Healthy External & Internal Treats

With summer just around the corner, although it sure feels like it already, it’s time to think about getting rid of that extra sluggish fat your body has stored over the winter months.  Personally speaking, I’ve never had issues with that because my body has a good metabolism and because I just happen to like the right foods; that is fruit, vegetables and the like.  Until recently I wasn’t getting enough fruit (actually it was about a year ago) and then I discovered I could eat my fruit in a drink.

I juice regularly and have for the past couple of years and I discovered that although allergic to eating whole fruit, like apples and pears, I can drink them as juice with no allergic repercussions!  So, every week I make my mega dose of fruit juice and a vegetable juice as well.  The fruit juice is usually much the same by way of content, and the vegetable juice always has carrots and tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers, celery and ginger, and will invariably have things added like leek, brocolli, mustard greens and the like.

I got my regular e-mail letter from a site that I subscribe to that is called the “Edible Goddess” and in it was a link to a few organic natural facial and body smoothies as well as a recipe for a power smoothie – to drink, not put on your face!  I wanted to share it with you, although I’ve not tried either of these, I have tried varieties both those applied externally and those applied internally.  You know what “they” (whoever they are) say:  you are what you eat.  Well apparently it also applies to you are what you wear – on your face or body as a soothing and nourishing mask or a scrub.

Enjoy and credit goes to:  http://ediblegoddess.com/

Skin & Body Treats:

EVERYTHING MUST BE EDIBLE AND ORGANIC. No excuses, no exceptions. Otherwise, you miss the entire purpose for edible skincare. If you need convincing, please contact me (ediblegoddess@gmail.com) to find out my upcoming schedule and come to one of my classes in the Bay area.

Nana Mash Whip (face masque)
* 1/2 banana
* 1/2 avocado
* swirl of raw, local honey (I love NoniLand Honey)
* pinch of spirulina
Apply to your gorgeous face, let it nourish your skin for 15 mins or so, and follow the guidelines for applying masques below.

Volcanic Clay Face (or Body) Masque
* equal amounts of zeolite powder with either red, green, or white kaolin clay (I use 1 tsp of each); mix together in a small bowl with 1 tsp flower water, spring water, or infused medicinal tea (vary your choices each time), a pinch of Vitamineral Green, and a couple drops of organic essential oil if desired.
Apply to your beautiful face, let it nourish your skin for 15 mins or so, and follow the guidelines for applying masques below.

Want to really take your beauty regimen up a notch? Here’s some super rawkin additions IF you have them. If not, please know these are additions that you can include when you do have them in your Superfood stocked kitchen:
* angstrom sulfur (bioavailable form of MSM)
* aloe gel (from the plant itself or as an alternative use aloe powder) – NOT the juice or any packaged aloe product (most contain undisclosed parabens!)
* lavender flower powder, burdock rt powder, dandelion powder, nettle rt powder, rose hips powder (I source from Mountain Rose Herbs)

Application Guidelines for Face or Body Masques: Apply them and then RELAX. Use this time to chill out (aka meditate in your own way), soak in a bath or jacuzzi, stretch your body (when was the last time you did that at home?), lay in a room all to yourself and embrace the quiet, receive a foot massage from your lover, say cheesy affirmations out loud (preferably) about how amazing you are, or say out loud the attitudes of wealth (winning the ‘mind’ or ‘money’ game) – those of you who have been to Millionaire Mind know what I’m talking about.

Need an EYE Cream? Melt any amount of raw cacao butter on LOW heat (my preferred method is by a water bath or in a dehydrator) and once melted, mix with organic rose hip seed oil in a ratio of 4:1 (this is an estimate – experiment to see for yourself what texture / softness you prefer). Do not use coconut oil under your eyes due to absorption issues – use cacao butter instead. FYI: under the eyes is the only area you should not use coconut oil; use it everywhere else on your face or body.

Got brown spots (aka liver spots) on your face? Gently rub thin lemon slices onto them, rest the slices on your face, or squeeze lemon into any of your recipes for a lightening boost.

Internal Treats & Energy:

3 Steps to Making a Superfood Smoothie

To make an extraordinary Superfood smoothie, there are a few significant things you can do to bring it to that next level. There are 3 steps that take this creation from a regular ole’ smoothie to one that will knock your yoga socks off!

1) Make a super tonic herbal tea. An outrageous tea can replace about half the water you put into the smoothie or the nut mylk base of a smoothie.

2) Make a smooth, delicious, and balanced multi-nut/seed mylk.

3) Add your Superfoods in any amount that feels intuitively right for YOU. Top Superfoods of Choice are: raw chocolate powder, shilajit, mucuna powder, blue green algae, Vitamineral Green, spirulina, NoniLand noni powder, bee pollen, royal jelly, cordyceps powder, reishi powder, camu camu powder, acerola or amla berry powders, bacopa powder, vitamin E tocotrienols, sacha jergon, lucuma berry powder, fresh aloe, vanilla bean powder. You can source much of these from Ultimate Superfoods (buyer’s club, anyone can order).

Blend in a high-speed blender like the Vita-Mix. No need to strain – the powders will mix in as long as you don’t go overboard with the amounts.

You can sweeten with organic stevia extract powder (the NOW brand) and xylitol to keep the Superfood smoothie low-glycemic, yet as sweet-tasting as you desire.

This past week, I was the speaker for the Novato, CA raw food potluck. I made an infused herbal loose leaf tea ahead of time and demonstrated how to make the nut mylk and smoothie. For each of these recipes, there is no official recipe (everyday brings something different), and the amounts of ingredients you use is determined by you. This approach allows your mind’s creativity to flow and a diversity of nutrition to cascade through your body.

To bring out even more of the flavors, you can add a few pinches of Celtic or Himalayan salt and a drizzle of oil, like raw cacao butter, pumpkin seed oil, or olive oil. This keeps the macro-nutrients (fat, protein, carbs) balanced and helps the smoothie achieve a flavor that is moist. Mmmm ~ mouth-watering, lip-smacking smoothies that you can drink all day long – breakfast through late afternoon… saving your savory meal for dinner.