The day after Christmas is traditionally known as Boxing Day. You might think that gift-giving is over, but this is the day we give gifts (boxes!) to those in need and to those in service professions.
If you’ve had exceptional service from someone this year – perhaps your hair stylist, letter carrier, or the staff where your parents or grandparents live – then consider giving them some special recognition. A letter thanking them for some specific act is always appreciated – especially if you send a copy to the supervisor, too.
If you’re behind on helping those in need this year, do something today – anything at all. Write one check to the organization of your choice. Buy a bag of groceries for the local food shelf. Pick up some warm blankets or socks while you’re getting holiday bargains, and drop them off at a shelter.
What activity have you been looking forward to trying? Do it now.
Over the holidays, try an activity you don’t normally have time for. Maybe something for the whole family, maybe something that takes a bit of a time commitment. New activities may require time for lessons – and they’re worth it. Try downhill skiing, ice skating, rock climbing, martial arts, kayaking, or paintball. What else can you think of?
Bread pudding is the perfect comfort food – it’s soft and sweet and warm. It smells like home. This particular recipe has the addition of bananas for sweetness and flavor. We love it for a special breakfast food – perhaps for Christmas morning? (Really, how different is bread pudding from French toast? Not all that different when you break it down. So go ahead – enjoy it for the holiday.)
This recipe can be prepared for vegans. Be sure to get vegan bread.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Banana Bread Pudding
Adapted from Totally Dairy Free Cooking, by Louis Lanza
1 liter vanilla soy milk
3/4 cup Sucanat®
3 eggs or equivalent egg replacer, beaten well
4 ripe bananas, mashed really well
1/2 cup raisins
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
a 1-1/2 pound loaf of whole-wheat or spelt cinnamon-raisin bread
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 9×13 pan. Cube the bread in 1″ cubes and place in a mixing bowl.
In a saucepan, heat the soymilk over medium heat, but do not boil. Add the Sucanat® and beaten eggs, and stir. Add the bananas, raisins and cinnamon, and stir. Remove from heat.
Pour the soymilk mixture over the bread, and toss gently to combine. Turn the mixture into the 9×13 pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Tip – If you can’t find cinnamon-raisin bread, increase the raisins to 1 cup and the cinnamon to 1-1/2 teaspoons. A half recipe is easily baked in a small casserole dish or a loaf pan.
Would it be finally feeling good about your body and your life?
Would it be doing something really exciting and different?
Would it be creating the life you’ve always wanted?
Marilu is offering an exciting, all-new online class starting Monday, January 3rd right here at Marilu.com. This class will give you the foundation for an excellent and memorable year! You’ll learn to eat right for your health (and you’ll even lose weight with our 30-day menu plan). You’ll get new ideas and support for your exercise program. You’ll find ways to get your inner beauty to shine on the outside. You’ll get your priorities in order for the year – so you’re guaranteed to have the most memorable year ever.
7 in ’11… Make 2011 your most memorable year!
Marilu has selected seven key topics to help you structure each day and create an amazing and memorable year. These topics will stretch you and challenge you to become your very best. You won’t be alone – your coach will guide you through each day, and help you with questions and concerns. This is a great way to start your new year (and address all those resolutions you may or may not make).
Members are automatically enrolled in each class. Just check your inbox on Monday, January 3. Not a member? It’s easy to join. Just sign up here, and for less than 50cents/day you get personal support and coaching from Marilu and her hand-picked team. Get access to recipes and menus, too.
Sure, everybody wants cash. But it seems like such a cop-out. At the very least, it’s musical bank accounts for a lot of dollars.
Why not give yourself?
Share a special talent. If you’re a baker, offer a certificate for a free dessert in January. If you’re a photographer, offer to take candid photos of the giftee and family. If you’re a scrapbooker, offer to help make a book at your house, with your stuff and expertise (giftee’s photos). If you’re a hairdresser, offer one free cut, or a consultation. If you’re a human resources director, offer to help with a resume and cover letter.
Write a letter. Tell someone why they’re special to you.
Offer your time. Volunteer for an organization that the giftee supports or loves. If you know an animal lover, volunteer to walk dogs at the local shelter. If you know someone who supports disaster relief, volunteer at the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. If your giftee has a soft spot for taking care of people, volunteer at a soup kitchen or food pantry. Remember to have someone take a picture of you volunteering, and send it to the giftee as a follow-up.
Make some coupons. Yeah, we all did this in elementary school, but why did we stop? Sometimes the best gift is the simplest. Make coupons for housework or car maintenance or a home-cooked meal. Offer tech help coupons – loading that digital frame with new pictures or teaching the giftee how to use Facebook or cleaning up their hard drive. Offer a coupon to put away all the holiday decorations.
The worst thing you can do during the holidays is starve yourself all day in preparation for pigging out at dinner or a party. It’s a common practice, but not a healthy one. In fact, it may be the best way to pack on the pounds and store more fat!
Instead, pace yourself and have small meals throughout the day so that your metabolism is regulated and balanced. If you’re famished when you arrive at a party or at the dinner table, the food becomes nothing more than gut-fill, and you pay no attention to what you’re eating and how you’re chewing and digesting. Your brain (always twenty minutes behind your stomach) finds out much too late that you’re stuffed.
Small meals throughout the day mean a healthier holiday.
Cookies are a big part of the Christmas holiday, so why not have some cookies made from good ingredients? If you like molasses cookies, you’ll love Lumberjacks.
The dough keeps well in the fridge if you can’t get them made and baked on the same day. The recipe works just as well with egg replacer, so you can have vegan cookies. And this recipe yields a lot of cookies!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Lumberjacks Yellow * Makes about 7 dozen cookies
1 cup evaporated cane juice crystals, plus 1/2 cup extra for rolling the dough
1 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 cup blackstrap molasses
2 organic cage free eggs or equivalent egg replacer
4 cups unbleached wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl cream together the cane juice crystals and margarine. Add molasses and eggs, blend completely. In another large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.
Have at hand a small bowl of cane juice crystals. Pinch off a ball the size of a walnut. Roll it in the crystals and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Are you tired of being tired?
Do you need support for eating right?
Are you ready to create a great year for yourself?
Marilu is offering an exciting, all-new online class starting Monday, January 3rd. This class will give you the foundation for an excellent and memorable year! You’ll learn to eat right for your health (and you’ll lose weight if you need to). You’ll get support for your exercise program. You’ll find ways to get your inner beauty to shine on the outside.
7 in ’11… Make 2011 your most memorable year!
Marilu has selected seven key topics to help you structure each day and create an amazing and memorable year. These topics will stretch you and challenge you to become your very best. You won’t be alone – your coach will guide you through each day, and help you with questions and concerns. This is a great way to start your new year (and address all those resolutions you may or may not make).
Members are automatically enrolled in each class. Just check your inbox on Monday, January 3. Not a member? It’s easy to join. Just sign up here, and for less than 50cents/day you get personal support and coaching from Marilu and her hand-picked team. Get access to recipes and menus, too.
