Beauty Tip of the Month - December 2008

One of the easiest ways to keep us feeling and looking youthful is by having healthy radiant skin that glows. The skin around our eyes is the thinnest on our entire body; it has no oil glands of its own and doesn’t hold moisture well. Because of its delicacy, this skin needs a specialized moisturizer, one that it can absorb and that isn’t so heavy it pulls on this fragile skin. Unfortunately, we can’t stop the aging process, and many of us will have to deal with wrinkles at some point. However, there are many ways to prevent and treat wrinkles. One of the easiest ways is to treat them right from your home using homemade wrinkle cream.

We want simple, natural solutions that provide results. Are there alternatives to cosmetic eye creams? Yes, there are, and you can start right in your kitchen.

Be aware that the eyes are very sensitive, so before you apply anything around their immediate vicinity, you should do a skin test to check for allergies. One homemade wrinkle cream that has proven to work is an Avocado Cream. All you need is almond oil and avocado slices. You mix these two ingredients and make it into a paste. You can use this around the eyes and on the entire face. You rinse it off with warm water, and voila!

Premium homemade wrinkle cream!

If you fear the use of homemade products….ask Santa to put a tube of your favorite store bought eye cream in your stocking. There are dozens of these; it may take a bit of trial and error to see which one your skin likes most and which one does the best job of coming through on its claims.

After you have spread the cream on your own eyes….spread the word to your daughters….if they start taking care of their eyes while they are young they’ll be ever so grateful later.

Cranberry Limeade

Cranberry Limeade

Ingredients:

1 bottle Cranberry juice cocktail

2 cups Limeade, frozen concentrate

2 cups Pineapple juice

1 can pineapple tidbits

2 oranges sliced
1 quart Ginger ale

1 1/2 liters Soda water

Ice

Directions:

In punch bowl, combine cranberry cocktail, limeade concentrate, pineapple and ginger ale. Just before serving, add soda water and ice.

Our Favorite Cranberry Bruschetta

1 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 (8-ounce) loaf French bread

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Combine cranberries, sugar and red wine vinegar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add onion and garlic, return to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer on low for 10 minutes or until cranberries pop. Pour into a glass bowl. Stir in basil and oregano. Cool at room temperature. Cut bread diagonally into 16 (3/4-inch) slices; brush both sides with oil. Broil each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Top each slice with cranberry mixture.

Cranberry Pie

Cranberry Pie

1 (15 oz.) pkg. refrigerated pie crusts

1 (3 oz.) pkg. raspberry Jell-O

3/4 c. boiling water

1/2 c. orange juice

1 (16 oz.) can cranberry sauce (whole berry)

1 tsp. orange peel, grated

1 (4 oz.) pkg. vanilla instant pudding & pie filling

1 c. cold Half and Half

1 c. Cool Whip, thawed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare and bake 1 (9-inch) pie crust according to package directions.Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; add orange juice. Chill until thickened, but not set. Stir in cranberry sauce and orange peel. Spoon into pie crust. Chill 30 minutes or until just set.Mix pudding mix with Half and Half until smooth; fold in whipped topping. Spread over gelatin mixture.Chill 2 hours or until firm. Garnish with whipped topping, red currents and fresh mint, if desired. Serves 6 to 8.Variations: Substitute orange or any other red flavor gelatin for raspberry. Substitute milk for Half and Half.

It's Flu Season

It’s Flu Season and we certainly hope you are not among those who come down with the dreaded stuff……here are just a few tips that may help you avoid the gomboo!☺ Drink water, drink more water, drink lots of water☺ Snack every 2 hrs throughout the day on whole foods☺ Be a wholefood vegetarian from Halloween until January 13th ☺ Go for a 20 to 40 minute walk as often as you can☺ Stay home and get better! When my kids have a bad cold or the flu, I didn't send them to school and I stay home myself if I’m under the weather. I really think if everyone did that, colds would be far less common.

Cranberry - Food of the Month for November

Cranberries have been eaten by arctic peoples for millennials and remain a very popular fruit for wild harvesting in the Nordic countries and Russia. In Scotland the berries were formerly wild harvested but with the loss of suitable habitat, the plants have become so scarce that this is no longer done.

In North America, Native Americans were the first to recognize the use of the cranberry as a source of food. Some tribes called the red berries Sassamanash. They are reported to have introduced the cranberry to starving English settlers in Massachusetts around 1620, who incorporated the berry into the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Cranberries are a good source of ellagic acid, a compound that has raised high hopes in cancer research. Ellagic acid has been shown to disarm cancer-causing agents and also to help prevent tumors from growing.

Cranberry juice is recommended to clear up urinary tract infections! AND IT WORKS!
**Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association proves the strongly beneficial effect that cranberry juice has on cystitis and urinary infections.

Cranberries were prized by the Natives who discovered them. Certain trible legends told of how cranberries were a gift from the Great Spirit, sent to earth in the beak of a crane.

Introduced to cranberries by the Natives, Pilgrims also valued this tart fruit. Some areas passed laws to protect the wild bogs. Only certain people could harvest at certain times. Lawbreakers were heavily fined.

It was the medicinal benefits that made the cranberry so valuable.

Today, modern science is proving what the Natives and Pilgrims knew from experience, that cranberries are good for you. The list of benefits is long ---

*prevention of urinary tract infection
*gum disease
*stomach ulcers
*heart disease
*cancer and other diseases

Cranberry Couscous

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. package couscous

1 14 oz. can vegetable broth

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons walnut, almond or olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup pine nuts

Directions:

Cook the couscous according to the package directions, using broth instead of water. Add a pinch of salt to the broth. While the couscous is cooking, roast the pine nuts in a very low (250° F) oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Wash and finely chop the mint leaves. When the couscous has finished cooking, drain any excess liquid. If more liquid is needed to cook the couscous, add water, a little at a time. Pour the couscous into a serving bowl. Add the oil and the lemon juice. Stir well to coat all the grains. Add the cranberries, and pine nuts. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Serve immediately. I'm a couscous lover and is an amazing combo of cranberry, pinenuts, and couscous! Enjoy

Quote for the Month of November

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.

Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

Chase after money and securityand your heart will never unclench.

Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.

The only path to serenity.