Skin Healing

I don't know about you, but my skin has been so dry lately! A lot of it has to do with birthing a kid and having my hormones drop off, plus all of the fluid I lose breastfeeding...but still I do not ever remember having such dry skin. It actually is a phenomenon with new mothers. We get dry sallow skin from the baby taking so much from us (its worth it btw). I slather myself every night in a rich organic almond/lavendar oil which has helped but my skin still looks burnt out. Once you get out of your bath or shower and are still damp, cover your entire body with a rich healing oil and wrap up in pj's. Really lay it on. I even do a quick foot massage and oil in between my toes and cover in socks. I have also upped my good fat intake with daily Omega Oils (Udo's brand) and Flaxseed and organic freshly ground peanut butter which again has helped but still dry. So today I decided to do a facial mask. The few mask products that I own are way too drying so I walked myself to the kitchen. I made a mask out of half a ripe avocado, 1 tbs of raw honey and 1 tbs of greek yogurt. I mashed and mixed it all up into a smooth consistency and covered my face and neck with it. The refrigerated yogurt is a nice touch because it makes the mask cooling and is full of lactic acid which eats away clogged pores and bacteria and smoothes away wrinkles. The honey makes it smell delicious plus it acts as an antibacterial and tightens the skin. The avocado replenishes dry skin with a rich and deeply penetrating vegetable oil. Plus the added benefit is that it contains only 3 ingredients!! I love putting on my skin things that I could eat. Because everything that goes into our skin goes into our bodies. We tend to think of our skin as an outer barrier that is like a shield, which in some respects it is, but it also is very porous and its close to ingesting a product. So try this out and see if you skin becomes a glowing fabulous shining ray of light! xoxomc

Vibrant Delicious Skin!

6 Steps To Beautiful Skin | McLean McGown, CN On Nutrition & Beauty | The Tao of Dana

www.fengshuidana.com


Check out my article on my friend's fabulous feng shui site. The Tao of Dana! xoxoxo

Stop Thinking, Just Do It!!

This is the best advice for me. I can think and think and analyze and get anxious and get overwhelmed and then go hide in my thoughts of "its too much", "I am too tired", "who really cares anyway", etc. etc. which then snowballs into questions of my existence, life purpose and on and on. When really I could have just done the thing a long time ago. So today my thoughts were on juicing. I have a million things to do today! Leaving for 2 weeks tomorrow- which means I had 3 workmen here today working on our new door, I have to pack for myself and baby, get my 3 animals squared away (multiple trips to pet store, meet with pet sitter, etc.), go to storage to get suitcase, get last minute presents, work on website, brainstorm for logo, arrange car seat rental and the list goes on and on. We ALL have a ton on us all the time but especially around the holidays. Thats why I usually like to stay home and be quiet. Love it when the city is empty and still. But we are going to Aspen tomorrow which will be very busy and "scene-y" but we will love being outdoors and cooking and being near the fire. Will do the down-home version of Aspen. ANYWAY...the point of this blog was that I looked in the fridge at all of my veggies and decided I should juice it all up. Because the ONE major thing that I KNOW will make me feel so good inside is FRESH JUICE. Amid my busy busy morning I got tunnel vision to get it done because the pay off will be awesome and worth it. Got to power punch my bod before I get on the germy plane tomorrow! I drank about a quart of it and now I am revved up!!!! Full on energy. Getting it all done today! And feeling really positive about it all instead of dreading it. So the advice I give to you and myself, is stop the monkey chatter in your brain and just do it already! Follow your dreams, make them happen! Follow Love! Let fear go. Take the extra time to juice, it doesn't really take thaaat long. or go to whole foods instead of getting the cookie and latte that you really want...just shut up and order a large veggie juice. Just do it. I know you want the sugar but believe me you will be having your fare share in the upcoming days during holiday festivities. Get the good stuff in now. Fill your body and mind with plant blood. Get that transfusion!! Happy Holidaze!

xoxoxmc

Mama Juice

Now that I am getting back on the juice train...I look at it differently. Its mama juice!!! To give me, as new mama, some energy!!! Yes, its always been great for me and healthy BUT now I NEED it to get through the day. Natural stimulant. Gives me sustained energy and immunity builders that I need from so little sleep. And feel that it truly is the best way to get vitamins and nutrients. Plus as an added bonus feel that the baby will get passed along a lot of great stuff through my breast milk and hopefully will love vegetables through this process :)
Today's mama juice was made of 1 head romaine lettuce, few handfuls kale, handful parsley, small bag of carrots ( approx. 10), 2 apples, 4 lemons, 1 orange, 1 pear and a whole bunch celery. Ended up leaving out the red pepper that is in the photo bc made more fruity.
The big jar is the end product which I will pack up with me when I leave in a bit to get me through the day. I am leaving around 9:45 am and probably will not be back until 430 pm or so. Going to meet my girlfriends and their new babies!! All 4 of our babies were both within a month of each other, then my last appointment with the midwives, then to go rent a breast pump 9mine broke this morning), then to return our new vacuum cleaner (wrecked our floors!! Long and sad story but oh well, they are just floors in the end). Have a lovely juicy day!
xoxmc

Morning Time

Its astonishing to say but rarely do I have even 5 minutes to get on my yoga mat and stretch. And I need it desperately. But the day just starts and becomes a whirling dervish with newborn stuff and laundry and constant nursing, grocery shopping, making a quick juice or meal. But last night the baby slept for a big chunk which allowed me to sleep. So I have now been wide awake since 4 am. We fed, changed diapers, folded some laundry and then when she fell back asleep I did some yoga in the dark. Slowly stretching to the sound of her deep breathing and little woodland creature whimpers. And I feel so much better. During pregnancy it was the lower half that needed help and now it is the upper half. My chest, shoulder, neck and back need a lot of help to stretch and open. My shoulders tend to slope forward anyway but now with breast feeding, holding the baby for many hours a day, getting in weird positions to get her in and out of the car, etc. the upper portion of the body gets wrecked. My neck and shoulders are like rocks and even my forearms have these tight sinewy muscles that almost make me cry when I start to massage them. Now that we are at the six week mark and things are becoming easier and more routine I am going to start making more time myself and my body. I did forward bends, triangle, shoulder stand and plow (yay I can finally do these without the pregnant belly!!!), back and shoulder openers with the block, cat/cow, down dog, and off purse childs pose. Nice to not be in a rush but to enjoy each stretch luxuriously. A true gift. More of that to come. The sun is now up. The husband is stirring and I am drinking tea and ready for my packed day that lies ahead.
xomc

Baked Tofu and Sauteed Lentils, Mushrooms and Onions

Dinner tonight:
1. Tofu- I baked some tofu yesterday and I have to say its awesome. Which is a pleasant surprise because I generally do not love the things that I cook. Love my juices but the food not so much. And baking...forget it. So I actually marinated the tofu overnight and baked it yesterday and it tastes even better today. The skin has a chance to harden more. I took extra firm tofu and cut it into thinnish slices. Then I covered it in a marinade of amino acids, tamari, a bit of hot sauce and TONS of nutritional yeast with some clean water. Then I put the the slices on an oiled baking sheet. Baked on 350 for 45 min. or so.
2. Sauteed whole white onion in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper. Let them get tender then added mushrooms. Then poured on some tamari and let them cook down.
3. Then added cooked lentils (trader joes) and some organic grape tomatoes. Blended together until cohesive and hot.

This is a very easy, low fat, high protein vegetarian dinner. Tastes meaty from mushrooms and lentils.
Enjoy!
(Sorry briefly typed. Holding baby with one hand and typing with one hand that is hurt).
xoxxmc

Juice away the germs

Its that time of the year when seemingly everyone seems to be catching something. Now that I have a baby I am even more paranoid than ever about getting sick. I have been fighting off a sore throat for two days which angers me. I think a lot has to do with major sleep deprivation and breast feeding but also am around people and hence germs. Doing tea with raw honey and lots of veggie juice!! Today I made a big batch of celery, romaine, kale, ginger, orange, grapefruit, apple, carrot, and lemon juice. And I also just juiced 10 pounds of oranges which surprisingly does not go that far. I am doing all I can to flood my system with nutrients and antioxidants. Also, that will pass along to the lil one through my breast milk. Other sick defenses I use are large amounts of vitamin C powder, vitamin D, probiotics, rhodiola rosea, and astralagus. Back on the juice track after veering off of it during my pregnancy. Feels so good to be back. My body is literally drinking it up. Goodluck out there through this sickie season!

xoxxmc