Quick Vitamin C Power Punch

With sickness abound, Vitamin C is a must. Here's a quick recipe for one I whooped up in my Magic Bullet.

 

Ingredients:

-5 oz of Organic Girl Super Greens

-1 sliced orange

-a splash of water

-1 packet of Lipospheric C

Place the greens in first, with the orange slices where they will be closest to the blades. Add a dash of water for easier blending. Gradually add the rest of the greens. Finally add the Liposheric C. 

These ingredients are all packed with Vitamin C and will leave you feeling happy and vibrant! 

RANDOM KOMBUCHA OBSESSING NBD

It's literally 2:39 AM right now and all I can think about is this delicious drink I had tonght. It's a different brand of Kombucha that I normally buy, so it has different flavors. I tried WILD ROOT tonight. 

OMG SO DELISH IT'S A MUST TRY EVERYONE!! 

I don't even like root beer but this tastes like root beer but like a better version of root beer it's like awesome. 

I think it might give you energy too because I drank this like three hours ago and I can't sleep omg 

I'll update other flavors asap!! Because I know you all are just dying to know.

Be Well Smoothie: A Remedy for Body and Spirit

Ah, Autumn... The season of reflection and change. The months of September and October act as a transition from yesterday's Summer into tomorrow's Winter. The days gets shorter, and the darkness creeps into the light. It is during this transitional season that night and day become equally prominent in our lives. 

Writer Gary Thorp once said: "Sometimes there is no remedy for our situation than to begin from a point of absolute darkness. Turning off a television set and extinguishing a lantern have certain similarities; they are both abrupt and transition making, and can leave us in a different world. In darkness, we are always on our own." 

When we let go from our futile securities, we then find ourselves completely in the dark. It is then when we have nothing to rely on but ourselves. As we watch the leaves of seasons past flutter to the ground, we are reminded that nature's cycles are mirrored in our own lives. Autumn is a time for letting go and cleansing things that have been a burden. For this reason, I realize now is the time--the season, rather--for a transition from damaging habits to healthy practices.

Starting today, I will be posting a series of updates about my new "Transitional" period. I'll try my best to update at least once a week!

Today, I want to focus on transitioning from physically ill to mentally healthy. While Fall is doubtlessly beautiful and fruits delicious seasonal treats, it can also be a high time for unwanted illnesses. The past few days, for me, have been spent completely indoors, with a box of tissues and cozy blanket nearby at all times. There is not much else besides a comfy bed and a good book that will make sick days enjoyable, but the Blonde Smoothie has found something else to add to the quintessential Sick Day list.

Instead of a normal cup of Joe, my aching throat was asking for something a little more soothing this morning. Suggested by my lovely mother, I opted for a cup of warm water with lemon instead. Though sounding incredibly simple, I was amazed by the power one sip of this drink contained. My throat felt immediately soothed, a citrus fuzz tingling down with each sip. Lemon water has long been known as a healthy, beneficial drink, but I had always thought it too plain to be something worth trying. I was wrong. Experts suggest drinking a cup of warm lemon water everyday to promote a more energized and cleansed lifestyle. Even Lauren Conrad is on the amazingly cool lemon water bandwagon. This drink is not just for sick days, but for everyday. I suggest all (2 of) my readers to try it!

Lemon water holds many health benefits, including soothing a sore throat in despair.

Up next on today's list of remedies was, naturally, my Be Well Smoothie. I kind of just made this up on the spot, but it ended up being actually kind of delicious...

Ingredients:

-1 peeled orange

-1 sliced apple

-1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

-5 oz spinach

-1 banana

-1 tbsp maca powder

-1 cup frozen blueberries

Make sure you get the orange and apple towards the bottom of the blender so their juice will act as the smoothie's liquid base.

Place the ingredients in the blender in the order listed above. By having the water-dense fruits placed closest to the blades, you eliminate the need for an added liquid base (no water, almond milk, etc). If your blender is not powerful enough to tackle all these ingredients at once, I suggest blending the orange first, on its own, and gradually adding handfuls of spinach until you've added it all. Then, continue with the remaining ingredients. 

I named this smoothie "Be Well" because of the awesome, bug-fighting nutrients packed inside. Each ingredient was chosen based off its relevance to fighting illnesses. 

Oranges are packed with Vitamin C, which will strengthen your immune system and reduce the length of your sick days. 

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but in all actuality, there may be some truth in the saying. Apples acts as both a natural antihistamine and an anti inflammatory. Antihistamines are used to relieve allergy symptoms, which is why you might be prone to popping a couple Benadryl tablets around this time of year. 

Apple Cider Vinegar is known for its many health benefits, so I honestly just kind of randomly threw it in the mix. However, it is a cleanser, which will not hurt when your body is being attacked from forces within.  

Adding spinach was a given. Along with its countless other health benefits, this nutrient dense plant is acts as an anti-inflammatory. It is the perfect food to fuel an weak body. 

Bananas are just awesome, so I always include them in my smoothies. Not just because of the creamy texture they add to a blend, but their powerful depression-fighting nutrients. Bananas contain high levels of tryptophan, which converts into serotonin--the chemical in your brain that makes you feel like this. So bananas are an obvious choice to someone who might feel down in the dumps because of their current health status!

There are several benefits of adding Maca to your Be Well smoothie. Maca, a root belonging to the radish family, is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It also provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids. It doesn't end there, Maca's awesome health benefits will have you mixing this powder into everything you eat. 

Blueberries are very rich in anti oxidants like Anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, vitamin A, copper, selenium, zinc, iron, among other nutrients. These nutrients boost up your immune system so that you will be less likely to catch another cold, fever, or any type of viral and bacterial communicable diseases.

So, Autumn... The season of reflection and change. While the light in our lives inevitably fades to darkness, we must find time to balance the power between the two. Nature finds a balance between the light and the dark. May we be inspired to do the same. Toxicity will always swarm throughout our lives, but the beauty in existing is being able to find health and happiness despite our dark conditions. 

My transition this week was finding happiness in a situation where even getting out of bed seemed despairing. If you are struggling with feeling under the weather, I urge you to seek for the light. Treat yourself to healthy habits and pleasant thoughts. Your body will be soon to catch up (-:

The Mango Kale Power Smoothie

With everything going on in my life right now, I've been having a hard time getting my greens in. So this morning I decided I needed to squeeze as much salad as I possibly could into my breakfast drink. When I opens the refrigerator door, I noticed a random, perfectly ripe mango, begging to be eaten. So, I for that reason I made the Mango Kale Power smoothie, as a excellent way to start the day. 

Ingredients

- 7 ounces of Organic Girl Baby Kale mix

- about half a cup of almond milk

- 1 sliced mango

- 1 frozen banana 

- a handful of frozen strawberries 

- 1 scoop of Vega One protien powder in French Vanilla 

To begin, I put the first two ingredients into the blender until the kale is blended into a liquid base. From there, I add the rest of the ingredients. This delicious recipe serves about two. 

Enjoy!

Product Review: Lush Cosmetics

Hey guys! Welcome to my first beauty product review! 

With the summer sun fading away, our skin grows less dependent on the depth of a glowing tan, but more so on the quality of our daily routines. With that in mind, I've recently integrated into my routine products from the trendy LUSH Cosmetics brand. 

 

While I've long been familiar with the store's delicious, fizzing bath bombs (omg j'adore) and signature Dream Cream (holy cow, the silkiest moisturizer ever), I have since kept a safe distance from those smell-good body treats upon learning of their high synthetic ingredient content. 

You can imagine the weird emotional conflict I felt when the brand opened a location in my town's local mall. The products I used to live for, were finally so close, but I knew better than to waste money on harmful products. 

LUSH, however, has reinvented itself. A quick view on their website will prove they've removed the synthetic preservatives and left only their yummy handmade body blessings. 

On our recent trip abroad, my bestie let me borrow her stash of LUSH's Dark Angels skin rub (starting at $12.95). I quickly fell in love with the massaging sensation. Made of a combination of black sugar and charcoal, the rich scrub is lusciously thick but pleasantly smooth. Immediately, you will feel cleansed and exfoliated, but your skin will NOT look red and will NOT be damaged. The best part is probably the fact that you can buy it in large quantities! (This made me feel considerably less guilty about using it all over my body, not just exclusively in little portions on my face.) I ended up loving this scrub so much, I went to that local store and bought myself a container as soon as I got home. 

While there, I was recommended by the store clerk to purchase a small container of a signature moisturizer called Imperialis ($24.95). After doing some research, I realize that this moisturizer is sort of the beginning stage for LUSH newbies. If you are unsure of your specific skin needs, a clerk will direct you to this product. "It's light and guaranteed not to flog pores," she told me with a smile. "Sweet!" I thought. Just what I've been needing. A miracle moisturizer that will give me perfect skin. I bought my products and, for the next few days used them both day and night. 

While I continued to love the Dark Angels sensational scrubbing, I hated everything about Imperialis. The smell was awful, the texture greasy, and the container made it difficult to get the appropriate single serving. Not only that, but after three days of using the moisturizer, I noticed several new breakouts! Everyone's skin is different but I would NOT recommend Imperialis to someone with semi-acne prone skin--it will only make things much much worse. Though it's listed as the last ingredients, Imperialis also contains parabens, which  is a type of preservative linked to causing cancer. So this is obviously NOT something you want sitting on your skin all day and night! 

Still, I'm glad I went back to LUSH. its second chance was way over due! I love what the brand stands for--wholesome, reliable quality and a candidness between maker and client--but I will still continue to be cautious while shopping there. 

I encourage all my readers to CHECK LABELS! Just because something says "Handmade" that doesn't mean it is 100% organic or good for you. Also, just because something works well on one person, it does not mean that it will work well on you. So be like me and use discretion by borrowing the thing from your friends before you go out and buy it yourself (;

Delicious 5 Minute Salsa

Hey guys! Here's a new blog post coming at cha. So, after a long, busy day, it felt good to go to the gym and relieve some stress. When I get home from a workout, I'm almost always starving enough to eat my foot. Why? Because it's filling and convenient. Instead if chewing on body parts, though, tonight, I decided to quickly fix up some delicious salsa! ¡Qué rico!

This simple recipe is a variation of one I found on this cool website called allrecipes.com. I encourage you to check them out! 

Their recipe is as follows:

Ingredients 

- 29 oz of canned, peeled and sliced tomatoes 

- 1 bunch fresh cilantro

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- salt and pepper to taste 

For my try, I did things a smidgen different. Instead of using completely peeled tomatoes, I combined tomato sauce with canned chopped tomato and green chills peppers. This gave it a little bit of texture while still feeling smooth. 

For the cilantro, I chopped it quickly by sliding my knife vertically through the leaves on all sides, and then began chopping horizontally on the remaining middle leaves. After, I'll quickly spread the leaves out on my cutting board and try to pick out the stems from within them. I LOVE cilantro so I put in as much as I could. 

I varied a little bit with the garlic by adding one extra clove than the recipe called for. 

For seasoning, I added fresh crushed black pepper and whole bunch of coarse sea salt. I found that it still wasn't spicy enough though so I added some extra spice by mixing in about a tablespoon of chili peppers. Zesty. 

This quick recipe was a hit with my family, and honestly myself as well! We ate the whole bowl in an hour! Even though the recipe was so simple, the flavors were so deliciously complex. 

Tomatoes are a fruit containing a relatively high water content, making them a great snack food to quickly satisfy hunger. They have endless health benefits so this tasty snack is also good for you too.

This recipe shows how easy is is to quickly throw together a snack that will keep you feeling clean, light, full and satisfied! 

Yesterday's Meeting Look

Yesterday for my meeting I wore a white H&M classic blouse with an eggplant BCBG pencil skirt and black Charlotte Russe pointed-toe flats. 

Oh yeah, and always the random hair tie on the wrist.

The key was to match an overly modest piece with something that clinches with waist and hips. 

"Your clothes should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to show you're a lady." 

~Marilyn Monroe