Welcome to Beauty Is Wellness, a column about the link between nutrition, lifestyle and beauty based on my health coaching practice of the same name. I’m thrilled to share information about my favorite beauty foods, original recipes for beautiful skin, hair and nails and nutritional tips for beautifying from the inside out in the months to come. If you have specific questions about the beauty and nutrition connection that you’d like to have answered in this column, contact me at jolene@beautyiswellness.com.
Summer and sweets are inseparable, especially if you live in a city or town where the ice cream truck makes a daily drive-by. You could fight the urge for something cool, sweet and creamy, or you could give in—by whipping up a plate of your own bite-sized, skin-friendly desserts to savor when the mood strikes. The best thing about my Frozen Banana Bon-bons, below, is that they are free of refined sugar that contributes to blemishes and wrinkles, and actually makes you more susceptible to damage from UV rays (which is hard to avoid this season!). Skip the sugar overload and replace it with beautifying ingredients and you get anti-aging defense instead of an attack on your youthful, gorgeous skin.
What’s so fab about the ingredients in this recipe? Frozen bananas (which, as most of us know by now, have an amazingly ice cream-like texture) are not only easily digestible and soothing to the stomach, they contain an amino acid called L-cysteine that supports healthy nail and hair growth and protects your beauty from aging free radicals. A 2012 study found that bananas could prevent UVB damage in mice— a result of increased levels of the powerful anti-aging compound glutathione. Cinnamon is a major anti-ager in its own right, since the warming spice has the power to stabilize blood sugar spikes that contribute to blemishes and wrinkles (a huge reason why cinnamon is such a beautifying addition to your baked goods). And antioxidant-rich walnuts are a powerful plant source of omega-3 fatty acids that strengthen skin.
This month, try these sweet treats, and don’t forget to wear your natural sunscreen!
Frozen Banana Bon-bons
The riper the banana, the sweeter its taste—and the more antioxidants it contains.
- 3/4 cup full fat plain yogurt (regular or Greek)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt and cinnamon until smooth. Peel bananas and chop into 1-inch chunks. Toss a few chunks at a time into the yogurt, using a spoon to gently coat all sides. With tongs, remove the chunks and place on the wax paper-lined baking sheet. After all chunks are on the baking sheet, sprinkle them with walnuts. Freeze 2 hours until firm.
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Text, images and recipes ©2013 Jolene Hart. All rights reserved.