The Beauty-Nutrition Connection

Last night, in one of my typical random AIM conversations with my dad, he sent me a link to this recipe: Smoothie for Your Skin. As both you and he are well-aware, I have a special place in my heart for smoothies and shakes, so this recipe quite piqued my interest. Looks like I should add a little flax to my smoothie routine:)

I am a firm believer that nutrition can cure most ills, including matters of physical appearance. As I've mentioned before, a diet rich in healthy fats can do wonders for hair.What foods do you eat that offer beauty benefits?

Perhaps I should take a closer look at my eats for any inadvertent beauty-boosting fare...

Wednesday
Just before heading out to my last few tutoring appointments, I whipped up a quick tofu salad, which I dressed with my homemade sweet dill dressing. I added some pecans and raisins for texture. The whole mess was place atop a bed of greens and accompanied by Corn Thins and kiwi.
That night, I watched a very disappointing Duke basketball game while simultaneously studying for my exam the next day. I also used making dinner as a procrastination tool...where is my motivation? Anyway, I made a grilled cheese with onions and tomato and served it with butternut squash fries, salad with Woodstock dressing, and peaches.
I kept the smoothie relative nutritious that night with blueberries, strawberries, soymilk, and vanilla Spirutein.
Thursday
My 8:30 AM class was cancelled again this week, so I once again seized the opportunity to make a leisurely breakfast. Vegan banana pancakes were on the menu this time, spread with Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. Let's face it. Bananas, chocolate, and PB were meant to be together.
After my exam, I made a simple wrap using a white bean spread from ED&BV which includes cashews and nutritional yeast. I added some spinach and served the wrap with a few peaches.
Then I received an e-mail alerting me of a package at my PO Box. What's this?! I didn't order anything...POM Wonderful!
Does anyone else find these little bottles incredibly appealing? Can't wait to try it--thanks, Janny!

For dinner, I kept it simple and made a pasta salad. I used whole wheat angel hair, sliced mozzarella, chickpeas, tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and carrots, all sprinkled with garlic salt and raspberry vinaigrette.
The shake last night featured strawberries, banana, soymilk, chocolate Spirutein, and dairy-free chocolate chips. Yum.

Friday
I had some leftover butternut squash lying around this morning, so I decided to use it up by making Hungry Girl's Butternut Squash Hash Browns. Basically, the only part of this recipe that tasted reminiscent of hash browns was the ketchup. Bummer. Anyway, I served the squash mess with some scrambled tofu, toast, and kiwi.
By the time I returned from Whole Foods, got my laundry done, and cleaned the apartment, I was famished. I made a quick version of ED&BV's Thai Chick-Un Pizza. I say "quick" because I cheated and used prepared peanut sauce for the base. I also left out a lot of the other suggested toppings, but I was still quite satisfied with just the bell peppers and chickpeas. On the side, I had some more asparagus, mixed greens, and, yes, another dish of peaches.
For dinner this evening, due to my position on the dining committee, I got to evaluate an on-campus eatery (the same one I evaluated here), this time evaluating the delivery service. I ordered steamed veggies with garlic sauce on the side and steamed rice (sadly, brown rice is not an option). I added my own cashews and supplemented the meal with a blood orange. I pulled my usual "prettifying" technique and took everything out of the containers for your viewing pleasure!
My sister and her husband arrive for a weekend visit tomorrow, and I am super-psyched; I love visitors! I think a basketball game and a trip to Trader Joe's may be on the agenda:) Anyway, I'll still try to put together my usual "feature post" on Sunday after their departure. Any topic requests?

Enjoy your weekend!