Beauty by the Book: Eat Beautiful

Anyone who uses Malin+Goetz products probably doesn’t need to be convinced that putting nourishing, natural and healthful ingredients onto the skin yields beautiful results. The same goes for what we put in our bodies when we eat. Just consider keeping skin hydrated by drinking lots of water: it literally looks fuller and more luscious—even radiant from the inside out.

The makeup artist and beauty expert Wendy Rowe is a firm believer in this approach to food as well. Her book Eat Beautiful zeroes in on more than 65 natural (and easily-accessible) ingredients and their skin-feeding benefits. An aspect I especially admire about this book is how it’s not overly restrictive. Oenophiles will appreciate that natural red wine is one of the highlighted foods for its skin-nourishing antioxidants, as is dark chocolate, which has an exhaustive list of benefits ranging from anti-inflammation to dopamine-releasing effects that temper the impact of stress.

The ingredients and recipes are organized by season, making the book a great guide for how to eat year-round, though it feels especially timely and useful after the holidays when most of us are trying to do some detox from all the sugar and rich foods. Whether that means a hard-core cleanse, or perhaps just settling back into a routine with a few new healthful habits in the mix—like swapping potatoes with anti-aging, phytochemical-rich turnips, for example—the book is packed with heaps of useful information.

All that said, cleansing, detoxing, or simply eating more healthfully shouldn’t feel isolating, especially during the cold and dark winter months. Many of Rowe’s recipes make it completely possible to stay on track, and still be social. And who doesn’t love a good dinner party? Below are two possible wintertime menus for fortifying the skin, body, and the soul (recipes in the book!).

SKIN-FEEDING MENU #1
Mushroom Flatbreads
Hearty Chicken Soup With Carrots and Sweet Potato
Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

SKIN-FEEDING MENU #2
Red Cabbage Salad
Black Sesame Stir Fry
Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crumble

By Laura Neilson, a NYC-based writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, T Magazine, WSJ Magazine, Interview, Porter, and Vogue.com.