Review: The All Natural Face

Review: The All Natural Face

Who would have thought
that I'd find an all-vegan
cosmetic and bath products
shop that just opened
nearby! The All Natural
Face has been a popular
online store for quite a few
years, but owner Crystal
Clark just opened a
storefront at 861 Edgell Road in Framingham, MA.

Now anyone who knows
me, knows that I am not
really into makeup and
stuff, or actually spending
any time on my appear-
ance at all. But I couldn't
resist checking this place
out. Upon entering the
(very purple) shop,
handblown beads, and
jewelry made from them,
taunt you at the front windows. Crystal also sells these via her Etsy shop from time to time, but she put that hobby on the back burner due to the demand for her natural vegan cosmetics.

Just the delicious smell
alone will keep you in the
store. I had to try the
mango soap (Ryan's
favourite food after all).
It is fantastic, but subtle.
I also gave the flavoured
lip gloss a go, and the
raspberry scented one
takes me right back to kindergarten where my girlfriends and I would hide under the tables at naptime trying out our collection of various fruity chapsticks. I also got a coconut one, and a cherry bomb tinted lip gloss...not too strong a colour, but considering I hadn't bought a lipstick since my wedding in 2002 I figured it couldn't hurt. And I've been using it just because it smells so darned yummy.

That's about as much soap
and makeup as I could
handle consuming in a week,
so I also purchased a
deodorant. I asked for the
strongest thing she had,
because I am out hiking
or running almost every
day, and sweating a lot, so
I was skeptical. But so far my new vegan roll-on crystal aluminum-free deodorant in lemongrass-grapefruit scent works almost as well as my old super chemical toxic variety, so I think I'll stick with it.

I'm sure I'll be going back
for more soap, lip gloss &
deodorant in the future.
And what a great resource
for cruelty-free makeup
for festivals or Halloween.
Also should Nate be asked
to wear any makeup (he's
been doing a bit of modeling)
I'll know where to go. The prices are very reasonable, and Crystal can tell you the source of each and every ingredient.

Check out TheAllNaturalFace Facebook page and "like" it to keep up to date on products available in the store or online.

The retail shop has
plenty of parking.
Call 978-261-3238
for more info.

Tempeh & Burgers

Friday evening a friend
brought by some food
so I wouldn't have to
cook. The next day
baby Maia was born.
I don't know where
her recipe is from, yet,
but I'm going to dub it
"Mel's Magic Tempeh".
It was either that or
walking on our sharp rock patio in bare feet. LOL.
This kept us fed for 2 days including my post-birth midnight munchie insomnia.

A birth bead necklace sent from some mama friends.

Tuesday:
My husband picked up our CSA share and took this photo...I'll try to decipher what's here:
- 1 head cabbage
- 1 head lettuce
- 1 bunch scallions
- 12 stems kale
- 12 stems swiss chard
- what's left of the peas
- 1 bunch salad turnips
- some basil
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 pattypan squash
- 3 cucumbers
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1 quart green beans
- 1/4 pint red raspberries

Nate, the new big brother.

Wednesday:
Thank goodness for shortcuts and frozen leftovers!
AJ's lunch for camp: cucumber slices, cold spinach, cold tofu, onigiri triangle, raisins, pita chips. Not shown: lemonade, water, and a Luna bar for morning snack.

A toddler dinner:
whole grain flax
pasta w/ sauce; a
piece of summer
squash; blueberries;
raspberries; spinach;
mango pieces...and I
think he brought a
stray Ting to the table
and put it in the corner there, LOL.

Thursday:

Time to put those
farm veggies to good
use!
This veggie burger
recipe evolved from
a veggie pate recipe
in the cookbook
Cooking For Life,
by Cheri Calborn &
Vicki Rae Chelf, which
I believe is now out of print.

It's a great way to use those dark leafy greens. Feel free to substitute collards, spinach, etc. for the kale, or use all kale instead of spinach. Use walnuts, almonds, etc. in place of the sunflower seeds. I'll sometimes add garlic scapes, swiss chard stems or leaves, mushrooms, or different herbs & spices to give the recipe an ethnic twist. Also, if you're gluten-free, substitute another flour or simply omit the flour.

The boys enjoy them as sandwiches, or plain dipped in ketchup. Back when Ryan was a toddler, he used to call them "cookies", before he knew any better.

Kale-Sunflower Burgers

1 pound potatoes (~3-4 small)
4 medium carrots
1/4 pound spinach (~1 bunch)
3 large kale leaves
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flour (optional)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce)
1/2 tsp. sage (optional, or substitute rosemary &/or oregano)
1/2 tsp. marjoram
5 garlic cloves, pressed, or some garlic powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
spray olive oil for the baking sheet

Preheat over to 350F.
Chop greens and place in bottom of food processor with sunflower seeds. Process.
Follow with cut up potatoes and carrots, then the remaining ingredients.
You may have to stop it a few times and push some of the ingredients back down to the bottom a few times.
Shape into patties and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake ~40 minutes, flipping half way through.

Makes ~12 patties.

With my husband back
to work for 1/2 the day,
I had to make dinner
easy on myself: ramen
noodles w/ frozen
broccoli; almonds;
cucumber salad;
orange slices.