Skintelligence

I LOVE these products!

I was recently given the value kit which includes: Skintelligence® Hydra Derm Deep Cleansing Emulsion; Skintelligence® pH Skin Normalizer; Skintelligence® Daily Moisture Enhancer. In other words: cleanser, toner, moisturizer, a complete regiment for skincare. This is great for normal to dry skin, according to their product write up, but I was really having a hard time with sensitivity also and it's working great.

So some background. I'm in my mid 30's and I've been struggling with acne for years it is SO frustrating. I did finally go in and get a prescription lotion from my doctor for Sodium Sulfacetamide. He also gave me an antibiotic which I never took because I just wanted to try that as a LAST resort. I was using the RX lotion for a week or so when I got the Skintelligence products. The picture on the left side was after I started using the RX, and before I started using Skintelligence. My face was so red and inflamed. Yes, I had some acne blemishes on my chin but what stands out to me is all around my eye, so splotchy and red and hurting!...  A couple weeks into my Skintelligence experiment, my face was SO HAPPY! And it still is. the pic on the right was 2 weeks in. It looks like I am wearing makeup but I promise, all I have on is mascara. The color is off (phone cam) too, but I did not do any photoshopping to that pic! Anyway, I can't give Skintelligence 100% of the credit for removing my acne, because I'm using that RX, but the whole line is SO SOOTHING and lovely and makes my face happy, & smooth. It smells dreamy and has ultra calming botanicals like Aloe, Lavender, Chamomile, and Geranium, just to name a few. I'm SO glad I found these products.

Isotonix: Calcium

Recently, I was on a women's retreat at the beach with my AA Gals. I complained that I couldn't sleep the first night because I was itchy and had restless legs. Kathy told me I MUST try her Isotonix Calcium Plus that night and see what a difference it makes!  I'm always "paranoid" to try vitamins it's the most ridiculous  thing ever. But I did it. She prepped it for me JUST before bed time, I drank it on an empty stomach. 30 min later I was absolutely zonked! SO drowsy, but not in a stoned way. Just sleepy like if I took a melatonin. No itching, no restless legs. GREAT nights sleep!!


http://www.shop.com/Isotonix+reg+Calcium+Plus-561800352-p+.xhtml#pop_pcd_tabs0

I'm not sure why it works for these "night itchies" but it WORKED and I'm hooked

Lemony Butternut Squash with Quinoa

 I got two HUGE Butternut Squashes already, super early. I cut, peeled, & diced the smaller one. I'm wearing gloves because when I peel them, there is a weird juice in between the meat and the skin that feels gross to me and I can never get it to wash all the way off. Makes my fingers feel coated for HOURS after. As you can see there weren't many seeds to remove. This squash yeilded over 12 cups of diced squash! WOW. My favorite color :-)

 I roasted about 3 cups of the dice at 400° for 15 min

   

mince 4 cloves of garlic and about 1/4 cup red onion. Saute on low for 5 min. Meanwhile
Rinse 1 Cup Royal Pearl Quinoa WELL. Zest off about 1Tbsp lemon peel. Squeeze 1/2 lemon. Then:
Add 2 cups roasted squash, 2.5 cups savory broth,  rinsed quinoa, lemon juice and zest all to the pan. Simmer on med/low for 20 min, stirring every 5 min or so. enjoy. I added Earth Balance buttery spread to my serving. OH Autumn!!

I saved 1 cup of the roasted squash, added a tad of water and microwaved for 3 min to get it NICE and soft. Then I used my immersion blender to puree and made babyfood :-)

Creamy Tomato Soup

 Rinse and pull stems from 2 lbs tomatoes

Put in a blender:
tomatoes
2 avocados
hand full of thyme (leaves not stems)
1Tbsp salt
1 clove of garlic

Blend till smooth. Warm on the stove. Served with buttered (Earth Balance Buttery Spread) toast or English muffins OR top with fancy croutons

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Made with my own home grown butternut squash.

First I roasted 1/2 inch cubes at 400° for 20 min stirring once half way thru

Put in blender:
Roasted Butternut squash
1 can LITE coconut milk
2 avocados
1/2 c cashews (I used trader joes thai spiced for extra spice!)
1 clove garlic
1Tbsp salt
1C water

 



















warm it up on the stove. eaten with buttered toast/english muffins.