Beautifying, Hawaii Style

It's not all that often that I get to relax with a magazine. But I had plenty of time for that on the plane ride over to Hawaii. 

I brought along the March 2012 issue of Whole Living Magazine. I have to say I was surprised at how beautiful the photos, creative the articles and yummy the recipes were. It might be one of the few magazines I've found that actually combine art, color, fonts, photos and also natural health/diet in a way that I personally think is perfect. 

One of my favorite articles included interviews with women from around the world asking them for natural beauty remedies / traditions. One of the girls Jarah {Native Hawaiian and Korean} swears by Kukui nut oil. I've been all over the island searching for this oil. Sasha {Russian and Ukrainian} says her skin remedy includes honey and granulated sugar: "combine equal parts and massage the mixture in circular strokes over your body," she explains. I'm did that today and it felt great {using sugar cane from Hawaii and local honey}!

Corinna {German} says she loves chamomile tea to naturally bring out the blonde in her hair: "brew up some fresh tea and let it steep for a while. Then, after washing and rinsing, splash hair with cooled-off tea, then let it dry--the relaxing scent is a bonus," she says. I'm trying this later today but Corinna says you have to be pretty blonde to start with. Beer works better if you are naturally a bit darker. 

There is also this quick little blurb in the magazine about sprouting. I get pretty excited when I see raw food concepts discussed in a mainstream sort of way, especially by an M.D. 

When we think of sprouting, most people think of alfalfa sprouts, am I wrong? What most people don't realize is that you can sprout any truly raw seed, nut and/or grain or legume. Like amaranth, quinoa, legumes, and the list goes on. 

You don't have to be a health nut {no pun intended} or a raw foodist to be a sprouter. Sprouting is just a more nutrient dense form of preparing these foods. All the enzymes, higer in protein are intact and they are better digested this way as well. 

It might take a bit more time and taste a bit different but it definitely doesn't cost any more money. 

So, hey, why not? 

You can't come to Hawaii and not have a fresh young coconut. Afterall nothing beats ice cold coconut water on a hot tropical day?

Um, coconut ice cream! 

Yep, on our way to Hana we ran into a random stand in the middle of nowhere serving up dairy-free, vegan, coconut ice cream! 

It was Heaven in a bowl...let me tell you!On our way back from Hana, we stopped at a local cafe that had this amazing kale, swiss chard and goji berry salad with goji berry vinegarette. 

Nothing looks more beautiful than a bowl of this bright colorful salad! And after eating it, being active in the sun, drinking electrolytes all day, you feel radiant as well.

Have a BEAUTIFUL weekend everybody.