Easy Holiday Skincare Tips

‘Tis the time of season where the “to do list” seems to stretch beyond time. It can make your skin pucker and crinkle with wrinkles at the mere thought.

You don’t want your skin to age or breakout because of a few weeks of stress cheer; do you? We don’t either, so we’ve come up with a few suggestions. And since, we don’t want to add to your holiday burdens…um…fun, you can easily incorporate them into your busy schedule.

Stay Hydrated.

Water hydrates cells, reduces fluid retention, and flushes out toxins.  Alcohol dehydrates and is hard on the skin, so flush it. Coconut water is good for this.

Take a Supplement.

Stress depletes levels of nutrients. The B vitamins and magnesium are good for stress; vitamin C is a skin healer, and vitamin D helps with lack of sunshine in winter. A multivitamin will cover all the basics.

Eat More Fresh Vegetables and Fruit.

They will help to balance the effects of holiday foods and drinks that may not be so good for you.

Put Down the Salt Shaker.

Salt draws moisture from the cells and leads to water retention that results in puffiness around the eyes and to drier skin.

Do This Yoga Pose: Legs Up the Wall.

Ten minutes lying on the floor with legs resting up against a wall rejuvenates skin and you. Place a cool cloth or eye mask over eyes while in the pose.

Breathe.

People tend to breathe shallowly when stressed. Breathe deeply and slowly; expand the belly on the inhale and deflate it on the exhale.

Just Say “No.”

Say “no” to some of the sugary treats and to people. Sugar affects collagen production. Stress from doing too much negatively affects skin.

Exfoliate Regularly.

Exfoliation removes dead skin cells, and makes it ready for regeneration of new skin cells.

Moisturize.

Hydrate your skin more than normal. Organic or natural facial mists are great for on-the-go hydrating and is refreshing for the spirit. Moisturizing will keep your skin looking refreshed, reduce appearance of wrinkles, and keep skin from becoming dehydrated.

Laugh.

Laugh, sing, dance, or find things to appreciate in everyday this holiday season.  It will make you glow and when you glow, your skin will show it.

 REMEMBER: The holidays come every year like clockwork; there’s always next year…. HoHoHo!

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Two Loves: Argan Oil and Abe’s Natural Market

Obviously, we are fans of Argan oil and its benefits. It is a star ingredient in several of our products. So, we were happy to see when it got some star treatment on Abe’s Market online magazine: “5×5: 5 Reasons to Love Argan Oil.”  http://bit.ly/W8p8qN.

And we were very proud to have one of our serums chosen to be featured.  Thanks Abe’s!

Head over to Abe’s for all your natural products and pick up some Yum Scrub Organics while you are there. 🙂  http://www.abesmarket.com/.  Also, in coming months check out their online magazine as we contribute to it with skincare articles.

Click to Buy Our Great All-Organic Skincare Line:

Yum Scrub http://bit.ly/1jKksLG

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Yum Friday Recipe: Kombucha Salad Dressing and Kombucha Green Smoothie

We are very happy and exited to share two wonderful recipe from guest blogger, Lis Viehweg, M.A., CNFC.  Lis is a Denver-based Certified Natural Food Chef.  Lis created two fantastic recipes using kombucha:  Passionberry Kombucha and Fresh Raspberry-Tarragon Salad Dressing and Green Kombucha Smoothie.  Can’t wait for you to try them.

Kombucha Salad Dressing by Lis Viehwig

Kombucha is a fermented tea loaded with probiotics enzymes.  It is said to have originated in Russia in late 19^th century.  It comes in different flavors and is sold in most natural foods stores in the refrigerated section.  All the benefits Lis addresses below help the skin by allowing the skin to receive more nutrients.  Also, when toxins are prevented from forming or are reduced, they won’t show up on the skin in the form of  wrinkles, dry skin, blemishes, eczema, keratosis pilaris, etc.

Kombucha:  Fizzy, Fermented, and Fabulous

by:

Lis Viehweg  M.A., CNFC
Certified Natural Foods Chef

Trust me, your stomach can use all the help it can get.  Friendly bacteria, contained in probiotic food sources, are just the guys for this job.  Probiotic enzymes improve immunity (so you don’t get sick) and help your body absorb vitamins and minerals better (so you don’t get sick AND you feel better, to boot).  Win-Win.  The fermentation process enhances the enzyme content of foods and chemically kick-starts digestion. 

Food that remains undigested in your gut can lead to such unappetizing outcomes as cell damage and toxic strain on the liver and kidneys, thus creating a “perfect storm” environment for allergies, inflammation that is a causative agent for diseases such as cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and immunity issues.  So drink your kombucha, children.  Or eat it!  Kombucha is an easy additive to smoothies-  I’ve included my favorite green smoothie recipe.  But one day, I said to myself:  I wonder how kombucha would work as a salad dressing?  Et voila. 

Passionberry Kombucha and Fresh Raspberry-Tarragon Salad Dressing

Ingredients for Dressing:

Kombucha Salad Dressing by Lis Viehwig

½ cup fresh raspberries
2 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
½ cup Passionberry kombucha ( any fruity kombucha will do)
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
½ teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt or Grey Salt
Freshly-ground  Pepper to taste

Method:

Muddle raspberries and tarragon in the bottom of a mixing bowl.  Add kombucha, Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice; whisk to blend.  Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Yield:  1 1/2 cups

_______________________________________________________________

Green Kombucha Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup green kombucha
1 small apple (preferably organic), unpeeled and cut into chunks
1 banana
1 cup of frozen strawberries
A big handful of (organic) greens:  salad greens, baby spinach
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Method:

Throw all of the ingredients into a blender and whirl until smooth.  If you like your smoothies thicker, add more frozen strawberries or ice cubes.
Note:  Chia seeds are a good source of fiber and Omega 3 fatty acids, important for good digestion and a healthy heart, among other things.

Yield:  approximately 2 ½ cups

Besides being a natural foods personal chef in the Denver area, Lis is available for healthy food consultations and specializes in transforming cultural/traditional recipes into healthy ones.  You can contact her: lis@foodie1.com.

Lis Viehweg M.A., CNFC
Certified Natural Foods Chef
Honest Chow.  Real, good food prepared with care and a dash of humor by the curly girl….
lis@foodie1.com

Click to Buy Our Great All-Organic Skincare Line:

YumScrubhttp://bit.ly/1jKksLG

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Spinach, Asparagus, Strawberry Salad with Fig Vinegar

Get your spring vegetable salad on with this skin-loving recipe.  Spring vegetables, baby spinach and asparagus, team up with in-season strawberries and sliced almonds.  How do you spell…yum.  This is a great salad to start off a Sunday brunch.

In our first recipe entry, we talked about the nutrients that are really good for the skin.  Asparagus has many of them.  It’s high in vitamin K, folate (vitamin B9 ), C, A and has wonderful levels of other B’s, copper, and contains skin loving zinc and selenium. The anti-inflammatory benefits of asparagus are helpful for skin inflammations such as acne, eczema, etc. Asparagus is also said to be good for the digestive tract.  The anti-oxidant nutrients from the strawberries with their high amounts of vitamin C and from asparagus help with wrinkles and other skin conditions. Spinach, one of the very beneficial dark leafy vegetables, is also chock-full with many of the same nutrients.  So, this salad, gives you a whammy of body-loving and skin-loving healthy benefits.

Fig-infused vinegar pulls it all together into one lip-smacking salad.

Yum Spinach, Asparagus, Strawberry Salad with Fig Vinegar
Serves 4 -6
This salad is lovely when plated individually.  But you can also layer it in a bowl or on a platter.

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups of shaved (directions follow) asparagus (or asparagus cut on the diagonal in 2 1/2 – 3 inch slices)
5 or so cups of baby spinach
2 ½ cups sliced strawberries
½ cup sliced almonds
juice from ½ lime
fig infused vinegar (optional: well-aged balsamic vinegar)
salt and  freshly ground pepper

Toast Sliced Almonds
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Place almonds on a sided cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. This temperature and time maintains the nutritional content of the almonds.

Tackling the Shaved Asparagus
You can serve the shaved asparagus raw.  But, we like to blanch it and add some lime juice to bring out the color and flavor.

Shaving works better on semi-thick stalks just don’t go for the really thick ones.  Slice or snap off the bottom of the stalk.  Using a vegetable peeler and starting at the cut end, shave pieces of the asparagus in about 3 inch shavings.  Continue shaving all the way to the tips.  We find it easier to draw the peeler towards you as you shave the asparagus.

Boil water.  Have a bowl of ice water and a layer of paper towels or very clean kitchen towel ready.  Place the shaved asparagus in a bowl or saucepan of boiling water for about 45 – 60 seconds, until the asparagus is bright green and soft/crunchy.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus from the hot water and place it in the ice water (laying the asparagus along the inside edge of the bowl makes it easier to remove the shavings once they cool).  Remove asparagus shavings and place them on paper towel or kitchen towel; pat dry.  In a bowl, pour the lime juice, add some salt and pepper; mix.  Add the blanched asparagus; lightly toss.                                      

If you choose to use cut asparagus, steam until tender/crunchy then add lime seasoning.

Plating
Keep in mind the ingredients are divided by the number you want to serve.

In the center of individual plates, place some spinach.  Sprinkle around on the spinach some of the seasoned asparagus.  Next arrange some sliced strawberries on the greens.  Sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

Drizzle fig infused vinegar over each salad.

Serve and wait….wait…wait….receive the accolades.

Suggestions

You can also drizzle well-aged balsamic vinegar over the salad.  Fig infused or other sweet fruit infused vinegars can be used alone as a dressing without making a vinaigrette with oil to soften the tartness.  The more aged a balsamic vinegar is the sweeter it is.  Buy balsamic vinegar that’s been aged 20 years or more.  Yes, the price is indulgent, but well worth it.

Crumble some very good goat cheese over the salad.  We recently tried a handmade and hand packed goat cheese by Belle Chevre.  It was very mild and smooth with just the right bite.

Keep asparagus fresh by placing the stalks upright in a open jar or glass with about an inch of water in the bottom and storing in the refrigerator.
Recipe by: Denise Karson
copyright: Abhijit Chandra, LLC