Top Ten Foods To use on Your Body

I love food.

Which is pretty obvious I know.

But I don't only love eating food, I also love slathering it on various parts of my body to make them smooth, soft, heal and smell nice. There are so many benefits to doing this.

You have most of these items in your kitchen, so it's very accessible. It's also much much more affordable than those thousand dollar high-end products that are so full of chemicals and are mostly plant-derived anyways. So hey, just make 'em fresh in your kitchen instead and get amaazing results!

1. Coconut Oil:

Pretty much everyone has heard of the trendy coconut oil. It has amazing properties that help dry or irritated skin regain vitality and gets rid of itchiness. I love using it on my hair daily, on sunburns or rashes.

2. Fresh Aloe

This one is truly a lifesaver. When I get a bit too much sun, this in combination with coconut oil relieves the pain and tenderness overnight. It's also a great thing to add to your daily regiment for both face and body, leaving skin super soft.

3. Bananas

Bananas are an amazing hair mask, just mash one up very well, or give it a good whirl in the blender, and spread it out in your hair evenly. Leave it in for 10 minutes and rinse well. It cleanses and refreshes your hair while adding shine and softness.

4. Avocado

This powerhouse is great in a multitude of ways. Spread it through your hair for one of the deepest treatments, or as a facial mask.

5. Papaya

This fruit is great to tighten up skin, just mash it up and leave it on until dry. Rinse off with cold water and feel your skin getting tighter and vibrant.

6. Lemons

A great addition to the previous three treatments, lemons are also a great astringent used to clean your face of impurities. Start using it diluted with water first, using it pure can cause reactions to sensitive skins.

7. Oats

Combining oats with lemon, coconut oil or avocado and sugar gives you a great exfolliant that is gentle enough for both face and body. Use it once a week to gently but effectively cleanse your pores.

8. Mango

One of my favorite fruits, mango is a great toner and rejuvenator. Alternate it's use with papaya and have forever young looking skin.

9. Strawberries

The high levels of antioxidants in berries or any dark red fruits help protect your skin from the daily damage it is subjected to.


10. Watermelon

While eating the fruit is amazingly hydrating, if you need an extra boost in moisture, rub some on your face as you feast. It will help lock in moisture and keep your face fresh and flake free.

Top Ten Game Day Eats

I used to be a huge sports fan. Hockey was my game, but really I'd watch most sports. Nowadays, I usually just use my friends interest in sports to make them awesome vegan food. I even hosted a Grey Cup party before coming to Costa Rica. I just wanted to make chilli cheese fries.

Big game days, like the Superbowl that's imminent, are serious foodie days. People have their staples, or go all gourmet and make feasts worthy of Kings.

I like going ALL out. Bring out the showstoppers people.

Especially when it means showing off your plant-based cooking skills in dishes that will have people taking back their "being vegan is difficult" comments while chowing down on your masterpieces.

While I do take out the foods that I may not always eat, I think that it is 100% possible to make a healthy, decadent spread for all to enjoy. Beats having that stomach ache later.

SO here is my top 10 game day recipes:

1. Buffalo Cauliflower

These babies can be fired up to any spice level you want. They are crunchy delicious bites that can also be made as saucy as you like. Personally, I like drowning them.

2. Chilli

No game day spread is complete without chilli, enough said.

3. Chilli Cheese Fries

While you're at it, might as well make a build your own chilli cheese fries bar. These are so good I could eat nothing else for a week.

4. Guacamole

Mix it up with some salsa for an explosion of flavor.

Another staple of the day, just whip up an extra large batch of the recipe from the Chilli Cheese Fries. Watch as it accomplishes it's inevitable disappearing act!

5. Black Bean Sliders

This recipe is easy to covert to bite-size patties. Serve em up with your favorite toppings.

6. Hummus

This one's not just for the herbivores, I was addicted to hummus way before I switched over to the plant-based ways. There are a million variations, try out roasted red pepper, sundried tomato, or black olive varieties. Apparently, this blog is lacking a recipe for this delicious dip. I will have to rememeber to remedy to that!

7. Hell-Fire Dip

Let's get that mouth burning just a bit more, shall we? This dip has got one hell of a kick, depending on what hot sauce and jerk sauce you use. You can easily tone it down if a fire breathing mouth isn't your thing.

8. Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are the new burrito. Okay, nothing will ever replace the burrito. This one is easy to whip up and you can vary the fillings to whatever is in season. This is much better than a simple garden salad any day.

9. Melon Citrus Slushies

You've go have something delicious to accompany all those decadent dishes. This one is cool and refreshing, a greta compliment to all the rich food you'll be serving.

10. Black Bean Brownies

Make these bad boys into two-bite brownies by using a small muffin tray. Serve with some banana ice cream!

ENJOY!!

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Top 10 Ways to Eat Avocado.

Sooo top 10 Friday turned into top 10 Saturday. Can't say that I am the best at keeping a strict schedule, I'm a bit more of a go with the flow of the day type person. Nevertheless, I am quite set on doing this 3 posts a week deal.

To start off the Top 10 series, I think that the delicious avocado is in need of a little spotlight treatment. Other than the occasional coconut/coconut milk, it's basically the only fat source in my diet. Unless I can find some durian, which I could go for just about now...

Anyways, like I said, avocado is a frequent addition to my meals. I have one about every other day or at the least every few days. While I could simply eat it with a spoon and be content, it's versatility has me making all kinds of things with it. Let's go from simplest to complex:

1. Topping:

Avocado makes a great topping to just about anything: grain bowls or a simple bowl of rice and braggs, sushi, pasta, refried beans, chilli, soups, salads, on top of salsa, quinoa, pizza, the list goes on!

2. As a sauce:

My favorite of all sauces made with avocado is this one which is a recipe for a mac and cheese that is so easy and delicious you''l thank me after the first bite.

I think that using avo as a base for any sauce that needs to be creamy works great. It also usually brings down your prep time because you don't have to cook it, simply blend and pour over the hot vessel that shall be receiving the goodness. My ideas include alfredo sauce, carbonara, hollandaise, vodka, sun-dried tomato or roasted red pepper sauce...

3. Dip.

Everyone knows the amazing food category that is guacamole, any gathering is incomplete without the fast-vanishing dish. I have a recipe for a basic one here. But what about a nacho dip? This one is super simple, mash avocado with nooch, hot sauce and a little braggs or salt. Maybe a little cumin or chili powder to fancy it up a bit.

It's also an essential layer to a Mexican dip. To prvent your avo dip from browning, add in some lime or lemon juice. It also always kicks up the flavor. You can always do what my partner does as well, simply cut and pit the avo, spray with a little lime and dip veggies directly in!

Guac mixed in with a bit of salsa, deeeelicious.

4. Mayo Substitute

In any way that you would use mayonnaise, an equal portion of well mashed avocado will do the trick. Try this one with a little Frank's hot sauce, instant spicy "mayo"!

5. As a vessel

That little dip in the avo is a perfectly nature give vessel to fill with delicious toppings such as fresh pico de gallo, roasted tomatoes and red onions, coleslaw, hearts of palm...

6. As a base for desserts

Making icing just got healthier, instead of using shortening, replace it with avocado. While a vanilla icing will come out green, it's easily camouflaged in chocolate or with a little beet juice for color. But hey, green icing looks amazing and will be a great conversation piece.

7. In a salad dressing

Craving ranch or ceaser dressing? Don't want oils or want to soak those nuts/seeds? Look no further! Avocado is a great base for any smooth creamy dressing recipe you want. Try using a whisk to mash and get to the creamiest consistency.

8. In baking recipes

This is a new one to me, you can apparently use avocado in denser baking recipes, like pancakes and breads. Replace the fats with avo and have some interesting looking baked goods!

9. In a gazpacho 

Raw soups are absolutely delicious, while they aren't all gazpachos, they are easy to make and only require a blender. If you have a high speed blender you can also warm up your raw soups a bit to make it all that more comforting of a cold day. The only recommendation I have here is to reserve the avocado until the soup is basically done so that it doesn't get too blended or cook since it can develop a somewhat bitter taste.

10. In risotto. 

Move over cheeze, I;ve got a new one for this creamy rice dish. Stir in some diced avocado to take it to the next level. Great vegetable pairings would be asparagus, zucchini and spinach, making this a very nutritious meal!

Enjoy!

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