Enjoy these three nourishing beauty food recipes that let your pretty shine from the inside out, and learn about the ingredients that offer all the right oils, minerals, vitamins, and acids that will boost your beauty from the inside.
Recipes adapted from Beauty Food by Maria Ahlgren. Copyright © 2018 Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. Reproduced with permission by the publisher. All rights reserved.
The Recipe
Vegan Tom Kha with Carrot Noodles, Coconut, and Tamari Mushrooms
This vegetarian version of traditional tom kha is almost raw and stuffed with beauty-boosting vitamins and antioxidants. Get the recipe.
The Beauty Food: Carrot
Built-in SPF. Beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in the liver, which helps the body to repair aging skin tissue and keep up collagen production. It also boosts the skin’s defense against sun damage, which means not only protection against cell damage but also a smoother, deeper, and more durable tan. However, sun protection with factor 30 is still a nonnegotiable must. Also contains vitamin C and biotin, which is important for the hair.
The Recipe
Skin-Lovin’ Spaghetti Marinara with Garlic-Fried Mushrooms and Pumpkin “Parmesan”
The world’s most skin-friendly pasta dish, topped with a dairy-free pumpkin “parmesan” that will make your hair stand on end. Get the recipe.
The Beauty Food: Pumpkin Seeds
Fighter of Pimples and Gray Hairs. Pumpkin seeds are nature’s most potent zinc bomb, and zinc deficiency is linked to both acne and gray hair. Amino acid tryptophan helps the body to produce the calming and tranquilizing hormone serotonin. Like any acne patient with a few gray hairs, some mild anxiety, and sleep problems, I crack open pumpkin seeds on a daily basis.
The Recipe
Cauliflower Mini-Pizzas with Avocado Cream
Instead of grated cheese in the dough, this beauty food recipe uses nutritional yeast flakes to get that cheesy flavor and a hearty dose of the hair-loving B vitamins. Get the recipe.
The Beauty Food: Cauliflower
Wrinkle-Fighting Bouquet. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and other types of cabbage, including cauliflower, contain an exciting phytochemical called sulforaphane—a powerful antioxidant that counteracts premature aging. Cauliflower is rich in vitamin A, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin C, which are required for the formation of collagen.
