Posts Tagged ‘Health / Fitness’

Healthy Alternatives To Brownies

When you are making your best efforts to eat healthy, one of the toughest things can be cutting out those “favorite” foods of yours that you know you really should not eat; and if one of these foods for you is a rich, warm brownie (covered in cold vanilla ice cream, thank you very much!), it can be especially difficult to say “no.” But one of the best ways to say “no” to your greatest temptations is to find similar alternatives that are much healthier, and that will therefore lessen the desire for the food you crave while keeping your body in better shape.

If your favorite part of the brownie is really just the chocolate, one option is to simply consume a healthier form of chocolate; for instance, you can have chocolate covered raisins or chocolate covered almonds for dessert, or you can have dark chocolate – which is a great antioxidant.

If your longing for “brownie and ice cream” is due largely to the ice cream, consider having the ice cream by itself (instead of with the brownie), or replace the ice cream with something else that is cold and creamy, like yogurt.

You can also find several ways to make healthier brownies; if you make brownies from scratch, using cocoa, you will have a much healthier alternative to store-bought brownies; you can also replace butter with apple butter, and you can look up recipes for brownies that do not use flour.

Finally, your best bet of all for replacing brownies with a healthier alternative is to move away from brownies altogether, replacing the “dessert” portion of your night with something that is tasty and sweet, but is still healthy; there are a number of cookbooks with healthy dessert ideas, and when you pick up one of these, it can be much easier to make the switch away from brownies.

When you try to replace something in your diet (especially something as delicious as brownies!), it can be difficult at first; but the more you work toward finding replacements, the more quickly you will be successful!

Healthy and Clear Normal to Dry Skin

No matter what your age, if you’ve had problems finding the perfect skincare products in the past, worry no more. Keeping your normal to dry skin clear can seem like a lot of money and work for few results, but not so with this unique combination of products I am about to recommend to you.

To start, you’ll need a morning/shower cleanser. Aveeno Clear Complexion Cleanser is the perfect creamy exfoliating wash that your skin type needs. It is a fresh and easy cream cleanser that exfoliates and treats your skin gently. Using it in the shower in the morning is the best way to give yourself a clean slate to put your makeup on for the day.  Only two percent salicylic acid content makes this cleanser an effective treatment for occasional blemishes. I know there are a lot of treatments out there with a higher content of salicylic acid – however, using a higher concentration will end up harming your skin in the long run, promoting dry skin and even wrinkles as you get older.

After you use the wash, follow it up with the matching Aveeno Clear Complexion Lotion. You can easily pump it out of its bottle like you would any hand soap. Be wary of using too much though, because the extra will chunk up on your face as you try to rub it in. The lotion also has a low percentage of salicylic acid which continues to prevent breakouts throughout your day.

For those annoying zits and blemishes that will still tend to pop up from time to time (no pun intended), Neutrogena On the Spot Acne Treatment is a great cream. It is mild and doesn’t dry or irritate. The best thing about this spot treatment is that the tiny tube lasts forever and a little bit goes a long way. Its a great value for your money.

When the day ends and your skin needs an effective, fast cleaning, there are two great options. If you hate oily eye make up removers and need a sensitive cleaner, use Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. It’s super effective on any kind of eye makeup you use, even waterproof mascara and dark eyeliners. To clean your skin at the end of the day, the best option is a refreshing cotton ball of SeaBreeze FreshClean Astringent that cleans deep down in your pores to release every last bit of makeup and dirt. You’ll be able to see the results, so continue until you come back with a clean cotton ball. Don’t forget to repeat daily and enjoy your results!