My New Favorite Things

· My new Bug Bites & Boo-Boos spray. Recently, a client came in for a consultation and started to scratch her shoulder which became very red very rapidly. When I asked what was going on, I could see a big welt-like insect bite that was swelling fairly quickly. I sprayed an aromatherapy blend (my hot-flash spray, Coolant, to be exact) on it and the swelling and itchiness subsided in moments. Now, I'm a believer in aromatherapy and even I was surprised! It worked so well that I changed the formula around a bit and created Bug Bites & Boo-Boos. It's an aromatherapy blend (mostly lavender, peppermint and cedar) so it's antiseptic, anti-itchy and anti-inflammatory. It also smells good. It's great for kids, campers, pool people...and just to keep around the house for cuts and scrapes. The client in question bought a few bottles for herself and for her kids to take to camp!

· Me & Goji is a site where you design your own cereal. It's great for gluten-free types, control freaks, creatives and cereal lovers alike! Maybe you're all of the above. If so, this is definitely for you! You choose a base cereal and then add nuts, fruit, grains, seeds, chocolate...there are tons of ingredients. You then name your creation and, if you like, upload a picture to put on the package. We all know what a design/package junkie I am and I can tell you that Me & Goji doesn't disappoint. Your cereal comes in a 21-oz. cereal "capsule" that's fun and different. If you don't want to make your own recipe or get overwhelmed, you can choose from their recipes as well but it's not as fun.

· 100% Pure Organic Pomegranate SPF20 is my new daytime moisturizer of choice. It's lightweight, non-sticky, non-greasy and absorbs quickly. It employs physical sunblocks: titanium dioxide and zinc. It contains pomegranate for its anti-aging and antioxidant properties. No weirdo, hard-to-pronounce ingredients, none of those icky, hormone-disrupting preservatives. Comes in a glass bottle (excellent!) so the only minus is that it's not easy for travel but this is remedied by putting what you need for your trip in a small travel container. I bought mine at drugstore.com.

· At the recent NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) annual meeting, I found AyurFoods. Dr. Jay Apte, an ayurvedic doctor, has developed a line of ayurvedic meals that are simple to prepare, nutritious and inexpensive. Each bag contains 2 to 3 servings and pretty much only requires you to boil the water and add some ghee or oil of your choice. The couscous literally takes 5 minutes to make! The spices are contained in their own packet within the bag so you can decide how much to use. I recommend starting with half, especially if you're not used to eating Indian food regularly. They can be overwhelming for some people when used at full strength. Atul, Dr. Jay's husband, runs the food business. If you order, please tell him I sent you!

· Summer is pitta season (more on this in next month's newsletter...contain your excitement, children!) For some of us this means increased proneness to pimples, rashes, eczema, unexplained redness and skin irritations of all varieties. I normally use coconut oil on my skin this time of year but I recently tried a product I had sitting on my shelf, bought a while ago out of curiosity. Thera Neem Neem Leaf & Aloe Vera Gel is cooling, hydrating and great for all sorts of pitta-related skin nasties. Those of you who've used neem before know it has a very strong smell. This product, however, does not. In fact, it's odorless. Full Disclosure: Your skin will feel sticky for a couple of minutes while the gel dries. It will then feel tight--not in a dry way but in a "am I wearing support hose that I forgot about?" way, which I admit, feels strange. Then, you're home free--hydrated, calm, cool skin! (Be sure to pick up some Thera Neem toothpaste The mint one is my favorite.)