Healthy Recipes to Keep your Skin Glowing in the Summer Heat

My friend, Sophie Zuckerman, has a fantastic food blog at sophoodie.com. I encourage you all to check it out for fresh, delicious recipes for you and your family. We went Live on Instagram a couple weeks ago talking about how what we eat can affect our skin’s behavior.

First, we made a Kiwi and Mango smoothie together with healthy nutrients that promote clear, glowing skin for summer. Kiwi is packed with Vitamin C and rich in antioxidants to protect your skin from environmental aggressors. Kale is rich in Vitamins C, E, and K. I asked Sophie if we could add a little cinnamon to this recipe since cinnamon can be very beneficial for skin, and she loved the idea. Cinnamon can be great for acne prone skin, because of its antibacterial properties. This is great for summer due to all of the excess sunscreen we wear (not to mention face masks on top of the sunscreen and makeup)! Well, the smoothie is DELICIOUS! I highly recommend it!

Kiwi and Mango Smoothie

Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:

• 5 ripe kiwis, peeled and halved
• 1 ripe banana, cut in half
• 1 cup of Tuscan Kale, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 bag of frozen mango, 15-18 oz
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 cup of milk of your choice
• 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:

• Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass, picture yourself on a tropical island, and enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

We also made a gorgeous watermelon salad that any novice in the kitchen can whip up in no time! Watermelon is incredibly hydrating and has hardly any sugar. Cucumbers are often associated with good skin health, because they are soothing and contain a protein that can tighten and smooth the skin. Olive oil acts as an antioxidant (think JLo’s hidden beauty secret ;)) , and walnuts are good fats that can reduce inflammation. The recipe is below…I’m telling you, this is the tastiest version I have ever eaten and the prefect recipe for upcoming labor day weekend plans!

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

Salad-

• 4 cups of watermelon, cubed
• 4 cocktail cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 8oz of feta, crumbled
• 1/2 red onion, sliced into half-moons
• 1 cup of fresh mint, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 cup of walnut, roughly chopped

Dressing-

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• Juice from a lemon
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. In a salad bowl, arrange the salad ingredients.

2. To make the vinaigrette: whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in a glass jar. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow to sit for 15 minutes to soak in those delicious flavors and enjoy!