Marilu Henner's Blog, page 155

Viva la Vitamix! (you can win one here)

YOU can win a Vitamix right here at Marilu.com.

Why do you want a Vitamix?

It's a powerful more-than-blender to help you make amazing smoothies, soups, spreads, and more. The Vitamix retails for $500, so this is not a cheap giveaway; it's an awesome prize that Marilu wants to give YOU.

How can you win the Vitamix?

Between now and July 11, all you need to do is get a friend to become a member (1-year membership), and you'll get TWO entries in the Vitamix drawing. That's TWO entries for every person who becomes a member on your recommendation (get two people to become members and you get FOUR entries, etc.).

1. Get your friends to sign up here for a 1-year membership.

2. Then send an email with your name and your friend's name

to Mary Beth.

That's all you have to do.

BONUS * Your friend is now automatically enrolled in July's Viva La Vegan class! (So if you think backwards about this, anyone you know who may be interested in veganism, or what it means to eat a plant-based diet, or who is looking for a healthy way to lower their cholesterol numbers, or who wonders just exactly what it is that you eat… those are the people to invite to become a member.) If you've taken the Viva La Vegan class before, you know it's a great class – but it's improved even more this year! Coaches JanB and VeganKyra have lots of surprises in store this year.

DOUBLE BONUS * When you (and your new-member friend) take the Viva La Vegan class, you also get an entry in a second Vitamix drawing for participating in class every day. That's the best second chance ever!

Get your friends to sign up here for a 1-year membership by July 11.
Send an email to Mary Beth with your name and your friend's name.
Then enjoy the Viva La Vegan class with your friend!
And… you could win a Vitamix!

 

Spirit Sunday * Baby, you're a firework

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

 

Never sell yourself short. YOU are as beautiful and special and breathtaking and awe-inspiring as a firework. Take a few minutes today to think about or write about all the good you bring to the world.

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/01 Firework.mp3

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This version of the song Firework is performed by the college a capella groups Ithacapella and Premium Blend. Buy the song here to benefit The Trevor Project.

 

How are you doing?

Ask yourself one question.

'Am I the best version of myself?'

~ Marilu Henner

 

What can you do to become the best version of yourself? The question can get overwhelming, but don't let it. Don't make a whole list of things you want to change – that can be depressing and counterproductive. Instead, focus on just one thing – the first thing that comes to your mind. That's enough.

Remember, it's all about progress, not perfection. Just do a little better today than you did yesterday. You're building a better YOU, step by step, day by day – and it works. That's how you build a legacy.

 

Where's the beef? The Pink Slime story

What is Pink Slime?

It's meat scraps turned into meat filler – and it ends up in burgers and tacos everywhere.

 

This product is actually called ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings. Still not sure? This is the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer – fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. Once swept up, the scraps are sent through a series of machines, which grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens.

The USDA allows this ammonia treated meat to enter the marketplace and with no labeling requirement on the packaging to inform the consumer that the meat they are about to buy contains ammonia. It is used to stretch the actual ground beef, and the USDA shockingly allows up to 15 percent of a ground beef product to be this filler and still be labeled ground beef….

According to a New York Times article, The "majority of hamburger" now sold in the U.S. now contains fatty slaughterhouse trimmings "the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil," "typically including most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass" that contains "larger microbiological populations."

(…)

McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone. And since the USDA considers it a "process", Ammonia doesn't have to be listed on the packaging as a separate ingredient!

~ Judy Molland, Yummy! Some Pink Slime In That Burger?

 

Of course you can avoid Pink Slime by not eating red meat. If you choose to eat red meat, buy grass-fed beef, which contains no ammonia. Our best advice when choosing animal-derived foods is to buy directly from the source – get to know a farmer (you can find them at farmer's markets) and visit the farm. Meet the butcher and see the processing facility. Be honest with yourself about where your food comes from.

 

Fitness Friday * Take your bike for a spin

Indoors or out, bicycling is a great way to burn calories while having fun. Outdoor bicycling is a great way to spend part of your holiday weekend, too.

Here are some tips for a healthy bike ride *

Wear a helmet when biking outdoors.

Adjust your bike for a proper fit. When seats or handlebars are too low, you can strain your knees, back, neck, arms, and wrists.

Check the pedal resistance. Too much resistance strains your quads and knees, while too little can hurt the back and pelvis.

Wear padded shorts and make sure the seat is a good fit to avoid saddle soreness.

Minimize blisters with shoes and socks that fit properly and absorb moisture.

Stay hydrated! Carry and drink water on your ride.

Know local traffic regulations – use special bike paths if they're available. Call out to pedestrians ("on your left") as you come up behind them and pass on the left.

Use motivational music if you're spinning inside – create an MP3 or iPod folder with music that changes speed to create a climb.

Invite your kids or teens to come along for the ride.

 

Marilu at Dr. Fuhrman's Health Getaway

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Anthony and Marilu at Dr. Fuhrman's Health Getaway. Anthony was the winner of Dr. Fuhrman's six-week challenge and he lost over 80 pounds in eight months following a plant-based diet!

Are you interested in trying a plant-based diet? Take our Viva la Vegan class, starting right here on July 11. It's ten weekdays of information about eating a plant-based diet, and lots of recipes, too. This class is for everyone – whether you have questions about veganism, or are already vegan, or anywhere in between. Sign up now and the class info will come to your inbox on July 11!

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Chopped vegetable salad

This salad is very flexible if you have different vegetables. Make a double recipe and bring it to a picnic or cookout! It's perfect for your Fourth of July celebration.

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Chopped Vegetable Salad

From The 30 Day Total Health Makeover

Blue * Serves 4-6

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced thick

1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off

1 large green bell pepper, top & bottom sliced off

2 ears corn on the cob, shucked

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced thick lengthwise

1/4 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 head romaine lettuce (or mixed salad greens), washed and shredded

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, add garlic and 2 ounces of olive oil. Add all vegetables except the lettuce, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Grill vegetables on medium heat and set aside.

Chop all vegetables into medium sized pieces just before serving. In a small bowl, whisk balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and remaining olive oil until blended. Toss vegetables with vinaigrette and place on top of shredded romaine lettuce.

 

Add veggies to your grill

We love veggie kabobs from the grill. They take a little bit of advance prep, but make dinner time easy – perfect for entertaining.

Some veggies need a bit of precooking – just 2-3 minutes in the microwave or steamer basket will be enough.

Soak bamboo skewers in water for 15-30 minutes before putting the vegetables on, or use metal skewers.

We like to fill each skewer with the same type of veggie (all peppers, for example) so everything gets cooked properly. We just unload them all into a large pasta bowl and toss them with a little balsamic vinaigrette or dijon vinaigrette to serve.

You can also fill each skewer with a variety of vegetables, and serve them that way – some people like the dramatic presentation, and other people like the ease of the bowl (and it may depend on who's eating!).

Veggies to try *

Sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, green), cut into chunky strips
Red onions, cut into wedges
Pearl onions, whole
Asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
Summer squash (yellow and zucchini), sliced into 1-inch rounds (skewer through the skin)
Cherry tomatoes
Sugar snap peas
Button mushrooms, whole (skewer through the stem)
Fennel, cut into thin wedges (precook)
New red potatoes, whole or cut in half (precook)
Fingerling potatoes, whole or cut in half (precook)
Baby carrots (precook)
Broccoli florets (precook)
Cauliflower florets (precook)

 

Set up your environment to win!

The biggest stumbling block to making changes in your life is your environment.

No matter what you're trying to change, if your environment doesn't change too, you'll slide back into your old habits and patterns. Your environment is the key to your success.

The first thing you'll want to do to most efficiently develop, manufacture, and maintain a newer, fitter, healthier you is to organize your environment tin a way that's most advantageous to your goals. You have to set up your environment to win. And the best way to do that is to make your whole environment a health workshop.

If a factory is designed to manufacture gloves, then there is no way it will efficiently produce shirts. If your home environment is not designed and built to make you healthy, it's very unlikely that you will be healthy, or at least as healthy as you want to be.

~ Marilu Henner, Wear Your Life Well: Use What You Have to Get What You Want

 

Go outside

Turn off this song

Find someone to love

Turn off this song

You can listen to it later

Go outside

It's not often we run across lyrics that say exactly what we'd like to say.

Don't put off exercise.

Don't put off going outside and enjoying the day.

Don't put off spending time with people you love.

However you spend your day, you have a break at some point. Take a walk, even if it's around the parking lot or the block. Invite a friend to dinner on your porch or patio or deck, or on a blanket in your yard or on your balcony or at a nearby park.

While you're outside, be sure to raise your heartrate with some movement. You'll go back to whatever you were doing refreshed and energized.

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/02 - Turn Off This Song and Go Outside.mp3

 

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