Healthier Make-Up Options

This post is part of a series called “35 Days of Favorites”, in honor of my 35th birthday. You can read more about the details here…

This was the year I decided to figure out what to put on my face.

I don’t wear a lot of make-up, but I wear a little bit most of the time. I know there are a ton of disgusting ingredients in make-up, but I’ve never really wanted to know the exact details, because it’s probably gross.

Last year, I was able to find a ton of awesome, healthy, natural solutions to almost all of my personal care products, but I was really stuck on the make-up thing. Just like the frying pan issue, I didn’t know what to buy, and I was sure it would be expensive.

But fortunately for me, Simple Mom had a blog post on natural beauty products, and Tsh Oxenreider, whose taste and opinion I’ve found to be quite dependable and accurate, shared that she loves Mineral Fusion.

A few days later, I was at Vita Health, picking up a few of my usual products, when I stumbled across a Mineral Fusion display. There was even a sale on that day! I took the plunge, and bought my first Mineral Fusion products.

I tried not to get my hopes up, because a friend of mine had tried a different type of mineral make-up, and said it was awful.

But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked my new make-up.

Now, before you eagerly rush out to buy Mineral Fusion make-up, let me just say that I am not a make-up expert.  I was using MAC before, though,  so I think I had fairly high expectations, and Mineral Fusion has been living up to them.

The color choices are a bit limited, if you’re used to shopping at a MAC store, but I guess it depends on your priorities. Mine was definitely just to get something healthier onto my face.

Now, I know that if I wanted to get really natural and cheap, I could always try making my own make-up with cocoa and arrowroot powder, which sounds weird and intriguing all at the same time, but for now, I’ll stick with my Mineral Fusion!

Alright, your turn! Done any dabbling in the world of natural make-up? Any favorites you CANNOT give up, no matter what ingredients it’s made out of?! Tell me your make-up opinions…(You might even win a prize!)

34 Days of Favorites: Lunch

This week is going to be very food-themed – yesterday we covered breakfast, and today we’re doing lunch!

If I had my choice, I would probably eat the same thing for lunch every single day: a baked potato slathered in butter, and a bowl of homemade chicken vegetable soup.

Oh, yum. I get hungry for it right now, just thinking about it.

I started making soup about a year ago. I mean, I made soup before that, but last summer was when I started going crazy with the soup.

There are a few reasons for this: Soup is delicious, you can pack in a ton of vegetables, and if you make a large batch, it is such a fast, convenient lunch option to grab out of the fridge.

There are a ton of fantastic soup recipes out there, but I’ve figured out exactly what I like for myself. I’ve never taken the time to measure anything when I’m cooking soup – I think it’s fun to keep dumping vegetables in the pot based on color. If the mixture is looking a little too green, I add some more carrots. If it’s looking kinda boring, I add a few more red and yellow peppers.

So without specific measurements, here is my favorite soup:

Vegetable Soup:

I start with a large pot of homemade chicken broth.

Then I add: carrots, broccoli, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, until it looks like a balanced combination of everything.

I use whatever kind of seasonings I’m in the mood for that day, usual salt, garlic powder, basil and parsley.

I bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for 1/2 an hour.

I add frozen peas, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Here are a few soup tricks to keep in mind:

1) My mom taught me to put soup into jars while it’s boiling hot, and leaving them on the counter until the lids snap. It’s the short-cut canning version. The soup only stays good if you keep it in the fridge, but it’s far simpler than the usual canning method. I don’t know how long it lasts in the fridge, because we eat it too fast to worry about that, anyway.

2) I usually keep my cooked chicken separate from the soup, so I can use it for other meals and recipes as well. I add it to my soup if I want a heartier meal, or leave it as just a veggie soup if I want a bit of a snack. (I eat a lot of soup, for breakfast, lunch, supper, or snack. It works any time of day!)

3) This soup tastes BY FAR the yummiest if you mix in 1/2 a mashed avocado. I realize that sounds weird. The first time I read about doing that, I thought it sounded gross. I love avocados in guacamole. But in soup? Ew. Until I tried it. It adds a wonderful flavor, healthy fat, and a creamy texture to a bowl of soup. I rarely eat a bowl of veggie soup without avocado in it.

And there’s not much to say about the baked potato part of my lunch. Except that I think potatoes are delicious with a crispy outside. Baked straight on the rack.

I’ve been told potatoes are not healthy. But I’ve also heard they’re so full of potassium, we should eat two a day. Since I love potatoes so much, I’ll go with the potassium theory!

And butter. Some people stay away from it, but I’ve done a lot of reading, and from what I gather, butter is a healthy fat. Margarine is actually bad for you. It has to do with all your omega 3’s and 6’s and stuff like that.

For me, the biggest thing is getting healthy fats and proteins to balance out all those vegetables, and adding some good calories to my diet. But I’m not a health expert. And there are a lot of conflicting opinions out there. (I get some of my health info from these blogs: The Wellness Warrior, Wellness Mama, and The Perfect Health Diet)

Alright, your turn! What do you like to eat for lunch?