Holiday R&R

I cannot believe 2008 is almost over. I remember it like yesterday all the New Millennium threats and scares. It is so funny now J but what’s not funny at all is the fact that the same time next year, the first decade (!) of 21st century will be OVER…
It makes me realize even more how important it is to enjoy every minute of our life….

Holidays and the New Year are a good time to think about the past and future. I want you all to think about how much time you spend on treating yourself with things that you like the best – reading, hiking, hobby, gardening, or sleeping….anything you enjoy the most. You are probably like most of our society now and put your job, children, and community work first; and you are on the bottom of the list, aren’t you? This New Year’s Eve make a promise to yourself that you will spend more time with yourself. I promise you that you will get so much more energy to do all those wonderful things for your family, work, and community. Find that time, even before you go to sleep and think about all those wonderful things that you enjoy and promise yourself to do them in the nearest future - at the first opportunity. Put yourself on the top of the list. If you are not able to do the activities due to the weather or season, just make an appointment for a manicure, massage, or go to the movies or library. Just be with yourself for sometime.

In the meantime, though, Holidays with lots of food are coming. That may be dangerous for your body and soul. It is easy to get filled with fat, toxins and unnecessary calories, and your soul will feel guilty. In order to cover the guilt, you will promise to go on diet with the start of New Year. Then you will have to do something with the left-over’s, so you will eat them feeling guilty about not sticking to the diet and so on… Why don’t we all take some steps before the fact? Here are some great tips to feel healthy and not guilty:

- Always have a light snack a few hours before arriving at a party. If you turn up having starved yourself all day, you’re more likely to overindulge yourself when faced with a mountain of delicious food;
- Pile your plate high with traditional seasonal vegetables such as red cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. The more colors you have on your plate, the greater the variety of nutrients (remember the Éminence food palette!);
- Turkey is a great option. It is packed with protein, which helps fill you up, and provides many other nutrients including zinc, a mineral that keeps the immune system in tip-top shape. But best of all, turkey is lower in fat and calories than many other meats, especially if you go for the breast;
- Don’t smother the turkey with oil, butter, margarine or lard when you cook it;
- Often we arrive to a party thirsty and drink the first drink fast. Quench your thirst with a glass of water instead of a high calorie alcoholic or soft drink;
- Beware of all the extras such as cranberry sauce, bread pudding and white sauce;
- Position yourself far away from the food and drinks table so you are less likely to pick.

Have Peaceful and Relaxing Holidays!

Eminence

“Just like a fine wine, we get better with age, but that doesn’t mean our skin needs to look older. There’s no need to mull it over – the DiVine Collection from Éminence Organic Skin Care is the toast of the town” (Éminence Organic Skin Care). We are so excited to launch our first collection from Éminence. It smells delicious; it feels so smooth on your skin. This exclusive collection is based on Tokay grapes that come from vineyards of the Tokai Region of Hungary and are full of antioxidants. They also reduce inflammation and slow the oxidation process that causes the skin to age prematurely.

When you come to Spa Shawnee you should start your day with a relaxing massage using our new Mimosa Champagne Massage Oil followed by a Mimosa Champagne Exfoliation of your entire body in our unique Hydrotherapy capsule. Wrap up your visit with a renewing facial. Éminence refining Tokay Ice Wine Masque is packed with chunks of Tokay grapes along with apples to hydrate and renew your skin.
This season’s collection leaves one reminiscent of gentle summer afternoons, while making you feel pampered by the champagne bubbles of New Year’s Eve. Just a perfect Holiday gift for every body!

Since we want everyone to share our excitement, we offer great deals this month. Come and enjoy DeVine Mini Facial (30 minutes), Manicure and Pedicure for only $89. Get yourself (or others) the gift of indulgence. See you then…

Purple and White

This blog is the last of our food color installments. We are very excited to introduce our new product line - Eminence, that will come to Spa Shawnee and Salon in December.

Here we go!

Purple and blues are found in blueberries, prunes, red wine, cranberries, strawberries, figs, red apples, and blackberries. Blueberries contain more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable. Although all of these fruits mentioned above contain many antioxidant properties. Purple or blue fruits have shown to prevent nerve cells from weakening in the brain and perhaps protect against effects of physical aging. These fruits have positive effects on the heart, in that they prevent blood clots.

White vegetation is found in onions, celery, pears, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives and white wine. They are known to inhibit abnormal cell growth and are imperative antioxidants that a body needs. Some of the benefits are the rising levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol, decrease dangerous levels of triglycerides, which are blood fats, and easing the inflammation of asthma and eliminate colds and the flu.

Color of Food November 12

While the orange and reds are almost gone from your beautiful Pocono Mountains, green is what we miss about spring and summer. Before our environment will change into white and gray, let’s talk about green, yellow today.


Green Indicates: Isothiocyanates, folic acid
Found in Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage family), spinach, bok choy, kale, peas, artichokes, and asparagus.
Sulphur-based sinigrin, a substance unique to the cabbage family (that includes Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower), converts into antioxidant isothiocynates, which cause pre-cancerous cells to destroy themselves.

Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower help to prevent cancerous cells from developing in your system. The deeper green vegetables contain folate, which has been known to prevent birth defects. Folate also aids women who are trying to become pregnant. If you do not like spinach, spice it up with salt, pepper, and (!) garlic (great anti-inflammatory) and add a tablespoon of cream cheese – use it as a dip for your tortilla chips, crackers or as a side dish for your meal. So far, my friends who are not fans of spinach – loved it. Serve warm for best results.

If you add garlic to steamed broccoli, sauté on a little bit of olive oil – they will taste really good, as well. Although we cook and boil a lot of vegetables, remember that fruits and vegetables have the most of vitamins and minerals when raw.


Bon Appetite!
To be continued….

Colors of Fruits and Vegetables (information provided by Eminence)

As the colors of Appalachian Mountains change every day from rich gold to deep mahogany and red go outside and enjoy the crisp air and deep blue sky. At the same time, remember to eat healthy and prepare for the cold and dry winter. Yes, dry winter – when many forget to hydrate their skin and body in colder temperatures. Cold, dry air dehydrates the body the same way as summer heat. Please remember to drink lots of water during fall outdoor activities.
Let’s go back to colors of fruits.

RED: Found in tomatoes, persimmons, watermelons and pink grapefruit.

Carotenoids are a fierce cancer fighter and can also help prevent heart disease by inhibiting the formation of harmful LDL cholesterol. The deeper the red or pink color found in fruit and vegetables, the higher the lycopene content. Studies have shown that a high intake of tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene, can significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer quite.

ORANGE Indicates: Beta-carotene

Found in oranges, carrots, mangoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, apricots, squash, rock melons and papayas.

Beta-carotene is a major antioxidant that lowers cholesterol and converts it to vitamin A. Fruit and vegetable skins are nearly always packed with nutrients. Beta-carotene is an immune booster that helps fight off colds, flu, cystitis and skin problems. A study of smokers showed that those who ate more beta-carotene had a lower incidence of lung cancer, but this was only true when the beta-carotene was acquired from food, not a supplement. Like lycopene, beta-carotene is fat-soluble. These orange fruits and vegetables are also high in the immune-booster, vitamin C.

Hmm…hmm… yummy!
To be continued…

Colors of Food

As I look through the windows of Spa Shawnee, I see the beautiful Delaware River and a whole palette of colors on the Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. October is one of my favorite months. Trees change the color of their leaves; the sky turns into deep, rich blue shades. It is a true blessing working and living in the area where nature changes from beautiful to more beautiful every day. We told you about the influence of colors on our mood and how our instinct tells us to change accordingly. Let’s talk about colors in food – do you think it matters? Of course it does! Apples are not red by accident. Animals use color to identify edible plants and the intensity of the color signifies ripeness. Colored foods (real colored!) encourage animals and humans to eat them and spread their seeds. The pigments in plants are created by a group of highly beneficial antioxidants called carotenoids that clean up harmful free radicals in our systems. Red and yellow hues signify the presence of carotenoids. They boost immunity and cancer fighting properties. We need a variety of colors in our diet, including each of these daily: red, orange, green, yellow, blue, purple and white. We should mix as many hues as possible with every meal. The deeper the color of the food, the higher the nutrient value. We are not able to achieve proper level of protection for our body with vitamin supplements alone, although supplements taken with the right foods are greatly enhanced.

Stay tuned for more information about color-coded foods. We are just getting started!

Natural

Many of us are looking for that quick, easy and guaranteed way of making our body and system as healthy as possible. It would be even better if we would never age after that specific treatment. I really believe there is no such treatment. Our health depends on variety of factors. We can only help to increase the effects of cosmetics, vitamins, treatments and every other way of making “us better” by using them regularly, positive thinking, and what we believe is the appropriate diet. I am saying that after my personal research of my family. Those, who ate the simple foods lived longer, were physically active to the end, and did not have any of the following ailments: overweight, diabetes, high cholesterol, or even high blood pressure. Amazing right? Fortunately, they lived with no preservatives (they used home made preserves, and salt), ate real butter, drank well water, and exercised every day through hard work. Hmmm….. Those times are gone.

Our policy at Spa Shawnee is to use all natural products and mostly organic. That is why we are going to introduce our new services based on the Açai berry. We are going to incorporate Açai juice to our facial masks, and body wraps. The reason we decided to introduce them is that Açai has tremendous health properties and may be one of the best possible foods you can eat to stay healthy. Açai (pronounced (ah-sigh-EE) is a fruit that grows on the Açai Palm Trees in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. The Açai berry is small in size (smaller than a grape) and is dark purple in color. Açai is mostly seed, covered in a small amount of pulp. In fact, about 90% of the Açai berry is seed - it is important to note that no one eats the Açai berry seed. Açai has 10 Times the antioxidant power of red grapes and twice that of blueberries. We tested the masks, and body wraps on ourselves. Our skin feels moisturized, smooth and healthy. I personally tried it on my face and did not have to use a moisturizer for almost a week. In addition, the mask smells delicious – to the point that you want to eat it. Of course the results will depend on skin type and treatment, but I invite you to try one of them at our Spa. Just ask for an Açai treatment or facial.