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.
More »

Skin Deep Moisture: Yamerra Shea Butter

Sun and swim leaves skin parched on these uber hot days. Recently a friend turned me onto an organic line of shea butters that leaves skin smooth and hydrated. Using organic raw shea butter, essential oils, vitamin E, and organic nutritive botanicals, Yamerra has created a homemade line of body products that provide moisture and lightly fragranced skin.

In flavours such as honey vanilla, tangerine grape, mango, and jasmine sage, these unique body butters are unlike any naturally scented creams or butters I’ve tried in the past. The honey vanilla is my favorite. There is nothing reminiscent of synthetic vanilla in this mildly woodsy blend of honey, vanilla, and jojoba.

I love to support local, small-batch production that avoids preservatives, parabens, phthalates, and artifical fragrances. Yamerra manages to avoid all the bad stuff, and you come out smelling like a jasmine sage or vanilla honey dream. Yamerra is super yum.