See Marilu on the CBS show NUMB3RS this Friday, February 5 at 10 PM/9 Central.

Here’s Marilu with Rob Morrow, star of the show.

This is a good time to remember one of our favorite sayings here at Marilu.com – Progress, not Perfection!

You may be stalling out on your New Year inTENtions (or call them goals or resolutions if you want). It’s pretty typical to hit that plateau in action or commitment by the end of January. When you make conscious changes in your life, it takes awhile to make them routine and habitual. When you’ve lived the routine for a long time, it can be difficult to step it up to the next level.

You need strength, conviction, perseverance, yes – all of that! But you also need to practice forgiveness and you need to be gentle with yourself. None of this is punishment for bad habits, it’s liberation from them! And with this liberation comes the power of self-knowledge.

Take pride in what you’ve accomplished so far. Be honest in evaluating where you want to be, and what you need to do to get there. You can achieve your inTENtions with practice. Each day just needs to be a little bit better than the day before. Just a little bit. Progress will get you there.

Our epic Party Hearty Super Bowl class returns! Starting Monday, February 1, take five days with coach SusalMikYUM to get ready for the party you’re throwing or attending on Sunday.

Hey, we know not everyone does the Super Bowl party thing – but everyone does a bit of entertaining, or needs a few good ideas for hors d’oeuvres or snacks… and nearly everyone needs man-friendly food that is not junk. (We love our men, and we want them around in good health!) This class will help you with all of that.

Here’s a little song to get you in the mood for football. Or dancing in the kitchen. Or both. Let’s not make the whole week a spectator sport – get moving!

Also in February, get some real help with some real eating issues. We’re tackling self-sabotage and emotional eating for 10 weekdays, starting Monday, February 8. Stay on track with your 2010 inTENtions with support and direction from coaches Heather H and Kecia.

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.

Work on those abs – all the time!

It doesn’t take hundreds of crunches to get rock-hard abs. By standing up straight (and sitting up straight) and pulling your abs in tight, you’ll give them a workout all day long. And we all know that 16 hours of holding your abs in is a lot more of a workout than 5 minutes of crunches.

The best solution is to do the crunches AND pull your abs in all day. Try it like this: When you sit and stand, imagine there’s a string attached to the top of your head pulling your whole body up. See how your hips automatically tuck under and your tummy sucks in? For comparison, slump down and see how your stomach pooches out. Lovely, eh? You know what to do – sit up straight! Use those abs!

It will take a while to train your body how to sit and stand correctly. But keep it up and soon it will become second nature. You’ll look younger, thinner, and have great abs!

Last week we worked on cleaning up our sock drawer and undie drawer. Today it’s time to tackle another article of clothing – t-shirts.

We all have a bazillion t-shirts. Or we could, if we kept them all. And while they definitely have their place in today’s wardrobes, there can be a few too many if we’re not careful.

Start by putting every t-shirt you own on your bed. They’re going to come from all over – from your dresser and from your closet, from your workout clothes and your work-around-the-house clothes, from your career wardrobe and your nightlife wardrobe. And men have undershirts, too.

When they’re all on your bed, you can see which category they belong in, and how many you need in each group. It’s good to have a couple of nice white stretchy T’s to wear under a suit or with something a little dressier – but do you need seven? It’s good to have a couple of shirts you can paint in, or do yardwork in, but do you need to keep all 25 shirts that are too worn for anything else? It’s good for men to have plenty of undershirts – but do you need to keep the grayed out ratty ones? Probably not. Pare them down.

• Get rid of any t-shirt that’s torn or stained or says something embarrassing on it.
• Give away any t-shirt that’s still in good condition, but is just not needed. Or it’s a bad color. Or you never wear it anyway.

There’s going to be a lot more room in your dresser and closet. Won’t that feel great?

(Hey, if you’re excited about this – do it with your other shirts, too!)

This salad can be served warm with sliced tomatoes and crusty bread as a main dish for vegans or it can work as a side dish, either hot or cold.

And kale is good for you! Eat more kale!

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Barley-Kale Salad
Blue * Serves 4-6

1 small bunch kale (washed and chopped)
1 cup pearl barley (not barley flakes)
1/2 red onion (sliced)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 to 1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Cook barley according to directions.*

While barley is cooking make the dressing. Whisk together mustard, agave and vinegar. Add olive oil in a slow stream whisking until emulsified.

Pour dressing into a large serving bowl. Add onions, then kale.

When barley is cooked, drain any excess water if necessary, and spoon it immediately over the kale being sure to spread it out to cover the kale. Let sit 2 to 3 minutes or until kale is wilted. Toss all ingredients thoroughly. Add parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, and toss again.

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* If you purchase grains in bulk, they’re much cheaper, but they don’t come with directions. Most grains are cooked as follows:
Rinse grain under running water. Place in pot and cover with twice as much water (1 part grain to 2 parts water). Bring to a boil over medium heat. When it boils, stir once or twice, reduce the heat to simmer, and cover (or mostly cover). Cook until the water is gone, usually about 20-30 minutes. Most grains triple in volume, so if you start with 1 cup uncooked, you’ll end up with 3 cups cooked.

Copyright © 2010 Hennergy, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you’ve been gaining weight each year and blaming it all on getting older, well, sorry, but that’s not a very good excuse.

Yes, it’s true that as we age, changes in our hormones make gaining weight easier. In women, they can contribute to decreased muscle mass and energy, and increased belly fat and insulin resistance. But, ummm, those things are all within your control, just like they’ve always been.

The more we eat clean, live clean, and work out, the better our hormone balance will be, and the healthier our metabolisms will remain. Yep. That weight gain is still related to our lifestyle choices.

Keep exercising. Whether you like doing it is not the question here. You need to do it for your health. You know, so you can continue to enjoy your career, travel, kids and grandkids, hobbies, friends… life. Your body needs exercise like it needs air and water.

Eat whole foods, preferably foods that are not loaded with pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals. Whole foods (“the way they grow” as opposed to processed or packaged) help fight disease and balance hormone levels.

Stay vigilant about your health for as long as you live, and you’ll live longer to enjoy it!

Today’s exercise music is targeted to gentler movement – yoga, Pilates, stretching, or maybe even your warm up or cool down.

It’s also a reminder that no matter what you’re doing, it’s okay to gather a support team and help each other out in meeting your inTENtions.

If you’re trying to lose weight, or stay committed to a fitness program, or quit smoking, or quit eating junk food, it’s good to have people to talk to. People who will be honest when you need a kick in the pants, and people who will be there to remind you that everyone hits a plateau or feels lazy or wants to just give up.

We have that at Marilu.com, and you’re invited to be a part of it. You’ll be a valuable part of someone else’s support team – and you’ll get the support you need, too.

And of course, it’s also a reminder to continue to support the relief effort in Haiti. This is a great album for a reasonable price and it all goes to the Hope for Haiti Now charities.

So start the music, do your stretches, and consider who you need – and who needs you.

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Our epic Party Hearty Super Bowl class returns! Starting next Monday, February 1, take five days with coach SusalMikYUM to get ready for the party you’re throwing or attending on Sunday.

What? You’re not doing the party thing for the Super Bowl? No problem – this class is full of ideas for delicious and healthy snacks and meals (including food that will satisfy a “manly” appetite), as well as tips for getting ready for any party.

Whether you love football and are gearing up for Sunday’s game, or just want to learn more about transitioning from the Standard American Diet (SAD) junk foods to really good and good-for-you foods – this is the class for you.

Also in February, get some real help with some real eating issues. We’re tackling self-sabotage and emotional eating for 10 days. Stay on track with your 2010 inTENtions with support and direction from coaches Heather H and Kecia.

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.

These meatless burgers, from coach and cook extraordinaire SusanMikYUM, will satisfy your whole family. The flavors can be as bold as you like – and if your family is divided on that, just split the basic recipe into quarters and add one-quarter of the spicy ingredients to each burger you want to be spicy.

Serve the burgers on toasted whole-grain buns with guacamole and salsa as condiments. A “wet” vegetable side dish, like cucumbers or broccoli slaw, would make a great accompaniment.

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Tex Mex Burgers
Green * Serves 4

1 16-ounce can black beans, drained (reserve liquid)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped pepper (red for mild, jalapenos for a spicier burger)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (use less if you do not like spicy)
2-3 Tablespoons tahini
1 cup bread crumbs (toast or dry out a couple of slices of whole-grain bread, then whiz into crumbs in a food processor)
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro

Mash all ingredients together. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the liquid you saved when draining the beans. Fry 3 minutes on each side. Serve on toasted whole-grain buns with guacamole and salsa as condiments.

Copyright © 2010 Hennergy, Inc. All rights reserved.