Vida Starr, a fellow blogger from Life Star Beauty contacted me recently about a Health/Hair challenge that she’s having on her blog starting May 1st! Here’s the scoop…

Many of you know the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and healthy hair. We know the importance of drinking more water, eating healthy veggies and proteins, and definitely getting more exercise. Well www.lifestarbeauty.com has a hair challenge that incorporates them all! This hair challenge will take place in stages because for many of us it is difficult to abruptly start a new routine. Stages help to make sure we slowly incorporate each of these things into our routines!

May 1^st (Stage 1): Drink at least 5 bottles of water (that’s 10 glasses of water at 8 oz) a day. It is recommended you drink 2 bottles before lunch. Also, eat one serving of green veggies per meal. If you don’t want any veggies at breakfast you can swap it for one serving of fruit. Remember to snack on fruits/veggies between meals.

June 1^st (Stage 2): Eat salmon AT LEAST once a week. Salmon is a food that is loaded with omega 3’s, protein, and Vitamin B-12 which contributes to scalp health. A healthy scalp leads to healthy hair. If you don’t like/don’t prefer/can’t afford salmon you can replace it with other fish/foods high in protein. Two tablespoons of ground flaxseed included in your daily diet will also contribute to scalp health.

Whoops! I was supposed to post-this yesterday for “Meatless Monday” but I guess I’ll share it with you for “Meatless Tuesday” LOL. This is a great low-calorie, filling snack that you can make quickly. It  has “good” fats in it like olive oil and avocado and since there’s no cooking involved, you can do it at the office or where ever. The best part? The ingredients are CHEAP!

Quick Tomato-Avocado Snack

Ingredients:
2 slices organic beefsteak tomato (those are the big ones!)
1/2 hass avocado (those are the small bumpy ones, sometimes called “california” avocados)
A few leaves of fresh basil (optional)
2 organic brown rice cakes or toasted whole grain bread
cracked pepper
sea salt
1 tsp olive oil

Any oil in it’s naturally occurring state is a liquid. That’s common knowledge. However, when you hydrogenate an oil, you turn it into a solid. That’s why margarine can be made from sunflower oil and corn oil. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is made by removing all nutrients, smell, taste and impurities from vegetable seeds and bleaching them. Then the seeds are pressed into oil which is heated at a high temperature. Nickel (yes, the same metal that’s hidden between the cushions of your couch right now) is then added as a catalyst. (A catalyst is a substance that instigates a chemical reaction in another substance). If nickel isn’t used, many times platinum or palladium is used. The metal is then filtered out leaving hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is now a thick viscous substance. Water, whey, food coloring, emulsifiers and other items are then added to make margarine. Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil is also called Trans Fat.

Why would someone want to go through all of this to make a product?

Manufacturers like this process because it creates a substance that will stay solid at room temperature and has a long shelf life. It means they can sell products and not have to worry about their freshness! (There’s a reason why that Hostess cupcake can stay in the cupboard forever).

Why is it Hydrogenation Bad for us?

The process of hydrogenation changes the molecular structure of a natural substance into an unnatural one. Our bodies have never had to deal with anything like it in it’s evolution, and we can’t fully process it. EVER. Traces of those heavy metals used in the processing,  (nickel, palladium, and platinum) are filtered out, but NOT removed, so they end up in our bodies as well. Trans fats are similar in structure to the thickening agents used in making soaps and candles. In our bodies, they thicken and harden, and as a result lower HDL (good cholesterol), raise LDL (bad cholesterol) and harden arteries over time because they cannot be fully digested.

Trans Fats are also linked to the onset of insulin-resistant Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and even cellulite. Think about it. Food that your body cannot properly

I don’t know about you, but here in New York, we’ve gone through about 3 seasons this week, and now it seems to be fall here again for some reason?! I thought it would be a perfect day to share this recipe straight from the mailbag! (Note: If you’re vegetarian just leave the chicken out of this one..)

This one comes from Andrea, who sent me this recipe for chicken soup with a twist. If you can’t find yucca where you live you can always substitute potatoes in this recipe.

Parabens are widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. They are used to prolong the shelf life of cosmetics and as a base for many medications. The most widely used parabens are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben and benzylparaben. There is also a group of paraben “sodium salts” (Sodium Methylparaben, Sodium Ethylparaben, Sodium Propylparaben, etc.) that are used for the same purpose.

Pick up almost any shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, lotion, moisturizer, shaving gel, personal lubricant, spray tanner, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, fabric softeners and even children’s skin products and you’ll find some sort of paraben in it. They’re even used as an additive to some packaged foods. They’re efficacy as preservatives, in combination with their low cost, explains why parabens are so commonplace.

BUT….

Don’t you hate it when you get those annoying fruit flies around your house? Well, fruit flies’ eggs get a free ride into your house from the grocery store or farmers market. (And it doesn’t matter if the fruit is organic or not). And when they hatch, the larvae can feed on wet or moist surfaces, where they lay more eggs, up to 500 at a time. And NOT just on your fruit. The best way to get rid of them, is to make sure those eggs don’t hatch in the first place. You can find veggie and fruit wash in most produce sections of your market, but it usually costs between $7-$10.

Not very savvy if you ask me.

So here’s 5 ways to wash your fruits and veggies more economically:

1. Wash the veggies in a colander in the sink with a little baking soda and a nailbrush and dry.
2. Spray the veggies with vinegar and dry
3. Put a few drops of liquid castille soap into a small spray bottle full of water. (This works really well on citrus fruits and bananas)

At night I don’t wash my face. Not with soap anyway. What I do is the Oil Cleansing Method. I learned about OCM from Frizzcurls over at CurlyNikki.com. Now before you say “I can’t use oil on my face”. Read her story. She suffered from acne for YEARS and this was the ONLY thing that worked. You know the saying “fight fire with fire”? Well, in this case, you’re fighting oil with oil. Castor Oil has different properties than other oils, and in fact if you use too much, your skin will get dry!

My Nightly Oil Cleansing Method Routine:

Ingredients:

• clear castor oil
• first cold pressed olive oil
• hot tap water

Directions: I have a little dark jar filled 1/4 of the way with castor oil, and the rest with olive oil. I shake it before each use. I pour a nickel-sized amount of oil in my had and proceed to gently massage the oil all over my face and neck. I usually need to do this twice so that it’s nice and thick. Then I run the hot water over a washcloth (as hot as I can stand it), then I hold the hot washcloth about and inch from my face and let the steam hit me. Then I put the whole thing on my face and let the heat work its magic. After about 15-20 secs the washcloth has cooled and I use it to wipe off any and all traces of makeup, or, if I’m not wearing makeup I just wipe my face and neck down completely.Some people use more castor oil and some people use more olive oil, and some folks even add sunflower seed oil, click here to figure out which is best for you.

DIY Eye Serum 

Most people think that antiperspirants and deodorants are the same thing, but they aren’t.

Deodorants are applied to the body mainly to reduce body odor caused by the bacterial breakdown of perspiration. They work by neutralizing the smell of the sweat with mild germicides that kill the bacteria which feed off skin secretions. (It is the bacteria that makes you stinky). They also contain perfume to help mask the smell of sweat. Deodorants don’t interfere with sweating, which is the body’s natural cooling process.

A subgroup of deodorants, antiperspirants, prevent odor and reduce sweat produced by parts of the body.

Antiperspirants help to reduce the amount of sweat that you produce. They work by clogging, closing, or blocking the pores with strong astringents such as aluminum salts so that they can’t release sweat. Aluminium chloride is the chemical used to form a gel to partially block the sweat glands.

Antiperspirants and Deodorants are a combo of the above with Aluminum chloride added.

This is so easy and sooo good!

My friend Gen came up with this one. (Look for more recipes from Gen in the future, he’s an AWESOME cook).
Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

Ingredients:
4 lemons
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsps dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/2-3/4 cup of olive oil

Directions:
Blend the first 4 ingredients in a blender or food processor until combined. Then (while the blender or food processor is running) slowly drizzle in olive oil