Marilu Henner's Blog, page 192

Class news * HOT for the Holidays starts today!

HOT For The Holidays! is a three-week holiday blitz focused on looking great, feeling fantastic, and planning the best holiday season ever. It's like having your own personal trainer, nutritionist, party planner, and support group in one.

There's no sense in spending your holidays feeling over budget and overweight, feeling under-prepared and under pressure, feeling like there's got to be a better way. Our "HOT for the Holidays!" class will incorporate Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover® principles to prepare YOU for YOUR holiday season. You'll get tips for preparing your body, your home, your meals and MORE. You'll establish routines that will help you look and feel your best throughout your holiday season. You'll learn how to celebrate and have fun – with no remorse.

Our Members tell us that it's so much easier to succeed with the support of online classmates and the THM Coaches. Why not get that support while you prepare to be your B.E.S.T. – and your hottest! – this holiday season?

Classes at Marilu.com are free to all Members.

Not a Member? Join today!

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Green beans vinaigrette

This recipe offers an alternative to the ubiquitous green bean casserole – that gloppy, salty mess that people have come to associate with holiday meals.

Why do we like this recipe? We make the dressing a day or two in advance, storing it in the fridge. Washing and prepping the beans is easily done while the turkey roasts. Steaming the beans doesn't take long, and we have room on the stovetop for the pot. The beans can be dressed and plated right after they're cooked – but don't need to be served hot, reducing the number of dishes that need last minute attention (we just cover the dish with foil and set it aside for the 10 minutes it takes to get everything else ready for the table). Oh, and they're great cold from the fridge if you have leftovers.

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Green Beans Vinaigrette

Blue * Serves 8

1-1/2 pounds string beans, ends snipped

2 medium shallots, halved and finely chopped

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving, optional

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the shallots, mustard and vinegar together. May be made in advance and stored in a glass jar in the fridge.

Steam the green beans for about 7-8 minutes, so they're still bright green and have a little crisp to them. Drain the beans and toss with the dressing, and some salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, if you like.

 

Spirit Sunday * See the miracle

 

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child–our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Say NO to caffeine

Caffeine is a drug.

Caffeine is addictive, just like other drugs. You know you're addicted when you get a headache in the morning if you don't have your coffee. Or if you get headaches on the weekend, when you're on a 1 cup/day routine instead of your weekday/workday 4 cups/day routine. Or if you feel sluggish when you don't have your caffeinated soda.

Break the addiction. Some people can go "cold turkey" and just quit. Others need to wean themselves from caffeine slowly, to avoid the potential side effects from quitting an addictive drug (we've done it; our headache was Not.Fun., so we recommend the weaning).

How to wean from caffeine *

REDUCE * Cut back on the quantity of caffeinated beverages you drink in a day. Cut out one a week. If you drank four cups of coffee each day last week, then only drink 3 cups of coffee a day next week. Same for caffeinated sodas (No cheating on getting bigger drinks, either.) The following week, limit yourself to 2 cups of coffee a day. If you need to, take two weeks at one level. You're going for the overall, lifetime reduction here, not a quick fix.

REPLACE * Switch to decaffeinated coffee, herbal tea, or caffeine-free soda. Swap out one drink/day with a non-caffeinated version. There's still some caffeine in decaf, but it's negligible by comparison. If you have the choice, go for water-processed decaf (it has fewer chemicals, so it's a healthier choice).

Combine those two options * Reduce and replace. Drink more water, too. Your body is detoxifying from the drug, and you can speed the process by being hydrated.

If you get a headache from the withdrawl, be sure to sip water, get some rest, and if you need to, take some caffeine-free pain reliever (yes, there's caffeine in some of them; read the labels).

 

Class news * HOT for the Holidays starts Monday

Don't let the holidays throw you off track! With all the food and fun times ahead, it's too easy to overindulge and end up right back where you started last January.. or worse.

Don't do it to yourself again. Do something different this year! Stress free celebrations, delicious and healthy food, and a happy and organized home can all be yours. Learn how in Marilu Henner's fun and innovative online class this holiday season!

"HOT For The Holidays!" is a three-week holiday blitz focused on looking great, feeling fantastic, and planning the best holiday season ever. It's like having your own personal trainer, nutritionist, party planner, and support group in one. You'll get tips for preparing your body, your home, your meals and MORE. You'll establish routines that will help you look and feel your best throughout your holiday season. You'll learn how to celebrate and have fun – with no remorse.

Our Members tell us that it's so much easier to succeed with the support of online classmates and the THM Coaches. Why not get that support while you prepare to be your B.E.S.T. – and your hottest! – this holiday season?

Classes at Marilu.com are free to all Members.

Not a Member? Join today! Only $9.95 a month – for recipes, tips, and personal coaching to help you meet your goals.

 

Fitness Friday * Start a fitness log

Get a small notebook or write it on your kitchen calendar or open a spreadsheet or download an app – whatever is easy for you – but start a fitness log.

Log your hours, activities, and how you felt during and after your exercise. Log the music that keeps you motivated.

You'll find out what you love to do, and what you'd prefer not to do. You'll be able to create your own motivating music playlist. You'll see how often you're really exercising (instead of what you think you're doing). You'll know when you started to lift more weight, and when you started to run further and faster on the treadmill. You'll know when to challenge yourself to do more or to mix it up.

 

Make a wish…

…for better health.

Visualize yourself healthier – whatever that means for you. Thinner? Smaller? Better muscle tone? Greater energy? Better skin? Lower cholesterol? Better flexibility? Greater stamina?

Then do something to make it happen. Take positive steps toward your goal.

Here's a little music for wishing… and planning… and making it happen.

Happy 11/11.

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/11 11_11.mp3

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Amazon.com Widgets

 

Featured recipe from Marilu's table * Spiced pumpkin oatmeal

One of the reasons we love fall is the huge variety of squashes in season. Pumpkin is one of most available, and so many people only eat it as pie, quick bread, or that flavored syrup they use at coffee shops (which is not pumpkin!). Here's an excellent way to add pumpkin – and its beta-carotene and fiber – to your breakfast.

This recipe comes from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb. It's a companion to the vegan classes offered at www.pcrm.org. We love this book, and recommend it for delicious and easy vegan recipes (that aren't full of weird ingredients) as well as solid information on being a healthy vegan. Oh, and there are all kinds of tips throughout the book, too.

From the book *

Serve this warm breakfast staple with nondairy milk. For a special treat, try pumpkin-spice flavored soy milk. Add a pinch of ground cloves for extra flavor. Oatmeal is touted as a heart-healthy food, and rightly so. Oats have soluble fiber, the type of fiber that helps to remove cholesterol from your body.
Did you know? Creamy or chunky? If you add oatmeal to cold water and then heat them together, the oatmeal comes out creamy. If you boil the water before adding the oatmeal, it comes out chunky.

 

Now make yourself a healthy breakfast!

(Honestly, while we were typing that last sentence, the commercial for a popular chocolate-nut spread came on the television, and we are still amazed that people think that is an appropriate breakfast for children – or anyone. Please. Do better. Start with this oatmeal.)

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Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal

from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great, by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb

Blue * Serves 4

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 Tablespoons agave nectar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients with 4 cups of water in a saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the oatmeal is creamy.

 

How about some yeah-yeah-yeah's

We're one-third through November today, and we've already looked at several NOs. So today we'll take a break with some yeah-yeah-yeah's.

What will you say YES to today?

Good dental hygiene? Brush and floss.

Hydration? Drink your water.

Leafy greens? Add spinach or kale to one meal.

Connections? Call a friend.

Vegetarian meals? Eat more plants.

Better muscle tone? Lift some weights.

 

Say yes to moving your body. Get up and dance!

//www.marilu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/10 Alright With Me.mp3

 

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Amazon.com Widgets

 

Taming the clutter monster

Pretend you're going to move to the other side of town. Go through your living space and throw out everything that is not worth bringing with you – or not worth packing, even. It makes us feel secure to carry a lot of the old with us until we set up in the new, but there's nothing like packing and moving into a new space to remind you of what's important in your life.

We tend to keep certain sentimental artifacts because we're afraid we'll forget the memories attached to them without being able to hold onto or see something tangible. Eventually, however, these items take up space and become clutter.

In keeping with today's theme of clutter control ("Say NO to Clutter!"), try this tip * Photograph everything you shouldn't keep but don't want to forget. This works especially well for your kids' three-dimensional projects (science fair, dioramas, models of anything, etc.) from school or Scouts or camp. It's so much easier to store a photo album.

Think of your clutter like an old ex-boyfriend – a photo or two is all you really need.