DIY Honey Lemon Lip Exfoliant

It's been cold this week. Like, really cold. So cold that Derek's afraid to let the dogs go out for more than 5 minutes at a time because he doesn't want them to freeze....they're our babies ya know :) It's been so cold that I've been sporting fleecy PJs to bed, with polar fleece socks and microfleece sheets. Did you know that there were so many kinds of fleece? I did. And I love it.

I've pulled out my mitts, my scarves and my new winter coat. You can't go out, not even for a minute, without bundling up in your woolies. I know it's January and that I live in Canada, so I really shouldn't be shocked by this weather, but it's been a long time since we've felt such frigid temperatures and I don't like it one bit. I swear to you that I am a true red & white Canadian, but we live in the southern parts of Ontario and you won't catch me moving north anytime soon. Like never.

This weather has been wreaking havoc on my skin. I moisturize every day, but my hands have been feeling drier everyday and my lips....oh my poor, dry flaky lips. They have been in a sad state my friends. No matter how much lip gloss or chapstick I use, I can't keep them soft and smooth. Yesterday was the final straw. I couldn't stand the sandpaper feeling any longer, so I decided to take action.

Several years ago, I bought a lip exfoliant and conditioner from Mary Kay. These products were the bomb-digity of lip products. They kept my lips smooth and soft all year long. The set was a tad pricey, and while I don't mind paying for quality, I have a hard time blowing my skincare budget on something I can easily make at home. I did a little research on what ingredients work best for smoothing and conditioning my lips and I went to work on making my own homemade version of a lip exfoliant.

Honey Lemon Lip Exfoliant
3 tsp coarse brown sugar (I used organic Sucanat)
3/4 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp honey

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil and honey together in a small bowl. Add the brown sugar and mix until it forms a wet paste.

Wash your lips and pat dry.

Gently apply the exfoliant to your lips and leave for 20 - 30 seconds. Using your finger, gently rub the exfoliant in small circles around your lips.

Use warm water to wipe the exfoliant off  your lips and pat dry.

Now I had a picture of my lips covered in the scrub mixture, but it looked like I had the plague, so I decided not to bless your eyes with that sight. If you have any questions about application, just drop me a line :-)

smooth, clean, shiny lips...and yes, I am sporting one of my sexiest fleece PJ tops here ;-)

Now it's time to moisturize!!!

Use your favourite lip balm or chapstick to give your lips an extra boost of moisture and shine.

My favourites are Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm (not pictured), EOS in Strawberry Sorbet or LUSH's Lip Service.

Um, I've gotta say not only does this exfoliant work amazingly well and it also tastes pretty darn good.  :-D

*Note: The skin on our lips is very delicate, so you should not exfoliate everyday. I exfoliate once or twice (if my lips are REALLY dry) per week. If you are going out for a night on the town and are planning to wear a full coverage lipstick, you should definitely use this exfoliant to ensure a smooth coverage.*

What's your favourite lip moisturizer to use during the cold, dry months?

Do you love the Winter or are you just counting down the days 'til the first day of Spring?

Have a great day,

Andrea
xoxo

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Why hello there.

So far, September has blessed us with several warm and sunny days, but the chilly evenings are a surefire sign that Fall really is right around the corner. The weather's not the only that changing; I'm starting to notice some changes going on in my garden too. The green beans, lettuce and zucchini plants are almost picked clean and the squash, tomatoes, pumpkins and corn are all getting really close to being ready.

I think I love the late summer veggies the most. Squash is one of my favourites and who doesn't love a fresh tomato picked straight from the vine?! The tomatoes coming out of the garden are so sweet and flavourful; I swear I'll never be able to eat another bland grocery store tomato again!!

Of course, you know I have an addiction to roasting every veggie that passes through my kitchen doors and now that the night's are cooling off, the oven keeps calling my name. I've roasted sweet potato rounds, zucchini, butternut squash and now tomatoes. Do you know how amazing your kitchen smells when you roast a combo of fresh tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt and basil?? The aroma is utterly DIVINE my friends.

Last night I took four huge beefsteak tomatoes and chopped them up and roasted them. Afterwards, I blended them up into the creamiest soup imaginable. This recipe is going to be some pretty tough competition to the traditional homemade tomato soup my dad and grandma used to make.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Serves 3

4 large tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 - 1/3 c fresh basil*
1 3/4 c unsweetened original almond milk (or 1% milk)
2 tbsp melted Earth Balance (butter)

Preheat your oven to 325.

Place all of your tomatoes in a large baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper and the dried basil. Roast for 75 - 80 minutes.

Once the tomatoes have finished roasting, place them all into your blender. Puree until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until smooth. Season with additional sea salt and pepper as necessary.

The milk will probably cool the soup down too much, so pour it into a pot and warm it back up on the stove.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with toasted croutons, sour cream, diced green onion, shredded cheddar or whatever else might float your boat :-)

The result is a soup that's smooth and creamy and tastes like heaven in a bowl.

*I used 1/3 cup basil in my soup, but you might want to start with 1/4 cup and add more if it's suitable to your tastes because the flavour of the basil is quite distinct. Personally, I love it! 

When I say huge tomatoes, I mean it!!

I bought a basil plant for $1 and keep it in my kitchen.

It's perfect when I'm making meals like this!

Be warned that this will fill your blender right up.

If you have a smaller blender, you might have to puree the soup in 2 batches.

SMOOTH AND CREAMY!

I garnished with croutons, fresh basil and fresh ground pepper.

Deliciously fresh!!

What is your favourite way to enjoy tomatoes?

Enjoy the day and I shall see you back here tomorrow with a brand new What I Ate Wednesday post!

Andrea

xoxo

Grandma L's Famous Mac N Cheese

Ok, so I know I've been going on and on about eating healthy and getting back on track now that we've started a brand spankin' new year, but I'm going to stray a wee bit and share a family treasure that I promised you several weeks ago.

It's Grandma L.'s most fabulous mac n cheese. The epitome of comfort food in my humble opinion. It's classic, it's easy and it'll be a total hit with you and your fam ~ I promise!

The good news is that I made this over the holidays so there is no mac n cheese in the Vegvacious house at the moment (New Years goals are still in tact so far haha)....and I apologize now to any of you that rush home to make this and find yourselves in a cheese coma later tonight....however I promise you that it is totally worth it ;-)

This is one of those family recipes that isn't really a recipe. We all just 'know' how to make it and adjust it according to our taste and preference. The last time I made it, I did make a half-hearted effort to take some measurements as guidelines for you.

Grandma L's Mac N Cheese

1 package of your fave pasta
1/4 c salted butter
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 - 2 c milk (dairy milk or almond milk work)
2 c (approx.) of chopped up cheese (a sharper tasting cheese makes a more flavourful sauce, so choose your fave cheese)

Cook your pasta according to the package. Salting your pasta water is a must!

In a large microwave safe bowl melt the butter. Add the flour and mix until well blended into a roux. Add approximately 1 c of milk and whisk to blend together. Place the milk/roux mixture into the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, check to see if the sauce is starting to thicken. If it is (you can tell around the edges of your dish), whisk well. Continue cooking in 1 to 2 minute increments until your sauce is thickened up by quite a bit. I then add another 1/2 to 1 c of milk and continue cooking in the microwave until the sauce is a nice creamy consistency. I would guestimate that this whole process takes approximately 10 minutes in my microwave.

As soon as the sauce is to your desired consistency, add the cheese and stir. Drain your pasta and add it to your cheese sauce. Between the heat of the sauce and the heat of the cooked pasta, your cheese chunks will melt in fairly quickly.  

Give a stir, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and serve. You could serve this with a nice tossed salad, or if you're like me, fill up a great big bowl of this carbo-licious pasta and eat it all on it's own.

We used gouda and a medium cheddar for our sauce. Usually I just use whatever we have on hand.

My roux.

When I was little, I'd always sneak in the kitchen about this time and sneak melty cheese chunks right out of the sauce. I swear I don't er only did it once or twice or five times with this sauce :-)

Ahhhhh......heaven.

Aren't old family meals the absolute best?!

At this moment I am forcing myself to stay in my seat and not head straight for the kitchen to make myself a big, big pot :-)

Do you have any childhood food faves that you still love to eat today?

Enjoy your Thursday evening --- only one more day until we are FREE for the weekend!!

Andrea