4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating

When you hear the word superfoods, your mind probably goes right to kale and blueberries, right? Well it’s time for some other “new” superfoods to make it to your Instagram feed. I recently shared four of my faves with Rachael Ray, and you may want to add them to your repertoire of nutritional superheros in place of your old worn out go-tos. Because let’s face it, you can never have enough superfoods on your plate! 4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating Matcha: Use this bright green powder to replace your morning coffee. Matcha is made from whole tea leaves that are ground into powder form. Since you’re consuming the whole tea leaf (versus steeping and dumping a tea bag) matcha provides you with a super dose of antioxidants  – 10 times the amount of traditional green tea. The high levels of both ECGC (a type of catechin) and polyphenols will provide you with anti inflammatory benefits, may improve your blood pressure and play a role in cardiovascular health. Matcha contains caffeine as well the amino acid known as l-theanine. This combination will help to improve your mental alertness and help you focus without the 3:00 p.m. crash you usually get from downing your daily dose of java. Add this powder to warm almond milk to replace your morning latte, blend with Greek yogurt, add to smoothies or even sprinkle on popcorn. Ghee: Use this to replace traditional butter. Ghee is a type of clarified butter that you’re definitely going to want to add to your grocery list. This creamy spread has more short and medium chain fatty acids than traditional butter. What does this mean for your bod? The calories from these fats are burned faster so the energy the ghee provides is more quickly utilized. These healthy fats also benefit your gastrointestinal health and ghee also has more vitamin A, D, and E than the traditional stuff, meaning it can help repair damaged skin, improve your vision, and even help balance your hormones. Use ghee anywhere you would typically use butter. Swipe a teaspoon on a slice of Ezekial toast in the morning, or drizzle a tablespoon over veggies before roasting. The higher smoke point makes it safe to cook at high temps, too. Black Rice: Toss the white stuff, and go for this instead. Slightly lower in calories and higher in protein, white rice pales in nutritional value (and color) compared to its darker rice counterpart. It’s packed with antioxidants called anthocyanins (this is what gives it the dark color) that have been shown to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and can improve cognitive function and mental decline. Use black rice to replace white or brown rice. Top a cup of black rice with beans, diced tomatoes, roasted corn, avocado, and grilled peppers to make a super fast and nutrient-packed burrito bowl. Chickpea Flour: This flour could be the new whole wheat. Made of nothing more than simply ground chickpeas, this flour is versatile, wheat free, gluten-free, high in protein, and a wallet friendly option compared to other gluten free flours (I’m looking at you, almond flour). So you can try chickpea flour if gluten makes your stomach turn, or even simply to keep you fuller longer after meals, thanks to its high protein content. Commonly known as ‘socca,’ this chickpea flour crepe recipe is simple, healthy and delicious and the perfect vehicle to be topped with veggies and enjoyed (or try it sweet by adding a little vanilla and cinnamon to your batter).

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!

Edible Sunscreen You Need to Know About

I have one of those love hate relationships with the sun: love being outdoors for play and exercise and adore a tanned hue but hate those damn fine (and sometimes not so fine) lines and knowing what much bigger damage I may be doing by soaking up my vitamin D. If you’ve been looking forward to some time in the sun like me, you’re going to need more than a double digit SPF to protect your glow. You need food. Yes, your favorite sport, eating, can come in handy to protect and repair your skin, and yes, it is basically edible sunscreen. Phytonutrients and micronutrients, found in some of your favorite, delicious, colorful, satisfying foods, support the work of your Coppertone by protecting your skin cells from UV damage and repairing fragile cells with nutrients. Research reveals that certain plant chemicals serve and protect your skin from damage and cancer similar to how omega-3’s protect your heart from disease. But it’s all about quality here, friends. Sorry, cheese fries don’t offer the nutrition your body needs — you can toss ‘em out with those old school sun reflectors that get the thumbs down too. The complicated words I’m about to tell you about are nutrients that chemically protect delicate skin cells from torching UV rays by strengthening them and making them harder to damage. You can think of these nutrients as a little army defending the destruction of the temple of your healthy skin cells. They also act like the Red Cross and speed recovery to damaged cells when you were expecting rain and the day was bright and sunny. One of the best things about living a truly Nutritious Life is all the cumulative benefits. Huh? Stick with me here.  When you eat healthy, exercise, manage stress etc. consistently (notice I didn’t say perfectly or always!) you reap all sorts of benefits. When eating healthy is your norm, that conscious indulgence of a S’more at the fire pit won’t set you back.  Your strength doesn’t disappear because you miss you a few kettle bell workouts.  And, guess what all those antioxidants that you’ve been eating, protect you from… You guessed it… the sun! 4 of the best edible sunscreens to protect your skin: Chow down on these edible sunscreen eats under your umbrella, slathered in SPF, and you’ll be finer than any fine line. The ingredients for these recipes for fabulous skin and sun protection may already be in your home. Pack them up alongside that trashy novel you’re bringing to the beach. Your skin will be grateful. 1. Foods with carotenoids Carrot Kale Salad Carotenoids are pigments found in orange and dark green foods like kale and carrots. They protect the skin from sun damage by decreasing sensitivity to UV light and are best absorbed with fat, so don’t even consider ditching the olive oil in this recipe. 2. Foods with sulforaphane Sauteed Shiitake, Ginger and Watercress A compound found in cruciferous vegetables and watercress, sulforaphane contains anticancer properties which protect skin from sun damage by upping the production of protective enzymes.  These enzymes help the body fight against skin damage from sun exposure. 3. Food with Omega-3 fatty acids Broiled Salmon with Spinach Omega-3 fatty acids, like the kind found in salmon, are skin superheroes. They help strengthen your skin’s natural barrier, lock in moisture, and calm inflammation caused by sun exposure. These healthy fats also protect against collagen breakdown, which means fewer fine lines and a more radiant glow. So yes—your salmon dinner is basically skincare on a plate! 4. Foods with alkaloids Iced Almond Matcha Latte This recipe is full of alkaloids, which are found in caffeine and have been shown to eliminate UV-damaged skin cells and reduce skin roughness. Studies show that the caffeine in your daily coffee or tea helps prevents the formation of skin cancer. Green tea also contains polyphenols, antioxidants shown to prevent cancer cell growth due to UV light damage. Bottom Line Here’s the deal: sun protection isn’t just about slathering on SPF (though yes, still do that!). It’s also about what you’re putting on your plate. When you fill up on nutrient-rich, skin-loving foods, you’re giving your body the tools it needs to defend and repair from the inside out. So, pack that healthy picnic, grab your favorite sunhat, and enjoy the sunshine with a side of science-backed glow. Your skin—and your taste buds—will thank you!