Coach Heather is talking about the health benefits of being dairy-free today in the No Excuses online class.

Hey! You can still join the class! Sign up here!

Here’s a video that talks about some of the reasons dairy is unhealthy.

For more information, check out Milk – The Deadly Poison by Robert Cohen and Brian Vigorita

Or visit Robert Cohen’s website www.notmilk.com

• Use olive oil to remove your eye makeup – or all your makeup. You don’t need the expensive kind for this.
• Give yourself an egg white facial to help tighten pores. Just smooth the white of one egg on your clean face, and let it dry (about 10 minutes). Then rinse it off and pat dry.
• For a moisturizing mask, mash half an avocado, and smooth that on your clean face. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
• While you’re doing a mask, put slices of cucumber on your eyes to refresh them.
• Olive oil also makes a great deep conditioner for your hair. Wet your hair, work a palmful of olive oil through your hair, then wrap it in a towel. After 10 minutes, hop in the shower and wash out the oil with a gentle shampoo.
• Carry a vitamin E stick (looks like a lip balm, sold in health food stores) in your purse. Use it on your lips, on your cuticles, on rough elbows, on cracked hands.
• Hair conditioner makes great shaving lotion. Get a cheap one just for this.
• For chapped or dry hands, slather on a thick moisturizer before bed, then put on white cotton gloves. You’ll have soft hands in the morning. And of course it works on your feet, too (use cotton socks).
• Drink water every day – half your weight in ounces. It does amazing things for beauty.
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. They don’t call it “beauty sleep” for nothing.

Find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.

~ advice given to musician Jason Mraz by his dad

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have passion driving your discipline and workload. And that’s not just the work of your career, it’s also your daily tasks, your home and family, your relationships, and your health!

True passion is really not work at all.

Analyze what sparks your passion. Is it the vision of a future reward or do you get your greatest satisfaction from the baby steps along the way?

Learn what makes you tick and explore ways to harness that energy, that passion.

It’s alright
There comes a time
Got no patience to search
For peace of mind
Layin’ low
Want to take it slow
No more hiding or
Disguising truths I’ve sold

~ Alice in Chains, No Excuses

Exercise music with a slower beat is good for strength training, when you want to focus on your muscles and how they’re contracting and relaxing.

Get on the floor and try some crunches. Do them to the beat, slow and steady. After you do 20 basic crunches, do 40 to alternating sides (working the obliques). Then lift your feet in the air and raise your hips for 20 reverse crunches.

Don’t use your neck, legs, arms, or shoulders to do the crunches. Focus on contracting your abs. As they contract, the rest of your body will move.

Also? Get to the NO Excuses class, starting today. All members have received the Day 1 class email. If you’re not a member, join today. There’s no excuse – this is the time to search for peace of mind, and to create the life you want for yourself.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Zucchini … a most generous plant in the garden. What to do with All.That.Zucchini.?

Oh, and here’s another way to use up some zucchini.

Zucchini Fritters
Green * Makes about 2 dozen

1 large zucchini, shredded and drained (about 3-4 cups)
1 sweet onion grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 cups matzoh meal
1/2 to 1 cup milk substitute if needed
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl stir zucchini and onion with eggs and stir in matzoh meal until just blended. Add matzoh slowly and moisten with small amounts of milk if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper.

You want the consistency of lumpy oatmeal.

Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat (electric fry pan or cast iron skillet work well – you need even heat in a very hot pan is essential).

Add enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. When oil is hot, gently push Tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry a minute on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

In this size they work well as an hors d’oeuvre. Place drained fritters on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for an hour. Transfer to freezer bags and use as needed straight from the freezer. Reheat at 350F on an ungreased baking sheet or 10-15 minutes.

Alternatively you can make these in a larger size and serve as a light meal alongside sliced tomatoes and/or quinoa salad.

Copyright © 2009 Hennergy, Inc. All rights reserved.

It’s time for a NO EXCUSES class at Marilu.com!

Class starts tomorrow (Monday!). Sign up now, and you won’t miss a single day.

When it comes to your Total Health…

For 10 weekdays, Coach Heather will help you take action in pursuing your Total Health goals. No excuses, no whining. If you know what you need to do, get support and encouragement for doing it. If you need help figuring out where to start, get information and basic action steps to start making a change.

STOP making excuses. START making changes!
Get what you need to become your BEST!

Get Started Now – Join the Members Area today!

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Photo by Chris Martin

Be sure to follow @TheRealMarilu on Twitter.

At a recent make-up class, we heard a metaphor that was worth sharing.

When you apply your eye shadow, be sure to blend. A lot. Use brushes, use cotton swabs, use your finger. Just blend.

You want your eyelids to look like a sunset. Not a parfait.

We love the scents of fall – especially cinnamon, apple, and pumpkin.

They can be dangerous smells, though, if we only smell them because we’ve been baking – all those treats we don’t need in the house! They can also be dangerous smells if they come from air fresheners – those are usually made from chemicals, or put chemicals into the air.

Get some candles in fall scents that you love. We like soy candles because they seem to burn cleaner. Essential oils and essential oil mists, and reed diffusers are other good options.

They’ll add to your decor, and make the house smell like … home.