Marilu Henner's Blog, page 177

Starts Monday * The Core Class ♥ Getting to the heart of THM

The CORE CLASS ♥ Getting to the Heart of THM

What is more basic than loving yourself? Your Total Health Makeover® provides the keys for learning to love yourself – with the right food, the right exercise, the right self-care. Celebrate this Valentine's Day for ten whole days, as you focus on your core, your center, your life, your heart.

This 10-day class will focus on using your personal strengths to help you succeed with your Total Health Makeover®.

Class starts Monday, February 14 and runs for ten weekdays. Don't miss a day; sign up now! The class will include recipes to try (hey, THM veterans – new Purple recipes!) – a shopping list will be available this weekend. Check your email or the Members Message Boards for the link.

Online classes at Marilu.com offer you *

Marilu Henner's daily plan for your personal goals and priorities…
Access to Marilu's proven meal plan that works…
New Purple (basic, core) recipes and a shopping list…
Support for your exercise program…
Live chats with Marilu…
Ideas and tips for improving every aspect of your life…
Coach Heather, a THM® expert who will be in touch with you every day…
A community of friends who are doing the program right along with you…
Don't wait… make sure you're signed up for Marilu's new online class today!

 

♥ Why some former smokers gain weight ♥

February is all about healthy hearts. If you're a smoker, this is the perfect time to quit. Give yourself a big, healthy red heart of a valentine.

Several factors, ranging from chemical reactions in your body to unintentional (unconscious) shifts in behavior, can account for weight gain when you quit smoking. If you plan ahead, you can make conscious choices to prevent that, or to minimize it.

When you stop smoking, food tastes and smells better. So you may want larger or more frequent portions. Or both.

So pay attention to what you're eating. Enjoy the smells and tastes, but switch to a smaller plate (studies have shown that using 9″ plate helps with weight loss), and make sure it's at least half raw and/or steamed vegetables. Eat breakfast, and stop eating after dinner.

If you smoked for boredom, you may find yourself eating because it's something to do now that you're not smoking.

Get a hobby, or get back to a hobby – something that uses your hands is good – like playing the guitar or piano, or knitting or sewing, or painting or gardening. Take a walk or do some other form of exercise. Get outside.

If you smoked for stress relief (and really – how is accelerating your own death any kind of stress relief? Sorry to sound harsh, just putting that thought into your mind), you may try to relieve stress with the repetitive action of snacking.

Learn meditation or prayer practices. Practice yoga. Join a gym and work out, or take a fitness class. Journal. Call a (non-smoking) friend.

When you stop smoking, you may unconsciously start eating more high-fat, sugary foods. Studies have shown that smokers who gain weight tend to eat those foods.

Prepare fresh fruits and veggies for snacking, and keep them in your fridge. Challenge yourself to try a new whole food (food as it grows) every week.

Previous post here.

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Sweetheart cake

For Valentine's Day, you may want something a little different, so here's a strawberry cake that includes chocolate. Don't make this for two people, though. Make sure you have other friends or family to share it with.

It takes a little time to prepare this cake, but it's delicious (and you know exactly what's in it). If you're celebrating on Monday, you may want to make the parts over the weekend, wrap and cover them carefully, refrigerate, and then assemble them on Monday. You'll need about an hour of time to bring the frosting back to room temperature before you frost the cake.

If you don't have a double boiler to melt the chocolate, use a small pot set inside a larger pot. Put about 2″ of water in the larger pot, and bring to an active simmer. Make sure no water gets in the smaller pot, or the chocolate won't melt properly.

Vegans can substitute the egg whites with Ener-G Egg Replacer.

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Sweetheart Cake

Yellow * Serves 8-10

Strawberry puree:

2-1/4 cups fresh, ripe strawberries cut into bite size pieces

3 Tablespoons unprocessed sugar cane crystals

Place ingredients in bowl and let stand for 1/2 hour to draw out the natural juices. Take 1 and 1/4 cup and puree in a food processor. You will use some of this for the cake, the frosting, and the rest is used for a filling.

Cake:

3/4 cup soy margarine

2-1/4 cups unbleached flour

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup soy milk

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups unprocessed sugar cane crystals

4 egg whites (or equivalent Ener-G Egg Replacer, prepared as directed)

3/4 cup strawberry puree

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 and 1/2-inch round cake pans. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer, cream soy margarine, sugar cane crystals, and egg whites. Add soymilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Add strawberry puree mix and beat an additional 2 minutes. Pour into cake pans and bake 20 minutes, then test with toothpick. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting:

3/4 cup unprocessed sugar cane crystals

1/4 cup unbleached flour

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 cup soy cream

1 cup soy margarine at room temperature

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1/4 cup strawberry puree

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Set aside to cool. In a medium saucepan, stir sugar cane, flour and cocoa. Cook and add soy cream slowly until smooth. Let boil, thicken, and then reduce heat. Cook an additional few minutes stirring constantly. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat margarine until creamy. Add the cooled soy milk mixture, then add vanilla, melted chocolate and strawberry puree. Mix well until slightly stiff. You may need to place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to stiffen before you frost.

Filling:

Mix the remaining bite-size strawberry pieces with the remaining puree. This goes between the frosting layers in the middle of the cake. To do this, first frost the top of the bottom layer with a thin layer of frosting. Then put the strawberry filling on top. Next, frost the bottom of the top layer with a thin layer of frosting, and put it (frosting side down) on the filling- and frosting-topped bottom layer. Finally, frost the top and sides of the assembled cake.

Garnish:

Cut a large strawberry in half to make two hearts (carve a little if you need to). Put them on top of the cake in the center as a garnish.

 

Marilu visits Valentine Romance Sneak Peek Oscar Suite

The Third Annual Valentine Romance Sneak Peek Oscar Suite at Café La Boheme in West Hollywood gave celebrities a chance to pick up some Valentine's Day and award season freebies from a wide variety of vendors — including some with green elements, like Aquamantra water, sold in 100 percent biodegradable and recyclable bottles; Gold Canyon candles; which has an Essentially Soy line; and Twisted Silver jewelry, made from reclaimed metals, old spoons and recycled glass. "I love everything here," said Marilu Henner before snapping up earrings and a ring.

A longtime vegan, Henner (pictured right) pointed out that one can save body, health, animals, the planet and pocketbook by following suit. She also buys natural and organic products for her dog, and just started a garden. She has a big weekend ahead: she's doing hair and makeup for her son's school play, a production of "The Servant of Two Masters," and her Hallmark Channel movie, "Accidentally in Love," premieres Feb. 12. She plays the mother of Jennie Garth's widow and single mom in a story written by Garth's husband, Peter Facinelli.

Henner also has the comedy "Vamps" coming up, which she likened to "'Clueless' meets 'Twilight.'" She plays a dying cancer patient who reverts to her hot former self after a vampire bite. She'll also be performing live in a one-woman show this spring; so far, dates are set for April 15 and 16 in San Francisco and April 23 in Nashville. But of late, Henner is becoming known for something besides her acting career ("Taxi" et al.) and self-help books: her brain. She's one of six people confirmed to have super autobiographical memory — which means she can remember everything that ever happened to her, dates and all. Naturally, she's writing a book about it — and how mere mortals can improve their own memories — that will be published in September.

~ reported on Mother Nature Network

Read the rest of the article.

 

Honey, let me sing… and maybe dance

With Valentine's Day coming up, we thought a romantic song would be appropriate to help you get moving. It's especially good if you want to practice dancing with your sweetie.

Whatever else you do, get up right now and stretch.

Put your hands up and reach for the stars!

Move your arms out to your sides, and reach to the left and then to the right. Go back and forth, stretching your sides.

Gently roll your head from side to side, stretching your neck and shoulders.

Reach down and touch your toes – or as close as you can get.

Then pull in your stomach and slowly roll up to standing again.

Doesn't that feel good? Take a minute to stretch several times during the day.

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/01 Honey Let Me Sing You A Song.mp3

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Amazon.com Widgets

 

Wear your sexiest lingerie

Even if the rest of the world can't see it, you know when you're wearing your sexiest lingerie. It gives you a special little secret to carry through the day, it makes you more aware of your body and how you're moving, and you'll feel sexier and more powerful.

 

♥ Smoking and weight ♥

There's not one good reason to smoke. Not one. It's the single most preventable cause of death in America.

But people (and especially women) seem to believe that if they quit smoking, they'll gain weight. Or if they start smoking, they'll lose weight.

The correlation is not that simple, and it's certainly not a given. Plenty of people quit smoking and don't gain weight. And really, if you do gain a couple of pounds in the transition, you're still better off NOT smoking! Tobacco use is responsible for one of every five deaths in the USA. Cigarette smoking is linked to 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths in the USA, and 29 percent of all deaths from coronary artery disease.

Think about it. What better gift to give your heart this month than quitting smoking?

 

Reminder * Marilu in "Accidentally in Love" on Saturday

Set your DVR!

Accidentally in Love

Hallmark Channel

Saturday, February 12, 2011

9 PM / 8 PM Central

Eddie James, a disgruntled actor who wants to do more than play "Mulligan the Rabbit" on a children's TV show, discovers life can change in a heartbeat when he accidentally gets into a car accident with single mother Annie Baker. In the unexpected friendship that develops between them, Eddie tries to help Annie's nearly-blind daughter Taylor get an operation to restore her sight.

Stars Jennie Garth, Ethan Erickson, Fred Willard and Marilu Henner.

Check it out here.

 

If you have 5 minutes (office version)…

Five minutes can make a difference in your day – at home and at work. We all have those really short segments of time throughout the day, and if we are conscious of them, we can use them to get things done. And that always makes us feel better about ourselves.

Here are some of our favorites for the office – both the one at home and the one at work. What can you do in five minutes?

Cancel one appointment you don't want (or need) to keep.
Make one appointment you've been putting off.
Reply to one email.
Toss five things from your inbox into the recycling.
Transfer dates from invitations and school flyers to the calendar.
Test the pens and toss the dead ones.
Sharpen the pencils.
Shred something (anything).
Open your file cabinet and get rid of five old files.
File five things from your desk into their appropriate files in the file cabinet.
Charge your portable devices.
Sync your iPod.
Sync your calendars.
Check your voice mail.
Move five files from your computer desktop to the correct folders.
Sort or delete five emails.
Download the pictures in your digital camera or cell phone to your computer.
Pay a bill onlline.
Check your bank balance online.

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Zucchini kofte

We made this for the Super Bowl, and it was great on the buffet table, but it would be just as good as a main dish. Serve it with a brown rice and vegetable pilaf, and a Greek salad for the perfect meal.

Kofte is traditionally a seasoned lamb "meatball" on a skewer, from the Middle East. This vegan version is adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine.

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Zucchini Kofte

Green * Serves 6

1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium)

1 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 cup packed cilantro sprigs

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

canola oil for frying

for sauce:

1 cup plain soy yogurt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

For the sauce, mix the soy yogurt, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro in a small bowl. Refrigerate, allowing the flavors to blend while you make the kofte.

Coarsely grate the zucchini in a food processor. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Pulse the garlic, parsley leaves, and cilantro leaves in the food processor until finely chopped.

Press the zucchini in the colander to get out some liquid. Then put the zucchini in a clean, dry dish towel (not terrycloth) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork. Add the breadcrumbs, cumin, coriander, pepper, and the parsley-cilantro-garlic mixture and stir to combine. Add the zucchini, breaking it up, and combining everything well.

Form the mixture into balls, using 2 Tablespoons of the mixture for each ball. Place them on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a skillet over medium heat, place enough oil to generously film the bottom of the pan (about 2 Tablespoons in a 12″ skillet). When the oil shimmers, add some of the kofte (don't crowd the pan). Brown them on several sides, blot on paper towels, and put back on the rimmed baking sheet. When all the kofte are browned, cook them through in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with yogurt sauce.