Whip out your blender and your makeup brushes - it's time to get glowing.

If you're on Instagram at all you probably heard that Oh She Glows author Angela Liddon released a second book in September. Oh She Glows Everyday is a collection of plant-based recipes that are easy to make, healthy, and totally dalish. We thought it fitting to invite Melanie and Heather of Dalish Cosmetics into our kitchen to test it out. Dalish is a brand of natural makeup that's transparent about its ingredients and happens to be free from many common allergens (so obviously we're obsessed). You can read our full review of their products here. 

From Melanie, Founder:

We love this cook book, Oh She Glows Everyday, because what you put into your body affects the outside and beauty starts from the inside out. Everything in this book is easy to make and most importantly tastes dalicious! I especially love that we used a few of our fav key/beneficial ingredients that are so good for you such as:

Tomato - wards off cancer, can prevent DNA damage, reduces the risk of heart disease and can ward off inflammation to name a few of it’s benefits.

Cilantro - cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, treats anxiety, facilitates peaceful sleep, digestive aid, heavy metal detoxifier & anti-bacterial / anti-fungal properties. The list just goes on and on.

Lime - its natural oils are very beneficial for skin when consumed orally or applied externally. It rejuvenates the skin, keeps it shining, protects it from infections and reduces body odor. Lime has both class-1 anti oxidants, and has antibiotic and disinfectant properties.  

Cucumber - re-hydrates body and replenishes daily vitamins, hangover cure, aids in weight loss and digestion,  relieves bad breath, cures diabetes, reduces cholesterol and controls blood pressure & promotes joint health, relieves gout and arthritis pain.

Gazpacho

It's as easy as chop, blend, and serve. We roughly chopped tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, and herbs. Then we blended it with lime juice, vegetable cocktail, and balsamic vinegar. The best part is that it's a cold soup so once you blend, you're completely finito. We also liked that the recipe was flexible. If you have red wine vinegar use that instead of balsamic. If you have tomato juice use that instead of vegetable cocktail. We chose to garnish our bowls with olive oil, cilantro, cucumber and avocado chunks, and fresh lime juice. It was a hearty soup full of flavor, texture, and zing. We all agreed we'd make this recipe again. It also happened to be free from most common allergens so we didn't have to alter it at all. 

Nut-Free Dream Bars

She had us at "nut-free". 

Coconut oil -  is one of the few foods that can be classified as a “superfood.” Its benefits include weight loss, better brain function, skin/hair health and so much more.

Sunflower seed - we use this in all our cosmetics and has benefits for cardiovascular, anti-Inflammatory, cancer prevention, nerves & skin protection. Need we say more…

Heather melted Enjoy Life chocolate chunks with coconut oil while Mel made the crust and filling from Rice Krispies, cocoa, coconut oil, maple syrup, and Sunbutter sunflower seed butter. In a square baking tray we layered crust, sunbutter mixture, and then melted chocolate over top. Then sprinkled a few pumpkin seeds on top to make it look pretty. We froze it for about a half hour and then cut into 1-inch squares. These bars really do taste heavenly. Rich cocoa, creamy sunflower seed butter, and crunchy crust make it ideal for snack or dessert. And they're healthy enough that you don't have to feel guilty about it!

These bars were free from nuts and peanuts, dairy, wheat, and egg. We liked that Liddon didn't suggest you use peanut butter and instead went for an alternative that was allergy-friendly. Overall this book does contain a number of recipes that are free from common allergens, however if you have a legume allergy the pickings are slimmer. 

You can pick up your copy of Oh She Glows Everyday here.