Marilu Henner's Blog, page 188

Fitness Friday * Pump iron

Buy some free weights – 2, 3 and 5 pounds, or 3, 5 and 8 pounds to start. Then start weight training.

Don't know what exercises to do? Pick up a fitness magazine and look for a beginner routine.

Weight training prevents bone loss, improves balance, boosts metabolism and tones your body. Just 30 minutes a day of weight training cuts your risk of cardiovascular disease by over 20 percent.

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Scalloped corn

Holidays bring out the traditional recipes. Plan ahead for healthier versions of your family's favorites. Here's something that brings back all kinds of memories of grandma's table.

To make soft bread crumbs, just tear up a few slices of whole-grain bread and whiz them in a food processor or blender. If you make extra, they store well in the freezer for the next time you need them.

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Scalloped Corn

Yellow * Serves 4-6

1 Tablespoon light olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, finely diced

2 medium firm ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 Tablespoons unbleached white flour

1/4 teaspoon paprika

A few grains cayenne pepper

1 cup rice milk

3 cups cooked fresh corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears), or thawed frozen kernels

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

1 cup soft whole grain bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until it is golden. Add the bell pepper and tomatoes and continue to sauté just until they soften. Meanwhile, pat the corn kernels dry between a few layers of paper towels.

Sprinkle in the flour, paprika, and cayenne, stirring them in until well blended. Pour the rice milk in slowly, stirring continuously. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the corn and simmer for another minute or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into an oiled shallow oblong baking pan. Quickly toss the melted margarine with the bread crumbs until evenly coated and distribute the crumbs over the corn mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until the crumbs begin to turn crusty. Serve at once.

 

See Marilu on television

Yes! More Marilu on your television.

The 60 Minutes segment on Memory is expected to air Sunday, December 19 on CBS. Marilu is one of only a handful of people in the world with a very specific memory. Find out what she's doing to help researchers learn more about how memory works. 60 Minutes airs at 7 PM/6 PM central, but it follows a football game, so if you're setting your DVR, make sure it goes long – maybe an extra hour!)

Marilu will be judging the Miss America contest on Saturday, January 15, 2011 on ABC. The contest starts several days before that, so Marilu will be busy in Las Vegas with all the preliminary events. Other judges will be Joy Behar (comedian/talk show host, The View), Tony Dovolani (ballroom dancer, Dancing with the Stars), Dr. Debbie Turner Bell (former Miss America/veterinarian), Marc Cherry (creator/executive producer, Desperate Housewives), Taryn Rose (orthopedic surgeon/shoe designer), and Mark Wills (country music artist). Read the press release.

 

Marilu is on Fran Drescher's "Tawk" Show Today!

Marilu is the guest on Fran Drescher's new "Tawk" Show today. The show is airing on local FOX stations in six major markets – New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Orlando. Check your local listings for the air time. Don't miss it!

Stress eating affects kids, too

Our children (just like us) may want to eat not out of hunger, but out of the lack of control they feel somewhere else in their lives. You may want to check out your own habit of eating out of stress. Children pay attention to everything we do, even when we wish we weren't doing it.

~ Marilu Henner, Healthy Kids: Help Them Eat Smart and Stay Active–for Life!

 

It's not just gut fill anymore

Food is not your enemy, but a powerful friend. Just respect its properties.

Have a good time with it, as you would a dear friend. Gut fill is just eating until you feel full (which you don't notice until well after your stomach is full). What kind of friend is that?

Put an end to fast-dash meals, and really dine when you eat. Really – check the clock on your next family meal. If you're currently spending less than 10 minutes together at the table, try to double it. Enjoy and appreciate the food and the company.

Think consciously about what you prepare and serve for meals. Consider the colors, flavors, and textures of the food you're serving. Make each ingredient shine.

Food is primarily fuel, but it can still taste great and be presented beautifully. You won't need large quantities to showcase beautiful meals.

 

Are you HOT for the holidays? Need some help?

We had an excellent HOT for the Holidays class the past three weeks. Coach JanB helped up organize and clean our homes, think about gifts, plan our parties (hosting and attending), and find ways to take care of ourselves in the midst of it all.

Even though the class is officially over, there was so much information that quite a few members started the class all over again yesterday. If you missed out on the class the first time, take it now! You won't miss out! (JanB is still there, helping out, too.)

Members can log in here on the home page and hop right onto the class message boards or check out the class home page.
If you're not a member, join now and take advantage of all the tips and tricks to get through the rest of the year.

If you took the class already, you can "change majors" this time around or just reinforce what you've been working on from the start. The class message boards will stay open through December so please avail yourself of the resources here. Sometimes just connecting with others can be nice little break in the day. Marilu.com is a great stress reliever!

 

Gifts from the grocery store

The next time you go to the health food store, pick up extras of the products you really like that someone on your gift list would like, too. You can even make a gift basket with ingredients for a healthy pantry meal, or for some of your favorite staples. Friends who are not very adventurous might enjoy a first-cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar – and the recipe for a really quick and easy vinaigrette. Adventurous cooks might enjoy something like nori and a sushi mat. Exotic gifts like truffle oil or saffron might be appreciated.

Don't forget the health and beauty aisle – there are all kinds of fun and pampering natural products there. We've given some awesome Fair Trade lotions made in Africa, and a skin brush (with instructions) is a great gift.

Look around the next time you're shopping – what do you wish you'd known about earlier? It probably makes a great gift!

Green living bonus * Buy reuseable grocery bags or dish towels to use as gift wrap.

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * My favorite stir-fry

We like this stir-fry because the ingredients yield an authentic flavor. It's also really fun to make and eat your food with your fingers (especially fun for families that need a break from "rules").

This recipe calls for cooked brown rice. If you don't usually have the luxury of time when preparing a meal, then plan ahead. You can cook and then freeze grains for later use. We like to measure the cooked grains (1 or 2 cup portions) and put them into freezer-weight zipper bags. Then we freeze them flat, because they're easier to store in the freezer that way, and they thaw more quickly, too. Just be sure to label the bags with the grain, the date, and the amount.

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My Favorite Stir-Fry

Yellow * Serves 6

For the sauce *

3 Tablespoons tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon barley malt syrup

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon kuzu (or cornstarch), optional

For the stir-fry *

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

3 scallions, thinly sliced

2 medium leeks (white part only), washed and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 cup bamboo shoots, drained

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 Tablespoon brown rice vinegar

1 head romaine lettuce, washed and leaves separated

In a cup, combine the sauce ingredients and reserve. Heat a wok or large saute pan over moderately high heat, and add the oil, scallions, leeks, and ginger. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, bamboo shoots, almonds, brown rice, vinegar, and the reserved sauce. Cook until heated through.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, and if desired, eat by rolling up the rice mixture in the lettuce leaves.

 

Spirit Sunday * Light up the world

Every human being was created with the unique capacity of bringing light in some form to this world! Chanukah celebrates the triumph of that light over selfish, dark, senseless impulses in humanity. Ultimately, this holiday teaches each and every willing and able person that in the battle of light and dark, light will always prevail and that light is infinitely more powerful than darkness.

We begin lighting the menorah with one candle. And we end up with eight. Why? Because goodness is contagious and lies at the natural essence of each created being!

So, in brief, Chanukah teaches us that we can all light up the world one good deed at a time, one little flame at a time. When you have done one good deed today, never be satisfied. Do one more tomorrow. And soon you will see that your candle, together within mine, will rid the world, once and for all, of the darkness of hatred and pain.

~ The Smiling Rabbi (formerly known as Rabbi Baruch Ezagui), quoted in an email from Debbie Ford

 

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/02 - Hanukkah Blessings Album Version.mp3

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