Freshness is the theme, as both the character of our farmers market finds, and the broad goal for our complexions. In our seasonal eating series with beauty editor turned heath expert, Jolene Hart, we’ve been bolstered in our belief that getting gorgeous starts within.
Jolene’s Eat Pretty is a guide to “healthy vanity” feeding us the facts on eating for beauty and encouraging us to turn to the seasons as our personal nutritionists! Jolene’s latest book, Eat Pretty, Live Well, is a companion to the first, with pages of simple lists and self-love Q + A’s – the best beauty tool you won’t find in a makeup bag.
For Spring, Jolene explains why what’s coming from the local farmer’s makes perfect fuel for a beautifying, lightly detoxifying season…
It’s easy to love the energy and beauty that surrounds us during the spring, a season that represents rebirth, inspiration and possibility. This season, adopt a mindset of cleansing and resetting that starts with your diet and extends to your beauty routine, your home and your body. This is the moment to simplify, returning to the core beauty foods and habits that make you glow all year long.
When it comes to your beauty, spring is the time to amp up the natural detoxification happening in your body, support optimal digestion and nourish your skin from the inside out with spring beauty foods. After eating plate after plate of warming, cooked meals during the winter, spring greets us with a crop of delicate, crisp, green beauty foods like leafy greens, asparagus and endive. You’ll want to eat these foods mostly raw, to preserve their nutritional benefits.
Spring’s harvest is brimming with foods that naturally support detoxification, cleansing and weight loss in the body, some of our top areas of spring focus, which balances out the heavier, starchier foods that sustain us during the winter. In spring, opt for more artichokes, asparagus and dandelion greens for their cleansing properties.
Overall, you won’t find many sweet or starchy foods at the farmer’s market in the springtime, which is nature’s way of resetting our palates and reducing extra weight we may have stored over the winter. To ensure that you get the most from spring’s beautifying green harvest, add a daily serving of fermented foods like raw sauerkraut or kimchi to your diet, as well as healthy fats like avocado, raw seeds or a drizzle of olive oil at every meal.
Below you’ll find a recipe for an ideal spring beauty meal. This light, comforting soup is nourishing to your all-important digestive system, while the accompanying salad features some of spring’s top beauty foods, chosen for their ability to support detox and glowing skin.
For the full list of spring beauty foods, check out the Spring Beauty Awakening chapter of Eat Pretty: Nutrition for Beauty Inside and Out, and its companion journal, Eat Pretty, Live Well.
Asparagus
Eat it now for detox support and glutathione production. Asparagus boosts our production of glutathione, sometimes called the body’s master antioxidant since it slows aging and protects mitochondrial function.
Endive
Eat it now for detox support, smooth skin and ovarian health. Endives deliver a dose of vitamin A that your skin loves for smoothness and glow. And a detox-boosting phytochemical in endives is also a key supporter of ovarian health.
Garlic
Eat it now for digestive health and wrinkle-blocking powers. Garlic supports a healthy gut and reduced inflammation while it helps block collagen breakdown in the skin.
Leafy Greens
Eat them now for cell renewal and repair. Greens (think spring varieties like arugula, dandelion greens and watercress) nourish skin with a powerful combination of vitamins C and A for a clear, smooth, youthful and glowing complexion.
Lemons
Eat them now for detox support and anti-aging vitamin C. Highly alkaline lemon juice contributes to a healthy gut and overall pH balance, while delivering a powerful dose of collagen-building vitamin C. Don’t miss out on the bioflavonoids in lemon pith and rind that support lymph flow.
Early Spring Soup + Green Detox Salad
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
For the early spring soup:
1 tsp organic grass-fed butter or ghee
2 leeks, whites and crisp green parts only, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
small handful fresh thyme
6 cups/48 oz broth (your preference of vegetable or bone broth)
unrefined salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the green detox salad:
4 handfuls spring greens, like arugula, mache, spinach or dandelion, torn (or chopped if needed)
2 endives, roughly chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, about 16 stalks, tough ends removed, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 to 4 Tbsp of olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
unrefined salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
For the early spring soup:
In a large soup pot, melt butter and sauté leeks until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms reduce, about 5 minutes more. Add broth and thyme leaves, discarding the stems and heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
For the green detox salad:
In a large bowl, toss greens and endive. Divide into 4 portions and top with asparagus. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Spoon over salad and serve alongside soup.
