Kitsch Cupcakes Release a New Treat!

With a new year comes a new treat! Kitsch Cupcakes has revealed that

they will be adding a new member to their family of delicious treats!

Unlike your traditional doughnuts that are deep fried, Kitsch Cupcakes is introducing a new line of bakes, Kitsch Doughnuts. The doughnuts are freshly ‘baked’ from scratch and on location.

Red Velvet

The delicious ring-shaped treats come in three yummy flavors. The ‘Red Velvet’ doughnut is baked with love and topped with cream cheese icing – this is Kitsch’s signature doughnut and a must try!

Cinnamon Sugar + Little Nutter

If you are more of a peanut butter fan, the ‘Little Nutter’ is a baked chocolate doughnut finished with peanut butter icing – simply mouthwatering!

The ‘Cinnamon Sugar’ doughnut is a baked vanilla doughnut dusted in cinnamon sugar – a classic!

Brilliant. What more could you want. Delicious + Healthy!

They are available at Kitsch Locations around Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Here's where you can find them

All images and information provided by MasterMind PR for Kitsch Cupcakes

Power Up

walnuts, snow peas, lettuce, blue cheese, beans

Power salads are a great way to incorporate healthy meals and snacks into your daily diet. They are full of nutrients, minerals....good stuff! and the variety that you can work with will keep it interesting, always changing up the flavors and textures, as well as your plate's color palette!

corn, onions, beans, red capsicum, parsley

quinoa, beans, tomatoes/red capsicum, yellow capsicum, onions

chicken, avocado, cherry tomato, feta, pine nuts

Weekend Panini

Here's a healthy and fun weekend snack/late lunch panini idea!

Found on Jen Ramos' blog, via the Heather from the Lovely Cupboard Blog

This vegetarian, healthy, and taste buds satisfying recipe

can be found here with pictures to go along too.

Avocado, Tomato, Sprouts, and Fried Egg Panini

Enjoy!

Oh Sugar!

Health Tip:

Sugar...It's one of those things that we all have a love/hate relationship.

Actually, wait, no, its not a hate relationship at all! We absolutely love

it, we simply just try to stay away from it at times!

LVP is all about a balanced life, and that definitely includes having

a balanced diet. So the way we see it. There's no cutting out sugar in

one's life (especially not in mine!)

{via}

However, if you are trying to drop a couple or so pounds, or looking

to turn to a healthier lifestyle... first of all - Yay! I'm so proud of and

happy for you, and second and most importantly, I should warn you

about HIDDEN SUGAR!

The average American woman puts on 70% of her current weight's

worth, by sugar alone. Although this statistic is not culturally diverse, it

definitely is enough to open our eyes and make us realize that these days,

sugar (being readily available and cheap) is pumped into everything and

makes other food items more appealing.

Main point: Beware of what you buy. Again the obvious things: 

- Stay away from processed foods (I can't ever stress this enough!!) - of

course the occasional indulgence is okay

- Check the ingredients' label before purchasing

- Foods such as Honey & Juices often have hidden high contents of sugar

- Stay away from soda/fizzy drinks!! I'm serious!

[especially Mountain Dew - has the highest content of sugar]

- Look out for alternate names of sugar, such as high fructose corn syrup

Especially us women, by consuming just 20% more sugar, our BMI can go

up by 2 - 3 points, which can easily take you from normal to overweight,

overweight to obese. (statistic via SELF.com)

Remember: 

Just be smart about what you buy/consume, and It's all about balance!

When Healthy Food Looks Good, So Do You!

When did healthy food start looking so good? Food photographers out there 

really capture the beauty and essence behind food. That doesn't go to say 

that healthy food isn't actually good! All these meals below look delightful 

and I can't wait to try some of them. These pictures really do inspire me to 

eat more healthier meals, and show me the variety of dishes you could make 

with healthy and great tasting ingredients!

Salad in a jar?! Love the idea. Perfect for on the go as well!

This sandwich looks scrumptious!

All photos from pinterest, tumblr, cannelle-vanille, and sips and spoonfuls

the 10 Commandments for Youthful Looking Skin - Part 2

Here's part 2 of the 10 commandments for youthful skin via SELF.com

Read part 1 here

6. GET EVEN

Don't neglect skin below the neck: Brown spots on the chest and on the backs of hands are red flags of aging just as much as when they appear on the face. Fade them away with creams with niacinamide, and vitamin C and/or treat yourself to an IPL (intense pulsed light)/laser treatment which gets rid of such pigmentation.

7. FIRM UP

Though age and sun damage can cause skin to lose elasticity over time, fighting back is getting easier: Recent research shows that maintaining a healthy, moisturized epidermis will help prevent the breakdown of the skin's collagen and elastin infrastructure. Also, look for creams containing barrier-strengthening elements. RE9 Firming Body Cream is pretty well known and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe recommends the lavish Acrona 'Instant Magic' Reversal Serum

8. ERASE WRINKLES

The best way to banish wrinkles before they begin is to develop good habits, such as vetoing sunbathing and cigarettes, which trigger free radicals that damage DNA in cells Regular application of creams that have niancinamide head to toe will also help thicken skin and boost collagen synthesis, and keep skin hydrated. Thirsty skin means fine lines will be more apparent. 

9. BRIGHTEN UP

Glowing skin can make you feel better and define your body in a way that you look skinner too! But we all know we want to avoid the harmful rays so self tanners that react with your outer layer of skin cells and turn them brown. A daily lotion with a low does of DHA (responsible for the reaction) will allow a gradual and subtle glow to appear. My personal favorite is the Jergens' natural Glow. Available for light to medium and medium to tan skin tones. In just three days you really see a natural looking and gradual even tan on your skin.

10. LOOK AHEAD

Protect your skin for a beautiful future. A full-on solar defense starts with broad-spectrum sunscreen that guards against both UVB and UVA rays by using a mix of physical blockers and chemical blockers. Make sunscreen the first step in your regimen: applying it to bare skin, therefore binding it to cells, boosting its efficiency.

This ELLE approved Neutrogena sunscreen is great (Elle recently had a huge feature in it's july/august issue about the sun and protection from its harmful rays. LVP will be summarizing that for you very soon!). And if you've read my previous posts, Neutrogena is a personal favorite as it's dermatologist recommended and is trustworthy as all the products of theirs that I have used, I have been happy with!

Text adapted from SELF.com

Photos via Pinterest.com

NYC: Levain Bakery

Photo: levainbakery.com

This summer LVP visited Levain Bakery in New York City

Zagat Rated, and known as the best chocolate chip cookies, the visit to Levain Bakery was inevitable while in New York

Photo: by LVP

A small bakery on Manhattan's Upper West Side is home to these delicious cookies

Photo: by LVP

The cute place is about four steps down (literally down stairs) from the walk way on 167 West 74th St

Photo: by LVP

Being allergic to nuts I only tried the Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, which was DELISH! I ate over the period of two days though because it was quite big, and I was on my way to a cut café a few blocks down for lunch (more on that place soon!)



Photos: by LVP

"Possibly the largest, most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan." New York Times

- via levainbakery.com

Photo: by LVP

Someone else with me tried the Original Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie, which apparently was also very good and the healthy and wholesome ingredients of these cookies should keep your guilt at bay.

Levain's other flavours/varieties:

Oatmeal Raisin

Photo: levainbakery.com

Dark Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter

Photo: levainbakery.com


Chip Hope this inspires your next trip to NYC or the Upper West Side and/or was just fun to read. 
Until Next Time...
À Bientôt!

Nutrients for Gorgeous Skin

via

It can be hard to keep your skin looking fresh and clean all the time, but with a little effort and some extra care on what kind of food you eat & snack on, you can work your way to even that much better looking (and feeling) skin. While on Glamour.com I found these nutrients as suggested to be the best booster for gorgeous skin:

Omega 3s: these fats (and they're the good kind) act as a lubricant to keeping your skin supple and aid in hormone production that improves the skin's texture by fighting off free radicals (which cause inflammatory damage, wrinkles, and blotchiness)

A thought: these fats are essential for pregnant mothers...maybe they are one of the reasons for skin as soft as a baby's?!

Where to find 'em:

Nuts, seeds, and fish such as salmon

Photos: 1, 2

Vitamin B3: commonly knows as niacin-amide helps in boosting the produce the compounds that make up the outside barrier of the skin, which subsequently locks in moisture. This B vitamin has also shown to reduce the redness and helpful for dry/sensitive skin

Where to find it:

 Roasted Chicken, Mushrooms, and even Steak

Photos: 1, 2, 3

Vitamin E: By helping the skin retain its natural moisturizers, this vitamin helps to ease dry skin, and supports UV defense (kaching!). Studies have shown that when used prior to UV exposure, skin is less red, swollen, and dry (hence its often existence in sunscreen ingredients). Additionally, it also showed reducing numbers of skin damaging free radical (which are created after exposure to cigarette smoke)

Where to find it:

Sunflower seeds, Olives &

Almonds

Photos: 1, 2, 3

If I may...

Let me just add that even though this can be overstated it is definitely true; Drink Plenty Of Water! :)

Hope this can be somewhat useful!

Until Next Time... À Bientôt!