Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
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Bubi Baby Butter

Bubi baby butter is soothing for babes and moms alike. The handmade combination of organic shea butter, coconut oil, calendula, and chamomile leaves skin hydrated during this cold, dry time of year.

The butter is free of petroleum by-products, fragrance, lanolin, and surprisingly, zinc-oxide. I have yet to find a diaper cream that does not have zinc-oxide, including many natural brands. There is debate about the safety of zinc-oxide, so some choose to avoid it. Most commercial creams contain zinc-oxide, as it helps to form a barrier for the skin. Soothing oils can work wonders in comparison to the commercial creams, and certainly won’t generate free-radicals or mess with my kid’s endocrine function!

Bubi’s works and can be used anywhere – parched hands, wind-burned cheeks and dry lips love it.

Top 5 Fave Natural Beauty Products for Winter

During the winter, I use more products than at any other time of year out of pure necessity. In order to avoid dry, scaly skin and lips, I do a lot of scrubbing and moisturizing. This winter, I became even more of a purist (or what some may call a control freak) than ever in terms of the ingredients of the products I’m using – I wanted them all to be super simple, healthy and natural. These 5 products didn’t just live up to my expectations, they were so great I just had to spread the word about them.

Vintage Body Spa Ginger Cardamom Cream Body Bar – This ultra-moisturizing body butter smells absolutely heavenly and it was the only thing that has managed to keep the soles of my feet soft and smooth.  Cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, and sweet almond oil lightly scented with clove, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, orange and mint.

Mountain Rose Herbs Restorative Skin Oil – For the rest of my body, especially my hands, elbows and legs, this moisturizing and healing skin oil has kept dryness and that unpleasant itchy, tight feeling at bay. Organic calendula oil, rosehip seed oil, vitamin E and a blend of essential oils including Neroli and Helichrysium.

Aubrey Organics Blue Green Algae Rescue Conditioning Mask – Finally, a vegan protein treatment for hair that really works. Aubrey Organics combines blue-green algae and red algae extract with coconut, shea butter, aloe, and lavender water in a deep hair treatment that keeps my hair glossy and healthy looking despite harsh winds and drying indoor heat.

Josie Maran Lipstick in Rumi Joon – This might just be the ultimate flattering nude lipstick shade for practically every skin tone. It’s also ultra-moisturizing, long lasting and free of toxic ingredients, petrochemicals, parabens and artificial fragrances. The tube is recyclable, too.

DIY Brown Sugar Body Scrub – This exfoliating and moisturizing body scrub is so decadent yet incredibly easy to make with stuff you’ve probably already got in your pantry. I scoop about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil into a microwaveable container, nuke it just until it softens and mix in ¼ cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could literally eat it (and I can attest that it tastes fantastic) and the brown sugar helps to gently buff away scaly skin.

Virgin Coconut Oil – Moisturizing Beauty Panacea

I’m a huge fan of using virgin coconut oil for a variety of beauty-related purposes. It’s cheap, it’s ultra moisturizing and the smell just instantly puts me in a good mood (maybe it’s the similarity to delicious tropical frozen cocktails on the beach… mmm….rum and coconut…drool). Anyway! On to the point, lest I get distracted daydreaming about hammocks and palm trees.

Unfortunately, many conventional beauty products are loaded with chemicals and are usually petroleum based. This isn’t just a health issue (because we really don’t know the long term effects of these ingredients – not to mention pthalates, parabens, etc.), it’s also a matter of petroleum usage, something we all know we need to cut back on.

Virgin coconut oil is loaded with antioxidants, protects against free radical damage and keeps the skin smooth and supple. I use it for all of the following:

• All-over body moisturizer
• Hot oil hair treatment, combined with equal parts extra virgin olive oil
• Cuticle oil
• Eye makeup remover (even works for waterproof mascara!)
• Body scrub, mixed with brown sugar or sea salt
• Overnight foot treatment (slather it on & put on some cotton socks)

If you’re prone to breakouts like I am you might think that putting coconut oil on your skin would make it even worse. I’ve found the opposite to be true. I mix it with a little raw honey (for its antibacterial properties) and use it as a face mask every now and then, and my skin ends up clear and soft.

Another bonus is that using a single jar of coconut oil for all of these things cuts back on the amount of product packaging you’re throwing away. Just keep in mind, if you want to divvy it up between different reusable containers for various uses, that coconut oil solidifies at temperatures below 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

One thing that’s important is to make sure the company you’re buying from uses sustainable growing practices. I purchase Spectrum Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil, mostly because it’s great quality but also because I know they put a lot of effort into making sure their organic farming practices are sustainable, protect the water supplies and soil and also protect us against harmful chemicals.

Ladies Love Lube!

Guestblogger Wendy Strgar, is the owner and founder of Good Clean Love (they make the above lube) a manufacturer of all-natural love and intimacy products.  Married for over 23 years with four children, Wendy teaches about Making Love Sustainable, a green philosophy of relationships which recognizes the importance of valueing the renewable resources of love and family in our lives.  Her blog is a lively discussion about making love real in your life. 

Lubrication is a Fact of Life

By Wendy Strgar 

Lubrication is a fact of life.   In any relationship where working parts are at play, whether it be an engine, a dinner party or an evening of love, everything works better when it is “well oiled.”   Lubrication allows for glide, ease and effectiveness.  When lubrication is working well, it is invisible.  When it isn’t working, we know it immediately! An engine without oil locks up in minutes; awkward silence and uncomfortable glances can kill an otherwise great night between lovers.
Lacking lubrication in intimacy can take on multiple forms and occur for a myriad of reasons.  Age, childbearing and nursing and some medications are often the cause of vaginal dryness and its associated pain in sex.
Largely, the variety of lubricants on the market break down into three main categories; water-based, silicone-based, and oil-based.  Each category has its benefits and weaknesses and it’s important to be informed about the health and environmental consequences associated with different product ingredients, because after all, you’re putting them in and on sensitive areas.

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