One of the most frequent questions I receive is whether I am vegan or 100% plant-based. I’m ‘plant-based’, meaning my plates are filled with mostly veggies and fruits, but healthy, responsible animal products like grass fed ghee, pasture-raised chicken, grass fed beef, and BROTH are also an important part of my diet. I discovered this by listening to my body and realizing I feel so much more grounded and stable when I incorporate these kinds of proteins.

I’ve also had hormonal issues with acne over the years and tackled this with a multi-pronged approach, including a gut healing/anti-candida program, ridiculously good probiotics, clean skincare routine, cutting back on wearing makeup, and a cup of bone broth literally every day.

Bone broth has been a thing for the last few years (but has been one of the oldest medicinal foods in many parts of the world) and it has staying power for good reason. If you are new to  bone broth, think of it more as the most delicious chicken broth from your mom or grandma’s chicken soup. Chicken bone broth is a good place to start if your new to bone broth – it’s the beef broths that can taste a bit gamier/rich.

The benefits of bone broth

Bone broth is amazing when it comes to gut health, joint health and nourishing your body with a ton of minerals. The benefits of bone broth are endless but here are a few of my favorites

• Heal your gut
• Heal your skin
• Strengthen your hair + nails
• Heal your digestion
• Soothe acid reflux
• Boost immune system
• Support joint, bone, muscle health
• Bioavailable source of minerals like calcium and magnesium

My recipe for bone broth

I’m providing my most basic recipe below. My base recipe uses chicken bones because I typically have a very high quality chicken carcass to make broth with after roasting a chicken for the week. I like to add additional chicken feet to the bone broth because joints carry the gelatin (you’ll want about ⅓ of your bones to be the joints but you can still benefit from broth even without all the joints). Sometimes I will add beef bones and beef knuckles, which will require more time to extract all the amazing minerals. Chicken bones are a bit quicker, and you really only have to simmer them 12 – 16 hours.

My only instruction is to make sure to get your hands on high quality bones. In NYC, I love the butcher in Chelsea Market or Hudson + Charles in the West Village and in Brooklyn I’m a fan of the Meat Hook. Belcampo is my go-to when I’m in LA. Feel free to make the rest of the recipe your own, whether you want to add in some extra immune boosting fresh ginger and turmeric this time of year or mineral rich seaweed. The broth below also makes the most delicious base for soups. Let me know if you know if you try this at home!  

This raw apple-coconut crumble has been bringing me back to life this January.  It doubles as my go-to breakfast option and the perfect afternoon snack (or dessert).  It’s loaded with flavor, as well as packed with some of my favorite ingredients that promote beauty from the inside out.

Similar to my diet, when it comes to my beauty routine, one of my rules of thumb is that what I put onto my body should contain ingredients that I can put into my body as well (think: nothing full of hard-to-pronounce chemicals or unknown substances). It has taken me a long time to find a natural product that had the efficacy of other products that I have used in the past.

My friend Jenna introduced me to True Botanicals, which has quickly become my favorite skincare line. It’s effective skincare made of completely non-toxic, safe products.  Since incorporating the Clear Pure Radiance Oil and Antioxidant Booster (made with apple peels!) into my daily routine, I’ve noticed personal changes in my skin health including brighter, more hydrated skin and a significant reduction in the chronic acne outbreaks that I struggled with for so long. True Botanicals is able to create such potent products because they use incredibly active, natural ingredients like hemp seed oil, coconut oil, macadamia seed oil, tocopherol, apple peel, and grape peel, all of which are nutrient rich and target the entire body, beyond just the topical layer of skin.

I love TB’s transparency and this comprehensive ingredient glossary on their site.  Check it out for more information on their superfood ingredients and stay tuned for my full skincare routine next week!

I was honored to participate in a beauty + wellness day the other week at abc home. It’s truly a special place – the moment you walk in you breath in all of its beauty. Someone pointed out that these space like these don’t take your breathe away, but rather give you breath. You literally want to breathe it all in. The day was filled with a sentiment of beauty from the inside out and I had the pleasure of interviewing abcV’s beverage director Jeremy Mustakas. abcV is beyond delicious and inspiring, right down to every detail on its juice, smoothie, biodynamic wine, creative cocktail and tonic-filled beverage menu.

Some of my favorite ingredients on abcV’s menu are some that are in my very own kitchen – adaptogens like rhodiola, ashwaganda, elderberry, and sea buckthorn. I love sea buckthorn (or sea berry) – it’s is a tiny fruit that grows high up in the Himalayas and is the world’s richest source of Omega-7.  Omega-7 is a beauty essential, boosting collagen production for healthy skin, hair and nails. Sea buckthorn is also an incredible source of Omegas 3, 6, and 9, which also supports digestion and promotes heart health. I love Sibu Beauty’s pure sea buckthorn puree, filled with over 190 bioactive compounds.

Drinking a few splashes of sea berry puree a day is a great way to get your omegas in. I love adding it to my afternoon tonic, or even evening cocktail. At night, I like to unwind a few days a week and also use the puree in an ultra calming, soothing facemask. Read on for the recipes, and if you like grab some sea berry for yourself. My friends at SIBU are sharing the love with 30% off all their products when you use the code CLEANFOOD30 🙂

My morning and evening beauty rituals are such an important part of my day especially because they include so many of my daily self-care rituals – like my morning elixir and dry brush and evening dark chocolate and facial massages. These rituals change depending on my mood and the season but one things for certain, they always help me slow down, enjoy life, and stay in the moment.

I care deeply about my skin and that means not only what I put on my skin but what I put in my body. It pays to spritz your face with hydrating hydrosols but is even better when you pair that with beauty foods. I incorporate these three spring beauty recipes in my my daily rituals to nourish my skin from the inside out – they are filled with superfood ingredients that replenish and feed your gut and skin, like antioxidant rich goji berries, probiotic filled coconut yogurt, and mood-lifting cacao. These recipes are all inspired by Jurlique and for them, beauty also starts on the farm. They grow many of the organic and biodynamic ingredients used in their natural skincare right on their farm – like roses, marshmallow, calendula, lavender, and chamomile.

I already use so many of the ingredients they grow on their farm in my beauty food recipes, and these are three of my favorites that I’ve been inspired to make for spring that have quickly become daily rituals that my body and skin look forward to.

I’m a natural beauty product junky but when it comes down to it, I’m a firm believer in beauty from the inside out. I will easily spend more money on organic vegetables, bone broth, and probiotics than I will face creams and serums. Feeding your belly and brain works to address the root cause of any ailments that may plague you. Dry skin? Yes, slather your face with oil but also drink a TON of water. Acne? Totally cover it up with the best natural concealer but also work to balance your gut flora with food.

My friends at CAP Beauty also subscribe to this school of thought. Stocked with the best natural beauty products and nearly an equal amount of ingestibles and supplements to boost results, they have both ends of the beauty-wellness spectrum covered. Often when I leave a facial at CAP, I’m armed with a “to do” list that often includes a “food Rx” like starting the day with a little bone broth or the name of the best probiotic. I turned to them to create three amazing fall tonics (but really they would be just as good in any season) for body, brain, and beauty. Here they are!

Magical Moonshine (aka Hydration and Digestive Tonic)

Your digestion has a huge impact on how you feel – if your digestion is off it’s likely some other things are off as well. This hydrating tonic is filled with potent ingredients like probiotics and omegas that are designed to soothe and bring your digestion into balance for deep skin nourishment. The stars in this next-level digestion tonic are the Beauty Chef’s Inner Beauty Boost, crafted with coconut water, aloe vera, and active probiotics, as well as Sibu’s Sea Berry Therapy, which is a crazy high source of omegas laced with over 190 bio-active compounds. Add a splash digestive bitters into the mix for an extra boost of bloat soothing digestive support and get ready to glow from the inside out.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Beauty Chef Hydrating Inner Beauty Boost 
• ¼ teaspoon Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters
• Splash of Sibu Sea Berry Therapy
• ¾ cup sparkling water

Method

Combine all ingredients in a glass and serve over ice.

Happy Morning Matcha (Brain Tonic)

Matcha delivers an unparalleled caffeine boost – unlike coffee matcha delivers a slow release of caffeine so there’s no jittery spike or sudden crash. While matcha is great on its own, I like to supercharge its power by combining it with Mucuna Pruriens. Mucuna Pruriens, also known as the dopamine bean, contains 15% L-DOPA, a precursor to dopamine in the brain that boosts our overall mood. Consuming small amounts regularly may enhance brain function, soothe the nervous system, and elevate the mood so you feel on top of the world. I use CAP’s coconut butter for this tonic as it’s the creamiest one I’ve found and blends in perfectly.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon CAP Beauty The Matcha
• ½ teaspoon Mucuna Pruriens
• 1 teaspoon CAP Beauty The Coconut Butter
• Raw Honey, to taste

Method

Combine all ingredients with hot water and blend for a minute on high.

Hibiscus Beauty Tonic

I love to use Tocos as the base of many of my tonics as it magically turns creamy and is an incredible natural sweetener, similar some would say to that of vanilla ice cream. Sun Potion calls it the “ultimate skin food” due to it’s high levels of vitamin E. Mangosteen and Hibiscus taste amazing and are both Vitamin C powerhouses that cleanse and nourish the skin. The Varidem Elixir acts as a major detoxifier and cleanser, supporting the liver and taming inflammation. Pine Pollen can be great for balancing hormones and is also an aphrodisiac. This is one supercharged drink.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Tocos
• 1 teaspoon Mangosteen Hibiscus
• ¼ teaspoon Pine Pollen
• 1 tsp Viridem Cleansing Elixir
• 8 ounce of water

Method

Combine all ingredient in a glass and serve immediately. Note: during the winter this is also great blended with warm water or your favorite herbal tea.