happy, healthy & hot

People always ask me…

what I use on my skin.  Which is totally cool.  Because I love talking about skincare products as much as I love talking about hot young musicians.
But here’s the thing…while I totally believe in using high quality skincare, what you feed your skin from the inside makes the biggest difference.
skin foods eliz
I cleared my skin of chronic cystic acne by cutting out dairy, grains and processed sugar.  It improved even more as I started adding the foods shown in the pic.
Let’s start with the sardines.  I can hear the groans now, since so many of you are still sardine virgins.  Try the ones that are lightly smoked, packed in olive oil.  My favorite brand is Wild Planet.  You will learn to like them, and when you see how great your skin looks, you will be thanking me.  Sardines are rich in vitamins A and D, coQ10, and omega 3 fatty acids.  And of course protein.
If you can’t quite go there yet, wild caught salmon has the same benefits.  (I still think sardines are the best because you are eating the skin, bones, everything.  But I also realize that sounds pretty gross.)  You can find wild salmon fresh, frozen or canned.  Adding fatty fish to your diet will give your skin a glow.
Some other sources of healthy fats for your skin are coconut oil and avocado.  I don’t need to tell you what to do with an avocado.  It’s pretty simple: make guac, slice it on a salad, or just do what I do when I’m in a hurry…cut it in half, sprinkle with some pink Himalayan salt, and eat it out of the shell with a spoon.
You can do a lot with coconut oil too.  One way that I use it every single day is to blend it into my coffee in the am, along with a little liquid stevia, and my Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.  I use a Vitamix or Nutribullet to do this, but any blender will do.  It makes the drink nice and frothy.
If I had to pick one item that changed the appearance of my skin more than anything else, it would be Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.  I consider it a miracle product for skin, hair and nails.  My skin is firmer at the age of 49 than it was at 39.  If you don’t drink coffee, it blends nicely into tea or a smoothie.
Fresh greens are super important too.  I have organic baby arugula in the picture, but it’s best to consume a variety of leafy greens.  Each time you go shopping try something different.  The main ones in my rotation are kale, arugula and watercress.  But start with spinach and romaine lettuce if you like.  I blend them into a huge green drink in the am, usually with lemon and fresh ginger.  Follow me on Instagram @resnickelizabeth if you want to see more of my green drinks!
If you struggle with getting enough greens in your diet, Collagen Beauty Greens from Vital Proteins could be the answer for you.  This product combines marine collagen with a great variety of greens, along with probiotics and hyaluronic acid.  It’s in the form of an easy to mix and surprisingly mild tasting powder.  I don’t use this product every single day, but I take it with me when I’m traveling and don’t have time to mix up green drinks.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!
Carrots are awesome for your skin…in fact, I wrote a whole post on that!  If this reminds you of Pheobe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, I’m sorry.  (Ok, maybe not sorry.  That was a great movie!)  For more details on the carrots, read this post, which happens to be one of my most popular:
Cheap and easy
My grandmother turns 104 this month and her skin looks better than people who are twenty years younger.  She swears by fresh lemon juice, so I start every day with the juice of half of a lemon squeezed into a glass of room temperature water.  The vitamin C helps your body produce more collagen, for firmer skin.  (Not just on your face…all over your body!)  Limes are good too!
There are strawberries in the picture, but any berries will do.  Berries are a great source of antioxidants without giving you too much of a sugar rush.  Fresh berries are amazing when they’re in season, but frozen are good too, as long as they’re not sweetened.
skin food
A few things that aren’t in the picture but that I believe helped me:  raw nuts and dark chocolate.
Nuts are a great source of healthy fats and protein, particularly when they are raw.  Brazil nuts in particular are a great source of selenium, and can be helpful with acne.
And high quality dark chocolate definitely helps with healthy skin.  And it tastes good.  Win-win!  I actually wrote a whole post on that (which I happen to think is one of my best, even though it didn’t get a ton of views.)  Read it here:
Like Justin Bieber and Jason Derulo
Oh, and some possible side effects from eating this way are more energy, a better mood, clearer thinking, and maybe a little weight loss.  Hopefully you’re cool with that.
So, can eating the right foods for your skin help you feel happy, healthy and hot?  It absolutely can.  It’s really why I started this blog.  You will be happy eating such delicious and healthy foods, plus your mood improves with the addition of healthy fats.  Everything I mentioned has numerous health benefits.  And hot?  You will see your skin start to glow (please try sardines!!!) and firm up…what could be hotter than that?
SHOP THE POST:
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
Vital Proteins Collagen Beauty Greens
Nutiva Coconut Oil (This is a great deal on a two-pack…one for your kitchen, one for your bathroom to use for oil cleansing and an all over moisturizer!)
NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia (The only brand that tastes good to me!)
Lemon Squeezer
Nutribullet
Vitamix
 

Comments

  2. Gwen Aquino says

    OK, so I am doing everything above now! Except will order sardines from thrive…..(uh oh), but how do you eat them?? Do you cut them up and put over salad? Eat them plain? I have never eaten them and am quite scared, ha ha! I tried the beauty greens yesterday. Not too bad. Maybe I will buy the marine collagen without the greens too. Looked like a ton of vitamin A in there but I am not sure. Thanks for all the tips!! My last will be to cut out grains which is going to be really hard…although I only eat healthy grains (sprouted, whole grain,etc) and I need to cut out sugar totally which is also super hard but I am getting a lot better about it. I also do super dark chocolate. Thanks for all the amazing tips!!!

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Resnick says

      Wow, Gwen, you are doing great!!! The beauty greens really aren’t bad at all. I use the collagen peptides in the blue canister in my coffee, which are from beef, to mix things up a bit! It sounds like you eat really healthy grains, but I know for me cutting them out completely made a huge difference. And trust me on the sardines…you will learn to love them (ok, maybe tolerate them!) I was completely grossed out at first and now I actually panic if I’m running low!

      Reply

  5. Susan says

    Elizabeth,
    Always have appreciated your comments on MDA.
    A comment about Stevia. Be careful with it after menopause. I used stevia for the last several years, but late last year read in The Paleo Approach that it was used by the South American Indians for birth control. I had my doctor run tests at my physical and my estrogen was more that twice what it should have been for my age. Estrogen started dropping when I quit using stevia. If you keep you using it, be sure to have your estrogen tested regularly.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Resnick says

      Wow, Susan, thanks for alerting me to this! I definitely want to do some more research. I use stevia in very limited quantities, but do enjoy it in my morning blended coffee. Somehow I manage to survive without it when I do a whole 30, so I know it can be done:) Thanks for checking in!

      Reply

  6. Christian/Christy ;) says

    Love this list girl!! Do you think collagen and gelatin (either Great Lakes or Vital Proteins) make a good post workout breakfast? I am looking to get rid of my whey and am not sure. I eat animal proteins at my other meals so I assume I am getting enough? Interesting reading about how lower protein levels are better for aging . . . Would love your thoughts on that! xoxo

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Resnick says

      Hey Christian! I think the collagen or gelatin mixed into some sort of smoothie could be a great post workout breakfast. I have had great results with both brands. I switched to Vital Proteins because they offer better verification that the cattle are grass fed, and find the packaging easier to use. But I still keep the Great Lakes in my amazon store because I always saw results with that. And as far as the lower protein levels and aging, I have heard about that also but I think protein needs are very individual. For me personally, there are days when I feel like I am just craving protein and other times I don’t need as much. Thanks for checking in and loved talking to you! xxoo

      Reply

  7. Tanya E says

    I completely agree with you about what you put in your body has more effect than what you put on your skin! I have always been lucky and had pretty good skin, even as a teenager. However, I have always eaten well, even as a child my parents served lots of veggies with meals and limited sugary snacks. I used to just wash my face with soap, but my skin always looked ok – now I oil cleanse. I’m sure that eating lots of different veg, nuts, good oils, fish and drinking lots has helped stop too many wrinkles and lines at 45.
    You look great, Elizabeth. I had to laugh about the sardines, I am in the UK, and as a child in the 70s sardines or pilchards (cornish sardines) were part of a lot of people’s diets. Albeit in tomato sauce on toast.

    Reply

  8. Elizabeth Resnick says

    Hey Tanya, thanks for checking in…sounds like you are taking great care of yourself! Hope you are loving the oil cleansing. And you were so lucky to have parents who emphasized healthy foods. Funny about the sardines. I never heard of them being called pilchards. They would actually be pretty good in tomato sauce…just hold the toast:)

    Reply

  9. Tanya E says

    “Pilchards” are traditionally caught in Cornwall and are slightly bigger than sardines, very English, I think. They have been rebranded as sardines. The tomato sauce was tinned so pretty sugary!

    Reply

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