All that expensive exercise equipment only helps you tone muscle and lose weight if you use it… for something other than a coat rack.

Why not try some budget-friendly options instead? You can find instructions for most of this equipment on the web or in fitness DVDs (check your library, Netflix, or trade with friends for budget-friendly options).

• Jump rope * It’s inexpensive, and it doesn’t take up much space either. If you have the ceiling height, you can use it indoors. Start with basic playground jumping, and work up to boxer jumping.
• Stability and resistance balls * They come in various sizes, so get the one(s) that fit your workout. Use them for coordination and balance, building core strength. There’s nothing like pushups with your feet on a ball, or crunches while sitting on a ball to make you realize there’s more toning to be done. (Stability balls also make great chairs.)
• Resistance tubes and bands * Inexpensive and portable, Marilu uses these for keeping up her fitness routine while traveling. Use them to build strength and flexibility, especially in your arms, legs, and glutes.
• Handheld free weights * They’re basic, but they still work to strengthen muscles and bones. Be sure you get instruction on proper technique. They’re available everywhere, and often on sale.
• Kettlebells * These cast iron balls with handles were originally used for training military and Olympic athletes. Be sure you get instruction on proper technique. You can get a full-body workout – cardio, flexibility, strength training, and core stabilization – from a kettlebell workout.

Hey – you haven’t missed it yet! Class starts today, and you can still sign up and be part of the fun.

• Get your finances in order with Coach CindyR. Whether you need some basic budgeting guidelines or are looking for serious help figuring out your debt, this class can help you. (Really, Cindy is amazing.)
• Get your body fit & fabulous with help from the Get Moving crowd! This group of members is full of encouragement to help you set and meet your fitness goals.
• Share your budget-friendly recipes for tasty meals and even healthy homemade cleaning products and spa-at-home treatments.

Don’t let the day go by… sign up now and get to class!
(Note – posting in the daily thread each day of class gets you a chance at a free Vitamix!)

Get your financial life in order starting Monday, April 11th.

Spend ten weekdays with Coach CindyR, our finance and budget expert. Cindy has helped hundreds of people make sense of their finances – if you need help, this class is a great place to start.

Get tips for fiscal well-being in this class. Save your money so you can invest in your health – perhaps attending Kripalu with Marilu in July, or gifting a friend a membership here at Marilu.com (so you can take classes together), or buying your own Vitamix, or taking a vegan cooking class, or attending Dr. Furhman’s Health Getaway with Marilu, or… well, we could list a lot of other ways to invest in your health. Take the class and you’ll get the skills to allow you to make the choice!

Members are automatically enrolled in class – check your inbox on April 11th for the class email.

Not a member? Sign up now and you’ll have access to the members area and classes right away!

Pssst! You can still win a Vitamix if you get your friends to enroll! Details here.

Join Marilu.com and get Fiscally Fit and Fabulous in April!

Get your financial life in order starting Monday, April 11th.

Spend ten weekdays with Coach CindyR, our finance and budget expert. Cindy has helped hundreds of people make sense of their finances – if you need help, this class is a great place to start.

Get tips for fiscal well-being in this class. Save your money so you can invest in your health – perhaps attending Kripalu with Marilu in July, or gifting a friend a membership here at Marilu.com (so you can take classes together), or buying your own Vitamix, or taking a vegan cooking class, or attending Dr. Furhman’s Health Getaway with Marilu, or… well, we could list a lot of other ways to invest in your health. Take the class and you’ll get the skills to allow you to make the choice!

This class will have three levels – you can see them all, and participate where you fit best.

• The first level is for people who want basic financial information and advice.
• The second level is for people who are interested in budgeting and being a little more aggressive with their money management.
• The third level is for people who are interested in getting their finances under control, paying down debt, and making a detailed plan.

Coach CindyR can assist you at the level you choose.

Become fiscally fit and fabulous!

Members are automatically enrolled in class – check your inbox on April 11th for the class email.
Not a member? Sign up now and you’ll have access to the members area and classes right away!

Here are a couple of body scrubs you can make yourself (yay!). Treat yourself and your wallet to a spa-quality body scrub.

Peppermint scrub * Mix one cup coarse sea salt with 3/4 cup peppermint tea, forming a paste. Use in the shower to exfoliate and create glowing skin. Works best if you get in the shower and rub the paste all over before turning on the water.

Oatmeal scrub * Mix 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1-1/2 Tablespoons wheat germ, 2 Tablespoons honey, and 1/2 teaspoon orange or almond extract in a bowl. Add just enough water to make a paste. Scrub your face and body with this mixture to wash off dead skin cells and make your skin feel very soft.

Your favorite gel is now a scrub * Mix equal parts coarse sea salt and your favorite bath/shower gel. Get in the shower and get wet, then turn off the shower and rub the mixture all over, giving rough areas extra attention. Turn the water back on and scrub it all off.

Body silkening cucumber scrub * Cucumbers provide gentle toning and stimulation to the second layer of skin. In a blender, mash three peeled cucumbers. While showering, apply the pulp to a loofa and scrub entire body. Rinse well.

Don’t forget to moisturize when you’re done!

Photo by Pam Roth

Join Marilu.com and get Fiscally Fit and Fabulous in April!

Health is not expensive. Au contraire! Health is cheap, compared to illness.

Get tips for fiscal well-being in this class. Save your money so you can invest in your health – perhaps attending Kripalu with Marilu in July, or gifting a friend a membership here at Marilu.com (so you can take classes together), or buying your own Vitamix, or taking a vegan cooking class, or attending Dr. Furhman’s Health Getaway with Marilu, or… well, we could list a lot of other ways to invest in your health. Take the class and you’ll get the skills to allow you to make the choice!

Stay tuned – more details to come!

Seafood is part of the Total Health Makeover® for those who choose to eat animal protein, and Lent starts next Wednesday – fish is a traditional Lenten food, and it’s often on sale during the next six weeks at your grocery store.

Not all seafood is good for you, though. How do you know what’s good for you, and what’s really not so healthy? (Rule number 1 – Don’t automatically trust the person trying to make the sale…)

Monterey Bay Aquarium keeps this information updated and available for everyone. We love that they’ve dedicated themselves to gathering this information and publishing it.

Download pocket guides here – they’re available by region of the US. There’s even a sushi guide!

Or get a mobile application – iPhone users can download this application, or if you have another phone with internet service, just go to mobile.seafoodwatch.org.

Real oatmeal contains no ingredients; rather, it is an ingredient. As such, it’s a promising lifesaver: oats are easy to grow in almost any non-extreme climate and, minimally processed, they’re profoundly nourishing, inexpensive and ridiculously easy to cook.

~ all quotes from Mark Bittman, How To Make Oatmeal … Wrong

EXACTLY. Oatmeal is easy, cheap, and nutritious. It’s hard to make it wrong – you almost have to do it on purpose. And apparently, that was exactly what McDonald’s set out to do.

…in typical McDonald’s fashion, the company is doing everything it can to turn oatmeal into yet another bad choice. (Not only that, they’ve made it more expensive than a double-cheeseburger: $2.38 per serving in New York.) “Cream” (which contains seven ingredients, two of them actual dairy) is automatically added; brown sugar is ostensibly optional, but it’s also added routinely unless a customer specifically requests otherwise. There are also diced apples, dried cranberries and raisins, the least processed of the ingredients (even the oatmeal contains seven ingredients, including “natural flavor”).

Seriously? How can oatmeal contain seven ingredients – before you add the “cream,” sweetener, and dried fruit? Oatmeal is… oats. And water. And maybe (because it’s totally optional) a pinch of salt. What “natural flavor” needs to be added to oatmeal? Doesn’t it taste like oats already? (We couldn’t even hold back the laugh when we typed that.)

Others will argue that the McDonald’s version is more “convenient.” This is nonsense; in the time it takes to go into a McDonald’s, stand in line, order, wait, pay and leave, you could make oatmeal for four while taking your vitamins, brushing your teeth and half-unloading the dishwasher. (If you’re too busy to eat it before you leave the house, you could throw it in a container and microwave it at work….

If you don’t want to bother with the stove at all, you could put some rolled oats (instant not necessary) in a glass or bowl, along with a teeny pinch of salt, sugar or maple syrup or honey, maybe some dried fruit. Add milk and let stand for a minute (or 10). Eat. Eat while you’re walking around getting dressed. And then talk to me about convenience.

Thank you, Mark Bittman. There’s nothing inconvenient about making your own oatmeal. If you like to cook over a stove, you can even make a big pot on a day you have the extra 10 minutes, and keep it in the fridge all week. Scoop out a serving, add some liquid (we like soy milk for this, but water or any plant milk, or even apple juice works), and warm it quickly on the stove. You know, while you half-unload that dishwasher (we’re glad he said that, because that’s exactly how we use our time).

We love this article. Please go read the whole thing.

Read a section of the newspaper you don’t usually read. If you never look at the sports section or the financial section, give it a shot. You might learn something useful.

If you read the news online, check out a different news source. Look at a different newspaper online (Wall Street Journal or New York Times or London Financial Times), or check out a different news agency (CNN or MSNBC or NPR or BBC).

Online blogs can also be a great source of news, as long as you remember that most blogs are opinion pieces, and not intended to be hard news.

Did you know that plain water is just as effective at removing germs and pesticides from your produce as those special sprays and washes?

Yes, plain water.

To get ride of bacteria and viruses, use a solution of one part vinegar to three parts water, and scrub or soak the produce, as appropriate. Then rinse under running water for about 30 seconds. That’s it.

Use the cheap distilled white vinegar for this – very budget-friendly!