A Katie Lee Spa Day with Dessert!!

Katie Lee's second cookbook, The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everday Occasions combines two of my biggest loves: cooking and bath and body products. You all know how much I love cooking, but I also love bath and body products. Creams, lotions, bars of soap, scrubs, face masks, bath bombs, massage bars, you name it....I want it! That's why I was so happy and thrilled when I borrowed Katie's newest book from the library and found the chapter entitled Spa Menu. Spa recipes at home? Count me in!

Katie's Spa Menu consists of a Honey Oatmeal Facial; Strawberry Hand and Foot Scrub; Cucumber Cooling Mask; Rose Petal Steam; Oatmeal, Almond, and Avocado Body Scrub; and a Shiny Hair Rinse. Each treatment requires only a few ingredients and is simple enough that anyone can and should do it. The kids and I chose four treatments and had a very fun Spa Day at Home!

First up and probably the most effective is Katie's Shiny Hair Rinse. The Shiny Hair Rinse is 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 quart water. To make a smaller amount, use one tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 cup water. The Shiny Hair Rinse is poured onto your hair after you've shampooed. You can leave it on or rinse it out. Either way this is a fabulous hair treatment. I am a firm believer of all hair products/treatments that contain vinegar. When I worked at Lush Handmade Cosmetics, we always had the best results with the hair products that contained vinegar. Why? Lots of reasons. One of the most important reasons being that vinegar closes your hair cuticles which results in smooth, soft and shiny hair. Also, the acetic acid in vinegar removes product build up and strengthens the hair shaft. Vinegar also restores your hair's PH balance, kills bacteria, and soothes itchy scalps. Of all the treatments we tried today, this one was the most effective and costs just pennies to make. I highly recommend it, especially if you have dry, thick, coarse, or curly hair.

I love a great face mask and was really excited to try Katie's Honey-Oatmeal Facial. Katie's facial is a combination of 1/4 cup oatmeal (rolled oats work best), 1 tablespoon honey, and 3 tablespoons of yogurt. The oatmeal is ground in the blender and then mixed into the honey and yogurt. Smooth the mask over your face and neck and leave on 10-15 minutes for best results. I could write a whole page about why this mask is so good for your skin. Basically this simple mask manages to be anti-aging, hydrating, deep cleansing, moisturizing, and soothing. Honey is one of the very best things for your skin. It is a natural humectant, meaning that it attracts and retains moisture without making the skin oily. It also reduces swelling and lightens your skin (great for those puffy eyes and dark circles). Honey aids in tissue healing and is a popular ingredient in anti-aging products. The oatmeal heals minor irritations, restores moisture, cleanses deeply, and provides gentle exfoliation. Then the yogurt steps in and soothes your skin, knocking out any redness while providing gentle moisture.

The third treatment, and probably the most fun for the kids, was this Strawberry Hand and Foot Scrub. All you need is 1 cup of strawberries, 1/4 cup coarse sea salt, and 1/4 cup shower gel. I chose a shower gel with a similar strawberry color, but any shower gel would work here. Stem the strawberries and add them to the blender along with the sea salt and the shower gel. Massage into hands and feet. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Follow with moisturizer.

Did you know that strawberries were used by the Romans to heal cuts, wounds, and sunburn? They are also packed with Alpha-Hydroxy Acid, AHA, to help slough off dead skin cells and reveal new and fresh skin.

The last treatment we made was Katie's Oatmeal, Almond, and Avocado Body Scrub. One-half cup almonds, 1 cup oatmeal (rolled oats are best), 1 ripe avocado (pitted, peeled, and diced), and 1/4 cup plain yogurt. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Rub mixture all over body. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Follow with body lotion. This body scrub was green and fun! The almonds and oatmeal provide excellent exfoliation while the avocado and oil from the almonds add moisture back to your skin. Exfoliation without getting dried out! My daughter and I really enjoyed this one.

Notes/Results: I am not a doctor or skin specialist in any way. Any information shared here comes from what I learned while working for Lush Handmade Cosmetics. I highly recommend making any bath and body products at home. It is a fun and rewarding experience. We were able to make all four treatments for no more than ten dollars and had a very fun time doing so. With exception to the Shiny Hair Rinse, we had lots of leftovers which I covered and placed in the refrigerator. The treatments may discolor slightly, but are still good for at least a week. We thoroughly enjoyed all the treatments, but the Shiny Hair Rinse was the one that showed the best results. The Strawberry Hand and Foot Scrub was probably our second favorite and really did a great job polishing up our toes so they can look good in those summer sandals. All in all, they were all great! It was a very fun way to stay inside and beat the heat!

To cap off our Spa Day at Home I made Mark Bittman's Strawberry Fools, found on the NY Times website HERE. Strawberries, cream, sugar and a splash of vanilla and you have the perfect summery light dessert that everyone will love. A perfect way to stay inside and BEAT THE HEAT, this week's theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.

They went so fast it was hard to get a good picture of them!

My three year old son was completely thrilled with them. He kept saying "Mama, I want more of that fluffy stuff."

The look of complete satisfaction is written all over his sweet little face!