How I'm Healing My Skin Naturally

So I’m going to talk about something that I just don’t like to talk about. But I think it’s a big part in the healing process.

Acne.

Oh yes my friend, I am no stranger to acne. At all. I have dealt with breakouts for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I tried a lot of different acne face washes. From proactive, to just any drugstore brand. Nothing seemed to fully help me. Then, when I was going into my senior year of high school. I developed a skin infection, that looked like really bad acne. Well two years on antibiotics seemed to only clear up big bumps. And yes, because of those antibiotics is why I deal with the health issues I deal with today. Isn’t it life just fun when it throws a lot of stuff your way? After the medication cleared up most of the problem, my skin seemed to get better, but wasn’t perfect. So I decided to try birth control, that didn’t seem to make clear all the time like I wanted. I still had occasional breakouts. I took myself off of birth control, because I was sick all the time, and birth control isn’t healthy for you body. For awhile my skin actually behaved and was almost clear. Couldn’t really complain. But just this past year, I went through probably one of the worst breakouts yet. I thought that putting good food in my body was suppose to help. Right before I broke out, I cut out sugar completely. It was around the holidays, and I started eating sugar again. I think I overdid it and with adding all that sugar, my body didn’t know what to do. So I broke out. Painful, redness, and completely embaraasing. I was really at a lost because I have spent a lot of money on products that are suppose to help your skin.

I was about to just go to the doctors and get antibiotics because I felt really helpless. And I just wanted all of the bumps gone. And fast. Well, I didn’t go to the doctors. Instead I started researching natural ways to help acne. I would read people’s success stories and what worked for them. I probably did so much research,  Just because I didn’t want to make my skin any worse, which at that point, I didn’t see how it could get much worse.

There are a lot of natural remedies out there to help acne. You just have to find what works for you. It’s a lot of trial and error. I’m going to list remedies that I tried. Ones that worked, and ones that didn’t work. If you have dealt with acne, moderate to severe. You aren’t alone. Even if you feel like you have tried everything, you have to be patient. Your skin needs time. It can take anywhere from 4-12 weeks to see any improvement depending on how severe it is.

Natural Home Remedies for Acne

Lemon-Used as a toner: I stumbled on this one and it looked like it could really help. Lemon performs as an acne remedy since it includes alpha-hydroxy acid. Also, lemon is a skin brightener as well. Lemon isn’t recommended if you have sensitive skin.

My Experience: At first, I loved using lemon on my face, it brought such a brightness back into my skin. But it burned, really bad. After a week, I started developing little bumps all over my cheeks and around my mouth. This in turn made me break out even worse. Like I mentioned above, I didn’t think that was possible. I stopped using lemon for good after that. 

Apple Cider Vinegar- I’m talking about the completely raw, organic, stinky feet vinegar. Used as a toner. The vinegar kills off any bacteria deep into the pores. Which fights acne.

My Experience: I had no reaction to the vinegar. It smelled completely terrible. So I only used it at night. I noticed a small improvement in my skin. 

Cinnamon and honey face mask: After I started breaking out. I ditched my face wash I was using considering it wasn’t doing anything for me. I actually cleaned my skin with Raw Honey. Honey is an ancient remedy with strong antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antioxidant properties. You want to use Manuka Honey. This is the most powerful in helping fight acne. Honey’s best friend is cinnamon. Cinnamon is powerful alone, cinnamon’s antioxidant activity is responsible for its ability to speed wound healing, and credits it with anti-inflammatory properties as well. So combining honey and cinnamon, you have one powerful team to fight acne.

My Experience: This is one remedy that I can say really worked. Within a month of using the cinnamon and honey, I saw an improvement. Still not a huge improvement. But my breakouts weren’t as big. 

Baking Soda: Baking soda can be used as an all natural exfoliator. Your skin sheds cells, and sometimes when they don’t fully shed, the new ones become clogged. And acne can develop. Also, can use a baking soda mask.

My Experience: I actually noticed a calming feeling in my skin after using baking soda. I would use it more as a mask and let it sit for 30 minutes on my skin. I would combine baking soda, honey, and cinnamon together.

Aspirin: Aspirin is known to have salicylic benefits. But it’s an all natural form and when crushed up, can help prevent acne, and help already formed acne.

My Experience: I still use this remedy when my skin is feeling congested and I’m breaking out more. Combine crushed aspirin with honey, to make a face mask that will make your skin soft, and glow.

Diet: Yes, I am still on my Paleo diet. I have eliminated as much processed sugar as I can. When I do consume it, it’s once in a while. But for the most part. I stick to all natural sugars. I make sure I’m drinking enough water as well.

Supplements: I am a true believer that what you feed your body, reflects on the outside. It can be different for everyone too. You put junk into your body, your skin may react, and also eating junk leads to weight gain. Since I was already eating healthy, I figured I was missing out on some vitamins. When I started taking vitamins. I did notice a change in my skin. I really feel like the vitamins play a big role in my skin health.

List of supplements I take:

Fish Oil- 2x a day
Melaleuca’s Woman’s Multi Vitamin- 2x a day
Zinc made for acne- 1x a day
Calcium- 2x a day
Vitamin C- 1x a day
I also try to drink as much water as I can to keep flushing out toxins

Those are just a few remedies that I used when I first started trying to heal my skin. All of this was 5 months ago when I had this major breakout and knew I had to focus on caring for my skin health.

Today, my skin still isn’t “perfect” but it’s slowly improving. I have discovered more remedies. I’m still trying to figure out my perfect skin regime.
That’ll come at a later date.

Cheers for now to skin health!!

Healing my skin has become just another part of my journey. I’ve come a long way, but there’s still a way to go.

Organic So Delicious Mocha Fudge Ice Cream Review (Dairy Free)

Every person that I have talked to about my food allergies, and they find out I’m lactose intolerant, Their immediate next question is “How have lived without ice cream?!?” Okay, maybe not those EXACT words. But sometimes it’s pretty close. I always answer back with, there is dairy free ice cream I can have. The look on some people’s faces after I tell them there is dairy free ice cream, is priceless. Kind of like that wide eyed, you make no sense, talking in a foreign language look. Before I found out I was lactose intolerant, I LOVED ice cream. Especially soft served…seriously that was the best. I actually did without ice cream for a long time, just because there wasn’t any dairy free kind around (or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough)

I came across a brand that makes dairy free ice cream out of, almond, soy, and coconut milk. I have tried all three of them. I’m not a fan of the coconut kind. When I eat ice cream, I don’t want a coconut taste in it. Some people may like it though. Also, the texture is a bit harder than normal and it’s not as smooth. The almond and soy versions come really close to the same texture as “real” ice cream. So I like them a lot better. I know what you’re thinking. Soy isn’t good for you. I know it’s not. That’s why I don’t always buy the ice cream because of the soy. But with the warmer weather coming, it’s hard to avoid it. I need to find an ice cream that is also soy free. If anyone knows of any kind that is, please let me know! 

Anyways, I got a craving for ice cream. Who doesn’t when the temperature climbs to 90!
So browsing the store for my typical ice cream. I found a new flavor they added to our grocery store. Mocha fudge. Hello! Where have you been my whole life!? I love coffee. Well, when I drink coffee, it’s more flavored. Black coffee…ew. Never. Anways, as soon as I saw it,I remembered how much I used to love coffee flavored ice cream. Of course I had to buy it.

Organic So Delicious Mocha Fudge Ice Cream Review

Oh look at that coffee ice cream goodness with mocha swirled throughout! Makes my taste-buds super happy 

The Nutritional Label in case you were curious.

Most of the ingredients are all organic which is a good thing in my book.
It’s dairy, and gluten free.
But it does contain soy. That’s the only thing that makes me not full on board about eating this all the time.
I love that they do a lot of testing on their products to make sure they are allergy friendly and make consumers aware if there are any allergens in their products.

Flavor wise- It’s truly amazing and tastes just like the dairy filled coffee ice cream.

This company is doing their best to make dairy free products so that the dairy free people can enjoy foods we have lived without. So for that, I would recommend their products. But be careful about the soy!

How To Cleanse Your Body After Antibiotics

It’s such a beautiful Saturday. As I sit here with my cup of (decaf) coffee, I soak in every nice minute I have because it’s rare for me to be off on a Saturday. The past month has been such a crazy month for me and I haven’t gotten time to write, bake, research, and write reviews. Just do what I love doing. Of course I do love makeup and doing people’s makeup for them. But I’ve noticed that my health is still not where it needs to be. When I wasn’t working, I did notice that I felt better. But the true test would be how I would feel after working 8 hours a day….for 6 days in a row. To some people that might seem like a piece of cake. But going from working 0 hours…to that…can really be hard. Especially on me. My body isn’t as healthy as I thought. A lot of my issues that I dealt with before, all started to come back. Everything from body aches, to my stomach not digesting anything. It’s been a rough couple months trying to transition into working and getting myself to feel better. But it’s been a battle. I think I’m exhausted from trying to make myself feel better!

Earlier this month, I had to go to the doctors. I know I have said I try to avoid them as much as I can. But I was really feeling bad so I had to go. Anyways, at the doctors, my doctor was talking to me and asking me about my past health and stuff like that. When I explained about Candida and what it’s done to me. She asked me if I went to the Pure and Simple Cafe’s owner. And I told her yeah. She looked at me and said, that everyone who has gone to see her, has had Candida. And this doctor had the nerve to tell me that basically Candida isn’t real and is made up……
That made me so mad, but I just kept my mouth shut, because doctors don’t believe in healing the all natural way. All they believe in is medicine and popping pills. So I just looked at her in shock and said, really?! Just to make her feel better. But inside I was about to give her a piece of my mind. You see, this doctor maybe right in saying that everyone who has gone to see the naturopathy doctor has had Candida. That’s because EVERYONE has Candida, some just have an overgrowth of it and that’s why they feel so bad. I wanted to tell my doctor that so bad, and be like, In YOUR FACE! But….I just kept every thought to myself.
It’s no wonder why people have Celiac, IBS, and other health issues. Because when they go to the doctors, they completely look over the possibility of Candida. Candida is the REAL issue to many health problems. But yet, it’s not being treated. People are just given medicine for some of their “symptoms”, and the real problem isn’t being treated. I could go on and on about how fed up I get with doctors because sometimes, they make people worse by prescribing medications. Still, there are so many people that believe in medication and that’s the only way to get better. Have you ever read all of the side effects of the medicine that you may have taken? Before I would take any medicine, I would google the side effects. Of course you’ll find anything on the internet. But I wanted to know what could possibly happen when taking medicine. Most medicine that I have taken, has been antibiotics. Just because I have such a hard time fighting off infections. And as much as I hate the doctors, I know antibiotics are the only thing to stop certain infections.
After I take antibiotics, I usually try to cleanse my body and put good bacteria into it. Since antibiotics remove good and bad bacteria.

Steps to take to cleanse your body after antibiotics 

Eat plenty of anti-oxidant rich foods: anti-oxidants can enhance your immune system and help flush out your liver.

Foods to eat: eating fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, prunes, bell peppers (red and green), strawberries, broccoli and beans. Eat at least two to three servings of these foods daily. Also, taking a vitamin c supplement once a day.

Drink water: you should be drinking enough water throughout any normal day. But when flushing out your system, it’s best to drink two liters of water a day. This will help your liver and kidneys flush out any of the antibiotics that still might be in your system.

Garlic supplement: Take garlic in capsule form. Allicin is the active ingredient in garlic that can help your kidneys and liver flush out toxins while cleaning your blood. The recommended dosage for garlic is one 500 mg capsule every day with food. For maximum benefit, you can also add garlic to your meals.

Yogurt: Eat one cup of yogurt everyday. But only all natural organic yogurt. Most yogurt such as yoplait are filled with sugar and you’ll miss out on the good benefits. Yogurt contains millions of lactobacilli that can help replenish the ones that the antibiotics killed. Consume yogurt on an empty stomach for maximum benefit

Probiotics: Taking probiotics after antibiotics will help replace and put back all the good bacteria into your body. Combining yogurt and probiotics will help get your body back to normal.

All of these steps should be followed after taking antibiotics. I know from experience because years ago, I didn’t follow these steps…and it has caused a lot of major health issues. So it’s very important. Especially in children.

Cheers to health! 

The Power Of Your Inner Voice

Your inner voice is the voice that makes you who you are. Your subconscious is constantly going and creates thoughts, without you even thinking about them. It’s that powerful.

Look at the 5 people you spend your most time with. How do they live? How successful are they? How do they speak?

Now look at yourself. Are you like those 5 people? Chances are, you are like them. Why? Because without you even realizing it. You choose to be around people who think like you. It’s how we are programmed.

Take a few minutes to watch this video and you’ll understand more of what I really mean.

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Banana Muffins

While browsing the grocery store for my weekly purchase of bananas. I came across bananas that were super ripe and perfect for baking. I just couldn’t pass them up. Considering all the rest of the bananas were green. I refuse to eat bananas until they are really ripe. Otherwise they are gross to me. Anyways, seeing these literally made me crave banana bread. But Caleb requested muffins this time. I don’t really see the difference between banana bread & banana muffins…but I guess there is 

With being really busy lately, I haven’t had time to bake anything. Which I don’t like, so it was time for me to bake. I really missed baking. I think it’s been a month since I baked something. I’m not quite sure. But it’s been way to long. I used to every week! Even when I “could” bake, I have not had the energy to. It’s a viscous cycle. But I was determind to make muffins this past week. And that is what I did.

These muffins are the most moist muffins I have ever made. They are light and fluffy, and just perfect. If I could eat wheat/gluten, and had a choice, between these muffins, or some gluten filled muffin….I’d choose these over any muffin, any day. Serious.
These are THAT good.
They make you forget they are gluten free.
Crazy.

Banana Muffins 

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon,
• 1 3/4 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour brown rice flour blend (I used King Arthur Flour)
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) Coconut Oil, softened
• 2/3 cup Evaporated Cane Juice, or raw sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses or honey
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Medium very mashed ripe bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan, or line the pan with papers, and grease the papers.

2. Whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and flour or flour blend. Set aside.

3. Beat together the soft coconut oil, evaporated cane juice, and honey.

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between additions.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl in three parts, alternately with the mashed bananas, beating well between additions and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl one or two times during this process.

6. After everything is added, scrape the bowl again and beat at medium high speed for 30 seconds

7. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, mounding the cups full. The batter will rise above the level of each cup; that’s fine.

8. Bake the muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Best served warm.

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Additional mix-ins: Walnuts, chocolate chips, peanut-butter, almond-butter.

Next time I make these, I’ll defiantly add in some extra ingredients.

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Vanilla Chex Review (New Flavor)

I like cereal. Yes, I only said I like it. I know there are some people out there who love cereal so much (including my fiancé) but I could live without it honestly. And when I eat cereal. I eat it dry in a bowl, with a glass of almond milk. I'm told I'm weird, but for some reason I just don't like mixing the two. Sometimes I'll totally skip the milk and have water instead. 
I heard a few people talk about this AMAZING new flavor chex came out with. I have tried all of their flavors in the past, but people were raving about this one. So I had to see what all the hype was about. I'm a vanilla person. I love all vanilla flavored things. I'll choose vanilla over chocolate any day. So when I head about a vanilla flavored chex that was gluten free....I had to try it.

I'm glad I did try it. It is very good. It was like a dessert because it was so sweet. 

I'd rate this cereal a 5 out of 10 ONLY because they have added sugars, like fructose and other added ingredients that aren't to healthy. But if you're looking for a sugary gluten free cereal, this one is for you. I couldn't eat a lot of it because I'm not really into sweets anymore (Shocker, right?!) 

It's probably not as unhealthy as some of the other sugary cereals. Since they say there aren't any artificial flavors or colors. It's only unhealthy because of the sugar. 

I would recommend this cereal over other cereals though. 
Good job to chex for trying to make good tasting gluten free cereal! 

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