Superfoods and Skin Care **

Hello everyone! 

When I was in my teens I was extremely lucky to have clear skin, which was great for my confidence and everything, but meant that I was a bit blasé about skin care. I tended to just eat whatever I wanted and didn't think about hydration or superfoods at all! Since adulthood and reading all about people's skin care routines I have had a complete change of heart. Skin care is so important, but more important is healthy eating and staying hydrated, it helps you obtain clear and glowing skin. After speaking with Nuts.com, a highly reputable online health food store, I was inspired to take part in a discussion of how healthy eating can improve your skin. Naturally, I was super keen to get involved with all beauty related discussions :-) 

Today I want to talk a bit about the benefits of Goji Berries, Cacao Nibs, Herbal Teas and Chia Seeds. I will also be including a couple of tips on how I like to incorporate these into healthy snacks. Eating healthily is something that I rely on for energy during tricky times like exam revision and stressful work periods. A delicious, yet healthy snack can instantly boost your mood, giving you essential nutrients and making you feel virtuous for actually eating something good for you instead of snacking on chocolate. So delicious and tempting, but so regrettable afterwards! 

Goji berries are packed full of Vitamins A, B2 and C, as well as Zinc. Their antioxidant properties are believed to boost your immune system, helping to clear and improve your skin. You can eat these raw, dried or incorporate them in baking recipes. I like to add them to salads with walnuts, rocket, grapes, red pepper and chia seeds. I quite like their sweet flavouring when raw and will quite happily eat them on their own. 

Cacao nibs are one of the purer forms of chocolate, they are raw, crushed and dehydrated cocoa beans without the additional milk and sugar used to transform them into chocolate as we know and love it. Cacao nibs are full of antioxidants and the lack of sugar makes them a much more skin friendly snack. They are also found to be really effective at combatting PMS, so ladies when the monthly demon rears its head you should consider these as a little snack! Cacao nibs can be a little bitter if you are used to milk chocolate and I will admit I don't enjoy eating them on their own, although they do have quite a good minty tang! I prefer to add them to a cake or brownie mix. My favourite way to eat them is adding them to greek yoghurt with honey and dried goji berries. This makes a delicious and nutritious snack, with the honey adding that bit of sweetness. I also like to bake sugar free brownies using cinnamon, dark chocolate, cacao nibs and goji berries. These make quite a good revision snack as you can make them into quite small chunks, ideal for nibbling at my desk! 

Chia seeds are super versatile, they can be added to both sweet and savoury recipes. I enjoy adding these to rocket, red lettuce and tomato salads. However, my favourite way to eat them is to sprinkle them on top avocado and poached egg on toast. They are so easy to just chuck into a recipe, and they taste really rich and nutty. Please do bear in mind that it isn't recommended to have more than 15g per day, moderation is key! Chia seeds are great for clear skin, they are rich in antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, fibre and a whole bunch of vitamins! 

Everybody is all about the matcha green tea at the moment, unfortunately I am not a caffeine drinker! However, its skin benefits are indisputable. Matcha tea is an ancient Chinese recipe, the antioxidants coupled with the purity of the tea and hot water is great for opening up your pores and clearing your skin. My non-caffeine alternatives are herbal tea, especially ginger and lemon, they make my skin feel invigorated and fresh. Both varieties of tea help keep you hydrated, which is essential in achieving that gorgeous glowing skin :-) 

How do you like to enjoy healthy snacks? If you have any recipe tips please let me know in the comments below :-)

xoxo

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