These Are the Fruits and Vegetables in Season During Spring

Light, fresh, and crisp…just like the air.

8 Foods for Glowing Skin

You’ve read countless tips for glowing skin in magazines and blogs and brochures. You’ve dabbed toothpaste on zits, tried cleansing pads that stung, spent a fortune on wrinkle creams, used miracle oil made from special pearls, exfoliated until you were raw, buffed massaged, and polished your cheeks, and have done embarrassing face exercises, all in the name of a younger, firmer, clearer face. Does it feel like you’re chasing a dream sometimes? You’re not alone. The truth of the matter is that a lot of your skin’s appearance comes from genetics. Whether you have a fair complexion, freckles, uneven skin tone or are prone to blemishes, you can’t choose to have a porcelain complexion or a lovely olive skin tone, you get what you get. Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad. You can, however, take what you got and make the most of it. There are lots of products that help you from the outside, but you need to support that work with what you put on the inside. How many of those tips for glowing skin you read  talked about food? Whether you’re troubled by aging skin that’s losing elasticity, dry skin that appears dull or fine lines and wrinkles, these eight foods defend the integrity of your cells to keep them as healthy as possible, which trumps the promises of whatever cream you dabbed on this morning. 8 Foods for Glowing Skin Artichokes are one of my top ten all time fave foods. These green spiky vegetables contain phytochemicals that act as anti-inflammatory agents in the skin. If you’re seeing redness, or looking to recover from a laser treatment, toss some on your salad or snack on them right from a jar or pouch to speed your recovery. Avocados are hydrating and help to promote collagen production, which makes for younger, firmer skin. Eat them and reap the benefits of the B vitamins and vitamin E. As if, you needed another reason to have a little guacamole. Cantaloupe is a nutrient bonanza that I recommend all summer long to satisfy a sweet tooth and prevent dry and flaky skin. A single serving (about 1 cup) of this delicious melon provides you with more than your Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, the vitamin responsible for supporting your epidermal glow. Pop some melon balled cantaloupe into the freezer and use them instead of ice in your unsweetened iced green tea. Grapeseed oil is full of proanthocyanidins (pro-ANTHO-syan-ID-ins), which act as antioxidants that help protect against free radical damage caused by pollution and the sun. It has been found to play a role in the stabilization of collagen and maintenance of elastin — important components that make up the middle layer of your skin. They add support and elasticity, preventing wrinkles and returning your face to its natural shape after you flash your killer smile. Grapeseed oil can also help hydrate and moisturize the skin and works great for sauteing due to its high smoke point, and its mild flavor works well in smoothies. Matcha tea is a great way to stay well hydrated and load up on the anti-inflammatory benefits. Proper hydration helps prevent your skin from drying out and helps eliminate toxins. It also improves cell turnover, meaning you’ll have more healthy new cells to improve your skin tone, giving you healthy, vibrant skin. All green and black teas (unsweetened) help reduce inflammation, so if matcha isn’t your cup of tea, you can still reap the benefits. You can also throw some matcha into a morning smoothie.  Mushrooms should be your favorite fungi. They provide B6, folate, niacin, riboflavin, iron, potassium, and selenium, all of which you need for beautiful and healthy cells. In ancient times, Chinese women ate them to promote a smooth complexion. Selenium shields newly formed skin cells from damage brought on by too much time in the sun. Those new cells keep your skin looking soft and young. Slice raw mushrooms on your salad, or toss them into your stir fry for a virtually calorie free umame addition to your dinner. Salmon chalk one more benefit up to this superfood. Salmon is good for your brain, your heart, weight management, your immune system and it also makes your skin glow. The omega-3  fatty acids play a role in wrinkle free skin, reducing inflammation and preventing collagen breakdown. Keep salmon in your fridge and a can of salmon in your pantry as a staple so you can always pull off a healthful beauty boosting meal or snack in minutes. And, you now have an excuse to dine on salmon tartare more often. You are welcome. Turmeric is a traditional spice that is newly hot with good scientific reason. It’s full of curcuminoids, which are antioxidant phytochemicals. Think fighting free radicals that cause wrinkles. Besides serving as a super transport for these antioxidants, turmeric is great at nourishing skin and promoting skin elasticity — preventing wrinkles and age spots. Sprinkle some on eggs or add to your morning vegan smoothie or add a spoonful to your roasted veggies before you toss them in the oven. Organic Eggs are something everyone needs in their regular diet because eggs are healthful for so many reasons. For your skin, you need them for their zinc. Zinc is important in controlling oil content of the skin and minimizing breakouts. It’s also essential in the formation of collagen, which forms connective tissue and skin. Scrambled or sunny side up? I hope these tips for glowing skin give you some new motivation to change up your diet and gain confidence from the inside out. Eat these foods and pull out some of those processed ones that may be clogging your skin’s inner glow. And, let me know how your skin is looking!

3 Cleansing Foods You Can’t Live Without

Your eats can’t always be ideal. Lots of us do a pretty good job most of the time but there’s usually at least a few times a week when we’re snacking on what’s around, eating the Friday pizza or enjoying a menage a trois with Ben and Jerry on the couch. Call me crazy, but I think that’s normal. You can be “normal” but you also gotta clean up the mess that less-than-healthful-just-ate-it-cuz-it’s-delish foods wreak on your system. Calling the internal squeegee, I’m sharing 3 foods that are the Arm & Hammer, Clorox and Lysol of foods (I’m talking results here, without the toxic chemical part). Cleansing foods are foods that flush the GI tract, wake up your digestion, rid you of gunk in your pipes and release super powerful nutritional properties. 3 Cleansing Foods You Can’t Live Without: Artichokes If you know me at all, you know how strongly I believe in the choke. Between the antioxidants, fiber and sky-high vitamin C content, artichokes are famous for soothing your tummy’s reflux, stomach upset, nausea and constipation. Trust me, I know they are a pain to steam to perfection. That’s OK! Frozen and canned in water artichokes are super simple to keep on hand. Pop ‘em in a stirfry or load ‘em on your salad. Garlic That little bulb of garlic that sits on your countertop is a liver cleansing powerhouse of sulfur containing healthfulness. It boosts your immune system, fights cancer and prevents infection. We all need that! (Plus, it keeps vampires away). Smash a bulb and warm it up in a little olive oil over a low heat and grate it into your pesto. Get the smell out of your fingertips by rubbing a metal spoon under running water and cleanse your breath with a chop of parsley (also a cleansing food. Woot woot!). Dandelion root Yeah, the damn yellow weeds that ruin your dad’s perfect lawn actually have benefits! Dandelion root is an amazing digestive aid that promotes peeing (yeah, you want to pee a lot because urine gets rid of toxins). It also cleans the liver and kidneys, and has a role in diabetes, cancer and blood pressure management. You can find these greens at farmer’s markets, and sometimes at your local market, but they’re easiest to get in as a tea. You can even make your own (just make sure you get ‘em from your dad’s lawn for the extra brownie points). Go on and get your cleanse on with artichokes, garlic and dandelion root. You’ll feel healthier and feeling healthier will make you want to do healthy things, like strap on your sneaks and sip down the H2O. They will also have you feeling so good about yourself, that those less-than-healthful-just-ate-it-cuz-it’s-delish foods won’t be as tempting. Go you!