Natural Skin Care Routine with Dr. Andrea Schnowske

 I have had a LOT of patients coming in with mood swings, acne, joint pain, and digestive issues related to hormone imbalance issues lately and I wanted to do something about it. The beauty products we use for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shave gel, lotions, deodorant, and even moisturizers and makeup have TONS of chemicals in them that can cause toxicity but also cause hormone imbalance.

In the video below I share my own skin care routine with you and even recommend some great goat milk soaps that I have come across myself!

Twilight Creations in Lynn Center IL can be contacted at twilightscreations@gmail.com

Country Meadows at countrymeadows08.webs.com

or East Peoria Farmer's Market on Friday from 4-7pm

3 Ways to Reverse Arthritis and Osteoporosis

We all know that getting older isn't fun but the reality is that you can CHOOSE to age gracefully or not so much. There are so many things you can do at home with simple diet and lifestyle changes to help your body heal and keep your joints healthy as you age. Tune into the video below to find out more about how YOU can HELP YOURSELF!

3 Ways to Reverse Arthritis and Osteoporosis
# 1 Get Rid of Pain -- We will go into detail to cover where pain is coming from and why medication is not the answer
#2 Turn Back Time -- We will cover why your may have hormone imbalance and how to get it back on track
#3 Pump that Iron -- Exercise alone is not the answer but you also need to look at diet and ergonomics in the rest of your life too. Call our office if you'd like to learn more about how we can help you! AlignLife of Peoria Peoria, IL 309-689-6200

Healthy Habits Recipe: Wilted Spinach

Here's another great recipe I just had to share! We've been getting quite a bit of greens with our vegetable CSA so we've been trying to find easy recipes that taste good for the whole family. You can only eat so much spinach salad so this is a cooked version that brings out even more vitamin content and helps your body to absorb the nutrients better too. This takes less than 10 minutes to make and you will almost always have the ingredients on hand so it comes together quick.

Ingredients:
1 tsp minced garlic (I usually keep a small jar with my spices so this is always on hand)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 bunches of spinach
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1) Heat minced garlic and olive oil over medium high heat until it starts to sizzle.
2) Add rinsed spinach to pan.
3) Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice over top.
4) Stir until spinach turns a bright green and wilts completely.
5) Drain lemon juice off or remove spinach from pan.

Enjoy! My girls love the garlic and lemon flavor of this spinach and even asked for seconds.

Crispy Crunchy Kale Chips

These easy to make kale chips are a great alternative to potato chips or popcorn. They have the crispy texture and salty snack flavor that we love! I did a video of this recipe to show how easy this is to make.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale (removed from thick stem)
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Rip kale from stem and break into small pieces.
3) Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until it's as crispy as you like. I prefer 15 minutes because then some are crispy and some are a bit crunchy.

Enjoy! My girls usually polish a whole tray off in about 20 minutes so make sure you grab some while they are fresh!

Easy Peasy Parmesan Baked Sweet Potato

Yum yum yummy! This baked parmesan sweet potato is a great option for an easy baked and addicting side.

Super easy to make and ready in 20 minutes!!

Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt (I use pink Himalayan)
4 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 minced garlic

Toss it together and then bake at 400 degrees for 29 minutes and voila!!!

Love Love Love this Lavender Lemonade

That's right I'm on a lavender roll.... Again this rogue bag of dried lavender in my baking cupboard is inspiring me. So this is a refreshing twist on a classic for some interesting flavor notes and relaxation. I did not choose to add any special colors or fresh flowers so no pretty purple color but AMAZING flavor.



Ingredients:

Simple Lavender Syrup
1 tsp dried lavender buds
1 cup sugar
2 cups boiling water to infuse

Lemonade
1 1/8 cup lemon juice (I only had 1 lemon so I used bottled lemon juice and 1 lemon)
3 cups cold water (you can add more if you like it more watered down or just serve over ice)

Directions:
1. Assemble the simple syrup and stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Let infuse for at least 30 minutes.
3. Mix it all together and then enjoy over ice!

My New Favorite Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Lavender Glazed Baked Chicken

What?!? You didn't know you could cook with lavender? ME EITHER! I bought a package of lavender awhile back aspiring to make lavender ice cream but just never seemed to have the time to make the recipe so it went to the back of my baking cupboard. I discovered this package yesterday while I was reorganizing and became inspired. We had a huge storm on the way and are likely to be staying home the whole weekend so I got to searching for ideas to make and inspiring and relaxing meal. VOILA!


Enter Bacon Wrapped Lavender Glazed Baked Chicken. This recipe took under 10 minutes of prep and was pretty much HANDS OFF the whole 40 minutes it baked.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast ( I sliced them in half so I had 4 thinner pieces to wrap in bacon)
3-4 slices of center cut bacon (just don't use thick cut since it won't be all the way done)

Glaze: (I just spooned it over top before wrapping in bacon but you could marinade the chicken in it for 20 minutes or even boil it down to a thicker glaze if you wanted)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt ( I used pink himalayan)
2 tsp dried lavender buds (best to use food grade)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon (optional)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp honey

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Trim chicken breast and then slice in half so it's thinner
3. Grease baking sheet (otherwise cleaning will be a PAIN)
4. Lay out 3-4 slices of bacon in a row and set your chicken on top
5. Mix together the glaze. Spoon a few spoonfuls of the glaze on top and then wrap the bacon over top
6. Bake 30-40 minutes
7. Switch oven to broil and broil 3 - 4 inches on High for an additional 2-5 minutes (depends on how crispy you want your bacon)
8. Let cool. It will be HOT HOT HOT.
9. You can serve with the crispy bacon or take it off for a more traditional looking chicken breast meal. I chose to take it off because there was still some fatty spots left in places and my dog appreciates scraps in her food bowl that involve bacon.