10 Beauty Tips to Bookmark for Your Next Interview

What is scrappy cooking?

"Scrappy Cooking is the concept of transforming the world’s most commonly wasted foods into delicious recipes — and starting is as easy as chopping up a broccoli stem into a stir-fry," she tells me over email. "Seriously, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Look at the plants you have that you bring into your home every week, and see if there are ways to repurpose them."

With the help of Carleigh's Instagram page, I turned some broccoli stems into French fries and used up the last of my peanut butter for a noodle salad sauce. If you want to turn your groceries into a one-of-a-kind meal but aren't sure where to start, Carleigh recommends looking at every single aspect of the plant.

"Whenever I bring a plant into my home, I think about what part of the plant is discarded, and then I research whether or not it’s safe to consume (this part is important)!" she says. "Once I identify it’s edible, that’s where the fun begins. A great example of this is something like celery, which I buy often. I was discarding the celery leaves for years, only to find out they taste almost exactly like parsley and make a great base for a tabouleh style salad."

Is PlantYou vegan?

Yes, a lot of PlantYou's recipes are vegan, and they're all plant-based! Some of Carleigh's favorite recipes include mocha chocolate granola with spent coffee grounds, "chips" made out of beet greens, and pickle juice as a marinade (which is something I learned Chick-Fil-A does!). These recipes might sound intimidating or time-consuming, but that's exactly why Carleigh's PlantYou social media exists.

I can speak from experience that the videos are easy to both understand and put into practice. (Plus, the recipes are super versatile, because "when you’re cooking with just plants, if you screw something up, you can almost always fix it!"). But there are a few steps that always make these scrappy processes easier.

"The low hanging fruit to reducing food waste in your kitchen actually starts before you grocery shop," Carleigh says. "I always recommend people sit down for an hour one day a week, and make a really basic meal plan, outlining what they plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then, before they head to the store, shop their fridge and pantry to avoid duplicate buying. Now it’s time to compile a shopping list, and only buy what you have a plan for! Done right, this will take care of 80 percent of your food waste."

What can I buy to save money on food?

In addition to meal prepping (check out our favorite apps to reduce food waste, too!), the PlantYou chef + author recommends having a few recipes that use up a bunch of ingredients in one go. "It’s really important to lean on staple recipes that allow you to 'clean out the fridge,' which is really what my new Scrappy cookbook is about," Carleigh Bodrug says. "I wanted to arm people with great base recipes (like stews, curries and stir fries), where they can interchange the vegetables and produce items they have on hand every week to reduce waste and save money."

"By using up leftovers, repurposing ingredients, and being more mindful about the food you’re bringing into your home, you'll notice a decrease in your grocery bill," she continues. "The average American family of four wastes over $1700 worth of groceries per year — which is like a phone bill every month! Not only does being Scrappy benefit your wallet, but it also feels great knowing you're making healthier choices and contributing to a more sustainable planet."

Okay, so you know what you want to eat, and you've budgeted for groceries, what now? "I look for ingredients that are versatile and can be used in multiple recipes to minimize waste," Carleigh says. "Quality, longevity, and sustainability are key factors in my purchasing decisions."

What is the proper way to store food?

After you've whipped up recipes like the Fiesta Fries below, it's important to store them properly to ensure they're fresh for as long as possible. "Use quality food storage and meal prep containers, and keep fruits and vegetables separate to prevent them from spoiling," Carleigh tells me. "Different types of food will require different conditions for optimum long-term storage. This applies to fresh produce, as well as dry and canned foods."

We all have days we don't want to cook (PlantYou's Carleigh Bodrug included), which is the perfect opportunity to support a local business. "On days when I don't feel like cooking, I usually rely on quick and easy options like smoothie bombs from my freezer, which are in my new cookbook," she says. "I also often have homemade soup ready to go that I’ve made in advance or have frozen in the freezer. Sometimes, my husband and I opt for ordering in from local restaurants in our small town in Ontario, especially on Friday nights after a long work week. It's a convenient way to support our favorite vegan small businesses while enjoying a hassle-free meal."

PlantYou's Fiesta Fries — Delicious Loaded Fries You Can Make Today!

Ingredients:

• 6 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced to desired size, around 1/2 to 3/4 inch recommended
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups Vegan Ground Beef or your favorite vegan ground beef substitute
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, pinto beans, or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 yellow or red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water or extra-virgin olive oil

Suggested Toppings:

• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced Handful of fresh cilantro (optional)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup Sunflower Cream Sauce

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and line a baking sheet with a reusable baking mat or parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the sliced potatoes with the garlic powder and salt and toss until coated.
3. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes, or until crispy, flipping halfway through.
4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine the ground “beef” with the black beans, onion, red bell pepper, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and the water. Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion starts to turn translucent.
5. Assemble on a serving platter with the fries on the bottom, topped with the ground beef mixture and your desired toppings.

Excerpted from PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking: 140+ Plant-Based Zero-Waste Recipes That Are Good for You, Your Wallet, and the Planet by Carleigh Bodrug. Copyright © 2024. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

@britandco these skincare products have me in a chokehold. link to shop them in our bio! ⭐️ COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser ($11) ⭐️ COSRX Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner ($13) ⭐️ The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid ($10) ⭐️ Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream ($44) ⭐️ innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen ($22) ⭐️Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye ($26) #glowyskin#skincareroutine#easyskincareroutine#affordableskincare#glowup♬ original sound - soph 🦷

This glowy skincare routine is everything to me. With only 6 products and a total of 10 minutes maximum every day, this glowy skincare routine is the key for healthy, youthful-looking skin.

I can’t gatekeep these products any longer. Let’s get into why these picks fit right into a glowy skincare routine and what they can do for your skin!

COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

Clean skin sets the tone for glowy skin, so having an everyday cleanser in your skincare repertoire is crucial. I like this low-pH one from COSRX since it's very gentle. Though it takes it easy on my skin overall, I still feel a deep clean after I cleanse with it. The low pH makes this gel cleanser widely compatible for most skin types, plus you get lots of product for a low price.

The Good Morning Gel Cleanser is $14 on Amazon.

COSRX Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner

Toners can come in many forms (like exfoliating and brightening), but I find that I'm drawn to hydrating toners like this one from COSRX for my glowy skincare routine. Unlike the toners most of us grew up with – astringent, harsh, and drying – most toners on the market now are made to boost your skin's hydration! So, toners are friends, not foes.

This literally feels like my skin is chugging water when I put it on. I typically just apply it with my hands and press it in gently, so my face can absorb the most product. I'll also bring it down to my neck for added hydration. The propolis and honey extracts go easy on the skin, adding to the desired glow!

This Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner is $13 on Amazon.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid simply brings the moisture that's already hanging out in your skin forward, so you'll appear more moisturized and hydrated when you use it. I only use this before moisturizer when I feel like my skin is especially dry, and like the aforementioned toner, I press it in so my skin can soak it on up.

I enjoy a lot of things about this hyaluronic acid (like the ease of using the bottle, the simple ingredient list, and the elegant dropper), but I love the affordable price the most.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid comes in a bundle alongside the The Ordinary Niacinamide for just $17 on Amazon.

Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream

Oh, this gel cream moisturizer is sooo smooth. I've really never felt anything like it before! I genuinely feel like an angel every time I put Dieux's Air Angel on. I adore it because unlike other heavy cream or lotion moisturizers, it allows my skin to breathe. It goes on super lightweight so I'm not left feeling like I applied way too many layers of product.

It's also very easy to apply – the bottle has a convenient pump with a cap that makes traveling with it a breeze! Moisturizer is a total must when it comes to skin that glows, so don't sleep on product picks like this!

The Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream goes for $44 on dieuxskin.com.

innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen

Mineral sunscreen is that girl. As opposed to chemical sunscreen, mineral sunscreen contains actual physical barriers that protect your skin from harmful UV rays. That being said, this sunscreen does swipe on with a bit of a white cast, but it immediately blends out with the right amount of rubbing it in.

This SPF 45 formulation from innisfree (one of my fave affordable brands) has a color-correcting aspect to it, so it looks a tiny bit blue when you go to apply it. Once your skin's soaked it in, it leaves a creamy, satin finish that I think is perfect for a makeup base.

Think of this sunscreen as a preemptive measure towards the ultimate glowy skin routine – since you're protecting it from mass amounts of sun damage, your skin will look more youthful, hydrated, and even over time. And yes, you should be wearing sunscreen every day!

The innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen is $22 at Sephora.

Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye

OMG. This is the first under eye cream that I found was actually effective. It's genuinely like a cup of cold brew for your under eye area – and mine tends to need that extra energy!

Formulated with caffeine to reduce puffiness and diamond powder to fill in fine lines, I saw results from the Cold Brew Undereye from Good Weird (read my full review here) within a few uses. The application is also unbelievably easy. It goes on very soothing since it has a metal application tip. I actually toss this skincare pick in the fridge so the metal can cool down, and ultimately soothe my tired eyes.

I think having a brightened-up under eye area contributes massively to my glowy skincare routine, since darker circles can bring the glow (and the overall evenness of my skin tone) down.

The Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye goes for $26 on Amazon.

Here's How Often You Should Cut Your Hair, According To Professionals

I’ll admit it — it had been eight months since my last haircut. My hair had lost its shape, my layers were nowhere to be found, and my ends were begging for mercy. Life got busy over the last few months and I was neglecting my haircare like never before.

My hairdresser could immediately see that I was beyond due for a cut and said I needed to get more taken off than I was hoping. I was definitely disappointed — I'd been working on growing out my hair for a while now, and it just felt like my hard work had completely gone to waste. He explained that getting consistent haircuts is the key to growing out healthy and strong hair, rather than letting it grow and grow until it eventually breaks. So let's dig into the top three things you can do to avoid this scenario!

1. Just Get The Dang Haircut

Also avoiding a haircut like I was? You might want to schedule one at your nearest salon. Like my stylist said, when you wait too long between trims like I did, you risk your hair becoming heavy, dull, and lifeless. When the hair is dry or even dead, it’s nearly impossible for it to hold a curl or style, essentially collapsing on you and taking on more and more heat damage all the while. I know the pain of spending time on a blowout only for it to fall minutes later — it’s the worst.

According to Jack, getting a haircut every 10-12 weeks is the best time frame or your ends will pay the price. Between blow-drying, curling, straightening, sun, and weather, our ends get dry and start to break without the proper care. Getting consistent haircuts allows hair to bounce back, shine, and perform the way we want in a healthy way.

2. Leave-In Conditioners Are Your Friend

His top piece of advice to keep your hair looking and feeling hydrated between trims? Invest in conditioning treatments. Jack swears by the Olaplex conditioning system, specifically the No 3 Hair Perfector. Made with patented OLAPLEX Bond Building Technology™, this conditioning treatment repairs and prevents damage in as little as three minutes. No 3 promises to reduce breakage and visibly strengthen hair, so it’s the perfect assistance to keep ends fresh between cuts. Another conditioning treatments I’ve used and loved for years is the Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask, which is designed to restore moisture, elasticity, and shine to dry hair.

3. Switch Up Your Shampoos

Switching shampoos frequently is a pretty hot tip that I honestly hadn't thought of. Our hair gets used to the same products and grows tired of them, resulting in lackluster locks. Jack’s advice is to switch brands after finishing every bottle of shampoo to bring life back to your hair. Have two brands that you’re loyal to? Even switching back and forth between them after every bottle should make a big difference in your hair. I’m a huge fan of the R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo, which makes my hair look thick and full, as well as the Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo, which is so hydrating and gives so much shine.

In the end, navigating your back-and-forth relationship with haircuts often feels like a rollercoaster ride between wanting that fresh look and cringing at the receipt. Luckily, by using conditioning treatments and switching up your products,, you can keep your locks healthy, shiny, and full of life between trims. But take a newly learned lesson out of my book: don't let your ends pay the price for procrastination and just book the haircut.