Archive | May 2013

Homemade, Organic, Raw Facial Masks

May7

I am constantly making new concoctions, potions and “hodge podges,”

homemade, organic, raw facial masks

to put onto my face so that my skin absorbs these substances and reaps the benefits of the nutrients within them. The process is a wonderfully creative adventure! Here are some of my potions so far:

b58cd306ac3511e2992f22000a1fb823_7

Coffee Mint Honey Mask:

-Organic ground coffee

-Fresh mint (ground up with coffee grinder)

-Raw honey

The coffee in this mask acts as an exfoliant when washing it off, the fresh mint is wonderfully refreshing and cooling to irritated skin, and the raw honey helps make the mask a desired consistency as well as detoxifying and nourishing the skin. I play with ratios of these three ingredients, always using honey as the base because it makes application easy. This mask also smells amazing!

Honey Cinnamon Mask:

-Raw honey

-Organic ground cinnamon

As mentioned in the last mask, raw honey is a great vehicle to add other components to in the process of making a mask. Raw honey has healing properties that help repair damaged skin and even out dark spots. Be careful with using a large amount of cinnamon in this mask. Using a lot of cinnamon tends to attract blood to the surface of skin, making skin feel slightly burning and very red. The positive of cinnamon is that a small amount helps revitalize, detoxify, and nourish the skin. This mask is simple to put together and effective in giving skin a good cleanse.

Oregano Honey Lemon Mask:

-Organic dried oregano

-Raw Honey

-Organic fresh squeezed lemon juice

The oregano in this mask was a last minute decision, as I had it on hand and decided to throw it into the mix. I already knew that oregano essential oil is beneficial for oily skin, thus, I figured dried would be similarly beneficial. Lemon juice is a natural astringent, as it counteracts the oil on your face that pores produce. The honey helps bring the other two ingredients together, while also providing the aforementioned benefits. Any other similar herb can be substituted for the oregano. I am an advocate of using what you have on hand.

I have had fabulous “luck” with creating these homemade, organic masks solely using the high quality ingredients I have already in my pantry. As long as the ingredients are organically sourced, your skin will soak in a lot of great, powerful and healing nutrients that these foods contain.

Metabolism Boosting Drink: 8 Foods that Speed Up Metabolism

May7

photo-8

A recent focus of mine has been on METABOLISM: What slows it, what accelerates it, how important is it?

One of the conclusions I’ve come to is that

there are certain foods that contain components that actively amp up the body’s metabolism.

That in mind, I decided to create a “Meta Drink” that contains several powerful foods. I drink it in as few gulps as possible, as the taste is INTENSE! (After you read the ingredients you’ll understand).

Metabolism Boosting Drink Ingredients:

(all organic, raw, fresh squeezed)

-Cinnamon (ground)

-Ginger (ground)

-Cayenne Pepper (ground)

-Maca Powder

-Lemon Juice

-Orange Juice

-Grapefruit Juice

-Coconut Vinegar

The liquid ingredients help the ground ingredients come together. Sometimes adding a splash of water helps make this mixture more drinkable. I drink this first thing in the morning and I find it wakes me right up and revs my energy.

Metabolism Boosting Green Drink: Spinach, Kale, Chard & Water

May7

Green is GOOD.

Green vegetables are the single most powerful type of produce to put into your body.

Best examples: Spinach, Kale and Chard.

The quickest, most efficient way that I get a plentiful amount of greens every day is to make a “Green Drink.” It is super simple and straight forward. I take a big handful of greens that I have on hand, throw it in the blender, then add enough water to cover all of the greens. Blend & gulp! It tastes just as you would think: greeny and fresh. Unlike a smoothie, this drink is meant to be gulped rather than sipped on and savored.

The benefits of consuming this drink daily are plentiful!

Green plants are absolute super foods; chock full of vitamins and trace minerals that aid in functions like riding the body of toxins, accelerating metabolism, encouraging fat loss, replenishing energy stores and reviving vitality.

This drink acts as an energy boosting and appetite suppresser in the evenings, for me. I find that making this drink a habit in my every day routine is key in optimizing my daily food intake. It also happens to be beautiful to look at! These green beauties resemble human veins🙂 Seems like a great reminder to feed your body these gorgeous plants.

Screen Shot

green

Our New Black Labrador Rescue Dog named Kona

May6

When it comes to this sweet little girl, no words are required. She is an energetic, adorable, loving and at times crazy & rambunctious little pup!

We named her “Kona” after our engagement trip to Oahu, Hawaii. We became inspired by the Hawaiian culture and, more specifically, Kona coffee. We rescued her from a local shelter in the Kansas City area. She is a black lab mix (not sure what she is mixed with, as she is a rescue pup).

photo-5

Just as organic food is important for me to feed myself and my family, I find it important that Kona has organic food in her diet as well.

Newman’s Own Organics and Stella & Chewy’s are two fantastic brands that I’ve come across so far. I will do a more comprehensive post on these brands soon. Kona LOVES and devours these foods.

photo-6

photo-7

Indianapolis Mini Marathon 2013

May6

Even though I have been an avid runner for several years,

participating in organized races has not been my forte.

My parents have participated in the

Indianapolis Mini Marathon (13.1 miles)

for the past 5 years or so and I had to miss because of college obligations. I was thrilled to run in this race for the first time this year (& my fiancée got to run with me!) Here is the race depicted in photos:

Happy running and racing to all of you!