My Love Affair with Shea Moisture ( aka my coming out as a full-blown hippie)

I'm going to be frank with you, this post contains frankincense and myrrh and lots of hippie references. I like to keep it as natural a possible. I mean, not too natural, I do wear deodorant and shave my legs - but my deodorant is that aluminum free hippie stuff with tree liken and I use alba natural skin cream instead of shaving cream - it's all about compromise right? Anywho. When it comes to skin care I prefer to keep it simple. I make my own body scrubs from kosher salt and olive oil, face scrubs from raw sugar and grapeseed oil and moisturize my skin with olive, grapeseed or coconut oil infused with herbs and dried flowers or raw shea butter. See...I told you I was a hippie.

I've seen the Shea Moisture line of products on the shelves of Target for the longest time (hippies can shop at Target, right?) but felt no desire to try it since I have my own concoction of herbs and oils to fall back on. But on the urging of a good and long-time friend I tried it out. After all, it's a certified cruelty free brand and the list of things NOT in the product was longer than the list of ingredients that actually are in it.

This first thing I tried was the Shea Moisture Raw She Chamomile & Argon Oil Baby Head to Toe Ointment with Frankincense and Myrrh. Ok, let's all take a moment to acknowledge that the folks at Shea Moisture need to come up with some shorter names for their products! Long names aside, this stuff is crazy amazing. I've never actually used it on my little one, it's a little too thick for me to imagine putting it on an actual baby, but I use it on myself daily. It's great on freshly shaven legs and, just like the long name says, it literally works from your head to your toes. I see why baby Jesus was given Frankincense and Myrrh on the day of his birth - it smells like heaven!

Next I moved on to the bath salts. Wait, no...not those kind of bath salts (eating faces isn't very vegan friendly). Since I fancy myself to be a ballerina now (long story, if you follow me on facebook it makes more sense) the Lavender & Wild Orchid Joint and Muscle Relief Soak seemed like a good place to start. I'm used to the pure scent of lavender so the wild orchid element kind of threw me off a bit. But the way that my sore, tired muscles felt after 15 minutes of soaking in bath infused with these salts said it all. My whole body just felt calm and at rest. I actually got out of the bathtub, did 30 minutes of restorative yoga and then went laid down to one of the best nights of rest I've had in a long time. I should add that I used the Lavender & Wild Orchid Body Oil after the bath to moisturize with and it is, of course, fantastic as well. I've used regular epsom salt for years and never had such instant relief of my joint and muscle pain. I had the exact same experience when I tried the Lemongrass and Ginger Dead Sea Salt Soak except that this stuff smells so damn delicious that I got out the tub, went downstairs, and made myself a quick red coconut curry with lots of lemongrass and ginger for dinner instead of doing yoga and drifting off to bed.

Literally every product I tried from the Shea Moisture line has been phenomenal. I still love making my own beauty products and will continue to do so but these are a sweet indulgence and a special treat. Plus, they are priced reasonably and easy to find at most major retailers. I highly recommend you give them a try as well.

World Famous Green Lemonade

I might be stretching the truth a little by claiming that the mother of all green juices is world famous. I can not confirm if they are hip to the green juice craze Zimbabwe or the Amazon but I'm pretty sure, no matter where in the world you live if you tasted this you would agree that if it isn't world famous it sure as heck should be. The first time I had green lemonade was at my local Whole Foods. There is constantly a line at the juice counter and everyone seemed to be ordering the same thing...green lemonade. One day I caught the juice bar at an off hour when no one was around so I decided it was the perfect time to try this green lemonade everyone was raving about. From the first sip I was hooked! My daughter immediately reached over and grabbed my cup to find out what all the fuss was about. Until that day had never tasted juice but I figured there was no better place to start than with green juice so I let her take a sip. She, was instantly hooked as well! 

I went home and combed the interweb looking for the recipe but no one seemed to really have one. Perhaps if you publish a recipe the Whole Foods giants will find you and throw you in juice jail, who knows, but I'm taking the risk! One of my friends who is on a journey to health and wellness has the same love of this sweet green drink and set out on a mission to make her own version at home. After many unsuccessful attempts she finally cracked the code and here is her recipe. Cheers to green lemonade everyone!

6 large leaves of kale

4 stalks of celery

1 cucumber

2-3 apples

1-2 peeled lemons

Juice all ingredients and serve cold.

Photo courtesy of For the love of Food

Superfood Smoothie Recipes

So you've read the review of Superfood Smoothies but you just aren't sure you're going to love it? Try these  two sweet yet healthy treats and you'll be diving, mouth first, into this book!

Mint Chip

Tucked beneath a very convincing ice cream-like flavor, a wealth of beneficial spinach awaits you in

this smoothie. It’s so good it almost makes a person wonder why spinach isn’t used in all minty treats.

I love how the cacao nibs provide a bit of dark-chocolate crunch without being overpowering.

Makes 2 18 -ounce servings

2 cups frozen spinach

2 cups frozen bananas

1⁄4 cup raw cashews

3 tablespoons cacao nibs

2 tablespoons (packed) fresh mint leaves, minced

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups rice milk (original variety)

1⁄2 cup coconut water

sweetener, to taste (optional)

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Taste, and sweeten

as desired.

Superfood Boost:

Add 1/4 teaspoon chlorella (or to taste).

Maqui Banana

Experience the profound beauty of delicious simplicity.

Makes 2 14 -ounce servings

3 frozen bananas

2 ¼ cup coconut milk (boxedvariety)

1 tablespoon maqui berry powder

sweetener, to taste (optional)

Blend together all the ingredients until smooth. Taste, and sweeten

if desired.

Superfood Boost:

Add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.

Cookbook Review and Giveaway: Superfood Smoothies by Julie Morris

I have a strong aversion to the word “Superfood”. As a dietitian, I think of all fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains as super food. They are all rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemical/phytonutrients, fiber, and the right balance of all the essential components your body needs. But it seems the term “superfood” has become a part of the American vocabulary and although I loathe to term I must learn to accept it. I got the book Superfood Smoothies: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-dense Recipes just as I was diving deep into my exploration back into smoothies. As I read through the introduction I was impressed at the real world, practical advice the author, Julie Morris, gives readers as well as her thorough explanation of every ingredient in the book. Many of the superfoods she names in the book like Maca and Camu I heard of before in passing but wasn’t very familiar with. Morris not only explains the health benefits of all the superfoods in her book but their flavor profile so you can get an idea of what you’re getting into with these exotic named foods. She also gives a suggested serving size which is helpful in buying the superfoods.

When it comes to buying these superfoods I also wish that Morris could do that for me too. All these little powders, berries and seeds are expensive! This is definitely not a book for a college student on a tight budget. It took me over a week to find most of the specialty ingredients at semi-decent prices. On my first search for Acai powder the results came back with a $40 bag of it at Whole Foods with the next cheapest option being a $31 bag on amazon.com and that is just for an 8 ounce bag. Eventually I was able to find a smaller bag but it was still nearly $16 for 4 ounces. Many of the superfoods called for in this book like Camu berry, hemp seeds, chia seeds, dried mulberries, maqui berry powder, and lucuma powder were similarly expensive. Surprisingly, goji berries were one of my cheapest finds at just $5. Stocking my superfood pantry cost me, literally, $100 which isn’t counting the flax seeds, cacao nibs, maca powder and hemp seeds that I already had in my pantry and didn’t need to buy.

Once I spent my life savings on the promise of a healthier me it was time to start the smoothie making! As a quick tip for those who make smoothies for breakfast, try getting together as many of the ingredients as possible the night before, prep what you can and put all the frozen items together (pre-measured) in a bowl in your freezer, all the refrigerated stuff together and all the dry items together so that in the morning all you have to do is throw everything in the blender and go.  Literally every single recipe in this book looks divine so it was hard trying to decide on which one’s I would try first. The strawberry chamomile and strawberry kombucha immediately stood out to me but I wanted to wait until strawberries are in season to try them so I’ll have to pass on them for now. First I tried the Raspberry Pineapple smoothie (page 145). It sounds benign but it’s filled with bok choy, coconut milk and maqui powder making it a lovely green smoothie without actually being green. I like brown rice protein and flax oil in all my smoothies as a way to sneak in my omega 3’s, make smoothies more filling and get a protein boost in the morning so for every recipe I tried I added 1-2 tablespoons of brown rice protein and 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil as well. The raspberry pineapple smoothie was downright dreamy. You couldn’t taste the bok choy at all and I plan on experimenting by adding more to the smoothie next time. Next up came the Mango Ginger smoothie (page 172) in addition to the obvious mango and ginger there are goji berries, dried white mulberries (which I doubled up), and Camu powder and chia seeds. That’s a lot of super foods in one smoothie. This, by far, was my favorite smoothie of the book. The only thing it was missing to make it complete was a little greens so I might try it with a handful of spinach one day. Even without greens it is quite literally the perfect smoothie. Next up was the Red Velvet Cake (page 143) which features roasted beets! I’m not a beets fan but to make myself a beets fan I planted a ton in my garden for spring but I couldn’t wait to try this recipe out so I bought a couple fresh beets from the farmers market and tried this recipe out. This smoothie is so rich, sweet and creamy that I might have it instead of birthday cake for my next birthday. The list goes on and on of amazing recipes from cookie dough (which really taste like cookie dough), to Pineapple Papaya to Apple with Broccoli. Morris hits it out of the park with this book.

Wait, you didn’t think I was going to tell you about all these fantastic recipes and then not give you the opportunity to try them for yourself did you? First, check out Morris’ recipe for Maqui Banana and Mint Chip smoothies here! Then enter to win a free copy of Superfood Smoothies for yourself by entering below! The winner will be announced next Monday, May 6^th!

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juice Fasting

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juice Fasting lives up to it's name. The book holds your hand through the juicing process, starting you out with sweet fruit juice combinations and then taking you to the major league of juicing with savory combinations that include everything from tomatoes to wheatgrass - it really doesn't get more major league than wheatgrass. Here are three recipes from the book that take you on the journey from sweet to savory.

Tropical Paradise Juice 

This scrumptious juice will transport you to a stress-free tropical paradise. This juice explodes with bright, sunny flavors, leaving you in total bliss.

Yield: 4 cups Serving size: about 4 cups Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe papaya, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 (1-in.) piece peeled fresh ginger

1 medium kiwi, peeled

1.2 cup fresh young coconut water

Directions

1. In a juicer, alternate pressing papaya slices, pineapple slices, ginger, and kiwi.

2. Gently stir coconut water into juice.
3. Serve immediately.

Hollywood Celebrity Juice Blend

This brilliantly colored pink juice blend is famous for its tasty pineapple flavor that perfectly complements earthy beets and bright spearmint.

Yield: 4 cups Prep time: 15 minutes Serving size: about 4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 medium-small red beet, sliced

2 large Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced

1/2 large pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced

3 medium sprigs spearmint

Directions:

1. In a juicer, alternate pressing red beet slices, Granny Smith apple slices, pineapple slices, and spearmint.

2. Stir and serve immediately.

Muscle-Builder Juice Blend

This savory, power-building juice is bursting with flavor. A medley of some of the most nutritious and tasty flavors out there, we recommend you drink it before or after a workout and during your juice fast.

Yield: about 4 cups Prep time: 15 minutes Serving size: 4 cups

Ingredients:

5 medium-small ripe tomatoes, sliced

3 medium celery stalks

3 medium carrots

1 medium lemon, outer rind removed, white pith intact, and sectioned

1 small lime, outer rind removed, white pith intact, and sectioned

Large handful small blueberries

1 TB. cold-pressed flaxseed oil

1/2 cup filtered water

Directions:

1. In a juicer, alternate pressing tomatoes, celery, carrots, lemon sections, lime sections, and blueberries.

2. Gently stir flaxseed oil and filtered water into juice.

3. Serve immediately.