little more credit if she: 1. wasn't shilling a business built on healthy eating/lifestyle, and 2. acting like she has created something new with this way of eating. When she posts this stuff, she could be a little humble about it -"Hey, it may not be the lowest-calorie dinner in the books, but at least it's homemade and not drive-thru!" or "Here's tonight's dinner. The game is make it even more low-cal. GO!" Hell, even a recipe-share on her site would be a great start. I applaud her for eating better and eating in. I'm just not so sure she's doing it for herself and not the business....

Is she under the impression that home-cooked equals healthy? Tell that to my "hashbrown casserole" recipe. I think it's a good goal to make your own food and eat dinner as a family at the table for several reasons, but just doing that doesn't make those meals any more nutritious. 

If her audience is a bunch of moms, many of us have been cooking meals for a long time and are well beyond the novice stage of adding a quarter cup of soy sauce to stir fries, so it's hard to relate to her inexperience. And if her goal is healthful eating, then maybe she should address, or even learn a little about, the actual nutritional value of the food she makes.  If you're going to really start something, start it right.

ETA: I'm having a hard time getting past the three spears of asparagus. Is there an asparagus shortage on or something?

Edited April 3, 2017 by Jel

[Jellybeans]

I thought you guys were joking about the asparagus.  I did not see the three..spears on Janelle's plate.  

Three spears???

[laurakaye]

The meal itself is not bad, but is it supposed to be a display of healthy eating or just home cooking?  If it's healthy eating, lose half the meatloaf, ditch the cole slaw, make half the plate salad and load up on the carrots.  Also, don't let that bottle of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch sneak its way into the picture, 'cause that stuff is good on everything.  

If she's just trying to prove that she cooks at home, then I'd say this is a better attempt than the piece of fried chicken doused with jarred spaghetti sauce.

I don't really understand what she's trying to do with STRIVE in the first place.  But, my guess is, she doesn't, either.

[Jel]

I think we've got our own "white and gold vs blue and black dress" thing going on here at PTV, coz those orange things are clearly yams!  ;)

[Celia Rubenstein]

I'm sure they're yams. They are cut so unevenly ... carrots usually don't look so butchered, even when chopped by a kid (which I am guessing these were ... although I'm sure Janelle''s knife skills are probably poor, too). 

[VedaPierce]

2 hours ago, Jel said:

Is she under the impression that home-cooked equals healthy? Tell that to my "hashbrown casserole" recipe. I think it's a good goal to make your own food and eat dinner as a family at the table for several reasons, but just doing that doesn't make those meals any more nutritious. 

If her audience is a bunch of moms, many of us have been cooking meals for a long time and are well beyond the novice stage of adding a quarter cup of soy sauce to stir fries, so it's hard to relate to her inexperience. And if her goal is healthful eating, then maybe she should address, or even learn a little about, the actual nutritional value of the food she makes.  If you're going to really start something, start it right.

ETA: I'm having a hard time getting past the three spears of asparagus. Is there an asparagus shortage on or something?

She's out of her league. She has no business selling herself as being a wellness pro. She actually wants money for what she's doing and that's a joke. Shouldn't she have qualifications or something in diet, nutrition, fitness? She makes and posts some mediocre meals and wants me to pay her. What a joke. 

[ginger90]

The challenge was

This March we will be cooking at least 10 meals at home and want to encourage you to do the same. Don’t worry; you don’t have to cook 10 meals, 10 days in a row. All you need to do is cook 10 meals at home any time throughout the month of March. They can be breakfast, lunch or dinner, or a combination of all three—it’s up to you!

Btw, no winner announced yet.

[Absolom]

Did Logan and his girlfriend make submissions?

[Galloway Cave]

5 hours ago, Jel said:

Is she under the impression that home-cooked equals healthy?

This shows how ill-conceived this whole STRIVE concept is for Janelle. She doesn't understand that home-cooked meals mean that she controls the ingredients and portions, and should be explaining THAT to her audience, rather than just saying "home cooked". I love to bake but I refuse to make anything out of a box because of the added chemicals and crap. But you can bet there is still a shit-ton of stuff that isn't healthy for ya in my baked goodies! Also, there are a bunch of sites online that show people how to eat healthy when they are eating out or even eating fast-food, so again STRIVE is about 10 years behind everyone else with it's information.

Ten years behind the times, just like the Brown Wives.....

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, VedaPierce said:

She's out of her league.

They all are and always have been.  They are women of low self esteem who are fodder for any fly-by-night snake oil salesman. That ill-conceived joorey business was slapped together on some half assed dream that they were A class stars and everyone would be clamoring for their cheap crap.  Probably some third rate rep from China paid them a  visit and, bam, we've got a Closet.  No business plan, no analysis - just hire some high school kid who has rudimentary website skills and way you go.

Then another shyster shows up with the whole STRIVE concept because "fitness is so big" and again we get a doomed business with no thought or organization behind it.

And don't even get me started on Green Goo.

All you need to do to sell them some phony concept is be nice to them.  They are all so browbeaten by playing submissive second hand citizens their entire lives that they will fall for anything.  Like polygamy.

[AZChristian]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

They are women of low self esteem who are fodder for any fly-by-night snake oil salesman.

Is that what Kody was selling when they met him?  I didn't know that!  ;-)

[Kohola3]

10 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Is that what Kody was selling when they met him?  I didn't know that!  ;-)

Well, I imagine he was just selling them the snake.

[xwordfanatik]

8 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, I imagine he was just selling them the snake.

LOLOLOL, perfect!  He must think that snake is 24 karat gold!

[Jellybeans]

46 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

LOLOLOL, perfect!  He must think that snake is 24 karat gold!

Does he think it vibrates?

[MrSmith]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Probably some third rate rep from China paid them a  visit and, bam, we've got a Closet.  No business plan, no analysis - just hire some high school kid who has rudimentary website skills and way you go.

Re: The bolded part. It was actually worse than that. They hired a company from Jamaica, initially. I checked that company out at the time and they only worked like 5 hours a day, four days a week. So, if there were changes they needed made or if something went wrong, they'd have to call, leave a message, and hope it got done (or that they received a call back).

[TurtlePower]

6 hours ago, VedaPierce said:

She's out of her league. She has no business selling herself as being a wellness pro. She actually wants money for what she's doing and that's a joke. Shouldn't she have qualifications or something in diet, nutrition, fitness? She makes and posts some mediocre meals and wants me to pay her. What a joke. 

So much this. It's like a brand new white belt trying to drag you along on their journey in martial arts. 

[ginger90]

There are people listed as coaches on the Strive site, Janelle is not one. I don't know what Janelle's title is. I also don't get who or why she was chosen as the name?

[AnnieBeez]

4 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

So much this. It's like a brand new white belt trying to drag you along on their journey in martial arts. 

I actually thought that's precisely what it is. Going along on her journey with her. Don't know why I'd want to, but I thought that was the idea. Mutual support or something. To be honest though, I looked at the site once.