Your stomach doesn’t have teeth.

~ Marilu Henner, Total Health Makeover

Chewing your food really makes a difference in terms of digestion and assimilation of your food. The obvious effect of chewing is that you have smaller pieces of food going to your stomach. You also get the benefit of saliva, which is filled with enzymes to help break down the food even more, so the nutrients are assimilated more readily.

Try a few of these ideas today –

• Chew each bite at least 25 times. Practice patience.
• Close your eyes and eat a meal. Notice when you’d normally swallow – and when you think you’re ready to swallow when you’re totally focused on eating.
• Have a contest with your fellow eaters (works great with children) – “how many times can you chew the next bite of food?” Compare numbers. Repeat through the meal, trying to better your numbers.

Pay close attention to how quickly you get full and how little you end up eating in one sitting. Notice how you feel for the next few hours, as your meal digests.

Feel the beat – this song is great for keeping your walking pace. You know what that means, right? Time to GET UP and move.

Walking in place can be very effective if you maintain the pace, and switch it up with side steps or grapevines, knee lifts, hamstring curls or kick-backs, front kicks, and side lifts or side kicks. So DO IT!

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Treat yourself to some flowers for your home.

If your garden is already blooming, cut a few stems and bring them inside. If the snow is barely melted where you live, splurge on a grocery store bouquet or a few stems from the florist. Need extra greens? Pick up a bunch of parsley to add to the flowers.

Put the flowers where you’ll see them all the time – on the kitchen counter, in the bathroom, on your dining table. Let them make you happy all day.

Coach Mary Beth shares one of her favorite recipes today. Serve this with steamed veggies and a crisp green salad.

Sweet and Spicy Rice Noodles in Peanut Sauce
Blue ~ serves 2

1 (8 oz) package Bi-Fun rice noodles

1/4 cup peanut butter
3 Tablespoons evaporated cane juice crystals*
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sesame oil (or 2-1/2 Tablespoons regular sesame oil plus one splash of hot sesame oil for extra kick)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon chili flakes

sliced scallions
chopped peanuts
cilantro (optional)

Gently heat all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until flavors are well blended.

Serve over cooked Bi-Fun noodles and top with sliced scallions, chopped peanuts and cilantro.

*If I didn’t have evaporated cane juice crystals I would try this with honey. Rapadura and sucanat take awhile to dissolve I think, so if you try to use that you will have to be pretty careful about letting the crystals dissolve.

Yikes!

I thought you’d like to see a little preview of my injuries on the upcoming finale of ER! Here I am with Scott Grimes, who plays Dr. Archie Morris. The show airs Thursday, April 2 on NBC. Check your local listings for time and channel – and set your dvr!

Photo by D.S.

The beautiful is everywhere.

~ Fernand Léger

This is a great video from Olivia, who is 9. She’s got a good reason to have a new normal. And she does a good job of showing us what “real food” is. Way to go, Olivia!

How about a dance party?

Take a break. Stand up and bounce!

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Social drinkers – while the occasional alcoholic beverage may be okay, you may find these reasons compelling enough to save those drinks for a very special day.

1. You’re not as sharp or as clever while drinking. You only think you are. Really.
2. You will have much less energy the following day. Even with only one or two drinks.
3. You’re likely to overeat while you’re drinking. And the next day, too.
4. You rob your body of valuable sleep. Passing out – whether from too many drinks, or just being overtired from disrupting your normal schedule – is not quality sleep.
5. You may be perceived as needing a social crutch. And you may say something stupid.

Your ability to make good decisions lessens with every drink. Think smart before you start. Make a plan and stick to it. Oh, and never, ever drink and drive.

Even if the rest of the world can’t see it, you’ll know you’re wearing it, and it will give you a special little secret. Just that heightened sense of your own body will make you feel sexier and more powerful.