Yum Friday Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato and Cilantro Hummus

Yum Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato & Cilantro Hummus

This hummus was inspired by one served at a friend’s barbeque on Memorial Day.  I raved about it so much my friend gave me some to take home with me.  The next morning I made one of my favorite breakfasts with it.  I take a rice cake, spread on some hummus, add a couple slices of avocado, tomato, and onion. Mmmmmm.  And it’s so skin helpful.  My friend served the sweet potato hummus as a dip with some crackers.

Yum Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato & Cilantro Hummus on Rice Cake

I changed out the copper-skinned sweet potatoes she used for golden (pale-skinned) sweet potatoes.  They aren’t as sweet.  Also, they absorb the color of the other ingredients more readily.  So, when the cilantro is added to the hummus it turns a nice green. 

Yum Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato & Cilantro Hummus

What I had most fun with in making this recipe was  serving it.  While looking for something different to serve it in, I remembered the old China tea and dessert set I bought at a garage sale a few months ago.  I haven’t had a chance to put them to much use.  So, I decided to serve the hummus in the teacups with the vegetables and crackers surrounding it on the saucers and dessert plates. 

Yum Recipe: Sweet Potato & Cilantro Hummus

Yum Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato and Cilantro Hummus

1 ½ pound pale sweet potato
½ cup packed fresh cilantro minus coarse stems
1 ½ Tablespoon tahini (sesame oil paste)
1 ½ cloves garlic coarsely chopped
3 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 teaspoon pepper sauce (optional) i.e. Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Olive oil for drizzling.

Wash sweet potatoes.  Pierce with knife or fork.  Bake 350 degrees 45 – 60 min., depending on the size.  Allow them to cool to touch.  Peel off skin of sweet potatoes.  They can also be cut in half and the flesh scooped out.  Place the sweet potatoes in a food processor.  Process sweet potatoes for a few seconds until they start to become mashed.  Stop the food processor.  Add cilantro, tahini, garlic, lime juice, pepper sauce, salt and process again.  Pour olive oil in a stream through the lid opening.  Use enough olive oil to make a creamy hummus.  Continue to process until hummus is smooth and ingredients are well blended.  After moving to serving container, drizzle some olive oil over the hummus and garnish with some cilantro or chopped scallion.  Best served room temperature or chilled.

Serve with vegetables or crackers.  I served them with sesame rice and a cheese rice cracker.

Yum Recipe: Golden Sweet Potato & Cilantro Hummus

Sweet Potatoes Benefits for the Skin
Sweet potatoes are great for the skin because they are loaded with beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A.  Vitamin A is essential to keep skin healthy.  Because of its high anti-inflammatory and an anti-oxidant properties, it also helps the skin to heal, slows wrinkle formation, and helps with acne.  One cup of cooked sweet potato has over 400% of the daily value for vitamin A! 

Sweet potatoes are also high in another skin loving nutrient, vitamin C.  Collagen helps with prevention of wrinkles and helps maintain healthy skin.  It is synthesized by vitamin C.  Scurvy while extreme shows the importance of collagen for the skin–the skin breaks down with sores appearing.

Sweet Potatoes also have other skin friendly nutrients, such as some B’s and copper.

Cilantro Benefits for the Skin
Cilantro is high in phytonutrients that helps with anti-aging and fight free radicals.  Also, cilantro also contains anti-bacterial properties, which is good for fighting skin issues such as acne or eczema.

So, while this hummus is choked full of skin loving nutrients, it’s the taste of it that will have you making it again and again.

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Yum Friday Recipe: Asian Style Anti-Inflammation Soup

I love soup; I could live on it.  They are easy to make; you can be very creative with ingredients; they are healthy and everything is in one bowl to eat.  Let me retrace my steps a bit to “healthy,” and add that most soups are healthy.  Those heavily creamy mixtures that are also cheese laden, not quite so healthy.  You know who you are broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, and one I just saw online, “Cream Cheese Potato Soup.”  Whoa!   My arteries are clogging at the thought while my mouth is watering with a craving.  Not for me, though, the dairy would send my stomach into a tailspin.

Lately, my soup tastes have been going  Asian  with a hunger for ginger, turmeric, and a thinner broth.  And that is where this recipe comes in.  It relies on those ingredients as the base spices.  It is also a very versatile soup, lending itself to easy adaptations.

While there are some really great nutrients in the vegetables in this soup, the stars are the spices and herbs.  It is heavily dosed with anti-inflammatory ingredients, such as ginger, turmeric, garlic, onions, and cilantro.  So, the bottom line is this soup is really good for the skin and because of its anti-inflammatory ingredients it’s great for skin conditions, such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, keratosis pilaris, etc.  Including this soup in your regular diet along with foods high in omega 3, fresh fruit, and fresh dark green vegetables will have your skin glowing.

Ginger has been used in eastern cultures for centuries as “food medicine.”  Turmeric in Ayurvedic medicine is considered a healing food for acne and other skin conditions.  If you can get fresh turmeric, it’s the best.  While dried is good, fresh turmeric has a smoother, less pungent taste then it’s dried form.  Asian markets and larger Whole Foods carry it.  It really makes a difference in the taste.  But, I don’t always have fresh turmeric on hand, so I use the dry form. 

The base of the soup always has either vegetable or chicken stock, onions, ginger, turmeric, cilantro, and garlic.  While I change-up certain vegetables, I always include onions, some type of mushroom and greens (spinach, kale, watercress, etc.).  Really, the soup is delicious with just those three vegetables.  And it great served with lime wedges.  Lime juice adds another level of flavor. 

I love using homemade stock, but hey, time doesn’t always allow for it.  When I use commercial stock, I use a very good quality stock and always organic.  I also find commercial stocks much more condensed in taste, so I dilute them.   Usually, I dilute them about half stock and half water.  Vegetable stock I may dilute a bit more.

This soup is a great one to play with for flavor and ingredients.  I usually serve it with bean thread or rice noodles.  Lately, however, we have eaten it without any starch, or I have really enjoyed serving it with sticky short grain rice.  That’s what I love about it, you can play around with the ingredients.  For examples, if I could eat shrimp I would probably add some at the end of the cooking process.

The other thing I enjoy about making this soup is that the vegetables are rough cut.  They aren’t diced in small pieces, so it really speeds up the time.  The soup can be made in about 30 minutes or less, depending on the vegetables added. 

Yum Asian Style Anti-Inflammation Soup – serves 6

64 oz homemade chicken or vegetable stock – if using commercial stock dilute 32 oz of stock with 32 oz of water
1 large onion cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced – about 4 cups
2 cups sliced mushrooms of any variety (frozen shitake nice to have on hand for this soup)
2  cups rough cut chopped greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, watercress)
½  cup chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 – 3 teaspoons fresh grated turmeric (if using dry turmeric, 2 teaspoons)
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped jalapeno or other hot pepper (optional)
salt/pepper to taste
6 lime wedges
4 – 5 cups prepared rice noodles, or 4 cups cooked rice (optional)

If serving with rice noodles, start the noodles soaking.  If serving with rice, start cooking rice.

In a large pot, add the stock, onions, ginger, turmeric, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat so soup simmers.  Cook about 12 minutes; add the mushrooms and greens, cook about 10 minutes; add cilantro.  Taste for seasonings. You want a nice balance between the ginger and turmeric.  Simmer for additional 5 minutes.  Serve as is or over rice noodles or rice.

Options
other vegetables – If you use other vegetables, make sure to keep a nice balance of the amount of vegetables used so the soup remains brothy.  Also add the vegetables that take longer to cook first, so the softer vegetables, keep their color. 

Some vegetables suggestions: celery, carrots cut on diagonal.  If you use celery or carrots, add them with the onions and cook until tender soft.  Other vegetables, such as snow peas or peas, add in the last 5 minutes to keep their texture and color.

Add a couple tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce.  If you do this, reduce or eliminate the salt.

Add a little shrimp in the last few minutes.

Add some bean sprouts last 5 minutes of cooking

Sometimes I sauté the onion (carrots and celery too if being added) in some extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes then add half the spices (ginger, turmeric, garlic) and sauté for about a minute or so before adding the chicken stock.  Then I add the remaining portion of the spices after the stock begins to simmer.

Happy Eating

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Take the Woe out of Winter’s Dry Skin

Yesterday CNN Health promoted a segment about ways to help dry skin during the winter months.  I hung around to see what  I could learn.  I was disappointed; it was the same old tired information that has been repeated year after year after year, and it is the same information that is on almost every website discussing dry skin.  CNN’s report was basically a fluff piece, something that is not uncommon in television news. 

Their expert (dermatologist) suggested not to take hot showers or baths; keep the showers short; apply moisturizer; give extra attention to joints (elbows and knees).  Common sense tell us the same thing.  It really annoyed me that CNN (ditto to other news outlets that do this) has an almost unlimited amount of resources, and this was the best it could come up with.  While the suggestions are helpful to some extent, they will not give much relief.  I know.  I did them for years.  So, I am going to pick-up where CNN left off and give you some other insights and suggestions to help get your dry skin under control.

Things That Can Worsen Dry Skin
Definitely, winter’s dry air and the dry air heat in homes and offices create the perfect setting to suck the moisture right out of your skin.  At the same time, however, there could be things that contribute to your dry skin that you do not notice during other times of the year because the dryness is not as severe.  During, say the summer months when there is more humidity in the air, your skin may not be as dry.  Therefore, you may not notice factors other than winter that contribute to your dry skin woes.  Even if that is not the case with you, these still may worsen winter’s dry skin: 

• Trigger Foods.
  You may have a sensitivity or allergy to certain foods that reveals itself on your skin.  Wheat, gluten, yeast, corn (including corn by-products), dairy, and sugar are usual suspects.  For example, wheat, yeast, and sugar make my dry skin and seborrhea worse.  An elimination diet is  an easy way to see if certain foods bother you.  With an elimination diet, you eliminate one food for a certain period of time and then reintroduce it.  
• Alcohol.
  Drinking alcoholic beverages increases dry skin because it dehydrates the body.  For women, this is even more so because women have less body water then men ( (52% for the average woman v. 61% for the average man) to begin with.  Also, alcohol stays in women’s body longer then men because women metabolize it slower, which will affect the skin in numerous ways.
• Caffeine.
  Too much caffeine will also worsen dry skin.  Caffeine is a diuretic that increases the excretion of water from the body; thereby increasing dehydration.  Also, too much caffeine can cause nutrients to be excreted from the body.  Since the skin is the last organ to receive nutrients, a lack of or decrease in them will affect it.
• Smoking.
  Really nothing more needs to be said.  Smoking is bad any way you look at it. Period.
• Wool and Lanolin.
  You may be allergic or sensitive to wool.  Of course, you don’t wear wool in the summer, so you would not notice it.  If you are sensitive or allergic to wool, it will make your dry skin worse.  Since lanolin is derived from wool, lanolin in products can make you dry skin worse.
• Glycerin.  
  Humectants, such as glycerin, are believed to draw moisture to the skin.  However, that is not the case for everyone.  Some people (self included) dry skin becomes worse when using glycerin products.  Also, research has shown that in dry climates and when humidity is low (winter – less than 65%)  glycerin draws moisture away from the skin.  Another thing to watch out for is petroleum derived glycerin.  This is a cheaper version of glycerin.  Also, glycerin can be obtained from animals.  Petroleum and animal based glycerine can be harsh for your skin.  If you want to use glycerine, make sure the product states that it is a vegetable form.
• Chemicals and Petroleum-based Ingredients.
  They can irritate the skin, making dry skin itchy and drier.  Often they are added because they are cheap.  Products made with them are marketed to make them alluring to the consumer.  They are often used to emulsify; preserve; give a certain feel or texture, and/or scent skincare products.
• Lotions.
  Lotions can build up on the skin; therefore not giving skin a chance to shed dead skin cells.  If dead skin cells are not removed, your skin will be flakier.
• Sugar/ artificially sweetened carbonated  beverages.  
  Stop or reduce your consumption of these because of the chemicals, such as phosphoric acid, and sugar.  They will irritate already dry skin and too much phosphoric acid found in many sodas (esp. colas) interferes with absorption of some nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin K.  Vitamin K is an important skin nutrient.  
• Cleansing bars.
  What is usually referred to as “soap,” is generally a detergent.  These detergent bars can be too harsh for dry skin.  The same with most commercial shower gels; they are too harsh for dry skin.

Things That Can Help Dry Skin
Dry dead skin cells hang around because there is not enough oils to help them to flake off.  Skin oils keeps skin moisturized as well as help with the removal of dead skin.  The plan then is to find ways to increase skin oils, keep moisture in, and remove dead skin cells.  Try these suggestions and see if they help you combat dry skin:

• Increase omega 3 fatty acid intake.
  One of the symptoms of omega 3 deficiency is dry skin.  And as we have stated several times on this blog, most Americans are deficient in omega 3 while being high in omega 6.  Omega 3 and omega 6 need to be in balance.  Due to the western diet, Americans are out of balance with these essential nutrients.
• Eat fresh vegetables and fruit daily.
  Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, collards, and broccoli (not a leafy vegetable, but is skin loving) have many skin-loving nutrients.
• Eat foods high in vitamin C.
  Research shows that vitamin C helps with wrinkles and dry skin. Vitamin C helps form collagen.
• Drink WATER daily.
  There is nothing like good ‘ol water for keeping skin hydrated.  Juice, soda, coffee, and tea don’t count.
• Use a warm air vaporizer or humidifier.
  Place one in your bedroom and/or home.
• Exfoliate regularly, at least once a week. 
  Because there is not enough oil on the skin, dead skin needs to be manually removed.  I exfoliate every time I shower.  Be careful, do not use harsh detergent exfoliators.
• Water filter for the shower head.
  Chlorine in water is dry skins worst enemy and winter only makes it worse.  So invest in a water filter for the shower head; they start at about $35.00 – $45.00 dollars; you’ll thank me.  They make a huge difference.  And if you want to take a bath, you can run the water through the shower filter (takes awhile, but worth it).  A dechlorination ball also works great for baths.  We’re familiar with Rainshower Dechlorination Crystal Ball.  You use it by placing the ball in the tub as it fills with water.
  
• Moisturize skin at least 2x day.
  But do not use just any old moisturizer, moisturizers are not created equal.  Of course, we prefer plant oils and botanicals to lotions.
• Keep skin covered.
  This help skin to retain as much moisture as possible.
• Exfoliate the bottoms of your feet.
  Nightly before going to bed scrub the soles with a body brush.  Afterwards, massage a plant-based oil into them (extra virgin olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil, etc.) and put on cotton socks.  Your feet will love you for it.  The bonus is that this routine is very relaxing and will help you to sleep.
• Pamper dry hands.
  Apply moisturizer (plant based) and wear a pair of cotton gloves over them to bed.
• Spritz face throughout the day. 
  Use an herbal hydrosol (skin loves rose and lavender) to add moisture to your face during the day.  It’s an especially good way to moisturize skin while wearing make-up.  You can also use plain distilled water in a spritzer.

These are our suggestions to help winter’s dry skin.  If you have a suggestion we missed, we would love to hear it.  Just add your comment below.

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A Valentine Treat for Your Face: A Honey Mask

 What is the favorite fairytale of bees?   Beauty and the Bee.

 What flowers are their favorites?  Bee-gonias and Honeysuckles.

To bee or not to bee– Shakespeare
To do is to bee– Nietzche
To bee is to do– Sartre
Do bee do bee do– Sinatra

Sorry, couldn’t resist.  We are not to blame for the above.  They are courtesy of Honey Tasmania (www.honeytasmania.com/honey-bees/honeybee-jokes)

USDA Image Library – Scot Bauer

Does Your Face Need Some TLC?  

Want you face to feel more like a baby’s skin than a prune?  Maybe you want to control those break-outs; or even out your skin tone; or reduce the seborrhea flakes around the T-zone, or get some glow going on.  Honey is sweetness for the face.  And it doesn’t take a lot of honey for a facial–about a tablespoon or so is enough for the entire face.

What Makes Honey So Yummy for the Face? 

Honey is a humectant so it helps to bind moisture to the skin.  It plumps up those wrinkles so they are less noticeable.  Honey has some nutrients and antioxidants that help skin to repair and heal itself, which is why it is good for pimple prone skin.  Also, the enzymes in honey are beneficial for healing.  There are several B vitamins, C, copper, potassium, and some flavonoids in honey.  It is also said to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.  A honey mask is a gentle exfoliate because it contain natural glycolic acid. 

FYI: The reports I have read on the benefits of honey for acne say that repeated use is required to see any benefits.  Generally, results happen after about a week of daily applications.  Although, a few people reported seeing immediate results in the reduction of break-outs.

Not Just Any Honey Will Do

To get the full nutritional benefits of honey, raw or raw unfiltered honey is the way to go.  It can be purchased at health food grocery stores, from the local farmer’s market, or from local honey producers (Google your area or check craigslist).  Pasteurized honey that is sold in most grocery store chains has little or no nutrients left due to the processing.  Also, large bee-keeping commercial operations are very hard on bees and often the pollination is done on plants that have been sprayed with chemical herbicides.

Skin Test First

There are some people who can eat honey, but when they put it on their skin it causes an allergic reaction.  We would not want you to look like a blowfish for Valentine’s Day.  So, do a skin test with honey on a small area of the face first.

Moisturizing/Rejuvenating Honey Mask

1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/8 teaspoon extra virgin coconut oil (extra virgin olive oil also works)
1/8 teaspoon warm water
damp cloth
facial headband

Clear Skin Honey Mask
1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/8 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon warm water
damp washcloth
facial headband

Directions

Use the facial headband for preventing the hair from getting into the honey.  You may want to apply the mask prior to showering or taking a bath.  This way you can wash out any honey that may remain along the hairline.  Use the damp cloth to wipe any honey that goes where you do not want it to go.  Start with a clean face.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly.  Using clean fingers fingers, apply mask to face and front of neck.  Set a timer for 12 minutes. Recline and relax.  For some TLC for the eyes, put a couple cucumber slices or moistened tea bags over them as you wait for the honey to do its magic.

After 12 minutes, dampen the washcloth with warm water and use it to remove the honey mask from the face and neck.  Follow-up with splashes of very cool water to the face.

For dry or mature skin apply moisturizer.  We of course suggest our wonderful Argan and Allies Hydrating Serum.  For acne prone skin, we recommend applying our popular Argan Acne Serum.

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Yum Friday Recipe: Scrambled Tofu with Vegetables

For a long time I was afraid of tofu. Yeah. I would buy it, and it would sit in the refrigerator until past the expiration date because I didn’t know how to use it.  And most of the recipes that I came across had this elaborate method of draining the liquid from it.  It involved placing the tofu a day ahead in a strainer over a bowl with something heavy on it.  For some reason, finding the heavy object to put on the tofu was a stumbling block for me as well as the day ahead process.  Tofu was a mystery.  Except for adding it to hot and sour soup, I gave up on making recipes with tofu and ate it when out at restaurants.

 

Yum Scrub Organics Recipe: Scrambled Tofu and Vegetables

Then one day I had scrambled tofu at a favorite vegetarian restaurant in Denver, the Watercourse Foods Restaurant.  The light bulb clicked; I could make scrambled tofu.  Bravo!  Other recipes followed including buffalo wing tofu; an adventurous and creative family member even cut the tofu into the shapes of wings.  Some might say he has too much time on his hands.  But, my basic tofu recipe is scrambled with vegetables.

Skin and Other Body Nutrients
Many people know that tofu is an excellent source of protein.  However, it also has some pro-healthy skin nutrients, such as omega 3 fatty acids, selenium, and copper.  Copper helps with the formation of collagen and elastin.  Copper also has anti-oxidant properties along with the manganese found in tofu.  Tofu is also a source of phytoestrogens, which is good for peri-menopause and menopausal women.   Because estrogen in this group begins to wane, the skin becomes thinner and drier.  Phytoestrogens, specifically isoflavones, act like weak estrogen in the body.  Tofu is high in tryptophan and a good source of iron and calcium.

This recipe also uses turmeric for coloring.  However, turmeric has much more to offer than just pretty dressing.  Turmeric is valued in the Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese medical traditions as an anti-inflammatory.  Turmeric is suggested for people who have acne and people with inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease.  It’s also high in the anti-oxidant manganese .

Yum Recipe: Scrambled Tofu with Vegetables
The recipe below is a basic outline.  While tofu is bland just straight from the carton, the great thing about it that it absorbs flavors easily.  So, it will taste like what you add to it. Potatoes, onions, spinach, peppers, and garlic are the vegetables I used for this recipe, but you can add whatever vegetables you want.  I flavored this recipe with poultry seasoning, but you can use others, such as a curry or Italian herbs, ginger, or just the basics of salt, pepper, and garlic.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrambled Tofu with Vegetables – serves 4

 

 

1 container of organic tofu
5 – 6 cups chopped or diced vegetables
(potatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, kale, etc.)
½ teaspoon turmeric (more for deeper color, but this needs to be balanced against how much turmeric flavor you want.)
1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 -3 teaspoons herbs or spices (i.e poultry seasoning, curry, ginger, or Italian seasonings) – The amount depends on strength of spice.  i.e  Curry is very strong, so you would use less.
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper

Remove tofu from container and place in a colander over a bowl.  With clean hands squeeze the tofu, or use a spatula to press excess liquid from the tofu.  Tofu should break into pieces and look similar to scrambled eggs.  Empty the liquid from the bowl and place the “scrambled” tofu in it.  Sprinkle the turmeric over the tofu and mix it in until the tofu is colored uniformly.  Add the 1 Tablespoon olive oil, seasonings, garlic powder, and salt/pepper.  Mix thoroughly and then set aside.

Seasoned Tofu

Sauté the vegetables in the remaining olive oil.  Remember to add the vegetables according to how long they take to cook. For example, potatoes and onion take longer than most other vegetables.   Add spinach and other greens last.  Cook 1 minute then add the tofu.  Sauté the scramble for about 5 to 7 min, stirring occasionally.  Serve and Enjoy.

Light and Love to all.
A Yum Scrub Organics Recipe

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Reference:
The George Mateljan Foundation for The World’s Healthiest Foods, “Tofu.” Online: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=111

 The George Mateljan Foundation for The World’s Healthiest Foods, “Turmeric.”  Online: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78