Vegetarian Recipes

Well, the Fourth of July weekend starts cranking up soon, so we're winding down a bit here at Health & Beyond Online for the holiday.

But, before we turn off our computers and head for the beach (just kidding -- I haven't gone to the beach since watching the movie Jaws when it came out a zillion years ago) , we want to point you to our brand new recipe site:

VegetarianRecipes101.com

Yep, we now have 101 healthy, tasty, and easy-to-prepare vegetarian recipes online for you.

So surf on over there and see how many of these healthy dishes fit your tastes.

Oh, yeah, be sure to sign up for our free vegetarian recipe newsletter while you're there.

Have a great July 4th holiday.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Natural Hair Conditioner

Let's start this week off with a great little tip on how you can make and use a natural hair conditioner at home.

There's really nothing much to it.

Simply mix a ripe, mashed banana with a tablespoon of your favorite honey until very creamy.

Then wet your hair with tepid water and use your fingers and massage the banana and honey mixture into your hair and scalp.

This next part might sound a little silly, but it's a necessary step... wrap your head (just the hair part) in a towel and leave that on for 20-30 minutes.

Almost done.

For the final step, rinse your hair thoroughly and then shampoo and condition as usual. Your hair should seem thicker. This technique can be used once or twice a week to attain thicker, lovelier locks.

I learned this natural hair conditioner method from Victoria, the creator of the hugely popular Tooth Soap and Perfect Prescription for Dental Health.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Fat Loss Tips

I guess Thursday is as good a day as any to share some fat loss tips.

I mean, seriously, if you're lugging around extra weight, any day is as good as another for some simple ideas on how to achieve a little fat loss, right?

Well, to start shedding some pounds, start including the following in your health program...

Eat a calorie restrictive diet. In other words, eat no less than ten times and no more than fifteen times your lean bodyweight in calories. Example: if your lean bodyweight is 150 pounds, each day you should eat no less than 1500 calories and no more than 2250 calories.

Exercise for at least 30-45 minutes three or four times per week. Experts disagree about pace. Some say sweat up a storm; others say to be moderate. The important point is to get off your butt and exercise.

Weight training is great. I try to pump a little iron three days a week with a simple set of weights I bought at K-Mart for something like $25.

Add a quality super green food to your diet. Supplementing your diet with such a product will improve your health and help you with fat loss.

Be sure to eat adequate dietary fat, including high amounts of Essential Fatty Acids (Omega-6 and Omega-3). I use Carlson's Cod Liver Oil.

Following these simple tips will definitely help with fat loss.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

How to Gain Weight

I don't get the "how to gain weight" question very often, but when I do, I have a terrific resource to refer people to, a man by the name of Anthony Ellis.

For today's blog, I'd like to share an excerpt from Anthony's article,

How to Bulk Up and Gain Weight

Below you'll find some basic tips you can use to help you bulk up and gain weight:

• First, to gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off, so EAT MORE! It's very simple -- you must eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you've never eaten before. (Staying away, of course, from junk food like donuts and chips or candy).
  
  
• You need to eat six meals a day (have something to eat every three hours). This is a weight gain diet used by body builders who know what they're doing.
  
  
• You should up your protein intake and cut back on simple carbohydrate intake. Your body must have protein to build new muscle.
  
  
• Your exercise routine should be short and intense. Not more than one hour.
  
  
• Focus on free weight exercises because they work the large muscle groups. The best weight training movements for adding weight are the simple ones. For mass, put your free weights to work with squats, bench presses, deadlifts, bar dips, pull ups and barbell rows.

For more weight gaining techniques, click here to read the entire article by Anthony Ellis.

Okay, that's all for this busy Monday morning.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Carob Fudge Treat

I think of myself as a health nut, but I also have limits.

I mean, seriously, if I have to choose between rich dark chocolate fudge and some kind of healthy fudge, I'll take the real thing just about every time.

And the heck with guilt feelings.

With that said, I also appreciate a healthy carob fudge recipe, and today I'd like to share a good one for a carob treat that I got from Janet Cox many years ago.

Wonderful Carob Fudge

2 cups sweetened carob chips
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (smooth)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups crispy rice cereal (opt)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt)
1/2 cup raisins (opt)

Melt carob chips, add peanut butter and flavoring, stir in ceral, nuts, raisins, etc. as you desire. Spread in coated dish until set.

Whoa, sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

Mix up and batch and give it a try this weekend.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com