Soon the blazing hot days of summer will fade into brightly colored, brisk fall days. Can you smell the apple and cinnamon yet?
We love hayrides and apple picking, with a cup of warm apple cider. Campfires complete with hot cocoa and the ones you love most. Fall is brisk, refreshing and fun.
Are you excited yet?
To get you amped up for all of the fun that fall has to offer, we’re sharing how we use a few of our favorite fall ingredients in the kitchen and in our beauty routine.
Refreshing Fall Recipes
What ingredients do you think of when you think about fall? We think about apple, cocoa and honey.
Although we often gravitate toward comfort foods in the fall, the wonderful thing about each of our favorite fall ingredients (cocoa, honey and apple) is that they all include powerful antioxidants that refresh your body! The fall weather is refreshing, and your diet should be too! Whip up a batch of our hot apple cider or healthier hot cocoa to add a dose of antioxidants to your fall fun.
APPLE CIDER (Serves 6)
Sweetened with honey, this classic is packed with antioxidants.
1 orange
10 medium apples
3 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons ground cloves
6 Tablespoon honey
DIRECTIONS
Peel orange and chop your apples.
Place the orange and apples into a slow cooker.
Add cinnamon, cloves and cover with water.
Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours.
After cooking on low for 6-7 hours, mash the fruit.
Strain liquid through a mesh strainer into a pitcher.
Continue to strain until you have the desired consistency and amount of solids in your cider.
Serve warm and drizzle each serving with 1 tbsp. of honey.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
HEALTHIER HOT COCOA (serves 4)
This fall favorite is lower in sugar content and calories compared to traditional hot chocolate.
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon liquid stevia
1/3 cup hot water
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups almond or skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Combine the cocoa, water, and salt in a medium saucepan.
Over medium heat, stir constantly until the mixture boils. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Stir in the milk and heat, but do not boil.
Remove from the heat and add vanilla and stevia; stir well. Serve immediately.
Refresh Your Fall Beauty Routine
Now, that you’re feeling great on the inside, it’s time to feel refreshed on the outside. Apple, cocoa and honey can play a powerful part in your diet, especially if prepared the right way, but don’t forget how great they can also be as part of your beauty routine! We’ve been fans of Garnier® Whole Blends™ for some time now. We love their line of nourishing, paraben-free, hair care formulas that are gentle enough for everyday use. We’ve mentioned in the past that we enjoyed using the refreshing Green Apple and Green Tea Extracts formula. After only a week, the Green Apple and Green Tea Extracts formula made our hair more manageable and easy to style!
Lately, we’ve been trying the Honey Treasures line that strengthens and heals damaged hair. The Honey Treasures formula smells just as great as the Green Apple and Green Tea Extracts formula and has really awesome repairing properties. After just a short time using the formula, we noticed less breakage when we were brushing our hair.
We can’t wait to try some of the other formulas Garnier® Whole Blends™ has to offer, like the smoothing Coconut Oil and Cocoa Butter Extracts formula.
You should give Garnier® Whole Blends™ line a try! Find the blend that best fits your needs by visiting the Garnier® website.
Connect with Garnier® on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and YouTube.
Refreshing fall days are just around the corner; the hayrides, orchards and campfires are calling your name! How will you be refreshing your life for fall? Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!
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