Kitchen Beauty

LEMONS~ Often after I squeeze a lemon I will rub the leftover half over my elbows to exfoliate. You can also just rub it on your skin to tone and refresh your skin. I've even heard that lemon juice is great for any blackheads you might have on your face.

OLIVE OIL~ I use this for a moisturizing face mask. It takes off all my makeup effortlessly and leaves my face feeling very soft. I use in on my arms and legs for a lotion. When I'm a meal in the kitchen, I always take that last drip off the lid and use it as a lip balm.

HONEY~ I betcha didn't know this, but it's a great lip balm (altho' I often end up licking it off, I love honey! lol) But my favorite way to use it is to put it on my face for about 20 minutes and it makes your skin feel like silk. Honey is very good for nipping bacteria in the bud, so it's great for breakout prone skin.

COCONUT OIL~ I know I'm young now, but I once heard that once you turn 18 you should start using eye cream. So once I reached that infamous number I started putting coconut oil around my eyes each night. I make my own eye cream by mixing the oil with some liquid vitamin E and some cold-pressed olive oil. This is an excellent potion and I simply love it. I'll often use the same stuff on my face when it needs some moisture or on scars I have. I'm always battling dry skin.

ALOE VERA~ When I make a smoothie with aloe vera in it (and I'm not wearing makeup), I'll take the gel-removed leaf and rub it on my face. This tones and tightens my face and is very healing and moisturizing. Aloe vera is great for irritated or sensitive skin, even as a lotion.

CUCUMBER~ Yes, the famous cucumber. Just cut two slices and place them over your eyes for ten minutes to refresh and de-puff your eyes. This works well with two regular tea bags too, just makes sure to chill them. You can even whiz up cucumbers in the blender and use it for a toning mask.

SESAME OIL~ Of course I've never used it for this, but apparently it's a great stretch mark lotion.

I did a post of another "non-raw" mask that I really love too, it's really amazing! Check it out here.

While I was surfing the web for more kitchen beauty tips I found this link. Try out some of these great-looking recipes and let me know what you think of them

And since health is one of the best beautifiers ever, here's a smoothie recipe I did this morning after my run. It has cherries (anti-aging because they're chock full of antioxidants), red chard (greens, majorly important!), pumpkin seeds (full of zinc, which protects the skin and is an EFA source), flax seeds (EFA content, which is a must) and a banana (really good after exercise).

CHERRY CHARD SMOOTHIE

1 c. frozen cherries

Over 2 c. of red chard (or 6-7 big leaves)

1 TB. raw flax seed

1 TB. organic, raw pumpkin seeds

1 banana

3 ice cubes

...and water to blend. Whirl up and chug it down. The color doesn't end up being the nicest, but it tastes fantastic.

Have fun!

Simple-ness

...And I'm back. We had a lovely girl time away together. It was so nice to just have a refreshing break from everyday life. I was able get caught up on some journaling, some reading, and sister time.

And guess what? Out hotel was pretty much beside a Whole Food store, which made me perfectly happy. We bought some organic fruit and some healthy groceries there, so that was fun. It's not often I we get to shop there, since Whole Foods, sadly, is not in Canada. I even splurged and got some natural ice-cream there. I wasn't going to write that here, lol...but hey! I'm going to be a real person on my blog, so there you go...I ate ice-cream!

I ran 26 miles in total last week, right before we left for the trip, which was the most I've ever run in one week, so that was exciting! I ran 4 miles this morning, after a breakfast of fruit and this afternoon I had a lovely salad for one. I adapted it from Carol Alt's "Raw 50" and was so happy with it. It had lots of juices from the ingredients so I didn't even need a dressing, which made it low calorie and it tasted simply delectable.

Charis' Salad for One

1 head of Romaine lettuce

4 TB. sauerkraut

1 TB. olive tapenade (or a few olives thrown in instead)

1/2. avocado

a splash of APV

Mix it up and eat! That's all. This is only about 162 calories, so it works as a great snack too.

A Quickie...

Just a quick note...my sister-in-law Lisa is taking Anne-Marie and I to the states for a few days. She's attending a midwifery course and Annie and I will watch her baby for her, while she's there.

We'll all have the evenings free, so it will be a special sister time for all of us. I'm really looking forward to some girl time.

So in a few minutes we're off...be back in a few days!

...P.S. A really great drink for travelling is the Master Cleanse Lemonade. That's what I'm bringing today. It's delicious and very cleansing.

Mind Over Body

Today I was determined to run 12 miles...so I marched to the treadmill, armed with a banana, a couple dates and dried apricots, and my 32 oz. water bottle. Honestly, it was the most horrid run ever, because the last 4 miles something sort of snapped in my foot which made every step really painful. It was like I pulled something hard and then I could feel a blister on my other foot...and then my hip felt all funny, like it wasn't really in the right spot...I knew I should probably stop, but I get so stubborn sometimes and I hated the idea of stopping at 8 miles when I had only 4 more to go to finish my goal. So I kept on going...but then it hurt so much, that I had to slow down and put a lot of my weight on the handbars. I know holding on handbars doesn't really count as true running, but I was so desperate to finish.

My i-pod tracks my runs (thanks to Nike+ shoes) and I had paused the workout for a minute...when I had run for a while, I realized that I hadn't un-paused it. So I stopped my room at 11.25 miles, because I guessed that I had probably run a quarter of a mile when it wasn't tracking. But because I'm so physcological and felt like I hadn't quite finished, so later, after I had rested my feet a bit, I "ran" around our hall for around 15 minutes to get .75 miles more done. This was just to make sure I had really done it, lol. I couldn't believe that it took me 15 minutes to run that little, but my foot hurt so much I had to go really slow. But I did it and that's all that mattered! (see, I said I was stubborn)

Anyway, my lesson learned? Well, I'm not quite sure, but maybe I should warm up before I run. I'm a complete lazy person when it comes to warming up prior to exercise and have never done it, nor had any ill effects for not doing it.

I simply love this quote...

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."

-George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

All the same...it's a very wise idea to listen to your body, especially if it hurts, lol. Oh, and warm up!

What helps me RUN...

Six weeks ago I thought running 3 miles was killing me...but now, since following a ten-week running program, I consider those miles almost relaxing. Yesterday I ran 11 miles, the most I've ever run in my life. Over the past 6 weeks...I've run a total of 105 miles. I never dreamt I'd be able to do that.

Of course, it's still winter where I live so I've been doing this on the treadmill. I expect that once I'm outdoors again, it will be harder, since you're dealing with hills and different terrain, but doing things a little a time really works. I'm not a hardcore runner like my brothers...I run for about 9 minutes and walk about 1 minute. I've tried the other way, where you just don't stop at all, but the prospect of running 2 solid hours does not sound appealing.

Here's what's been helping me...

• dates and dried apricots...I don't think I'd last long running without these. The intense sugars in them gives me quick energy. I usually have one bite of dried fruit per ten minutes and that really seems to work for me. I think Lara Bars or the new Pure bars would be fun to try, since they're all dried fruit too. Next time I think I'll try goji berries.


• coconut water...I don't get this all the time because it's pricey...but when I can, it sure is nice. I like to chill it overnight in the fridge so that when I run the next morning or afternoon it's refreshingly cold. The electrolytes in coconut water are simply amazing for your body during strenuous exercise. (a pinch of sea salt is really great to put in the water for sodium)


• Nikie Plus shoes...one of my big brothers bought me this pair of shoes when he noticed I went running in flip flops all the time...and they're truly amazing. There's a chip in your shoe that connects to your i-pod, so that it tracks your run...distance, time, and calories included. It's like a running coach for me.


• Water!!! And lots of it...yesterday I drank a whole Nalgene bottle's worth during my run...and afterwards all I wanted was more. It's really important to rehydrate your body after a you lose a lot of water.


• Comfy running pants...I've ran in jeans and that's just dumb. Not very comfy.


• Green Smoothies for a post-run meal.

Yesterday I made the most amazing green smoothie...I adapted it from Tim VanOrden's recipe.

Here it is....

Post Run Smoothie

1 banana

1 c. blueberries

1 tsp. organic, raw maca

1 tsp. blue manna flakes (helps adrenals recover) and a pinch of dulse (sodium)

1 TB. North Coast organic Hemp Protein Powder

1 TB. raw, organic pumpkin seeds

As much spinach as you can fit in your high-speed blender

3 ice cubes and some water to blend, as needed

BLEND, BLEND, and BLEND...it is absolutely delish!!

And I really recommend North Coast Naturals Hemp Protein powder...(here's a link where there's a sale on for it)

Hemp Protein Powder can supply any diet with a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, chlorophyll and a complete, balanced gluten-free source of the essential amino acids. Hope you give it a try...it's nice to refuel with a protein powder, but there aren't many powders that are really good quality. Raw Power, I hear, is also really good, but I have yet to try it.

Benefits:
100% certified organic hemp protein powder; absolutely zero non-organic powder present!
100% Vegan
50% protein which is 56% more protein than other hemp proteins, which contain only 32-37% protein.
Very rich in fibre (8g per serving) and high in EFAs, including GLA.
Derived from non-gmo, certified organic, THC free hemp seeds.
Derived from a cold press milling process, that does not use solvents or hexane.
Gluten Free, Wheat Free
Kosher Powder
Contains edestin and albumen proteins, which are similar in structure to the proteins that naturally occur in our bodies.

What helps you run?

Awww, thanks!

Paulina of Eating as Nature Intended, nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger Award, which was sweet of her. I love blogging, though I have been too busy lately to keep up with it...but now, I'm trying to be more regular with it.

Here's the rules: I share with you seven things that I love and then I nominate seven other bloggers for the honor.

1. I absolutely love, love, love trying new things and don't understand people who don't, it's the experience that's so magical, even it happens to be eating frog's legs (which, I've discovered, I do not like)

2. I adore drama and acting and hope to be in Christian film someday

3. I don't care how childish it is, but I adore swinging and will never stop, even at 99.

4. I love makeup and green masks and all those girly things...as long as they're natural

5. Heels are the most amazing things ever, but I don't wear them too often because then I tower over people..like, you know, a tower (I'm already 5' 11")

6. I love singing SO much, it's one of my most fave things to do!

7. People are really important to me...I love meeting new people and observing them

8. I love God so much and am thankful to Him for the amazing life He's given me...I always want to go through life grateful (oops! Is that eight, lol?!)

And I'm tagging...


1. Shannonmarie of Rawdorable
2. Tera and/or Amy of Raw Divas
3. Penni of Real Food Tulsa
4. Jayna of Raw Fit Mama
5. Kristen of Kristen's Raw
6. Heidi of HiHoRosie's Place
7. Heather of Adventures of a Raw Goddess

A Little Cleanup

A few days ago my stomach wasn't feeling top notch, so I decided my insides needed a good ole bath...so this week, for a couple days, I've been doing the Master Cleanse...finally breaking with some grapefruit and an orange...

It's amazing how two days without food makes you a very grateful person...I seem to take everything for granted sometimes, especially food, lol. Now a slice of orange is like heaven...

I even did a couple runs on my empty stomach and they weren't too bad, but I certainly didn't have the energy that I do when I have eaten something the night before.

Even though I don't really like "cleansing", the feeling afterwards always makes me want to do it again...you just feel better and it hypes your appreciation for food in general.

Stay grateful...