Pretty by Nature » Nutrition

Natural Weight Loss Support

Michelle Smith — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:37:25 +0000

Still working on getting bikini-ready? Maybe it’s time to get your body back in balance. Rainbow Light’s Cleanse products use fruit and fiber to wake up your system and get everything working properly again.

I tried both theThinBerry Diet & Cleanse kit and the CleanseAway 7 Day Renewal kit. Each kit comes complete – all you do is add water or juice. Simple and effective.

ThinBerry Diet & Cleanse is 3-step program with a morning appetite suppressor, then a fiber-rich drink, followed by an evening dose of liver support.

Supports healthy weight loss by controlling appetite with decaffeinated green tea berry, standardized green tea, and artichoke. Promotes cleansing and improves regularity with fruit fiber, seeds, sprouts, enzymes, probiotics. There are 7 grams of fiber in each dose.

CleanseAway 7 Day Renewal

Another 3-step process that helps to regulate the body resulting in “improved skin tone and increased vigor.” It uses the same fruit, fiber, probiotics, and enzymes to naturally balance the digestive system.

Image credit: Rainbow Light.com

Post from: Pretty by Nature

March Madness Giveaway – Beauty Scoop

Michelle Smith — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:01:10 +0000

To celebrate the relaunch of Splendicity.com, we are holding a month-long series of super-fantastic beauty and style giveaways that we call March Madness.

Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to give away nail enamel, lovely beaded jewelry, and natural skin care. This time, I’ve got something really unique - Beauty Scoop – The Edible Beauty Accessory.

Beauty Scoop was developed by plastic surgeon, Dr. Michelle Yagoda and Dr. Eugene Gans, Ph.D, chemist and inventor. Beauty Scoop is all natural, vegetable based, and uses peptides and lipids to beautify skin, hair, and nails. Beauty scoop goes beyond the healing effects of normal supplements to boost the body’s natural healing process. Clinical trials showed that 86% of the people who used Beauty Scoop reported an improvement in skin, hair, and nail within 3 weeks.

BeautyScoop comes in convenient pouches and can be added to any beverage. You can read more about the product and watch a short video here. BeautyScoop is truly beauty from the inside out.

If you’d like to try BeautyScoop for yourself, please leave a comment on this post sharing one of your own personal beauty secrets. I’ll pick a random winner from the comments and announce it tomorrow.

Don’t forget to see what else is in store for March Madness by clicking here.

Image credit: Beauty Scoop.com

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Beauty Begins On the Inside – Natural Supplements

Michelle Smith — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:34:05 +0000

Beauty begins on the inside, right? We’ve all heard that and I do my best to eat a healthy diet, full of fresh foods. I try to include lots of colorful vegetables and fruits, which is easier for me to do than many people, this time of the year, because I live in California. When that gets tough (or expensive), I turn to supplements, but I don’t want to put a bunch of chemicals in my body either.

A better solution? Agro Labs, has a line of natural liquid supplements that are easy to fit into a busy lifestyle.

I’ve tried their Green Envy Daily Detox, which works to get your system running smoothly. My son, Max, who has Cerebral Palsy and a host of problems that can be traced back to the Cerebral Palsy, takes this on a daily basis and I’ve noticed that his skin in clearing up. It also helps to boost immunity, which is very important to his ongoing good heal. Green Envy Daily Detox has a fruity taste - sort of like you are eating the leaves and evrything, which I found surprising, but not bad, on the first day. By the third day, I was used to the taste and it actually tasted good.

Lately, I’ve been taking the Superberry Upgrade with Resveratrol, which is both a health and a beauty drink. It benefits your hair, skin, nails – your total body. It contains all the power berries – blueberries, acai berries, pomegranates, mangosteens, goji berries, grapes, strawberries, and cherries. There are a total of 3,750 ORAC units per serving and it contains Resveratrol, which is the antioxidant found in red wine. Superberry Upgrade antioxidants provide the body with anti-aging properties. It tastes great – has a taste similar to cranberries. I just take two tablespoons, in the morning, with my toast. Simple.

Both products are preservative-free and all natural. You can read more about them here. They are found at Walmart, CVS, and Costco.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

A Little Cross Promotion

Noel Boehm — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:07:08 +0000

Check out Almost Vegetarian today for a yummy recipe for the kids from yours truly. It’s tasty for adults too. My obsession with “greening” my family has extended to the food we eat and I really enjoy it as well. We all know getting enough of the right kinds of foods in our diet is vitally important to our health and appearance. It doesn’t have to cost a lot and you don’t have to use super fancy ingredients. Happy cooking!

Post from: Pretty by Nature

New Baby Gifts

Noel Boehm — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:25:43 +0000

It’s funny when you are a kid you think that your parents have the answer to everything and will always make it okay. Then when you become an adult you have a lightbulb moment and realize that they, like you, didn’t know what they heck they were doing and were just winging it. The truth is that while chronologically I am an adult, I feel like I’m still 17 about half of the time. I think it’s hilarious that to certain people I am known only as “the bug’s mommy”. I also think it’s funny that friends that we used to get wasted with are now moms and dads too. If these poor kids only knew what we were doing five years ago.

So all of the above was just a long way around to say that a lot of people I know are having babies and I won’t be getting them diaper cakes or any other useless nonsense. These gifts will say, “I held your hair back while you puked so you’re not fooling me with this responsible bit. I got you something you can actually use because I know what a slacker you really are”. Weleda has some fantastic mom and baby products that are now being carried at Walgreen’s. The Baby Starter Kit is a great introduction to the brand and is great for grabbing quickly when you are out trying (emphasis on the trying) to run errands. Hyland’s has a whole range of Homeopathic remedies for teething, earaches, runny noses…whatever. It’s the kind of thing you would never think about until it’s 3am and you are about to go crazy. I just thought of this one yesterday and I think it’s a great idea. Have fresh produce delivered weekly to their home. We just signed ourselves up today and OMG I am so excited. Check your local natural food stores and local co-ops to see what they offer. I found so many in my area. We opted for the $25.00 box which should feed a family of 2-4. So for $100.00 you can get a new family that’s trying to adjust fresh, organic food delivered to their door. I lived on Wheat Thins for the first month of my son’s life because I was too tired and too busy to do anything else. This would have saved my life. I hope these gifts will help someone. Welcome to the real world baby.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Local Produce Delivered

Noel Boehm — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:30:51 +0000

Most of us do not get enough fruits and vegetables in our diet on a daily basis. You know who you are*hangs head in shame*. With the pressures of work, family and everything else, it’s hard to put it at the top of my list. What if there was a way to get fresh, locally grown, organic produce delivered to my home every week. What’s that you say? There is a way? Almost every major city now has a way for you to get this service. I found one in my neck of the woods through one of the hubby’s co-workers. Why did I not know about this before? For next to nothing, about $16.00, we can get a box of 10-15 different varieties of fruits and veggies that will last a family of 2-4 about a week. It all comes from local farms. In my humble opinion, it’s great and all if you can get organic but if it’s going to expend more energy, gas, man-power etc., then I would rather buy local. It’s better for you and it’s cheaper. We try not to go organic crazy and usually just stick to the dirty dozen if we can. Now I have no excuses. I am really neurotic when it comes to the shelf life of foods. I waste disgusting amounts of food just because. If I say some food has gone bad and it needs to be thrown out my husband will routinely ask, ” Is it really expired or has it just passed Noel’s acceptable expiration date?” So this should be a good motivator to me to use it all by the end of the week. One bag of five-day-old greens thrown out: terrible. A BOX of five-day-old produce gone to waste: punishable by death. I can’t think of a better way to spend less than $20.00. Wouldn’t it be a great gift to new parents? Especially if she’s breastfeeding or they have older wee ones. Fresh produce even in Winter when the Farmer’s Market has gone the way of the dingos. Sign me up.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Jinx: You Owe Me a Coke

Noel Boehm — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:49:45 +0000

Check out this article on Planet Green about how to have great looking skin the natural way. Sounds very similar to what someone else I know said a while ago…hint, hint. Nothing I said was revolutionary or new, it’s information that is readily available but people just choose to ignore it. Maybe if it comes from a more reputable source, as opposed to me who is barely credible, more people will take note. Although I’m thinking it’s like preaching to the choir. People who eat Fritos and drink Coke and Red Bull daily aren’t likely to be on Planet Green or TreeHugger. I hate to generalize but you know I’m right. Send the article to someone you know would never read it on their own and see what they think. Be the sweet fragrance that draws people near. Don’t be the foul stench.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Those Teenage Hoes

Noel Boehm — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:55:27 +0000

“Those teenage hoes in a line at your door”. My husband had me convinced that these were the lyrics to Fiest’s song 1234. It got me thinking about those horrible teenage years. There were no teenage boys in a line at my door. If my teen years had a soundtrack it would be Janice Ian’s “At Seventeen“. I was a cheerleader but not because I was popular but because I was a former gymnast who could tumble. After games on Friday nights I would go home while the cute girls went to parties. Now it makes sense why I’m so happy to be 30, huh?

Anyway, it made me think of how horrible it was to be one of only a few suffering from chronic acne in a sea of fresh faced Lolitas. I tried everything that was offered through late-night infomercials. My mother took me to an endless host of dermatologists. “Don’t eat junk food”. “Junk food has no effect on your skin”. They couldn’t come to a consensus and nothing ever really worked in the long term. Unfortunately it’s a problem that has continued into adulthood. Finally the thing that cleared my skin was a change in lifestyle. It was so incredibly simple but it took me until my early 20’s to figure it out. I eliminated as many toxins as possible from my diet. No dairy, high fructose corn syrup or red meat. I also started taking zinc supplements. Whenever I have an excess of the above, my skin will tell the tale. I have heard it over and over again but it’s so true. Your skin is like your tattle-tale younger sibling. What you eat and drink really does make a difference in the look of your skin. All the products in the world won’t counteract the effects of poor nutrition. I still struggle with my skin but at least now I have a much better attitude about it. Beauty comes from the inside out. Great, now I sound like a guidance counselor.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Change is on the Horizon

Noel Boehm — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:09:40 +0000

Why is it that the people that are the least informed and most ignorant on a subject are the most vocal? It’s always the person with the worst fashion sense ever who will criticize your wardrobe choices. I think the problem is that the people with common sense don’t want to speak up. I am going to change that now and start being more vocal about what I know to be true. I may as well start my New Year’s resolution early.

Okay, are you listening? You sure? Come closer. STOP SABOTAGING YOUR HEALTH. Just stop it, that’s enough. We all know the deal, it’s no shocker. Don’t let stupid people convince you that an all protein diet and a diet pill that gives you oily anal discharge is okay. Here are a few things that are beneficial for your health and as an added bonus will make your skin look great.

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup is the devil. It is so bad for you and it’s in everything. You have to be and investigative reporter to find regular food without it. All that sugar wreaks havoc on your immune system and complexion. Did you know that almost every brand of bread, white and whole wheat, has it among the first five ingredients? Eliminate this from your diet and I promise that within days you will notice a difference.

2. Probiotics will cure what ails ya. I always take a probiotic, such as Cultrelle, while taking a course of antibiotics. I have seen research that recommends taking one daily will improve Eczema.

3. Flax seed oil will make your skin, hair and nails look healthy and shiny. Among the many benefits to your heart, it just makes you look healthier. It comes in capsule or liquid form. Start your day with a bowl of oatmeal with flax seed oil and fresh blueberries and you will add ten years to your life.

4. Drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day. No seriously eight of them, just water. Not water with Crystal Light in it. I know everyone knows this but few actually do it. I started being diligent about adhering to this while pregnant and nursing and it just made the biggest difference in the texture and look of my skin.

5. Every meal shouldn’t come out of a box. Broccoli doesn’t come out of the ground battered with a side of ranch dressing. If you are a vegetarian, that doesn’t mean that you get to eat Pringles all day and call yourself healthy. The food you eat should look like it does in it’s natural state before you cook it. If you want chocolate chip cookies, fine. Just make them yourself so you know that there are no baddies in there. Do I really have to go into what this will do for your health and the way you look? Okay, thank you.

None of this should be an eye opener to people but I hope it’s motivation to turn things around. Maybe if we play to their vanities it will wake some poeple up. Like, “Hey crack will give you pimples”. OMG then totally I’m done. Maybe that’s not close enough to your own life. How about, “That Diet Coke you have every day at 3:00 will make your hair look less bouncy”. Change doesn’t have to come on a specific day and charity shouldn’t just be on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

30-Day Challenge – Vitamin Water.

Teri Cosenzi — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:15:00 +0000

While at the grocery store early Saturday morning, I decided to look into Vitamin Water. I see the spots on TV and You Tube with various celebs and sports stars touting their favorite Vitamin Water Flavor ( – great marketing!), and thought that with my 30-Day Challenge going on, there is no time like the present to give some Vitamin Water a try.

I drink a lot of water throughout the day, and usually enjoy a glass of Orange Juice every morning with breakfast. Looking at the label of the Essential Vitamin Water packed with Vitamin C and ten others, with less than half the calories in a standard glass of OJ, I made my choice quickly.

The taste is a light and smooth orange flavor, and I really enjoyed it. The 32 ounce bottle took me a few hours of sipping to finish it, but I enjoyed it.

While I realize that much of this is marketing, I figure that enjoying a water with a nice taste, while getting a bit of vitamins into my diet, cannot hurt. I would just never depend on Vitamin Water as a sole source of nutrition.

Post from: Pretty by Nature