A day at the beach has a way of making skin look healthy, refreshed, and years younger. And we are not talking suntan, here. You know to use nontoxic mineral sunscreen daily. Now find out which skincare tips and products lend beachy elements you may be missing.

Whether you have daily access to the beach (lucky you!) or love to soak it up on vacation, you’ve noticed the lustrous effects a day at the shore has on skin. Salt water and humidity plump, smooth, soften, and make skin look perky and youthful. Even if you rarely see the ocean, you can still incorporate these skincare tips into your regular regimen.

Salt water gives hair those beachy waves we all crave. It also makes skin feels super soft and gives a healthy looking glow. Sea salt is added to skincare to cleanse, balance oil production, boost circulation, and ward off bacteria, making it a great ingredient for those with oily or acne prone skin. It draws toxins from the skin and makes an effective exfoliant for dry patches.

Another bonus of using sea salt in your skincare routine? It may help to prevent premature aging. Studies show that high levels of magnesium in sea salt are said to improve the skin barrier function and hydration, and reduce inflammation.

The second component to this powerful beachy one-two punch is humidity. Anyone who endures a cold weather climate winter knows how it saps skin of moisture. It doesn’t take much time spent sea-side to restore hydration and plumpness to skin.

Not near a humid climate just yet? Fake it ‘til you make it by giving your skin the humidity it craves. Facial steams are an easy and effective way to cleanse, detox, hydrate, smooth, and firm up the skin. Making this ritual a part of your weekly skincare plan is an indulgent way to a healthy complexion.

6 Products That Give You Beachy Skin

Enlist the help of these healthy skincare products and make your skin look like it’s had a day at the beach.

1. Earth Tu Face Dead Sea Salt Scrub: Exfoliate and hydrate with this purifying body scrub. Made with healthy oils to keep skin soft and supple. Use on elbows, feet, and anywhere that could use a good sloughing.

2. Osmia Organics Recovery Salt Bath: When your body feels sore, achy, or tired, give it a soak with these indulgent bath salts. French grey sea salt is coated with organic oils and combined with wild harvested lavender for a therapeutic bath.

3. Kypris Beauty Deep Forest Clay: This beauty treat uses clay, sea salt, and algae to detox, brighten, smooth, and hydrate skin. Great for congested or dry skin.

4. Osea Sea Mineral Mist: Use this convenient mist to revive a dull, dry complexion. Algae gives a youthful look to skin, aloe vera calms and softens, and sea salt improves elasticity. May be use to hydrate, calm sunburned or irritated skin, and as a setting spray.

5. Earth Tu Face Rosemary + Salt Lotion: Give dry skin a refreshing hit of moisture with this sea salt infused lotion. Aloe keeps soothes, while rosemary and peppermint add a zingy punch.

6. Skin Owl Beauty Steam: Nothing beats a good steam for clearing pores, softening built up sebum and dead skin cells, and boosting radiance. Use at least once per week as a prep for deep cleansing, treatments, and rich hydration.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Ok. We are not talking putting placenta or urine on your face, here. But there are some pretty strange cosmetic ingredients out there. Find out which are worth it and where to save your hard earned cash.

Some women (and men, for that matter) would do almost anything to stay young looking and gorgeous. But how far down on the weird ingredient scale are you willing to go for great skin?

5 Weird (but Wonderful) Cosmetic Ingredients for Healthy Skin

1. Charcoal: Not new to the beauty scene, but some may still have trouble seeing it as part of their skincare routine. Activated charcoal (charcoal infused with oxygen) is the type used in skincare. It is super absorbent and very good at drawing impurities out of the skin, making it an ideal choice for those dealing with acne. It also tightens skin and reduces inflammation, which is why you’ll see it in anti-aging products. Osmia Organics Detox Exfoliating Mask, One Love Organics The Cleansing Sponge: Bamboo Charcoal Heart, May Lindstrom Skin The Problem Solver

2. Fermented ingredients: Yes, probiotics are all the rage right about now. And for good reason. They tone down inflammation and have antibacterial properties. They’ve also been shown to create a barrier on skin that blocks dirt and bacteria, helping to prevent breakouts. Obvi, these ingredients are great for acne and premature aging. The Beauty Chef Probiotic Skin Refiner, One Love Organics Oh Mega Calming Chia Oil, Marie Veronique Redness Relief Serum, Marie Veronique Pre + Probiotic Daily Mist

3. Bamboo: Why on earth would you ever need bamboo in cosmetics? Bamboo extract and powder are ultra-absorbent, and often added to natural deodorants and facial powders to help soak up wetness. These fibers also work in haircare to help pump up the volume. Briogeo Hair Care Be Gentle, Be Kind Sulfate Free Shampoo, One Love Organics Healthy Locks Dry Shampoo Powder, ILIA Beauty Fade Into You Finishing Powder

4. Dead Sea Mud: Mud is just mud, right? Nope. Mud from the Dead Sea is high in minerals and vital nutrients that carry oxygen to skin cells, improving tone and elasticity, promoting a youthful appearance. It is also excellent for drawing toxins out of the skin, and calms acne and other irritated skin conditions. Osmia Organics Black Clay Facial Soap, B Leaf Botanics Revive Dead Sea Mud Mask

5. Salt: We may use it most days, but on our skin? Yep. Sea salt is rejuvenating, toning down inflammation and softening dry or rough skin. It is also another skin detoxifier and boosts circulation, boosting glow factor. Aster & Bay Bathing Salts Clary Sage + Grapefruit, Earth Tu Face Dead Sea Salt Scrub, Earth Tu Face Rosemary + Salt Lotion

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of surprised woman via Shutterstock

The post 5 Weird Cosmetic Ingredients That Actually Work appeared first on EcoSalon.

Winter has definitely set in. Even if you have no SAD tendencies, that dry winter skin can get you down. You don’t have to turn to plastic microbeads or synthetic emollients to get your bod back to soft and silky.

Have you hit that point in winter where you shun short sleeves and wouldn’t dream of letting your SO touch your legs?

Rough, bumpy, leathery skin doesn’t take long to set in once indoor heating and dry weather are a part of the scene. Your skin may seem beyond repair right now, but all you need is a healthy body scrub. And no, microbeads are not necessary (nor are they soon going to be available, either, thanks to Obama’s recent ban).

Sugar, salt, crushed apricot kernels and walnut hulls are all used to effectively exfoliate skin–even more effective than plastic in the first place. It’s important to remember when using abrasives to be gentle and limit to once or twice per week. Another alternative is using fruit and lactic acids. These guys do the work without the physical abrasives, and can be used more often than a traditional scrub.

Winter skin is rough because it is dry. To get the most out of your body scrubs this time of year, use products with natural oils or follow up with a healthy body moisturizer.

6 Microbead-Free Body Scrubs for Winter Skin

1. Tata Harper Smoothing Body Scrub employs a variety of exfoliants – pink Himalayan and Hawaiian sea salts, cranberry fibers, apricot seed powder, and organic sugar – to get skin super smooth. Argan and olive oils moisturize and soften.

2. Raw sugar does the work in Soapwalla Almond Luxe Body Polish, while cardamom and ginger rev up a nice glow you thought you wouldn’t see until next summer.

3. For luxe feel and delicious scent with your scrub, go for Odacite Invigorating Jasmine Mimosa Body Scrub. Walnut shell powder leaves skin baby soft.

4. Mostly used as a facial treatment, I use One Love Organics Brand New Day Scrub & Mask on my decollete and arm too. Works like a charm for instant smoothness.

5. We love our coconut oil, right? S.W. Basics Body Scrub takes things to another level with this sugar and shredded coconut combo.

6. Hydrea London Carbonized Bamboo Exfoliating Gloves are another way to go when polishing the bod. Carbonized bamboo fibers produce negatively charged ions, said to recharge skin and boost the mood.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Body scrub image via Shutterstock

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Summer is the season of fun and freedom. Who has time for labor intensive get ready sessions? Not us. Use these summer beauty hacks for a stress free beach season.

1. Sea Salt Scrunch // Hair should be easy, breezy this time of year. Put the blowdryer, straightener, and curling iron away, and get your scrunch on. At the beach? Use seawater. For the landlocked, try John Masters Organics Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray with Lavender.

2. Sand Scrub // You know how your feet get super dry over winter? Well those babies are coming out of hiding and it is time to get them flip-flop ready. When hanging at the beach, exfoliate tootsies with sand. Otherwise, Chocolate Sun White Tea Leaf & Citrus Blossom Body Scrub uses Dead Sea salts, Turbinado sugar, and antioxidant White tea for sloughing and softening.

3. Brush Off // Feel you are in a constant state of sand battlement when spending time at the beach? Just before heading inside or getting into the car, dust skin with Beach Organics Beachcomber Organic Body Powder (talc-free) to absorb moisture and get rid of sand. This works on little bodies post beach or sandbox too.

4. Tea Relief // When you’ve overdone the sun, relieve discomfort and inflammation with the help of anitioxidant tea. Apply cooled green tea bags to affected areas or stand in shower and spritz body with chilled tea.

5. Big Chill // Sun exposure, alcohol, party foods, and lack of sleep all contribute to puffiness. Freeze green tea and run cubes over puffy skin and eyes for instant calmed, toned skin. Helps soothe summer acne too.

6. Fight the Burn // One thing we all deal with at some point during summer is the dreaded razor burn. Chilled chamomile tea bags are said to soothe this problem. Dr. Shannon’s Organic Skin Balm also works like a charm for this and so many other things.

7. Soy Good // Already tired of the regular leg shave? Soy may be good at stunting hair growth and making the hair finer, so you need to shave less often. Worth a try. LOVEFRESH Body Butter contains soy and other yummy smelling ingredients.

8. Frizz Co-control // Coconut oil is soothing, hydrating, and cooling. This makes it an ideal body moisturizer for summer. Did you know it works on hair too? Add a dab to ends of strands to combat frizz.

9. Fresh Pits // Another use for coconut oil – mix with just a bit of baking soda and use as an armpit scrub to lighten and brighten skin in this area.

10. Tan Fix // Baking soda also comes in handy as a sunless tanner fix. Did your faux tan go awry in a few spots? Put a small amount of baking soda on a wet washcloth and rub onto mistake until it disappears.

11. Ready, Set, Tone // Let your toner double as a setting spray. Mist over freshly applied makeup to keep from melting and smudging. Also great for freshening skin throughout the day. Dr. Alkaitis Organic Herbal Toner is perfect.

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Image of woman on beach via Shutterstock

The post 11 Beauty Hacks to Simplify Your Summer appeared first on EcoSalon.

Dreaming of the beach? You may be stuck somewhere less balmy right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t bring the beach to your beauty regimen. Get in on the benefits of sea salt beauty products.

Winter tends to suck the life out of skin and hair. Or at least the moisture, bounce, and glow. Read on to find out how one ingredient can make you feel (or at least look) like you’ve spent a day at the beach.

You know how hair and skin feels super soft and recharged after a day at the beach? That’s sea salt in action. The oceanic mineral is responsible for creating those deliciously natural waves in hair and smoothing skin. It is also added to beauty products for its therapeutic effects.

Cosmetic sea salt used to be exclusive to high-end spas. Now beauty products containing sea salt are economical and can be found in many beauty shops.

Sea salt is sourced from the ocean or other salt water bodies and evaporated. It requires very little processing, as opposed to regular table salt. We tend to think of salt as dehydrating, but this minimal processing means the sea salt retains its moisturizing abilities.

Sea salt used cosmetically actually restores hydration and balance to skin and hair. The ingredient is suitable for all skin types, even sensitive. One caveat: never use sea salt products on skin that is irritated or has open sores.

How to Reap the Benefits of Sea Salt

Let’s start at the top. Beachy waves are enviable any time of year. To get them in a less-than-coastal climate try Captain Blankenship Mermaid Sea Salt Hair Spray. If you’ve used a sea salt spray before you may have noticed dryness. This is most likely due to chemical ingredients that have been added to the product. Why would we want to add dryness to already sapped strands? We wouldn’t! This spray contains essential oils that offer shine and bounce to landlocked locks.

It is amazing how a healthy complexion bolsters a dreary wintertime mood. This time of year we need all the help we can get. Sea salt is also a boon when used in skincare. The salt softens and draws toxins from the skin. Plus, it boosts circulation so you regain that pretty glow you’ve been missing. Try May Lindstrom The Clean Dirt.

Sea salt is great for reducing puffiness and increasing skin tone. A spritz of Shamanuti Seaweed Toner will induce those beach vibes instantly. Balances skin’s pH, refines pores, and smells amazingly summer-ific. A winter skincare dream come true? Maybe.

Soak in the goodness of French Grey Sea Salt with Pursoma Ocean Potion Bath. No need to brave the cold and head out to a spa. The salts in this product combine with sea algae for the ultimate detox right at home. Soothes sore muscles and draws out impurities.

Bumpy, scaly, rough skin? If your body seems beyond repair at this point, it is time to enlist the help of sea salt. Exfoliate dead skin cells and soften skin with Soapwalla Almond Luxe Body Polish. A mix of healthy oils, raw cane sugar, and sea salt. Your bod will be buffed, polished, and sweetly scented in no time.

Related on EcoSalon

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Image of woman holding sea salt via Shutterstock

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Salt isn’t all that bad. It’s actually quite beneficial for your health. What it comes down to is knowing what exactly is the best salt to cook with, so you can get the most out of your sodium intake. 

Without salt, your muscles would cease to operate, your thinking capacity would dwindle, your memory would fall to shambles, and your heart would stop beating. And while the amount of salt you consume is important, what’s often not talked about is just how important the quality of the salt is. Is there such a thing as a best salt when it comes to healthy sodium intake?

Medical organizations link excess sodium consumption with an increased risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular-related diseases. However, the truth about salt consumption and how sodium caters to our health hinges on what we qualify as “salt” to begin with and, as in all things in life, our level of moderation. If you learn about the type of salt you should be using in your kitchen, you can graduate the role of salt in your life from demon to saint.

The salt breakdown goes a little like this: standard table salt, sea salt, and rock (or mineral) salt. Unrefined salt is packed with trace elements also found in human blood, such as magnesium and potassium. Refined salt, also known as table salt, is devoid of trace elements and is simply pure sodium chloride, with often the addition of iodine. (The addition of iodine to salt has become routine around the world due to fear of iodine deficiency, which is the root of many other disorders. However, unless you live in famine-like conditions, chances are you are getting enough iodine from a balanced diet, with some of us even getting far too much.) Table salt is also the result of an environmentally harsh process of mining salt. Factory-refined salt as well creates an impact on the environment you don’t see in other salt processes.

By weight, unrefined salt and table salt contain the same amount of sodium, but choosing unrefined rock salt and sea salt over the chemical table salt is your best salt option for optimal health and benefit to the environment.

Unrefined mineral salts usually bear a pinkish or off-white color due to the number of minerals, and they can also vary in texture and size. Even if the package label says “sea salt” or “mineral salt,” still check the ingredients list. If “sodium chloride” is listed, then the salt has been refined. And, sea salt doesn’t have to qualify as exotic in terms of its origin to be worthy. Support local salt producers and make an even bigger difference in the world.

Image: mriggen

Related on EcoSalon:

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The post It Matters: The Best Salt To Cook With (For Your Health and the Planet) appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnOur ongoing look inside the intriguing world of a foodie.

While madly searching for food trucks, a good greens blog and love – we get another look into the secret life of a foodie. (Part 1, 2 and 3 in case you missed them.)

Tuesday March 5, 2013, 9:14 pm

Dear Diary,

I have decided that this spring is the time to grow my own sprouts. Although now it just looks like I have a mold problem in the kitchen corner. Oh well. Speaking of mold, it looks like the kombucha has gone bad while I was away at my food writing immersion class. I am hoping to bring it back to life.

Friday March 8, 2013, 7:32 pm

Dear Diary,

Well, the kombucha has yet to respond to my revival attempts. Maybe I just need to toss it out and get a new baby?

Saturday March 9, 9:16am

Dear Diary,

Chia seed oatmeal for breakfast with local artisan honey and slivered almonds. Yum. I almost added dried figs. Too much? I also squeezed orange juice and made scones. It’s only 9am. Baking problem? No, real problem: I broke my French press.

Wednesday March 13, 2013 3:25 pm

Dear Diary,

Threw out old kombucha. Grosser than one might think. I Instagrammed it. On search for new baby. Must find.

Wednesday March 20, 2013 6:18 am

Dear Diary,

Friend of a friend of a friend of a friend that had liked my Minimalist Kitchen Spaces board on Pinterest has a kombucha baby. Success!

Thursday March 21, 2013 4:42 pm

Dear Diary,

I was given 12 fresh eggs from my neighbor down the hall who built a chicken coop in the backyard. At first I found the sound of the rooster at 5am annoying, but I am getting used to it and I do love fresh eggs. And the neighbor did look good building the chicken coop. Maybe I will invite him over for a new egg cake recipe I found last week.

Friday March 22, 2013 8:33 pm

Dear Diary,

Two eggs left. Apparently I have an egg problem. Not even enough to make the egg cake I was planning on baking for the neighbor, so now I am going to have to come up with something else. The only thing I have on hand is a chocolate kale cake (it was a favorite on my old greens blog. Why did I ever stop writing that?). Will he want to eat a chocolate kale cake?

Sunday March 24, 2013 5:52 pm

Dear Diary,

Coffee was a disaster. The kale was just a little off in the cake. I could tell the neighbor didn’t like it. Wait, maybe he doesn’t like food in general. But he built a chicken coop and has hop plants growing on the side of the apartment building. Is he just faking his artisanry? Or maybe he would have preferred a kombucha cocktail?

Tuesday March 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Dear Diary,

Well, I don’t think there will be any more coffee dates with Mr. I Think I Am an Artisan. He left a container of chocolate chip cookies by my door today. They were obviously made out of prepackaged cookie dough. What a disaster. Why couldn’t he just leave eggs?

Tuesday March 26, 2013 10:16 pm

Dear Diary,

Ok, so I ate the entire container of cookies. They would have been better with sea salt. I should write a cookbook.

Thursday March 28, 2013 7:45 pm

Dear Diary,

Mr. I Think I Am an Artisan asked if I wanted to split a raised bed in the backyard. I said yes. But then he said he hoped I wasn’t the kind of person that only wanted to grow kale. I lied and said no.

Saturday March 30, 2013 10:22 am

Dear Diary,

I went to the market and bought so much kale that it was protruding out of my bag when I came home. I had to sprint up the stairs to avoid the neighbor. But at least there were eggs by the door. Time for baked eggs in kale nests? With sea salt of course. Then off to buy a new French press. Maybe the cute guy at the kitchen supply store will be working.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: The Secret Diary of a Foodie, Part 4 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Gourmet seasoned salt blends add delicious flavor to your meals and they make great gifts, too.

Salt, while highly overused in the Western Diet, is still an essential ingredient for a healthy life. Knowing where to cut out the bad stuff and where to add in the good can make all the difference. Limiting your intake of processed/ fast food–which are usually excessively salted for flavor and preservation–is a great place to start. And making these simple DIY gourmet seasoned salt  recipes can consciously connect you with your salt intake and take it to a new level.

Adding herbs and spices to your salt reduces the overall sodium content and adds lots of delicious flavor. Most anything is fair game—and half the fun is in experimenting.

When making salt blends, I recommend working with a high quality mineral salt such as Himalayan, Peruvian or a Mediterranean Sea salt. But you can also use a natural sea salt—just avoid any products with an image of a lady with an umbrella in a rainstorm. You want a natural salt, not a chemical one.

I prefer a coarse salt, but if you like a finer texture, that works well, too. The ideal ratio is about ¼ cup of salt to 1 tablespoon of herbs or 1 teaspoon of spice. For anything exceptionally hot (like cayenne), reduce the teaspoon to half, adjusting for more flavor as your taste buds dictate.

A few favorite recommendations:

Image: L. Marie

1. Citrus: Dried citrus peels such as lemon, lime or tangerine, can bring a wonderful fragrance and flavor to your salt. Peels will dry easily in a dehydrator or in an oven at a low setting of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Once dried, macerate the peels with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. A little texture is nice; so don’t pulverize into a powder.

Image: Katerha

2. Fresh dried herbs: Herbs add quite a bit of depth to salt—and vice versa—the salt brings out the essence of fresh herbs. You can easily dry your favorite herbs by hanging them upside down for a few days. (You may want to lightly cover them in muslin or cheesecloth to keep dust and bugs from settling on them.) For a savory herb blend, try any of the following: rosemary, marjoram, parsley, sage, oregano and thyme. You can also use dry leafy greens such as spinach, kale or even a spicy arugula for a nice green kick with lots of flavor. For something a bit sweeter, try mint (peppermint or spearmint), lemon balm, lavender or even chervil.

Image: slightly everything

3. Mushrooms: Dried mushrooms are aromatic and full of flavor. Truffles are of course the holy grail of fungus, if you can get your hands on some, use them sparingly (their price will ensure that!). Dried shiitakes are widely available in the macrobiotic section of health-minded stores and add a lovely umami flavor—but essentially any dried mushroom will do, even crimini or buttons. Grind them well once they’re dried and add a little at a time as their strong flavors can vary from cap to cap.

Image: djwtwo

4. Peppery: Of course, what goes better with salt than pepper? I personally recommend a variety of coarsely ground whole peppercorns. Pink and white are so aromatic, and so is a nice Tellicherry black, too. You can also go the hotter route with a nice smoky paprika, cayenne or crushed pepper flakes.

image: Eve of Discovery

Store salt blends in a well-sealed glass jar. They should keep indefinitely. Enjoy!

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Top image: QuintanaRoo

The post Savory, Smoky, Tart and Sweet: 4 DIY Gourmet Seasoned Salt Recipes appeared first on EcoSalon.

Would you pay 42 cents for this 1977 version of egg nests?

A 42 cent lunch would be nice! However, I’m not quite sure I’d even fork over that amount, measly it may be, for the above egg nest featured in a March 1977 publication of Homemakers. From the looks of the recipe, there’s nothing in the dish but the elements to a satisfying breakfast! The picture is what gets me. The egg yolk looks raw and the egg white puff looks like some sort of mold overgrowth – not the best thing to imagine on a sensitive morning stomach.

My modern adaptation of an egg nest breakfast uses similar ingredients to those in this retro recipe, but the result looks a lot less worse for wear. I use the egg whites to coat the bread and seal in the moisture, form a nest for the egg yolk, and then give the dish a hint of sweetness with honey and a touch of light earthiness with the fresh mint.

French Toast Egg Nests

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
• Dash of sea salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 2 slices of a thick, fluffy bread
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• A few mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Reserve the egg yolks for later, keeping them whole.

In a small bowl that has the width (or greater) of the length of the bread slices, whisk together the egg whites, cream, salt, and pepper.

Over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Soak both sides of each piece of bread in the egg white mixture so that both faces’ areas are covered, and place in the saucepan.

Let the bread sit over the head for 1 minute, or until slightly browned, before flipping. Once you rotate the bread, delicately pull apart the center of each slice to create a small nest. Fill each nest with the reserved whole egg yolks, one for each bread.

Pour any remaining egg white mixture in the nests as well, equally distributing it among the two. Don’t worry about the egg whites leaking outside of the nests. Embrace the rustic look!

Immediately transfer the entire saucepan into the oven. Broil on high until the egg yolk cooks to your liking – approximately 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and present the dish in the center of the breakfast table while the toast is still in the saucepan. However, not before drizzling with honey and garnishing with mint.

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like flipping through the pages of grandmother’s faded cookbooks in all their imperfect glory — the worn edges, the rampant sauce stains and the cluttered pencil marks. With their casseroles, ham dishes and affinity for elaborate presentation, the Betty Crockers and the Joy of Cookings provide a glimpse of food before it all became so much more complicated. At EcoSalon, we love good vintage inspiration, even when it comes to food. Welcome to Vintage Revamp, where we take old and classic recipes and refresh them with a modern-day twist.

Image: JBCurio, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Vintage Recipe Revamp: Egg Nests With Fresh Mint and Honey appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnOur ongoing look inside the intriguing world of a foodie.

While madly searching for food trucks, a good greens blog and love – we get another look into the secret life of a foodie. (Part 1 and 2 in case you missed them.)

Saturday September 1, 2012, 7:33 p.m.

Dear Diary,

This summer has been hectic! The Barista ended up being a total nightmare (you just can’t date people that bring PBR to dinner parties). Finished the coffee roasting class and then debated on building my own roasting machine in the backyard, but decided instead to focus my efforts on developing a new artisan salt business. Have been bottling up all kinds of infused salts, and everyone loves them so much, I figure I can totally sell them at farmers market. Or at least via my new salt blog. Who eats regular salt these days anyway? Boring.

Sunday September 2, 2012 4:42 p.m.

Dear Diary,

I love the final days of summer… so many good foraging adventures. I joined the local urban underground fruit collective and we’ve been going on undercover midnight pear and fig missions. There’s nothing like sneaking a juicy fig from someone’s yard as a midnight snack, it’s exhilarating. Plus that fruit is just going to go to waste anyway, I might as well make some fig anise jam out of it, right?

Wednesday September 5, 2012 7:38 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Biked home with a new set of small mason jars for all the new salts that I have been working on. As much as I try to save jars that my friends bring food over in, I just never have enough. So new ones it is… All because I am trying to bottle all these new salts. Fennel cardamon sea salt is my current favorite. Even delicious sprinkled over some homemade vegan caramel ice cream. Must launch the website soon. Should I start a salt blog in conjunction?

Friday September 7, 2012 2:14 p.m.

Dear Diary,

So overwhelmed by the severe tomato problem I am having this week.  Is six quarts of salsa too much?

Another midnight urban foraging expedition. I brought a jar of my fig anise jam and gave it to the really cute guy that has been on the last two midnight missions. He mentioned he recently got back from a trip to Mexico City and learned a super secret sauce to put on tacos. Perfect.

Saturday September 8, 2012 9:56 a.m.

Dear Diary,

I am so excited. I just got invited to take part in a food writing immersion class in Provence. It costs $8,000 (ack!) but I think it will totally be worth it to have a better understanding of southern French food culture, and really get to work on my food writing skills. Will be good for networking too, which can only help the salt business. Which by the way I just bought the domain for: www.infusedseasaltisbettersalt.com

Monday September 10, 2012 10:32 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Got yelled at when I picked a few rosemary stalks from a house on my ride home today. What is wrong with people? Ok, so by “a few” I mean I filled my bike basket. But I needed enough to dry out so I can make a full batch of Rosemary Chocolate Salt. Delicious right?

Wednesday September 12, 2012 9:48 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Cute Mr. Urban Forager asked me if I wanted to go and pick chanterelles this weekend. He said he knew of a secret spot. Yes, please.

Sunday September 16, 2012 8:18 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Foraging disaster. Never say that you know of a super secret spot for chanterelles if you don’t really know of one. Ending up with a basket of two chanterelles is not impressive. We can go ahead and cross Mr. Urban Forager off the list. As it turns out, I think he rarely showers anyway and he wore the same flannel he wore on the last two midnight missions. Which means I am going to have to find a new urban underground fruit collective. I need to focus on Infused Sea Salt is Better Salt anyway.

Tuesday September 18, 2012 9:26 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Overwhelmed by all that goes into launching an artisan food business. Realized that over drinking a few too many glasses of pinot and doing expenses last night. And what if I get sick of sea salt? Then what? I think my time could be better spent on focusing on my writing, so I went ahead and signed up for the immersion food writing class. Maybe I’ll meet a Frenchman. Countdown to Provence: 65 days! Can’t wait.

Friday September 21, 2012 6:34 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Woke up to the best email ever: a publisher dug up the book proposal I sent in earlier this year and wants to talk. It was the proposal for The Story of Greens and the People that Grow Them, all about people that have obsessions with kale, arugula and beyond. I can’t believe it. Looks like I’ll have to lay off the sea salt business right now, and maybe the immersion class will have to wait. As will this journal, and the potential Frenchman. All writing from now on goes into my book. I wonder if I can put kale chips on top of a chocolate cake?

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: The Secret Diary of a Foodie, Part Three appeared first on EcoSalon.