Stay tuned for information about the next online class at Marilu.com….

Class starts with Countdown on Thursday, April 28.

Photo by Jacinto Correia

Sign up for Booty Camp.

We found this great list of words used on food labels and what they mean. Here’s the beginning of the article to explain it more – we encourage you to click the link and read the whole thing, plus the comments.

These days, grocery shopping involves a lot of reading. Food is rarely content to just be, and instead, must include dozens of labels designating it as CAGE-FREE, HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS, or the dreaded ORGANIC. And even if you know your PASTURED from your HUMANELY-RAISED chickens, odds are you still need a PhD to decode most of the other language.

So, to make navigating your supermarket a tad easier, here are 26 food labels, defined and explained in terms understandable to humans. I have to be honest – 36 hours ago, I couldn’t tell the difference between LOW-FAT, LITE and REDUCED-FAT. Now, I can. And I have this guide to consult when I forget.

~ Cheap, Healthy, Good blog

Put your (garden) gloves on, and get gardening!

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to develop a close, personal relationship with the Earth?

Dig in the dirt, figure out what it needs and provide it, put in some plants or seeds, water when it’s dry, keep it neat, nurture the plants along, and harvest the fruits of your labor.

Everyone can grow something – vegetables, fruits, herbs, grains, legumes, and flowers. Yes, flowers count. They make the world a more beautiful place.

Everyone can plant seeds somewhere – in a field, in a yard, in a pot on the deck or windowsill.

It’s a great hobby for families. Kids can take responsibility for a plant, or they can help with the whole garden. When the peas or cherry tomatoes or strawberries come in, kids love to eat straight from the garden (there is nothing like sun-warmed produce, picked and popped directly into your mouth!).

If you’re leery of gardening, start with a few pots of herbs. If you have questions, ask at your local garden center, ask your neighbors, ask your mom. You already know someone who gardens. If it feels scary or intimidating, remember they’re just plants, and you won’t hurt anyone or anything by trying. If it doesn’t work out exactly as you planned, well then, welcome to the world of farming, and say hello to the financial risk that farmers take every year.

Get familiar with the rhythm of the Earth, the cycle of growth, the balance between wet/dry, cold/hot, early/late. Learn the importance of good topsoil and clean water. Connect with your the lifestyle of your ancestors.

Plant a garden. You’ll grow, too.

Happy Earth Day!

Something fun for breakfast!

This recipe is 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.

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Banana Ginger Pancakes
Green * Serves 4

1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1-1/4 cups vanilla soy milk
3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
vegetable oil cooking spray (or vegetable oil on a paper towel to wipe the pan)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In another bowl, combine the agave nectar, soy milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the liquid to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Add the bananas.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot skillet. The pancake is ready to flip when tiny bubbles appear on the top and burst, and the pancake is lightly browned on the edges. Flip the pancake and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until the underside is lightly browned. Adjust your heat so that the pancakes cook for about 1-2 minutes per side.

Spring just seems so … violent this year. So many storms, so much action, so little time to be outside and enjoy the day.

Well, my umbrella’s tired of the weather wearing me down!

So put on a smile – you should look as good as your outlook; you’ve got a paradise inside – and get moving.

Let your endorphins bring on the sunshine in your day. Create the attitude you want to enjoy and project, and then share it.

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Well, we think so, and we’re in the minority. But there’s some evidence that sugar (including high-fructose corn syrup) is more toxic than most people want to know.

This article from The New York Times Magazine is worth a read. We’re including a rather lengthy teaser, in the hopes that it gets you to read the whole article. What we’ve shared here is the tip of the iceberg – if you read to the end, you’ll find out what the research is showing and why the researchers have stopped consuming sugar.

On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed well over 800,000 times, gaining new viewers at a rate of about 50,000 per month, fairly remarkable numbers for a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.

The viral success of his lecture, though, has little to do with Lustig’s impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a “toxin” or a “poison….”

Lustig’s argument, however, is not about the consumption of empty calories — and biochemists have made the same case previously, though not so publicly. It is that sugar has unique characteristics, specifically in the way the human body metabolizes the fructose in it, that may make it singularly harmful, at least if consumed in sufficient quantities.

The phrase Lustig uses when he describes this concept is “isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means we can eat 100 calories of glucose (from a potato or bread or other starch) or 100 calories of sugar (half glucose and half fructose), and they will be metabolized differently and have a different effect on the body. The calories are the same, but the metabolic consequences are quite different.

The fructose component of sugar and H.F.C.S. is metabolized primarily by the liver, while the glucose from sugar and starches is metabolized by every cell in the body. Consuming sugar (fructose and glucose) means more work for the liver than if you consumed the same number of calories of starch (glucose). And if you take that sugar in liquid form — soda or fruit juices — the fructose and glucose will hit the liver more quickly than if you consume them, say, in an apple (or several apples, to get what researchers would call the equivalent dose of sugar). The speed with which the liver has to do its work will also affect how it metabolizes the fructose and glucose.

In animals, or at least in laboratory rats and mice, it’s clear that if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This apparently induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers.

If what happens in laboratory rodents also happens in humans, and if we are eating enough sugar to make it happen, then we are in trouble.

~ Gary Taubes in The New York Times Magazine, April 17, 2011

Building a successful financial future is similar to building a solid home.

You have to carefully plan it, and then select the best materials to build it. You need a strong foundation, a solid frame, and every board and brick need to be carefully placed. Each aspect, no matter how small, contributes to the overall construction, just as every dollar of a paycheck contributes toward your financial goals.

It’s all about patience and consistency.

Coach CindyR suggests starting by dreaming about what it is you really want. Close your eyes and visualize your financial future and the gifts it will bring you. Write down those dreams. Think about what you can do to make them real – some steps will be big, some will be small; some steps will be in the future, some will be in the present. Do what you can today to make your dreams come true.

Did you know that your body is about 60 percent water by weight?

Some organs have an even higher percentage of water. Your brain? About 70 percent water. Your blood? Over 80 percent water. Your lungs? About 90 percent water.

Without adequate water intake, every system in your body slows down and becomes sluggish. It’s like those commercials for the oil that your car engine needs – when the engine oil gets sticky and gunky, your car breaks down. When your organs don’t get the water they need, they first start to take water from the less vital areas (like your skin, joints, bones, etc.) to supply the brain, heart, and other vital organs. Eventually, your whole body becomes inefficient and eventually breaks down.

How do you know you’re dehydrated?

First sign – thirst. Always drink water when you’re thirsty.

Other signs to look for –

• headache
• fatigue
• confusion
• loss of appetite
• flushed skin
• heat intolerance
• light-headedness
• dry mouth and eyes
• lack of skin elasticity
• stomach pains (can feel like hunger)
• slower metabolism (leads to weight gain)

So drink water. We recommend half your weight in ounces each day, up to a maximum of 100 ounces per day. If you weigh 200 pounds or more, drink 100 ounces of water a day. If you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water a day, etc.

Are you looking for a quick vegan meal that’s a little different from the norm? This is it.

The tacos go together in a about 20 minutes (really), and extra filling can be stored in the fridge for a few days for an even quicker meal later. The flavor is “taco” but there’s no tomato, which makes these tacos unique.

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Veggie Tacos
Blue * Serves 4

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound zucchini, trimmed and diced
3 scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn, thawed under running water and patted dry
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
3/4 cup salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
8 whole-grain tortillas
Lime wedges, optional

Heat oil in skillet, add zucchini and scallions, cook for 5 minutes. Add spices, cook 1 minute. Stir in beans, corn, spinach and salsa, cook 3-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Heat tortillas on a hot griddle or in a hot frying pan (no oil). Keep the tortillas warm by wrapping them in foil and keeping them in the oven.

Spoon 1/3 cup taco mixture into the middle of a tortilla, and fold to eat. Serve with lime wedges.

Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!

~ Anne Frank