Put butternut squash on your face, then make a soup from the rest.
You are Gorgeous.
just another day in paradise
Most estheticians would agree that exfoliating is an important part of skincare as it:
Improves skin texture (i.e. makes it look nice)
Allows other skin care products to penetrate more deeply. By removing the top layer of dead skin cells, you allow for your fancy $90 serum to go down deep and do its job.
Why I put butternut squash on my face:
Likely believing in that moment that it would solve all of my problems, I purchased an "enzyme pumpkin mask”. After feeling underwhelmed with the result, and that I had been duped, I figured I could instead put pumpkin directly onto my face. Why not get those magical enzymes directly from the source itself?
What do enzymes do for your skin?
Enzymes act like a pair of scissors to your dead skin cells. They break down proteins (in this case proteins are your dead skin), which then reveals your new skin underneath. What you really need to know in the world of skincare is that enzymes can make you look quite nice.
disclaimer:
I am not an esthetician, but I have been to see many of them in my life. I ask a lot of questions, and use the science I’ve learned as a dietitian to test out my own skincare theories using myself as the subject. So, what I present with my recommendations related to skin are theory combined with anecdotal experience. It is not research.
Face Mask Instructions:
Get a butternut squash
Rinse and scrub it a bit, in case there’s dirt. Don’t dry it off.
Make slits in the squash with a knife. I don’t cut the squash in half when it’s raw because it’s hard as a rock, and I don’t want to hurt my prized chef’s knife. The important thing is to make many slits in the squash to allow steam to escape while it’s cooking.
Put squash in a microwave that can rotate for 5 minutes.
If it’s still completely hard (and it likely is), cook for another 5 minutes. Do this in 5 minute intervals until you can easily pierce the squash with a fork. It may take up to 25 minutes, it all depends on the size of your squash.
being able to get a fork into your squash is a way to tell that it’s cooked
The squash will be super hot, so please use a towel to take it out of the microwave.
Cut the cooked squash in half lengthwise which will be quite easy since the squash is now soft. Wash your knife right away so the orange squash gunk doesn’t dry onto it.
save the seeds, they will taste good later on
Scoop out some of the squash flesh with a fork, and mash it in a small bowl.
this face mask costs about 10 cents
Now go into the bathroom and get as much of that squash on your face as you can. You can scrub some of it on your face while you’re putting it on, which should feel nice. Do what feels nice, treat yourself right.
Note that butternut squash on your face is messy. Pieces may fall off, so don’t do this when your boyfriend, housemate, wife, girlfriend or anyone who can finger point is around. If any of it falls onto the floor, deny, deny, deny.
Now go make the soup while the mask is drying on your face. Do not wash off the mask until it is completely dried onto your face, at least 30 minutes.
Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients:
1 cooked butternut squash (mine was 4 pounds)
1 large onion, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon “curry powder”
1/2 teaspoon chili or cayenne powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 carton or 1 small can chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
more hot water, as needed
salt to taste
eggs and cilantro, to serve
equipment: high quality blender like a Vitamix or Ninja and a soup pot
Directions:
Heat soup pot on medium, then add olive oil.
Once oil is hot, add curry powder, chili, and cumin powder. Each cuisine in the world has a cooking technique to admire, and I think that the Indian technique to cook dry spices in oil makes a lot more sense than the western technique to add spices later in the cooking process. Spices are fat soluble, and oil is fat, so it not only wakes the flavors up with the heat but helps them emulsify more thoroughly into the final dish.
the flavors in dry spices are rendered best if added to oil in the beginning of the cooking process
Dump the onion and garlic into the pot. Stir everything around for 5 or so minutes until the onion breaks down a bit, but do not brown the onion.
the onion and garlic don’t need to be perfectly uniform, as we’re going to put everything in the blender
blenders : hiding chopping inconsistencies since 1981
depending on your style, you can use your hands or a spoon to dig out the squash seeds. The seeds will later taste great when you toast them in the microwave.
this is what the seeds look like after getting toasted with some salt and olive oil
Dig out all of the bright orange squash, and throw it in the soup pot. Compost or discard the beige colored skin, as it is of no use to you.
I’ll admit, not as pretty before the blender gets to it
Add the broth and / or water and heat everything for a few minutes, then turn the flame off.
(30 minutes later and your mask is dry)
Now go take a shower you filthy animal! You have orange junk on your face, and maybe got some in your hair.
I was not able to capture a photo of me washing off the face mask, but I’m sure it went something like this
Now note how beautiful you look.
Tip: take this opportunity to layer your favorite cream, toner, hyaluronic acid, or whatever you know your skin is thirsty for. The product will penetrate better than usual since you just rinsed that layer of dead skin cells into your drain. But, don’t worry if you don’t have a fancy cream, you will still look great for simply having done the mask.
Finish the Soup
Get the blender out (and perhaps cover yourself with a robe), and puree the soup in batches. If it is still hot, make sure to open the lid from time to time to let some air escape. You might add in more hot water to get it to your desired thickness - this is personal preference.
Add salt. Taste the soup. If you think it tastes nice, your soup is done.
The finised soup will be lighter in color than it was prior to puree. It should also be more visually appealing.
Toast the Squash seeds
Rinse the seeds you’d set aside in a sieve until most all of the orange bits are gone. The orange bits won’t hurt you, but aren’t necessarily nice otherwise.
move the seeds around with your other hand to speed up this process
Get a plate and lay out your seeds. It’s okay if they’re still pretty wet. Shake salt and olive oil on them and spread onto the plate so they don’t touch one another.
Microwave the seeds for 2 minutes, then check on them. Continue to microwave in 1 minute intervals until they are dried out and very lightly browned. You will be tempted to continue to cook them - I know how you are - but please do not. Once dry to the touch, the seeds are cooked and ready for crunching.
if you have any leftover, use these in a salad or on top of pasta in place of parmesan cheese
serve the soup
In a frying pan crack an egg and let it cook untouched until the whites are crisp and the yellow is just barely darkened. It’s funny that we refer to it as the ‘yellow’ since the sign of a high quality yolk is that it’s orange in color, indicating that the chicken ate quality food.
Heat up your soup and ladle some into a bowl. Gently place the fried egg on top of the soup, sprinkle with the toasted seeds, cilantro, and 1 filetto or strip of olive oil. Serving soup with a bit of olive oil like this is something I learned from the Italians. Italians know their food.
Serve it to your beautiful face, or someone else’s moderately nice face that is probably still covered with dead skin cells. You are awesome.
I prefer to eat the entire yolk in one bite, but do what you think is best
Efficiency is important to me. I figure if you're going to buy food with your own money, then carry it all the way home, you'd might as well put some on your face. As it turns out, an avocado mask can make your face look fresh and bright.
Disclaimer from the dietitian : This skin related recommendation is not based on scientific evidence. There is no 1,000 person study evaluating the benefits of smearing avocado on your face. But, when I combine what I learned in nutrition school, what I've learned from my esthetician, I assess possible risk, and see how fine I look after I rub this on my face, it's enough to recommend it. This post is the very thing blogs are for, despite my dislike of the word blog.
Open a ripe avocado with a knife.
This avocado worked well on my face, despite being bruised.
Wash your face with a rag, or use a gentle exfoliant. This will remove normally occurring dead skin on your face, which blocks good serums and moisturizers from getting properly absorbed into your skin.
amount of avocado I used on my face. I think I spent 10 cents for the portion.
After washing and scrubbing, smear the spoonful of avocado all over your face. Most store bought masks instruct you to keep the product away from your eyes, but as far as I can tell after testing, there is no risk in applying as far as I did in the photo. Rub on the avocado and give your face a good massage with it, because it feels nice. Now go do other things and wait until the mask has dried, about 20 minutes. You'll know when it has dried, and it will feel exciting. Now, ask your unsuspecting housemate Malay to take photos of you with green on your face.
It just so happens I'm a female, but men can rub avocado on their face too.
Wash the mask off in the shower, because there is probably some in your hair.
Why could this be good for your face? There are a lot of vitamin C skin products out there. I have bought them and like what they do to my skin, as vitamin C is needed for collagen synthesis. It's also present in all plant foods, and is an antioxidant (meaning it keeps things from oxidizing, or getting older). There is a lot of vitamin C in avocado, as well as thousands of other antioxidants and enzymes that do good things. There are enzymes and antioxidants scientists haven't even discovered, but they're doing the research, and they know that these magical compounds are present in plants. If you buy face masks that boast enzymes and antioxidants, why not instead go straight to the source? Also, the fat from the avocado seems to make my skin soft, though this is merely my observation.
Please know however - avocado on your face will not save your life - or fix everything about your skin. I still purchase face products. Many are great, and I'm selective. A lot of the products are also expensive, from companies run by people who aren't trying to save the world, and the products come in excessive and wasteful packaging. But yes, some products do work well.
To take care of my skin beyond my homemade masks, I get facials whenever time and budget allows for it. I spend money and time on my face because, well, it's my face.
The avocado had now dried, explaining why I'm so happy.
Like I said, I plan to eat the avocado too. Efficiency is important. I consume avocados because (a) they taste good (b) they're healthy : fiber + good fats + a lot of antioxidants + some carbohydrate + tiny bit protein (c) they're easy to eat and (d) they are a whole food. The composition of nutrients in any whole food is already at ratios of fat, carbohydrate, protein and fiber your digestive system prefers. They contain a little bit of everything in ideal amounts. This is a key point to understanding nutrition science.
Circling back. When I'm in a hurry, I eat the entire avocado with a spoon after cutting it in half. This went well when I had to be to work at 7 am and needed something quick in my stomach. The avocado would sustain me until 10 am, then I'd be ready to eat something else. Now, below is a photo of toast. That will improve things.
Keep bread in the freezer and it will last longer. Soon I'll cover this with avocado.
Avocado toast is a food trend that I support. Instead of eating just the avocado like a barbarian, get yourself a piece of bread, which keeps you full for a longer period of time. Toast it, spread on the avocado with a fork, and add salt.
The minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium in the avocado offset the sodium content you are adding to make this avocado toast taste good. I don't worry about sodium when it's added to a plant food like this, because those minerals actually have the ability to displace it. Mind blown!
You could also use rice crackers or put a corn tortilla in the toaster if you don't have bread. Some places that sell avocado toast add lime juice, cilantro, sesame seeds, jalapeno, an egg, and/or high quality salt.
I don't see nothin' wrong with a little Tapatio pump 'n grind.
There you have it.
You just spent $2.50 on an avocado and managed to eat a healthy snack, plus you look dead sexy with your now glowing and soft skin. You didn't spend more money on products and you also didn't contribute to more garbage. You are fantastic.
As a little girl, I wasn't on the bandwagon of having a favorite color. By now, I have changed my tune. Fruits and vegetables in purple are the best color of all, and this post explains why.
Concord Grapes. The white on the outside is yeast, beneficial to your immune system.
My bias in food is always based on health and flavor. Fruits and vegetables violet in color are especially "nutrient dense" (nerd speak, meaning lots of vitamins and things good for you). Also, they taste good, so I eat them whenever possible.
The healthy parts are in the anthocyanins (greek for blue flower) and betains. Both are purplish pigmented antioxidants, which benefit your heart. There are about 300 known anthocyanins and about 50 known betains. (I said about, as various antioxidants and their nutritive potential is an exploding field of nutrition research right now. There is still a lot to be uncovered.)
Eggplant, enjoying the San Francisco view.
A happy family.
Purple containing plants contain more antioxidants than what you can see. When torn, purple leaves are often green on the inside, and the green you see is from chlorophyll. Try doing this with a piece of purple thai basil. The violet is actually created by the plant to protect itself and to protect the chlorophyll. This explains why (green) chlorophyll is located inside of the leaf, and why (purple) anthocyanins are on the outside. In fact, all antioxidants (of which there are thousands) are created to protect the plant itself from oxidants, like the sun and passing of time. Then, you eat those antioxidants and you are protected from the sun and time. This fact is a great sell on why we should consume plant foods at every meal. Also, I'd be willing to bet there are betacarotenoids (antioxidants orange in color) hiding in purple fruits and veg, but we would have to get into a laboratory to find out. Maybe the beans pictured below could be used in the experiment.
Purple beans from the farmer's market inspired this post.
So deep in color, they are almost black. But when torn open, these beans are green on the inside.
We are accustomed to seeing green broccoli, white cauliflower and red tomatoes, but most items we're used to seeing in one color comes in other hues too.
Modern farming practices have led us to whittle down the diverse quantity of plant foods to get one standard type, like a red apple. Don't let them fool you - there are about 5,000 varietals of apples.
For longer shelf life, keep blueberries in a closed container between layers of paper towels.
Cooking Purple fruit and veg are beautiful in their raw state, but know there will be visual changes from cooking. Anthocyanins and betains are water soluble, and boiling will cause color to bleed out. Acid and base also have an effect. If you take purple cabbage and add an acid like lime juice, it will become more red in color (delicious tip --> Iime + purple cabbage is a great start to an asian slaw recipe). When a base is added - like tap water - the cabbage becomes more blue in color. (These blue and red changes are both result of transferring -OH groups, by the way).
There you have it- purple plants contain anthocyanins, betains and a whole lot of pretty. We eat first with our eyes and second with our heart --> so enjoy yourself and take care of that heart!
So many choices when dining in a restaurant can be overwhelming. Most dishes are a large portion, and have more salt and fat than a meal you would use in your own cooking. Be strategic and get a reasonable game plan before heading out to eat.
I’ve always been kind of a hippie. Combine that with my San Francisco elitist background, and you would never catch me using or promoting a microwave. Then I went to dietitian school, which is an evidence based degree, and all of my ideas about microwaves got disproven. I learned that:
(1) Microwaves do not minimize nutritive quality
(2) You can toast nuts in a microwave
To have a good day, I need breakfast that will sustain me through to lunch.
Ingredients: nut of your choice (I like almonds or pecans)
quality plain yogurt
fruit of your choice
good maple syrup
cinnamon
I toasted these babies for 45 seconds, but times will vary. Microwaves work fast!
Directions:
In the bowl, toast large handful of nuts in microwave for 45 seconds. Add more time if you're a risk taker. Open Tupperware containing fruit you had already cut up at start of the week. You cut it up ahead because you know that planning is magic. Add yogurt and a bit of maple syrup. Eat it.
Make sure you eat a large enough portion to make you feel satiated or full. Then, notice how balanced you feel (and not cranky) throughout the day. In general, try to pay attention to how you feel after you eat a certain meal. If you feel like garbage, maybe don't eat that meal again.
This meal should: keep you full until lunch, because it has vitamins, minerals, fiber + good balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat. It also tastes quite nice.
Who Cares About Breakfast? ➞read below if interested, otherwise, just toast some nuts.
When you eat breakfast at 8 am, and dinner the night before was 8 pm, your body has been without food for 12 hours. Our bodies are amazing, and have mechanisms to provide us with energy while we sleep to make up for this small 12 hour no food problem (the liver will secrete glucagon). But if you skip breakfast, by the time you eat lunch, your body hasn't had food or glucose for say 16 hours, and really, the body prefers not to operate this way. Please eat breakfast, give your body the fuel it needs.
I break up the pomegranate at the start of the week. Then it's ready, and breakfast is easy.
I didn't manage to get a photo of the yogurt + nuts + fruit combo, but I think you get it.
This is a whole food meal, and you are a whole person. Aiming to eat whole foods will keep you at your best.
Check out my guest post on Broke Ass Stuart!
I like to eat, eat, eat opals and banonos.