Skinny Soup: Roasted Carrot Soup with Detoxifying Spices

Winter is in full swing and what we really want when it's cold and raining (like it has been all week in LA) is a nice big bowl of soup to keep us warm and nourished from the inside out.  During these colder months it can actually be beneficial for us to cleanse with warm, cooked foods and by adding a little extra spice to our diets we can keep our metabolisms working strong to help detox our systems. Food blogger Madeline Lu has created the perfect cleansing carrot soup for the season. Made with roasted carrots, lemongrass and warming detoxifying spices like ginger and cilantro, this is a soup we could eat all month long!

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1n5MMli
via IFTTT

‘Shroom Boom: Meet The Guy Behind The Next Big Superfood Trend

We're obsessing over just about every mushroom, tonic and superfood the guys over at Four Sigma Foods have to offer. Four Sigma is truly on the forefront of the mushroom "movement", bringing a few traditional and powerful superfoods and fungis into the spotlight in a super-accessible way. Recently we got a chance to sit down and nerd out with one of the company's main men, Tero Isokauppila. Tero is the spitting image of health - his eyes are crystal clear and his skin radiates a glow that only comes from living a life so in tune with nature. Naturally, we drilled him on every one of his wellness and nutrition secrets to understand how he maintains his glowing state. From the uber-natural supplements and green powders he cannot live without to the more radical practices that are a part of his daily routine, find out what this mushroom man does to stay healthy.

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1OQwD9m
via IFTTT

Superfood Spotlight: Avocado Recipes + Our Superfruit Obsession

This superfood spotlight is long overdue! We were shocked to discover that we've never featured avocados in our popular Superfood Spotlight series. Our sincerest apologies, dear avocado, for you are will always be a staple in our diets and forever be spotlit our morning toast. We promise to continue to find every opportunity to sneak you into a meal and spread the word of your many health attributes... What you should know: We know you are already consuming avocados on a regular, if not daily, basis. If the green stuff isn't on your toast, we know you'll manage to find a way to add it to your favorite alkalizing green smoothie or even cocktail. The possibilities are endless for this creamy and buttery, mild tasting fruit and we doubt this superfood is going anywhere any time soon. There are so many varieties of avocados, all ranging in size and flavor, from sweeter, fattier varieties to more mild and watery ones. California, Mexico, Florida and Central and South Americas are the largest growers of avocados, with the Haas variety being one of the most popular. Besides their healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat content, avocados pack a powerful dose of nutrition. They contain another type of fatty acid, phytosterols, that provide anti-inflammatory benefits uncommon to other fats. In addition they are great sources of fiber, potassium, magnesium, copper and vitamins K, A, C, E and B's. Why you should try (um, we mean continue to eat) them: Long gone are the days of fat-free dieting. In fact, including healthy fats from whole ingredients, like avocado, into one's diet can actually aid in weight loss not to mention lower bad cholesterol levels and help regulate blood sugar and insulin. Aside from being good for the heart, avocados also provide nutrition that aids in eye health and prevents osteoporosis and cancer. 1 single cup of avocado contains 10 grams of fiber, making them wonderful for digestion and regularity. Let's get together: We know you already love avocados, so instead of preaching all the ways you could eat them, we thought we'd just show you a few new recipe ideas to help you celebrate the obsession!

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1n5MMl2
via IFTTT

Scrub, Soak, Steam: 6 Key Products For Glowing Winter Skin

We've got a love/hate relationship with the word "slough." On one hand, eww, on the other, bring us all the scrubs and steams! We're ready to detox that dermis and deep clean our skin from head-to-toe for the glowiest skin ever this year. Here are six skincare musts that will revive your (quite possibly neglected through the holidays) winter skin and give you back that glow...

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1IQn4en
via IFTTT

How To Detox: 15 Staples That’ll Help You Cleanse Better

Whether you are a newbie to cleansing and need all the essentials or are a cleansing pro looking to up the ante on your detox routine, we've rounded up a list of interesting books, supplies and products that will help take your 3-day juice cleanse or daily detox habits to the next level. Let's get right to the good stuff - here are our 15 picks to help you get the most out of your cleanse!  

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1Rhl0iv
via IFTTT

The 3 Most Damaging Lies Women Believe About Their Bodies

If there was one resolution we could manifest for every woman, it would be to stop the body hating! Why, why, why do we as a sex feel such gravity when it comes to fitting into a perfectly curated and manicured image or in this case, size 0 pants, before we can tackle our list of other dreams and desires? And why can't happiness exist until we reach this goal or ideal weight? Author Sarah Jenks, writer for Darling Magazine has some touching insight when it comes to our bodies, our goals and transforming self-loathing into self-loving... I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting at ten years old. I remember fantasizing about how different my life would be once I lost fifteen pounds. I dreamt of the cute boy giving me a Valentine, getting the lead in the school play and making the A-team in soccer. Unfortunately, I was never the girl who could stick to a diet. For the next fifteen years I’d set reasonable goals and choose a diet, only to find myself in a threesome with Ben and Jerry just six hours into it. My perfect life always felt thirty pounds away. The pain I felt living in a body I hated was all consuming. Even the most wonderful days were clouded by that morning’s discovery of gaining three pounds since yesterday or that the dress I bought last month now wouldn’t zip. When a guy showed interest in me I was convinced he was crazy or that he must not be looking at my thighs carefully enough. I could never let loose on the dance floor because I was worried about how much my underarms would jiggle. It was like I was living in body jail. After finding myself in the trash can fishing out the last three pieces of Dove Chocolate Promises from the bag I had just polished off whilst hiding in the supply closet of my ad agency three days into my seven day juice cleanse, I realized that if this diet thing was going to work, it would have worked by now. It was very clear that my issue wasn’t willpower (I’m still not sure that’s even a real thing) but that I was a full blown emotional eater and needed to get help on a deeper level. Over the next year I made sweeping changes in my life and in my attitude about food and my body. I was so overcome by what I learned and discovered along the way that I quit my job in advertising and now work as an emotional eating coach and am actively working with major media and publications to change the way women relate to their bodies and food. Now that I’ve busted out of body jail (if you want to learn more about how I did that you can join me for a free workshop) I’m so aware of all the damaging lies I told myself about my body and can see how insidious these lies are in our culture; I see the same lies coming up over and over again with women. [olists num=1]

Want more inspiring stories? Check out Darling, here!

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1Rhl01U
via IFTTT

Cupcakes, Pasta + Milkshakes: 12 Healthy Recipes to Fool Non-Healthy Friends

As healthy eaters and self-professed superfood addicts, there are things we make for dinner in the privacy of our own homes that we wouldn't blame friends for passing on. Some foods, like ferments and seaweed, are acquired tastes. And some meals become staples in our diets just because they're so good for us. We want those nutrients despite an "imperfect" flavor profile - to be polite. The below recipes are outside that list of weird healthy dishes. These 12 gems are the kinds of healthy recipes we're sure any of our friends would eat - and even ask for seconds. Have a friend or family member who is "health food averse?" Try a few of the below recipes, from donuts to pasta, and see if you can't change their tune!

from The Chalkboard http://ift.tt/1PKjiEB
via IFTTT