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

Suds Up With These Healthy Soaps!

I’ve romanticized the idea of making my own all-natural soaps for a while now, even giving them out as gifts, but the problem is that I can’t seem to find the time to do it! Making our own cleansing products after work probably isn’t going to happen for most of us.

But you can’t just grab just any old soap off the shelf either. The majority of the soaps and body washes you see perusing the personal care isles don’t seem to give a hoot about your health. They’re laced with synthetic lathering agents, artificial colors, and harsh chemicals which bioaccumlate in our bodies. The chemicals get stored in our fat, and when there is enough accumulations of toxins in the body, illness can occur.

Our skin is the largest organ of the body, and it’s both porous and absorbent. What we’re sudsing ourselves up with every day matters.  What we put on our body, is as import as what we put in it.

When I was little girl, my Mother would encourage me to wash up while having fun in the bathtub by telling me to make myself into a soapy snowman. I know, it sounds strange but, it’s a fond memory. Now you can lather up and have some fun, even make yourself into a soapy snowgirl if you wish, with these healthy soaps that will leave you feeling so fresh and so clean.

Wembe’s Cleansing Blend for body, face and hands. My favorite is the mango (above), but you can choose from several different blends.

 

 

I wash my face with Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Liquid Soap. (Just three drops will do the trick!)

 

 

Wembe’s Loofah Acai exfoliating bar is a dream come true for your skin. The loofah comes from a plant that looks similar to a zucchini, and this bar will help remove dead skin cells and stimulate blood circulation.

 

 

 

 

Right now I have Ecover’s hand soap next to my kitchen and bathroom sinks!

 

I use this cute L’Occitane’s soap dish in my bathroom to hold my favorite soaps!

Polished Beauty Bar: Indulge in a Healthy Mani and Pedi

Sneaking away from work for 45 minutes to do something nice for yourself every once in a while is the best. In fact, it keeps me sane! I find it to be a terrific way to recalibrate my thoughts and recharge so that I’m at my best the rest of the day.

In between a flurry of meetings on the Upper West Side recently, I welcomed the opportunity to toss off my heels and treat myself to a healthy pedicure at Polished Beauty Bar, a cozy and chic UWS salon.

I found the service to be impeccable, the staff as friendly as can be, and more importantly, I really liked the products they offered. A wide selection of non-toxic Zoya nail polishes (free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor) made it fun to select a color (I wound up going with this pretty number).   I savored every minute of my leg and foot massage with Pharmacopia’s paraben-free and vegan Citrus Body Oil.

While my toes were drying (I know, tough life), I caught up with Polished Beauty Bar’s co-owner, Susan Nam. She explained that she and her sister Micki were inspired to create the salon after feeling like second-class citizens at their local nail joints, where a lack of cleanliness and customer appreciation were the norm.

Susan and Micki longed for a charming and clean UWS salon that delivered high-quality and long-lasting manis and pedis. Both of them being seasoned beauty-biz professionals, they decided to collaborate on a dream salon that’s well worth a trip uptown, no matter where you live or work.

 

Superfilling Breadless High Protein Vegan Lunch Roll

Don’t get me wrong; I have little to no problem with carbs. I don’t eschew bread when it appears on restaurant tables, and I thought that Dr. Atkins was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. But some days, I want a break, a chance to veggie-up and lighten the digestive load, while still enjoying a sandwich that’s easy and filling. I came up with this sandwich, which uses collard greens instead of a wheat wrap, and whose filling has plenty of protein and flavor, making it a seriously satisfying sandwich.

To Make:

-Wash and rinse a large collard green leaf
-Spread a 1/4 cup layer of red quinoa (see nutrition details here) over the leaf, leaving a good 1/2 inch around the edge uncovered
-Dress with your favorite dressing; I like Goddess dressing by Annie’s for tang and non-dairy creaminess.
-Add tomatoes, sprouts, and grated carrots spread over quinoa and dressing, concentrating in the middle
-Lay 4-5 pieces of drained, raw tofu down the middle (about 1/2 cup or a 1/4 of a block)
-Roll up, burrito-style!

Nutrition Estimates (these are just my homemade calculations here):
Calories: 400
Protein: 17 grams
Fiber: 5 grams

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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RIPE: Fresh Cocktail Mixers with Real, Pronounceable Ingredients

In a rush before a gaggle of guests were due to arrive at my house, I was staring at a shelf full of pre-made margarita mixers at my local liquor store. With no time to run to the grocery store, making my own was out, so I grabbed the first bottle I saw and dashed down the aisle, reading the ingredients as I walked. “Contains no juice. High fructose corn syrup… citric acid… polysorbate 60… umm, glycerol ester of wood rosin? Oh, hell no.” The bottle went back on the shelf. Tequila shots, anyone?

There’s no denying the convenience factor of pre-made mixers, especially for those of us who are a little too lazy or sloppy with a measuring spoon to play bartender. But should we have to settle for high fructose corn syrup and other less-than-healthy ingredients? The makers of RIPE Mixers don’t think so, and let me tell you, their products will blow that nasty stuff right out of your cocktail glasses.

Read my RIPE review More »