Today’s recipe continues the series of recipes based on a recent HealthGrove study identifying the top 30 foods for producing beautiful skin and hair. As I discussed previously, all but 3 of the 30 foods on that list are #WHOLE30 foods, and the 3 foods on the list not technically considered Paleo or WHOLE30-compliant are legumes (i.e. beans), not dairy or grains. In case you missed my previous entries based on the beautifying ingredients from the HealthGrove study, you will find links at the bottom of this post for prior recipes. So, be sure to check those out and definitely stay tuned to Daily Beauty Wisdom because I’ll be posting all new recipes for each of the remaining 27 #Paleo / #WHOLE30 ingredients from that list (I think I’ve got about 22 or so ingredients left to cover).

Today’s beautifying ingredient – LEMONS (food #23 from HealthGrove’s list).

Lemons are a great source of Vitamin C, a very important vitamin. Vitamin C helps the body synthesize collagen, a key component of strong skin and hair. You’ve probably heard Vitamin C referred to as an anti-oxidant. It helps counteracts the “oxidative” action of stress, toxins (like tobacco smoke, smog, etc.) and the sun’s UV rays, so stabilized forms of Vitamin C (e.g. L-ascorbic acid, or simply ascorbate) are often added to cosmetics and skin care products for that reason. But it’s also important for us to consume Vitamin C in the foods we eat. One lemon provides almost 75% of an adult’s daily requirement for Vitamin C. Read more about Vitamin C here.

This recipe developed out of necessity. Basically, we ran out of salad dressing. In an effort to keep Hubs eating salads every night, we had done a great job of keeping the house stocked with plenty of Tessamae’s Lemon Garlic salad dressing – that is, right up until our recent Memorial Day road trip which turned into quite an ordeal due to some unforeseen weather and traffic headaches. As a result our trip was extended an extra day and we returned home too tired to even consider heading back out of town to shop for salad dressing (I’ve written previously that we cannot purchase WHOLE30-approved dressing near our home. And I’ve done a poor job of pre-planning when it comes to ordering ahead. Scolding self internally, “Bad wife. Bad.”) So after my previous catastrophic mayonnaise fail, I decided to give it another go at making a dressing, this time with something easier, a vinaigrette.

I’m chalking this recipe up as a big win for the following reasons. Reason #1 Hubs said the dressing was “really yummy,” and “just as good as the stuff we were buying” (Tessemae’s). Not sure I’d go that far, but I’m thrilled to have successfully (and quickly) whipped up a suitable replacement with one of the HealthGrove beautifying ingredients. Reason #2 – My daughter “participated” in the preparation of the recipe by sitting on the kitchen island in her fabulous Mamas & Papas Baby Snug chair listening intently as I narrated the whole process. Anybody else have one of these chairs? We love ours! And it was a breeze to travel with. So much easier than trying to pack up a full-size high chair! And Reason #3, this was win because I was able to combine cooking with beauty products. Specifically, I used this nifty little hair color applicator squeeze bottle from Sally’s Beauty Supply. This little guy cost less than $2 (actually around $1.60 with my Beauty Club discount). It’s washable and reusable. You could use the gradations on the side for measuring ingredients. It comes with a tight-fitting lid that makes combining ingredients super easy, and it dispenses the dressing better than a wide mouth bottle that may allow too much goop to come pouring out and drown your salad. AND the narrow spout (guess that’s what you’d call it) prevents any large chunks of garlic from escaping the bottle. In this case that’s a good thing because this recipe uses raw garlic – good for flavor, but not really something you wanna chomp down on in a salad. Okay, enough rhapsodizing about the bottle, on to the recipe…

Quick & Easy Paleo Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
• ¼ tsp. grated lemon peel
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. iodized sea salt
• 10 cranks freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp. Dijon or yellow mustard (use yellow mustard if doing #WHOLE30)+++
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice from 1 small lemon)
• ½ Tbsp. Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos Sauce
• ¼ tsp. dried thyme, crushed
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
• pinch dried oregano, crushed (optional)
• 1/3 cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp. chia seeds

+++Most prepared dijon mustards contain white wine which is not approved for consumption during #WHOLE30. So if you’re actively “doing a WHOLE30,” be sure to substitute plain yellow mustard and (as always) be sure to check the ingredient list of any prepared product you use prior to consuming.

Hardware:
• Microplane
• Cutting board
• Chef’s knife
• Squeeze bottle or other dressing dispenser

 

 

Process:

1. Wash and dry lemon. Transfer to cutting board.
2. Using microplane, grate lemon peel then transfer to whatever bottle you will use to hold, dispense dressing.
3. Next finely chop (mince) garlic and add to bottle.
4. Add salt, pepper, mustard, thyme, lemon juice and Coconut Aminos sauce as well as any other herbs you are using.
5. Shake bottle gently to combine ingredients. Then pour in oil all at once along with chia seeds.
6. Place lid tightly on bottle and shake vigorously for about 2 minutes.
7. Taste for seasonings and adjust for taste.
8. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It’s best to refrigerate at least 3-4 hours before using.

 

Wisdom of the Day:
“…and (God) said to humankind: ‘Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom; turning from evil is understanding.”
~Job 28:28 (Common English Bible)
Read more here.

Resource of the Day:
Sleep is a key component in any beauty regimen. You simply cannot look or feel your best without sufficient sleep. For most adults, that means at least 7-8 solid hours of sleep per night. Struggling to fall or stay asleep? Check out this list of things that may be impending your sleep:
6 Things that Can Steal Your Sleep from ShareCare (P.S. I’m totally guilty of #6)

Previous recipes from this series include:
Easy Cheezy Broccoli Soup with Crispy Potato Croutons
#WHOLE30 Stuffed Zucchini Boats 2 Ways
Chicken Tri-Alamandine Casserole
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