Beautiful Fruits: Strawberry Face Mask

July 27, 2011 at 2:00 pm (Beauty, Healthy Veggie Bios, Nutrition)
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Strawberries are not only a delicious fruit, they also pack a punch of nutrition in that little package!  Studies have indicated that eating a diet rich in strawberries can help protect your heart, lower your blood pressure, and prevent certain kinds of cancer.  Strawberries are also chock-full of vitamin C and antioxidants, which help keep your body happy and healthy.  Even better – strawberries are loaded with folates.  In fact, one cup of strawberries contains 40 mcg of folate.  Yes!

All those antioxidants and folates can help improve your hair, skin, and nails.  Both help your body make new cells and repair cell damage to places like your facial skin.  Strawberries also contain salicylic acid, which rids the skin of dead cells, makes your skin pores smaller and your face look brighter and shinier. They can gently refresh and exfoliate the skin, remove impurities, and reduce redness and swelling.

For more information about better health through strawberries, check out Oregon State’s Berry Health Benefits Network.

If you can stop yourself from eating this delicious-sounding strawberry mask recipe, use it on your face to promote clear skin, remove dirt and build up, and to counteract aging effects.

“Homemade Strawberry Facial Mask”

Ingredients

  • 4-5 very ripe, medium strawberries
  • 2 teaspoons heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

  1. Rinse strawberries and dry with a clean cloth or paper towel
  2. In a small bowl, mash fruit with a fork.  Add cream and honey, mixing well.
  3. Apply immediately and wait 20 minutes.  Rinse with lots of warm water.  Pat face dry.

Some tips for making homemade facial masks:

  • Cleanse your face before applying mask, using a toner
  • Use soft water or distilled water, whenever possible
  • Apply the mask by beginning at the chin area and moving up to the cheeks and forehead. Apply the nose next, moving outward toward the cheeks. Be sure to leave space around the mouth, eyes, and eyebrows. Finally, spread the mask on your throat, moving from bottom to top.
  • Always use immediately!  Because you don’t use preservatives, the mixture can go bad and damage your skin!

Via: strawberry-recipes.com

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Healthy Veggie Bio & Recipe – Chickpeas (a.k.a. Garbanzo beans)

April 5, 2011 at 3:07 pm (Food & Recipes, Foodie Tuesdays, Healthy Veggie Bios, Uncategorized)
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Hurray! Healthy Veggie Bios are back!  We love sharing healthy food facts in our blog.  This time, we introduce a skin smoothing, folate rich bean – chickpeas.

According to the article “Keep Skin Smooth with this Creamy Snack” at RealAge.com, chickpeas have the right nutrients to make your skin smoother and healthier.  This includes molybdenum, manganese, and folate.  Molybdenum helps detox skin by helping remove sulfites from the body.  Manganese helps skin cells produce energy and fights wrinkle-causing free radical damage.  Folate helps skin cells repair damage from sun and toxins.  Of course, chickpeas are also high in fiber.  So they not only help to detox your skin, they also help to detox your digestive system.

One of the most popular recipes for chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) is hummus.  Hummus is a great dip that can go with celery, crackers, pita chips, and many other dippers.  This hummus recipe is taken from the Urban Sprouts Cookbook 2010.  Urban Sprouts is a San Francisco based non-profit organization that works with youth and their families in under-served schools/neighborhoods to build eco-literacy, equity, wellness, and community.  They have gardens and nutrition programs in 7 San Francisco schools, which provided learning opportunities for students.

Hummus

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed
  • ¼ cup tahini (stir before measuring)
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, about 40 seconds.  Adjust seasonings to taste.
  2. Chill at least 30 minutes and serve cold.
  3. Hummus can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 days.

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Healthy Veggie Bio – Okra

August 16, 2010 at 3:57 pm (Healthy Veggie Bios)
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How can you tell what is in season right now?  The best and the most convenient way is to stop by the farmer’s market near you.  Recently, the Go Folic! Team went to the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market to find what is in season.  We saw okra in some of the stands.  We went back to the office and decided to do some research on this vegetable.

Okra was first discovered around Ethiopia during the 12th century and was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians.  It was believed okra seeds came to North America in the 1600s during the Atlantic slave trade.  During World War II, due to the shortage of coffee beans, okra seeds were used as a coffee substitute.  Okra is mostly grown in the southern United States after it was first introduced.  Okra is commonly found in African, Middle Eastern, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Caribbean, and Southern American cuisines. 

Okra is a good source of nutrients including folate, fiber, Vitamin A, C, calcium, and iron.  The high fiber content of okra can stabilize blood sugar and cholesterol.  Because of Vitamin A and folate content, okra can also promote macular and skin health. 

If you always wonder how to cook okra and not make it slimy, check back for tomorrow’s Foodie Tuesday.

Reference:

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/okra.html

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Healthy Veggie Bio – Navy Beans

July 26, 2010 at 3:46 pm (Healthy Veggie Bios)
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Did you know that July is National Baked Bean Month?  In July, Americans consume 50 million pounds of baked beans!  The cans can build a trail that is longer than the Historic Route 66, which runs from Los Angeles to Chicago.

During the colonial days, Boston was famous for baked beans, which was how it gained its nickname, “Beantown”.  Molasses is one of the main ingredients in baked beans. According to Boston Online, Boston was drowned with molasses in 1919 due to an explosion of a molasses tank.  The event was called the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, that killed 21 people.

In addition to molasses, some of the most common ingredients in making baked beans are bacon, brown sugar, onions, and, of course, Navy Beans.  Navy beans are also known as Haricot Beans.  They are small dry white beans that look like kidney beans.  They are the most commercially used in canned baked beans because their skins are not easy to break during cooking.

Have you ever asked why Navy Beans are called Navy Beans?  According to World’s Healthiest Food, members of the United States Navy ate a lot of “Navy” beans during the late 1800’s.   Navy beans can be stored for a long time, and they provide an excellent source of nutrition.  Navy beans are high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.  Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows down the digestion process. It can help lower the total cholesterol and LDL (low density lipoprotein). It thus reduces the risk of heart disease.

Source: World's Healthiest Foods

Only one cup of cooked Navy beans can provide the following amounts of your daily nutrition needs:

  • 63.7% of folate
  • 59.4% of tryptophan
  • 50.5% of manganese
  • 46.6% of dietary fiber
  • 31.7% of protein
  • and many more…
As mentioned before, July is National Baked Bean Month. Every year, many people from throughout the nation make YouTube videos for this occasion.

We saw some very interesting ones, and hope you will like this one.

We will introduce a bean stew recipe for tomorrow’s Foodie Tuesday.  If you want to know how to make it, come back and you will find out tomorrow.

REFERENCE: http://www.cookthink.com/reference/1060/Why_are_they_called_navy_beans

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First Healthy Veggie Bio – Corn

July 12, 2010 at 1:44 pm (Healthy Veggie Bios)
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Summer started a few weeks ago.  We are still enjoying our splendid weather.  There is one activity that most of us will do this summer.  Barbecue!!!  One of the vegetables you will most likely bring… is guess what…. Corn!!

Today, our FIRST Veggie Bio is about corn.

When you think of corn, you might think of high fructose corn syrup, popcorn, or tortilla chips.  However, corn is not as bad as you think.  Corn is a good source of Vitamin B1 and folate.  Corn is a year round vegetable. But summer has the freshest and the sweetest corn.

Corn is believed to have originated in Mexico or Central America. It has been one of the staples in native civilizations for more than 7000 years.  Corn is a good source of nutrients.  Each cup of cooked corn contains:  

  • 24% of your daily requirement for Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
  • 19% of your daily folate
  • 17% of your daily Vitamin C
  • 17% of your daily phosphorus
  • 14% of your daily pantothenic acid 
Corn Nutrients

Source: World's Healthiest Foods

The nutrients in corn can give you better cardio, lung, and memory health. 

According to “World’s Healthiest Foods” by George Mateljan, beta-cryptoxanthin is found in highest amounts in corn, pumpkin, and papaya.  Research shows that consumption high in this phytochemical can lower the risk of lung cancer. 

Sweet corn is a good source of folate.  Folate can reduce the level of homocysteine in the body.  High levels of homocysteine can damage blood vessels and contribute to your risk for heart disease.  High folate consumption can also lower birth defect rates and risk of colon cancer.

The high amount of thiamine in sweet corn may help to protect against age-related memory loss because this B vitamin prevents cognitive decline. 

There are many more health benefits from eating fresh, sweet corn.  If you want to make a healthy dish with delicious corn, stay tuned for tomorrow’s Foodie Tuesday.

What other fruits/vegetables you are curious about?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

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