holistic nutritionist – Page 3

Holistic Beauty Review – The Best At Home Chemical Peel I have Ever Tried

Published on July 27, 2017July 26, 2017 by soreiyaLeave a comment

There seems to be a myth that clean beauty is not as effective or as powerful as regular (read: Toxin filled) beauty products. While that may be true with some products, the Juice Beauty Green Apple Full Strength Peel is not one of them. This is the the best clean beauty product that I have ever tried.Peels and sheet masks are two of my favourite skin care products, so my expectations are quite high when I am trying a new product. I first discovered the Green Apple Peel during a routine visit to Sephora last year. I was not familiar with the product and hadn’t read any of the reviews, but I was swayed by the information on the box and decided to give it a try. That night after washing my face, I carefully applied the peel according to the directions on the box and waited for it to work it’s magic. There was a bit of tingling but nothing crazy, then nothing. 10 minutes later, I washed off the peel to reveal fresh, soft glowing skin – I was hooked. There was a bit of redness which disappeared by the next morning, but the glow remained. I am a beauty junkie and it is rare for me to repurchase a product but, I am currently on my third jar of this stuff and I see no reason to switch it out of my weekly skin care regimen. It is fabulous!

So here are the details:

This peel is designed for all skin types (with the exception of people with sensitive skin or rosacea). It helps to even out skin tone by fading dark spots, uneven skin tone and it also helps to refine the texture of the skin. This peel also helps to blur the appearance of fine line and fights free radical damage on the skin. The superstar ingredients in this peel include apple juice and resveratrol both of which are rich in vitamins and contain powerful antioxidants, lemon to help to clarify and improve the skin tone and aloe leaf juice to improve the hydration and the natural moisture content within the skin.

As with all Juice Beauty product, every effort has been made to keep this product as clean as possible. This peel is free of parabans, petroleum, propylene, butylene glycol, sodium lauryl, sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances. It has also not been tested on animals.

Pros:

It is a very effective exfoliator
The texture is smooth and not so sticky
It has a fresh lemon scent
Washes off easily with a wash cloth

Cons:

Price – the first jar of this that I purchased was $45 but it now retails for $60 at Sephora. I love this product which is why I continue to repurchase it, but the price increase does bother me
The package design is kind of boring. Superficial I know but the former fashion girl in me wishes that it had a sleeker look.
It is a strong exfoliator (which is what I love about it) so if you have sensitive skin this is not the right product for you

Overall I would rate this product a 4.7/5

I love the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel and it is hands down one of my favourite skincare products. I have been using it for nearly a year and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in trying an effective clean beauty product.

I hope that you have a beautiful day! XXS

Watermelon, Cucumber and Halloumi Salad

Published on July 20, 2017July 20, 2017 by soreiya10 Comments

As a holistic nutritionist, it would be easy to assume that I eat a lot of salads. But the reality is, that it depends on the time of the year and the weather outside. While I eat a ton of vegetables year round, the idea of digging into a crisp cold salad when it is -40 outside doesn’t seem remotely appealing to me. It is during the warmer months that salads become a staple in my diet, and it would seem that I am not the only one that hones their salad making skills during the warmer months. If your Instagram feed looks anything like mine, then you are probably being inundated with tons of pictures of salads on a daily basis, the most popular being watermelon and feta cheese salad. While I consider watermelon and feta to be a delicious combination, lately have I wanted to kick things up a notch. Enter Halloumi cheese. For those of you that are not familiar with Halloumi, allow me to introduce you. Halloumi is a Cypriot unripened brined cheese that is normally made from goat or sheep’s milk. More recently, it is also made with cow’s milk so be sure to check the ingredients list if you have any difficulties with digesting cow’s milk. Halloumi is often used as a protein replacement by vegetarians in a variety of dishes, but it’s salty delicious flavour makes it a popular cheese among many, regardless of whether they eat meat or follow a vegetarian diet. Halloumi cheese with watermelon just makes sense to me – the salty and sweet flavours pair perfectly together in my opinion. Adding cucumbers to the mix elevates the water content of the dish and helps to meld the stronger flavours of both the watermelon and the cheese together.

Watermelon and cucumbers are both hydrating nutritional powerhouses in their own rights. Watermelon is a good source of Vitamin A, B6 and C, lycopene, antioxidants and minerals and is helpful in neutralizing cellular damage and cancer prevention. Cucumbers are high in enzymes, B vitamins, nutrients and electrolytes along with minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium. The skin of a cucumber contains silica which is helpful in boosting your skin from within to help you achieve a glowing complexion. When purchasing cucumbers, I strongly encourage you to purchase organic ones (if your budget allows) so that you can eat the skin without having to worry about any pesticide residue that may be left on the skin after cleaning it.

To call this a recipe would be comical. Consider them loose guidelines on how to assemble a delicious, refreshing and simple summer salad. Both cucumber and watermelon are great to eat when you are feeling a little bloated. Skip the cheese if you want to up the anti-bloat factor of this meal.

Ingredients:

1 organic baby cucumber, chopped

1 cup of watermelon, chopped

2 thick slices of Halloumi cheese

1 tsp fresh mint, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Cracked black pepper

Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the halloumi cheese until it is golden brown on both sides. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine the watermelon, cucumber and mint

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with black pepper

Top with Halloumi cheese

Enjoy!

The information provided in this blog post is solely for information purposes and not as a substitute for medical advice.

I hope that you have a beautiful day! XXS❤️

One Bowl Nutty Banana Breakfast Bars

Published on July 6, 2017July 5, 2017 by soreiyaLeave a comment

I have a love/hate relationship with breakfast. When I was younger it was the meal that I most frequently skipped, but I got older I began to learn the importance of having a good breakfast. Having said that, there are still days that I don’t quite practice what I preach and fail to properly nourish myself for the day ahead. I alway regret it when this happens, so I decided that I needed a recipe that was simple to make, doesn’t require a ton of complicated ingredients and tastes great. These breakfast bars have become the perfect solution to my breakfast problem.

Filled with many of my favourite breakfast ingredients including crunchy almond butter, nuts and oats, these breakfast bars are a great and satiating snack regardless of the time of day. High in protein and low in sugar, they have become my most recent breakfast obsession. On the days when I am not rushing out the door, I like to enjoy these bars with fresh berries and some extra nut butter. They are also great topped with yogurt and fresh fruit.

It is super easy to make substitutions to tailor these bars to your own personal taste, so consider the directions below loose guidelines to making simple breakfast bars that work for you. Substitute your favourite nut (or a combination of nuts) instead of the almonds and cashews that I used in the recipe below. If you don’t have chocolate chunks on hand substitute them for raisins.

Ingredients:

1 medium banana, ripened

1 1/2 cups oats

1 egg

1/3 cup crunchy almond butter

1/2 cup organic chocolate chunks

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1 tbsp + 1 tsp maple syrup (you can substitute raw honey if you prefer)

1 tbsp coconut oil

pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper

In a large bowl mash the peeled banana (try to get it as smooth as possible)

Stir in the almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and egg – combine until all of the ingredients are well incorporated

Add the oats and mix well

Add the baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon

Fold in the nuts and the chocolate chunks

Pour the mixture into the baking pan, smoothing the mixture into an even layer

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until golden brown around the edges

Allow to completely cool before cutting into squares

Enjoy!

You can store the squares in an air tight container for up to a week either at room temperature or in the fridge.

I hope that you have a wonderful day! ❤️XXS

Spicy Turmeric Zoodles

Published on June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 by soreiya7 Comments

I may be studying nutrition but there are moments that I really struggle with eating healthy. There are days when I am running on very little sleep and feeling a little stressed out, and I find myself craving a huge bowl of pasta or a cupcake (or three). The last thing that I want to eat is an apple, a salad or a green smoothie. There are times when I indulge my cravings as I firmly believe that life is about balance, but there are many times when I resist or find an alternative solution. Today’s recipe was a happy and spontaneous dish that I created one day when I was particularly hangry (not in the best of moods due to overwhelming hunger and exhaustion). I was craving an indulgent bowl of pasta but I was determined to resist. With a few veggies left in my fridge I decided to put my little spiralizer to good use and created a simple and delicious dish that delivered some guilt free satisfaction.

For those of you that are not familiar with the term zoodles, it is zucchini in the shape of a noodle. Small handheld spiralizers like the one that I have are inexpensive and very easy to use. You can also just use a peeler to cut thick ribbons of zucchini. Zoodles are my favourite of all of the veggie “noodle” variations. The texture and taste is most similar (in my opinion) to a regular noodle, so when I eat them I don’t feel deprived or that I am missing out.

This dish uses two of my favourite vegetables – zucchini and asparagus. I find both vegetables very easy to work with and they don’t require much prep or cook time which makes them perfect when you are short on time. If you are not completely sold on zoodles, you can substitute any noodles that you prefer or mix the zoodles with a regular pasta to create a more hearty dish (just be sure to save a bit of the pasta water to add to to the pan when you putting this dish together). To achieve the rich buttery taste that I was after, I decided to use a combination of olive oil and ghee. When used in moderation, both are healthy fats that will help your body to absorb fat soluble vitamins from the vegetables, as well as give the dish an indulgent taste minus the guilt. Serrano peppers up the heat factor of the zoodles (omit if you are not a fan of spicy food) and turmeric adds beautiful colour and increases the health benefits for this simple and delicious dish. Pair this dish with a simple poached egg, a piece of wild salmon or toss with some shredded chicken breast for a delicious, healthy and well balanced meal.

Spicy Turmeric Zoodles

Ingredients:

1 medium sized zucchini spiralized

1/2 a bunch of asparagus (aprox 6 stalks) chopped

1.5 tsp of high quality olive oil

1.5 tsp of ghee

1 serrano pepper (finely chopped)

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Lemon

black pepper

salt to taste

Directions:

In a medium sized frying pan melt the olive oil and ghee over medium heat

Add the garlic and serrano pepper to the olive oil and ghee combination and gently fry for 1 minute

Add the turmeric and a pinch of black pepper to the mixture and stir to ensure that the ingredients are well combined

Add the asparagus and toss to coat in the oil, cook for 1 – 2 minutes

Add the zoodles and stir to ensure that the zoodles are well coated. Cook to your desired consistency, I like my mine with a slight bite so 2.5 mins is generally sufficient. Please note that the longer you cook the zoodles, the more water the zucchini will release. Season with salt and pepper and squeeze some fresh lemon juice onto the veggies.

Plate and top with your desired protein

Enjoy!

I hope that you have a beautiful day! ❤️XXS

Clean Beauty Product Review

Published on May 25, 2017May 24, 2017 by soreiya1 Comment

It is becoming easier to be a clean beauty product junkie. I discover a new line almost every week! While not everything that I use is “clean”, I have made a concerted effort over the past few years to minimize my toxic load from chemicals in cleaning and personal products. It’s not alway easy as clean beauty is a fairly unregulated industry, and the term is often just tossed around as a buzz word to attract attention. Many products are not as “clean” as they pretend to be. While I haven’t found all of the clean beauty products that I have tried to be effective, there are some great products out there. I recently picked up two new clean beauty products to try out: Herbivore’s Blue Tansy Resurfacing Clarity Mask and Farmacy’s Honey Savior.

Herbivore Blue Tansy Resurfacing Clarity Mask

Herbivore is a brand that has been on my radar for quite a while, but this was the first opportunity that I had to actually try a product from the line. This beauty line is well known for it’s oils, clarity mask and body scrub. Founded by a husband and wife duo in their Seattle kitchen, the line is made with organic, high quality and food grade ingredients. I chose to try the resurfacing mask first because exfoliating has always been one of my favourite beauty rituals (seriously, I am obsessed). The Blue Tansy Resurfacing Mask is advertised to exfoliate, smooth and resurface the skin and it’s active ingredients include Blue Tansy Oil (natural anti-inflammatory), White Willow Bark (natural BHA), fruit enzymes (natural AHA) and aloe leaf (natural complexion soother).

I was a little skeptical when I first applied the clarity mask. There was not really any tingling and the texture was completely smooth. I generally prefer a manual exfoliant so I was hoping for a bit of “grit” in the mask. Nevertheless, I left the mask on for 20 minutes then washed it off with warm water and a clean wash cloth as per the directions. My face felt smoother but the effect wasn’t anything spectacular. There is a tip sheet that comes with the mask and it suggests to use the mask everyday for 3-4 days (on the website it says every other day) and then reduce usage to a few times a week. I decided to use it everyday for four days in the hopes of seeing some great results. By day three the results were noticeable and by day four my skin had a softness to it that I hadn’t seen in a very (very) long time. I am so impressed with this product! I am hopeful that it has positive long term effects as well – I will do a follow up post in a few months. The price ($48 CAN) is fairly average for a chemical exfoliant from Sephora and a little goes a long way so the jar should last quite some time. I can’t wait to try more products from this line in the future!

Stylishly Zen Beauty Rating: 4.5/5

Honey Savior by Farmacy

I have been a a fan of the Farmacy brand since I first discovered it a Sephora early last year. There is a lot of science behind this brand, and I absolutely love how much information they provide about the brand on the packaging. According to the box the products are cultivated by farmers and activated by scientists (there is even a picture!). Free of parabens, formaldehyde and artificial colours many of the Farmacy products are powered by their trademarked Echinacea Greenenvy Honey.

Honey Savior is advertised as an all-in-one skin repair slave that is rich in amino acids and B vitamins to help smooth dry skin giving it a renewed, healthy and nourished appearance. Honey is a great natural hydrator so it makes sense to have it in it a salve. I love using a salve to moisturize my feet before bed, and given my love of the Farmacy brand I was more then willing to give this one a try. In terms of quality, the texture of the salve is a slightly more liquid then others that I have tried which would make sense as it’s primary ingredient is castor oil. The less viscous texture means that a little bit of the product goes a long way, and it’s easier to use then a thicker version. I found it surprisingly helpful with helping to revive my tired aching feet after a long day – within 15 minutes the aches and pains were a distant memory. I am not sure why it was so helpful with this issue, but I am grateful nonetheless. The one downside of this product is the price ($44 CAN)! That is a lot of money to spend on a salve even if it is clean beauty. I am hopeful that this tube will last a long long time as you only need to use a very small amount at a time.

Stylishly Zen Beauty Rating: 4/5

Overall I was happy with both of these clean beauty products aside from the price of the salve (clean beauty needs to be more affordable). If the Blue Tansy Resurfacing Mask continues to be effective then I would definitely repurchase but I am not sure about the salve. As much as I love the Farmacy brand, the higher price point a little hard to justify. I am hopeful that this tube will last a long long time!

I hope that you have a beautiful day! XXS