Winter has a habit of increasing the puff factor. Both in terms of unwieldy coats and under-eye regions. For as much as there’s a romantic side to the holiday season, not everything seems so peace-on-earth these days (is it me?). At least in my own life, basically everyone is constantly freezing, frenetic with holiday shopping/budgeting, and wishing for the hibernating life… so why not expedite energizing our best snowbunny selves? Some everyday habits can help bring joy back to your wintry personal world.
Organic Beauty 2013 Holiday Gift Guide!
Ahhh, the season of gifting… For us, the gift-giving craziness lasts from Thanksgiving (my birthday), through Hanukkah, the hub’s birthday, to Christmas (which we now celebrate with smaller gifts in our post-nuptial tradition), to New Year’s (which is the big, gift-giving holiday in my Russian family). That is a solid month and change of gifts, so I am always on the look out for special somethings to gift to my friends and family.
Being, as I am, a lover of all things healthy, natural, sustainable, and, of course, stylin’, I try to give gifts that are in line with my ethos. Gifting something that promotes health, wellness, happiness, and relaxation is the ultimate gift and show of love to the people in your life. I’ve collected my favorite gifts to share with you, and am sure that you’ll find something for everyone on your list!
3 Day Post-Holiday Cleanse!
I am so super excited to introduce you all to my new, 3 Day Post-Holiday Cleanse! I’ve gone through all my favorite detoxifying, seasonal smoothie, soup, and lunch recipes to compile a beautiful, and above all, effective, 3 day, whole foods detox to help you reboot, reset, and recharge your system after the (ahem) indiscretions of the holiday season.
Stress, travel, more alcohol than usual, sugar cookies and other favorite holiday foods all have an impact on your body and mind that can show up on your skin, your waistline, and your mood. Well I’m here to help you wipe the slate clean!
This cleanse is jam packed with delicious recipes, cleansing tips, and even the magic formula for you to create your own cleanse if you want to keep the detoxifying, glow-making action going!
>> Click here to sign up and download your free cleanse! <<
Are you already on our list? Just enter your email above to update your profile and make sure you’re signed up to receive updates about Greens. Grains. Gorgeous. — our new, life-altering, game-changing online program launching this winter! You’ll get the link to download your ebook in the confirmation email ; )
November Beauty Giveaway!
We are obsessed with Biao Beauty’s Rejuvenation collection, and we want to share the love!
Click here to read our review of this super nourishing, delicious, all-natural skincare line, and find out how to enter our giveaway to try this amazing line for yourself!
The giveaway ends on Tuesday, November 26th, so enter soon!
Any Root Winter Vegetable Soup
There’s nothing like a warm, comforting bowl of soup on a chilly early winter evening, and throwing together an amazingsoup from what you have on hand is so much easier than you think! Not only is this any-root vegetable soup deceptively simple, you can make it with literally whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, celeriac, carrots, turnips… anything! Perfect for those winter CSA deliveries you don’t know what to do with ; ) Make a big pot to last you all week long for a perfect, healthy dinner that will keep you slim, warm, and healthy all winter long.
Any Root Vegetable Winter Soup
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion or 2 leeks (white and light green part only), diced
2 to 3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 rosemary or thyme branches
2 bay leaves
3 1/2 pounds mixed root vegetables (whatever you have on hand–carrot, parsnip, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, sweet or regular potato), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons sea salt, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or more as needed
Juice of 1/2 organic lemon, plus more for serving
Red pepper flakes, optional
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot.
- Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Add celery and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, rosemary or thyme, and bay leaves, and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add root vegetables, 8 cups water, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
- Remove rosemary branches and bay leaves.
- Puree the soup in batches in your blender, or use an immersion blender. Puree until smooth.
- Season with lemon juice, and add a little extra salt, if needed.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a few extra drops of lemon juice, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper (optional), and a sprig of thyme or rosemary.
Extreme Skin Nourishment from Biao Beauty
It’s no secret that dry, winter skin is something that plagues many of us, and is yet another reason to dread the coming of these darker months. Well, I am happy to report that you can cross this winter bummer of your list! Introducing the Beauty Rejuvenation Collection from Biao Beauty. This line of hyper moisturizing, extremely nourishing products are your key to dewy, glowing, soft skin all winter long, no matter what mother nature throws your way!
The secret to this amazing line of products is a potent one-two punch of Epicalmin TCM and babassu oil. Epicalmin TCM is a synergistic blend of three plants traditionally used in Chinese Medicine which have amazing protective and anti-aging effects on the skin. When combined with babassu oil, which improves skin’s elasticity, suppleness, and moisture, the result is an amazing combo for youthful, glowing skin!
I’ve been using the Rejuvenating Night Creme, which leaves my skin feeling like absolute silk. Loaded with other powerful skincare ingredients like olive oil, vitamin E, lavender and honeysuckle, the cream is also intensely healing for sensitive skin or skin prone to eczema or psoriasis. The rose scent, which is absolutely heavenly, comes from palma rosa oil, which is not only yummy smelling, but has powerful oil regulating and cell regenerating effects, making it perfect for reducing the appearance of wrinkles or scars. I wake up in the morning with glowing, supple skin, that, I kid you not, barely even needs a brush of powder to look flawless! This is definitely my new favorite night cream.
The Rejuvenating Mask is also a vital addition to your winter toolbox. Not only does it totally drench your skin with intense hydration and essential nutrients, it also detoxifies, deep cleans pores, and combats premature aging. Ingredients like green tea, sunflower seed oil, and vitamin A add even more power to the line’s already powerful herbs and oils. The mask goes on like a thick cream, and I definitely felt something tingling under there. When I washed it off, my skin looked like I had just gotten a facial.
These formulas are, of course, all natural, and free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs and Triclosan. To boot, the boxes — which come with such warm fuzzy reminders such as “Remember to think beautiful thoughts to create positive energy during this skin beautification,” (adorbs, right?!) — are also plantable and embedded with a mix of seeds including Baby Blue Eyes, Black-Eyed Susan, and Siberian Wallflower. How’s that for eco-friendly! (Click the photo to enlarge and see the seeds sprouting when you soak the boxes!)
To celebrate this beautiful line, we’ve got a couple goodies for you!
First, we’re holding a giveaway! To enter, just complete the following 3 steps by this Sunday, November 24th:
- Follow us on Twitter!
- Leave a comment on Biao’s Facebook Page sharing what makes you feel beautiful, inside and out!
- Leave a comment here sharing that you’ve completed the two steps! Bonus if you share your answer here too ; ) We want to know!
Second, Biao Beauty is looking for 15 women between the ages of 35 and 55 to test their product! If you’re interested, fill out the form here to be one of their testers!
Here’s to perfect, glowing, winter skin!
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Our giveaway is now closed… Congratulations to our winner, Erica Jones!
Help Bring Organic Chocolate to the Masses! Today!
SweetRiot supports Fair Trade and sourcing exclusively with their Latin American amigos, which directly supports a better life for farming families through fair prices and direct trade… This is something we can definitely get behind.
Sweat Outdoors for a Mood-Boosting, Stress-Busting Workout!
I am not a gym person. I cringe at the very thought of having a membership to sweat indoors. When I have belonged to health clubs, it was more for the hot tub, the sauna and the occasional yoga class (before I discovered studios, and before I was a yogi). But yeah, the gym? Soooo not my thing. Never has been.
As a runner, I’ve always enjoyed my cardio done outdoors. And studies are showing that there is something to that!
The Power of Noble Silence
Happy Fall!! Here in New York, we had our first truly chilly day today, and it really made me want to curl up with a book and a huge pot of tea, and put off all the work I had to. I obviously couldn’t quite make that happen today, but the feeling reminded me that I need to slow down, chillax, and take some time for myself.
Exercise for a Perfect Period
If you’re like most women, you reach a natural slump every month where it is just grueling to stick to your typical workout routine. You drag yourself to boot camp, feel drained afterwards, and wonder what you’re doing wrong. Or you feel just too tired to stick to your routine, and end up skipping your workouts altogether for a week. This is because your body’s needs in terms of exercise vary pretty dramatically throughout your cycle. In this installment of our Perfect Period Series we’ll be delving into the best forms of exercise to keep you in alignment with your natural hormonal patterns, which will decrease PMS symptoms, boost weight loss, balance your hormones, and help you feeling amazing and energized all month long.