Sunflower Seed Cookies

I don't know about you, but I've loved cookies for as long as I can remember.

The problem, of course, with loving cookies is that most of them are packed with empty calories and just plain not very healthy for the human body.

Well, today I want to share a very healthy cookie recipe that I learned several years ago from Lydia, a reader of my free cookie newsletter...

Sunflower Seed Cookies

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup tahini
1 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled outs (not instant)
1/4 cup raw (not roasted) sunflower seeds
1/4 cup other nuts and/or seeds, mixed (My friend uses raisins and walnuts and then just sprinkles in some sesame seeds. I put a tablespoon each of sesame seed, pumpkin seed, millet, and pine nut.)

Preheat the oven to 350F and coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside. Place the maple syrup and tahini in a small mixing bowl, and cream them together. Then stir in the oats and sunflower seeds, and mix well.

Drop the dough by 12 rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly with the back of the spoon.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 full minutes. Then carefully loosen them and transfer them to a cooling rack using a metal spatula. Cool the cookies completely before storing them.

Yield: 2 dozen

Thanks to Lydia for sharing the great recipe. Be sure to give it a try!

Chet "Cookie Man" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Spinach Recipes

Since I have a recipe for spinach soup for you today, I also want to include a great one from my friend Victoria, creator of Tooth Soap. Whoa!

Even your kids will eat spinach if you serve...

Spinach for Spinach-Haters

10 ounces frozen spinach
1 clove garlic -- chopped, large clove
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream -- approximately
1 pinch thyme
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup parmesan cheese -- freshly grated, approximate
1/2 to 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Cook spinach as directed and drain for as long as your patience permits (squeezing it with towels to speed drying up) and set aside. Melt butter over moderate heat. Brown garlic in butter, throwing in thyme and pepper (to taste) just before garlic is lightly browned. Immediately throw in spinach and warm it up before adding cream and vinegar. Stir. When mixture starts to thicken up, add cheese and take off burner. The cheese will continue melting. Sprinkle a bit of nutmeg and give it a final stir or two.

Nice, eh?

And if you like that one, how about today's featured soup recipe for...

Popeye's Cream of Spinach Soup

1 bunch fresh spinach
1/4 cup medium onion, minced (about 1/2 medium onion)
1/4 cup celery (chopped, including leaves)
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup medium sherry
1/4 tsp nutmeg
To taste salt, white pepper

Wash spinach carefully, and discard any thick stalks. Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery and saute until onion is translucent (about 3 minutes.)

Stir in flour, add salt and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, stirring well. Heat until it starts to boil, stirring frequently. Add spinach and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Using a food processor with steel blades, or a blender, puree the mixture in batches until it is smooth with dark green flecks. Return to a medium heat, taste and correct seasoning.

Stir in cream, sherry, and nutmeg. Do not allow to boil. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

And if you have a spinach recipe you'd like to share, use the "comments" link below and then start typing.

Chet "I Never Missed a Popeye Cartoon Show As a Kid" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Chili Recipe

The creator of Popeye may well be in his grave, but I bet he'd jump out of it if he could for a bowl of today's healthy chili recipe using beans and veggies.

Bluto's Healthy Beans and Veggie Chili

3 cups dried kidney beans
2 Tbs olive oil (optional)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced well
1 green pepper (or red or yellow), chopped coarsely
1/2 cup diced red unpeeled potatoes
1 can (10 oz) tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
5 cups water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Grated cheese for garnish, if desired

Cover and soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain. Put beans in slow cooker. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil or a small amount of liquid; saute onion and garlic until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes, chili powder, and the cumin.

Continue cooking, stirring frequently for about three minutes; transfer to crockpot.

Add rice and water or broth; cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or until chili is thick and rice and beans are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese if desired. This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

I guarantee this healthy chili recipe will be a hit at your house.

Hey, speaking of healthy chili, if you have a favorite recipe that you'd like to share with others, just use the comment link below and start typing.

Chet "Chili Eating" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Nut Milk Recipes

I recently shared these nut milk recipes with readers of my healthy crockpot recipe newsletter, and the recipes are so good and healthy I'd want to share them with Natural Health Circus readers too. Apologies to those who get to read it twice. :)

This first nut milk recipe comes from EC...

Thanks for the Vita-Mix almond milk recipe. Almond milk is excellent.

You can do the same thing with peanuts and sunflower seeds for peanut or sunflower milk.

If you make peanut milk, try adding banana and honey, which is incredibly d'licious!

Personally, I've never tried peanut milk, but you can be sure that'll happen in the near future. My thought is to add a frozen banana (frozen without skin, of course) to the mix and end up with a banana shake. Whoa!

Now let me share the original almond milk recipe, eh?

This recipe could also be created in a good blender. It was contributed by Kathy J, and here it is...

Chet,

Take raw almonds (must be raw) and soak them in water for 1-12 hours. I put some in a little container, cover with water, and leave them in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, drain the almonds, put them in your Vita-Mix (or blender) with a little fresh water, and blend. By adjusting the amount of water, you can make it as thin or thick as you desire. You can use this "milk" in any recipe that calls for cow milk.

If you use a blender or want the almond milk quite thin, pour through several layers of cheese cloth. You can use the discarded almond pulp in cookies or whatever.

If you've never tried nut milks, I urge you to get off your duff and put an end to that omission because the stuff is simply delicious. And very, very healthy.

Oh, do me a favor. If you have a favorite nut milk recipe, share it with others by clicking on the comment link below. The good karma you'll generate by this act of kindness will be well worth your time and effort.

Chet "Nut Milk" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Sweet Potato Burritos

A lady named Karena sent me this fabulous burrito recipe many years ago, and I predict you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

Once you've had one - you'll want another. The recipe is a little different from most burrito recipes, but I've had many, many requests for it. Serve these with sour cream, chopped green onions, and salsa.

For vegan burritos, omit the cheese and sour cream. These may be made ahead of time, individually frozen, then heated. For an interesting variation, try deep frying these tasty burritos.

3 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 Tbs chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 Tbs soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
12 (10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic in until soft. Stir in beans and mash. Gradually stir in water and heat until warm. Remove from heat and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.

Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style.

Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven and serve.

Sounds good, eh?

If you have a favorite burrito recipe you'd like to share, use the comment link below right now.

Chet "Burrito" Day
Editor, Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Raw Apple Raisin Cookies

Let's start 2007 off properly with a delicious, healthy raw cookie recipe, shall we?

Raw Apple Raisin Cookies

2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 4 hours and rinsed
2 Fuji apples, grated
2 large bananas
1/2 cup dates
1 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs flax oil
1 cup walnuts, soaked 2 hours, chopped.

Process sunflower seeds and bananas through a Champion juicer with no plate (grate) or use a food processor. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spoon dough on a dehydrator tray with a teflex sheet and form into small round cookie. Place cookies close together on the sheets. Dehydrate at 105F degrees for 4 hours, turn cookies over and remove teflex sheet. Continue dehydrating until desired moisture is obtained, approximately 3-5 hours.

Happy New Year!

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

Honeydew Blueberry Soup

How about an extra soup recipe for this issue's Soup Stuff? Thanks to J. Carlson for this one.

Honeydew Blueberry Soup

A cold soup of honeydew and blueberries. Top with whipped topping, if desired.

1 honeydew melon
1 pint blueberries
6 oatmeal cookies

Cut the melon from the rind and into chunks. Puree until smooth in a food processor or blender. Pour into a large bowl and stir blueberries into pureed melon. Chill until quite cold. To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and crumble an oatmeal cookie over each serving.

Sounds great, eh?

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

Easy Food Tips

How about four easy food tips this Friday morning?

Wrap celery in plastic wrap when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks. The less air, the longer the celery lasts.

For a variation, take a head of Romaine lettuce, dry it after rinsing, and then put in a plastic bag. Here comes the cool part. Grab a straw and stick it in the bag and twirl the top of the bag. Suck out all the air, quickly pull out the straw, and then twist the bag tight before sealing with a twisty tie.

You'll be amazed at how long celery and Romaine lettuce will remain fresh using the above technique.

Here's another food tip: brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

And one more... Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

Let's finish with a food tip, shall we? :)

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

Finally, if you have a food tip you'd like to share, click on the comment button below and start typing!

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

Healthy Chicken Soup

I have two more soup facts (and two healthy chicken soup recipes) to share with you this morning.

I bet you'll find the first soup fact pretty fascinating:

The ladies of the French court of Louis XI subsisted mainly on soup because they believed that chewing would cause them to develop facial wrinkles.

The Mayo Clinic Health Letter, in assessing chicken soup's role in relieving cold symptoms said, "Chicken soup is nutritious, tasty, inexpensive and has no known side effects."

I disagree with the Health Letter conclusion that chicken soup has no positive side effects.

Actually, there's plenty of evidence that chicken soup helps with colds and flus in an article on my website, but then, hey, a super expensive medical clinic devoted to the drug, cut, and burn model isn't going to pitch chicken soup, is it?

By the way, the article includes a medical doctor's favorite chicken soup recipe, as well as supermarket soups that effectively slow the progress of colds and flus.

Speaking of chicken soup, here are two chicken soup recipes that are so tasty they'll curl your toes.

Chicken Soup with Avocado

1 small onion, chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves or 2 tsp chopped garlic from jar
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped and seeded or 1 small can chopped jalapeno
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Leftover chicken, cubed (equal to about 1 1/2 cups)
6 cups chicken broth
4 corn tortillas or 1 cup of tortilla chips
2 firm avocados or 1/2 cup prepared guacamole dip
2 Tbs fresh lime juice

Pour a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan. Sauté the onion and fresh garlic and fresh jalapeno for about 3-4 minutes. If using chopped garlic from jar add it about 30 seconds before you add the liquid. Add broth and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

If using corn tortillas, halve tortillas and cut into 1/8 inch strips. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a frying pan. Divide strips into 3 batches and fry until golden. As they cook, remove with tongs and drain on paper towel. If using fresh avocados, pit and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Add chicken to broth, add remaining cilantro, avocado, lime juice and salt to taste. Add canned jalapenos.

Note: If using ready-made guacamole, put a dollop in each soup plate and then ladle the soup over it. Garnish with tortilla strips or tortilla chips. 4 to 6 servings

Carrot Vichyssoise

5 cups chicken broth
6 Tbs butter
2 cups green onion, without tops, sliced
4 Tbs flour
4 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat chicken broth; set aside and keep warm. Melt butter, add onions and saute 5 minutes; stir in flour. Gradually add hot broth and bring to a boil. Add carrots, salt, and pepper; simmer 30 minutes. Puree in blender and stir in sour cream. Serve hot or cold; garnish with sour cream and chives.

This recipe is really easy to make and excellent served hot or cold. Make sure your blender can tolerate hot stuff or use one of those "one prongers" made by Braun or other manufacturers.

That's it for today's pitch for health chicken soups.

Chet "I Don't Pluck 'Em" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Soup Facts

Here are three interesting facts about healthy soup that you may or may not have had floating around in your brain:

There is an old Yiddish saying, "Troubles are easier to take with soup than without."

An old Spanish proverb says: "Of soup and love, the first is best."

The first archaeological evidence of someone stirring up soup for dinner dates back to 6000 BC. The main ingredient of this first-known soup? Hippopotamus Bones!

I want you to know that I searched all over the Internet for a good Hippopotamus Bone Soup but was unable to find anything that looked even remotely tasty or healthy.

For a healthy soup recipe today, however, I'll share something a lot less exotic...

Lemon Soup with Garbanzo Beans

6 cups chicken broth
1 15-16 oz can garbanzo beans -- rinsed and drained
6 garlic cloves -- chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp cumin seeds
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh mint

Combine broth, beans, garlic, turmeric and cumin in large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Whisk eggs and lemon juice until well-blended.

Gradually whisk two cups soup at a time into egg mixture. Return to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until heated through, about five minutes. (Do not boil.) Add cayenne. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with mint.

Oh, one last thing. If you like soup, you'll want to subscribe to my Amazing Soups newsletter. If you click that link right now, I'll even give you a free one-year subscription. Whoa, what a deal!

Chet "Soup Slurping" Day
Editor, Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Sweet Potato Recipes

I love sweet potatoes, I surely do, and in today's blog entry I'm sharing two sweet potato recipes that should do everything to your sweet tooth but extract it.

These are great recipes, and you're going to get repeat requests for them if you serve them at family dinners, believe me.

Stuffed Honeyed Sweet Potatoes

5 sweet potatoes
1/2 cup soft butter
1/4 cup light cream
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs dark rum
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbs walnuts -- chopped

Wash sweet potatoes; drain excess water. Place damp potatoes in slow-cooking pot. Cover and cook on Low 5 to 6 hours or until done. (If desired, potatoes may be refrigerated at this point, then scooped out and filled just before serving. Add about 5 or 10 minutes to baking time if potatoes are cold.)

Cut off the top third of each potato lengthwise and scoop out, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Mash potato pulp with butter, cream, honey, rum, cardamom, and salt. Return mixture to shell. Top with walnuts.

Arrange in shallow baking sheet. Bake in 425 F oven for 15 minutes.

Whoa, that sounds pretty good, eh?

Well, our second healthy sweet potato recipe for the day is just as good, if not better:

Sweet Sweet Potatoes

2 pounds sweet potatoes -- peeled, grated
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter -- melted
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup broken pecans -- toasted
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1/4 tsp vanilla

In a crockpot, combine potatoes, honey, butter, coconut, pecans, and cinnamon. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours. Stir in coconut and vanilla extracts.

If you like healthy, tasty, and easy-to-prepare recipes, you'll want to sign up for at least one of our free recipe newsletters. Over 100,000 subscribers enjoy our healthy recipes every week. You should be one of them!

Chet "Sweet Tater" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

P.S. If you have a sweet potato recipe you'd like to share, use the comment link below to make it part of the Internet for all eternity!

Healthy Soup Recipe

Today I'd like to share a very healthy soup recipe. It has the added benefit of being really easy to prepare. And, yes, of course, it tastes great.

Vegetable Sweet Potato Chowder

3 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup sweet potato, diced
1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 quart water
2 1/2 Tbs soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaf
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup water
1 cup spinach -- chopped

Place the vegetables and stock or water in a large soup pot. Add the soy sauce and other seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Mix the arrowroot with the cold water and add to the soup, stirring. Add the spinach, stir, and cook another 5 minutes.

If you have a healthy soup recipe, you'd like to share, use the comment link below. :)

Oh, one more thing. If you like healthy soups as much as I do, you'll want to click here for a free subscription to my Amazing Soups newsletter. Join more than 10,000 other subscribers and receive a health soup recipe once a week!

Chet "Soup Man" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Salsa Recipe

Break out the corn chips because today I want to share a healthy salsa recipe that'll disappear faster than Beep Beep's Roadrunner on steroids! Thanks for Priss Lindsey for sharing this tasty and healthy concoction.

New Mexico Ceremonial Salsa

Chet, after 40 years of perfecting salsa, this is the best!

6-8 tomatillos, husked and cut into large chunks
1 basket cherry tomatoes, washed and stemmed
1 bunch cilantro, washed and cut up
4 cloves chopped garlic or 1 tbs minced garlic
Juice of one lime
2-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
1 giant Spanish onion, peeled and cut into large chunks

Put ingredients in blender and blend throughly. It may help to do the cherry tomatoes and tomatillas first to get a liquid consistency and then add in the other ingredients. Salt to taste. This gets better in the fridge and will keep for 4-7 days. It's great with white corn chips or inside burritos or on tostados or just in a bowl of beans.

Oh man, does that sound good or what?

If you have a healthy salsa recipe you'd like to share, please use the comment link below to do just that.

Happy dipping!

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

Carrot Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Here's my favorite recipe for healthy carrot raisin oatmeal cookies that I learned many years ago from a fellow named Gerald Pedersen. Because this is an extremely healthy oatmeal cookie recipe, sugar addicts and sweet cookie connoiseurs will probably not go as hog wild over these treats as I do.

But, hey, that's tough toenails, right?

Anyway, I love this recipe, and I cook up a batch every month or two.

Gerald's Carrot Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

4 oz prunes
3 Tbs water
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup raisins
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cup oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Pecan halves

Puree prunes with the water in a food processor until smooth. Place in a mixing bowl. Stir in honey, carrots, and raisins. Add remaining ingredients except pecan halves. Mix well. Drop spoonfuls of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Press a pecan half in the center of each cookie. Bake at 275F degrees for 15 minutes or until set and just starting to brown. Remove to cooling racks. Makes three dozen.

If you have a healthy cookie recipe you'd like to share, use the comment link below, please.

And if you want to subscribe to my free cookie recipe newsletter (which features a healthy cookie recipe as well as a traditional cookie recipe each week), click here and join the fun.

Chet "Cookie Man" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Cabbage Salad

Today I'd like to share a healthy cabbage salad recipe that's been a big hit at CasaDay for several years. It's easy to prepare and tastes great.

Indian Cabbage Salad

2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
2 cups shredded carrot
1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts (or substitute favorite raw nuts)
1/4 cup coconut oil (salad oil is an OK substitute)
1 hot green chili chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp honey
Lemon juice and salt to taste

Mix everything except salt and lemon - add them only when ready to eat.

If you have a healthy cabbage recipe you'd like to share, use the comment link below.

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

Easy Vegetable Soup

Fall is in the air here in rural North Carolina, and it's about that time of the year to start seriously thinking about healthy soup recipes.

Well, today I want to share a recipe that everyone will like because it's easy to make and tasty to boot.

Really Easy Vegetable Soup

1 large can V-8 vegetable juice
1 large can Campbell's tomato juice
2 large packages of frozen mixed vegetables
1 large package of frozen green beans
1 small package of frozen lima beans
3 cans small whole potatoes, diced
1 cube beef or chicken bouillon base
1 tsp hot sauce
Seasonings to taste
Water as desired

Place all ingredients in large stock pot and simmer on low heat 3 to 4 hours. Taste occasionally and add water and seasoning as needed.

And, yes, this would work well in your crockpot too.

If you have a healthy soup recipe you'd like to share, please use the comment link below to do just that.

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

Healthy Sandwiches

Today I'd like to share some recipes for healthy sandwiches. Let's start with...

Susan's Peanut Butter and Tomato Delight

Chet, my Dad taught us to love tomatoes and peanut butter sandwiches when I was a girl and never in my life have I heard of anybody else eating it. I have tried to get people to try it and they do give you that look like you have to be nuts to put tomatoes and peanut butter together, but it really is an odd combination that tastes wonderful.

I tried Susan's suggestion, and she's right. It's a great sandwich.

Speaking of tasty healthy sandwiches, here are a few more...

Laura's Veggie Sandwich

Hey, Chet, I have a favorite veggie sandwich that makes a good lunch:

Mash 1/2-1 avocado (sometimes I squeeze in a little garlic with my garlic press and add a little celtic sea salt) and spread on two slices of bread, preferably whole grain, homemade is best.

Top with sliced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, grated carrot, sliced cucumber, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and whatever other crunchy veggies I can find.

Put sandwich together and cut in half diagonally. Yum... and healthy!

Two Quickies From Barbara

Regarding peanut butter and banana sandwiches, my kids had two favorites:

Cut a "v" in a large banana and fill it with peanut butter for a healthy and delicious banana boat.

For another healthy "boat" we would...

Make tuna salad and put it in a leaf of Chinese cabbage, Boc Choy, or even a rolled Romaine lettuce leaf. This is an excellent protein sandwich with fewer carbs.

You can also fill a scooped out tomato with the tuna for a colorful, filling, and healthy lunch option.

If you have recipes for healthy sandwiches you'd like to share, please do so by clicking on the "comment" link below.

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

Weight Gain Tips

Today I'd like to share three helpful tips on how to gain weight that I learned from a bodybuilder friend named Anthony Ellis...

• To gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off, so EAT MORE! The most important thing that I cannot stress too much is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you've never eaten before. (But not junk food like donuts and chips or candy.) In other words, you need a weight gain diet.
  
  
• Start eating six meals per day (space them out to about once every three hours). This is a weight gain diet used by those who know what they're doing.
  
  
• Increase your protein intake and reduce your simple carbohydrate intake. Without protein your body cannot build new muscle.

Anthony has a lot more to reveal about how to gain weight in an excellent article on my website. Click here to read that article right now.

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

Oily Skin Tip

Got oily skin?

Well, let's start this week with a natural skin care tip that'll help you sop up your excess oil.

This is so easy, you're hardly going to believe it...

Rub a crisp lettuce leaf directly on your skin to help combat the greasies. You can also use fresh lettuce juice on your face or pour some into your bath.

Lettuce juice also works well to sooth irritated and sunburned skin.

If you'd prefer to use natural skin care products for oily skin problems, I recommend the L'Bri line. Click here for details.

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

P.S. If you have a natural skin care tip you'd like to share, click on the comments link below and tell us all the details.

Apple Breakfast Bars

Let's finish off this week with a healthy recipe for...

Apple Breakfast Bars

1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups raw apples, shredded

Combine all ingredients. Let stand 10 minutes. Press mixture into 8" x 8" baking dish. Bake at 375F degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Loosen with spatula, and cut into bars while warm. Serve hot for breakfast.

If you have a healthy breakfast bar recipe you'd like to share, just click on the comments link below and start typing.

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