Go Green! At Home Spa Treatments for a Greener Healthier You - A 3-Part Series for Earth Day

While others are celebrating Earth Day, this week I’m making a conscious effort to look at going green for a healthier lifestyle. Changing the way we look at our homes and how we live in them is important. I’m a firm believer that our environment is conducive to a healthy body and mind. For instance my stress level is up when I look at the clutter that can pile up during one week in my kitchen. I’m relieved to organize, get rid of or donate anything I feel is getting in the way of leading a pressured life. However, going green with the way we treat our bodies rather than our home is another surefire way to help planet earth. This week I’ll be sharing some of my favorite green ideas in produce, fitness and for pampering your body.

Let’s talk pampering. I like this first because we tend to put this to the wayside when we are thinking health. There are so many ways we can nourish our bodies. Using things right from our produce aisles at the local fruit market or grocery store helps save the environment and our pocket book.

I remember doing some of these eco-friendly things as a teenager when I received my first health book called Marie Osmond’s Guide to Beauty, Health & Style from my mom. Yes, I know this probably dates me but it was this book that started me thinking about healthier possibilities and ways to achieve them using what I had at home.

I was starting to look at ways to save some money as a teen and the book talked exercise, eating healthy and homemade facials. As any teenager knows funds are always low and these things are great to use in place of the more expensive products. Nowadays we’re all pinching pennies and homemade everything is in again.

I’ve taken these recipes from some favorite sites. I also love the idea of having a spa party at home using some great plans I found on an eco-friendly spa day party site. Try some of these and let me know what you think. Have a party and celebrate Earth Day a little differently than you did last year.


Vegetable Toner
Adapted from Natural Beauty by Aldo Facetti:

1 cup chopped cucumber flesh
1 cup lettuce leaves
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup chopped tomato

Put ingredients through a juicer, or puree in a blender and strain. Press solids to extract all liquids. Toner will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but for maximum effectiveness, use immediately.


Blueberry Facial Masque

¼ cup local organic blueberries (these provide the most antioxidant power as they were just picked)
1 tbsp raw organic honey
1 tbsp organic olive oil

Method

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend well.
2. Evenly apply all over the face, leaving room around the eyes and mouth.
3. Leave the masque on for 5 minutes allowing it to fully sink in hydrating and nourishing the skin.
4. Remove the masque with a damp cloth.

Aloe and Cucumber Mask

1 large aloe plant leaf, washed and chopped, or 1 cup aloe juice
1 cup chopped cucumber

Combine the aloe leaf (or aloe juice) and cucumber. Puree in a blender. Apply the mixture to a clean face and neck and leave on 30 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

From The Ciminelli Solution: Recipes for Beauty from the Inside Out by Susan Ciminelli (2006, Collins)


Peach Lotion (for dry or normal skin)
This recipe is courtesy of Jeanne Rose "Herbs & Things"

• 1 Peach
• 4 drops tincture of Benzoin (known to be STRONG sensitizer)
• 2 oz. coconut or sweet almond oil
• 1 1/2 oz. orange flower water and 1 or 2 drops orange oil

Wash, drain, mash, and then strain the juice from 1 peach through muslin or cheesecloth. Add to it 4 drops of tincture of benzoin, 2 oz. coconut or sweet almond oil, 1 1/2 oz. orange flower water and 1 or 2 drops orange oil. Beat together until it is fluffy and pour into a clean 4 oz container. It will keep for a longer period if you store it in the refrigerator. Use the lotion to moisturize your skin whenever it feels dry.


How to whiten your teeth with strawberries:

You need 1 strawberry and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
From Health.Com:

Crush the strawberry to a pulp, then mix with the baking soda until blended. Use a soft toothbrush to spread the mixture onto your teeth. Leave on for 5 minutes, then brush thoroughly with toothpaste to remove the berry–baking soda mix. Rinse. (A little floss will help get rid of any strawberry seeds.) Carrel says you can apply once a week.


Other Things That Might Interest You:

Homemade Beauty Recipes

The Beauty Cookbook: 200 Recipes To Make Your Kitchen Your Spa

Favorite DVDs

Let's face it,  exercise can get pretty boring unless it is full of variety and has the word fun attached to it.  Here in Michigan the winter months can get very cold, long and rainy.  In the winter I have walked the mall, watched videos on my laptop and have even found exercises "On Demand" since our cable company offers these for free.  My favorite thing to do is search for new DVDs on several of my favorite sites.  One such site is Collage Video.  At this site you can watch portions of exercise DVDs before you purchase them.  I have a bookcase full to challenge myself, get in quick workouts and I never get bored.  I have 3 series that I absolutely can tell you work my body.

The Firm Cardio Party is Great!  I do this one at least once a week.  All of these tapes are great for beginners all the way up to the novice exercise guru.  I have step tapes, strength training tapes and dance tapes from them.  They are easy to follow and really work my body into shape. They also offer exercise equipment and tools that fit with their workouts.

I love Kathy Smith!  Her workouts definitely make me sweat and work every muscle in my body.  She is easy to follow and has such a huge library of tapes to choose from.  I have this particular DVD and use it regularly as well.  She has sound advice on all her workout DVDs and is motivating and fun.  She has been on the exercise circuit for years and looks phenomenal!  Her exuberance is contagious so I keep coming back for more.

I love Prevention Magazine for it's sound advice, and tips and tricks to staying healthy at any age.  Chris Freytag is an excellent instructor in all of the Prevention DVDs.  I have them all.  I love this one in particular because it is 3 minutes cardio, 2 minutes strength training and 1 minute abs.  You go through 6 circuits and a cool down.  For a workout that targets every part of your body and teaches you each exercise easily and efficiently these DVDs are a great addition to your library or for anyone just starting out. It also cues you on how to work harder if you choose to.

Of course these are all wonderful ways to get started exercising or to keep exercising in the privacy of your own home.  I like them because I have my own personal trainer,  I don't have to go far to get started and I feel great afterwards.  I can do them when the weather is bad or when I am in a hurry and the variety is endless.

If you want to save even more money, check out the exercise DVDs at your local library.   

There's such a huge selection to choose from wherever you go.   So, what are you waiting for?  There isn't an excuse in the world why you shouldn't find something you like to keep the excitement going or to get started on an exercise regime today.

Keeping It Off -- A Mindset

Keeping it off and dieting is a mindset.  Like everything else in your arsenal of dieting tips, tricks, and tools your mind is the key to achieving what you desire in weight loss and lifestyle change.   

Get It Out Of Your Head

In the past after I lost pounds on several popular diet plans my mindset was that I could go back to my old ways.  The old me would start eating everything in sight and the exercise would be put on the backburner.  Lose the thought that things will be this way and you will move forward.

Now, after my last attempt at taking off the weight and keeping it off my mind tells me that this is my life.  Everything I did wrong is a thing of the past and new habits have emerged and will remain. 

Look At Your Food

Dieting means you never get to eat good food again, right?  You give up everything you love either foodwise or how you go about your day, right?  WRONG!  Lifestyle changes in diet and exercise are not a life sentence.  For me, I still eat all the same meals with my family only now I watch portions and choose healthier options for my recipes.  Ground turkey for tacos,  whole wheat pastas for our Italian nights, turkey bacon for breakfast or veggie sausages.   Life and the grocery store have so many wonderful options now.  Food is a delight when I try new fruits or healthy recipes.  My taste palate has learned to love new textures and colors on my plate at every meal.  Feeding my body with better things (and I'm still learning) are exciting not boring.

Exercise is fun because I make it fun!  I ask family and friends to join me and I do things I love like bike riding and walking. 

The Pollyanna Principle

Research indicates that, at the unconscious level, our minds have a tendency to focus on the optimistic while, at the conscious level, we have a tendency to focus on the negative. This unconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle.

In dieting and keeping it off we need to focus on the positive and truly believe it.  Recite to yourself how important you are and how great you are feeling and looking.  Believe it, walk it, make it real! Some of the ways I keep the positive is by reading positive quotes from others who are in the same place as myself.  I have friends who motivate and believe in me and I only surround myself with those positive people.  I gravitate towards powerful, positive pictures, stories and places.

Exercise The Mind

Taking time out to just be is so important to staying on track.  Meditating, listening to favorite tunes, writing down your thoughts, taking walks in nature and listening to the birds and feeling the sun on your face, listening to your own breath without the background noise of life always heading towards you.  Take time out and you'll feel refreshed and ready for whatever gets thrown at you.  You'll realize how important you are and why you're doing what you are doing for your body and soul.

Thinking positive and telling the negative to go away is so important.

Everybody gets stressed, bored, depressed, discouraged.  Our hurried world hands us these things everyday.  It wasn't always easy for me.  Changing my mind took time and practice.  These everyday idiosyncrasies still creep up on us when we least expect it and when we wish they wouldn't at the worst times.  They have taught me perseverance, goal setting, and hard work all over again.

Change your mind, change your life!