6 Delicious Fall Recipes for a Glowing Skin Complexion

We challenged skin-savvy foodies to curate their best fall recipes for glowing skin using complexion-friendly, seasonal finds like apples, pumpkin, and cinnamon. From mouth-watering smoothies to super-simple salmon bites, these are the healthy beauty recipes you'll want to add to your fall meal rotation.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Endless Summer Glow Smoothie

This tasty smoothie from Sylwia Wiesenberg, wellness expert and founder of DOPE Naturally, has multiple skin-loving fruits and veggies. “Rich in lycopene, tomatoes are an anti-aging fruit; they’re full of vitamin A for ageless skin,” she says adding that they also contain plenty of vitamin K, which is anti-inflammatory. “Peppers are great for blood circulation and digestion promoting faster blood flow and detox naturally for glowing skin. Watermelon seeds contain amino acids for toned skin and muscles,” Wiesenberg continues. Here are some other healthy smoothie ideas.

Ingredients:

  • 3 – 5 medium size heirloom tomatoes (in winter vine tomatoes)
  • 1 cup watermelon chunks
  • 1 peach, plum, or pear
  • A handful of mixed herbs like cilantro, basil, watercress, mint
  • A touch of red spicy pepper
  • A touch of sea salt
  • A handful of sprouted watermelon seeds or pumpkin seeds for crunch and texture

Directions: Place everything in a blender and blend for 5 to 10 seconds max on low so the formula is a bit chunky.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Baked Apple Pie Slices

Brooke Alpert, nutritionist, RD, and author of The Diet Detox, shares this healthy rendition on an apple pie.“Apples contain vitamin C, vitamin A, and copper, which are important for collagen and melanin production,” she says. “And cinnamon has large amounts of antioxidants,” Alpert adds. (Find out even more ways cinnamon can help your body out.)

Ingredients:

  • 4 large apples, cored
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • *optional: crushed nuts on top such as almonds or walnuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Slice the apples into 1/2 inch thick slices. In a bowl combine the vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the apples and mix well. Fill a large baking pan with a 1/4 inches of water and lay the apples in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Drain excess water and serve warm or chilled.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Sesame Salmon Toasts

“The omega-3 fatty acids in salmon decrease inflammation to provide glowing skin,” says Devin Alexander, celebrity chef, New York Times bestselling author and weight loss expert, who tops the salmon with sesame seeds to help fight premature aging. “The vitamin A, C and E in onions also protect the skin from aging by fighting free radicals and UV rays,” she explains. (Here are more essential foods for beautiful skin.)

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz. raw, salmon filet (skinless)
  • 3/4 cup minced sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger root
  • 2 medium egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 slices dense whole grain bread
  • 1/2 cup black or white sesame seeds, or a mixture
  • cooking spray

Directions: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a medium baking sheet with cooking spray. Make sure to remove all of the bones from the salmon. Then cut it into chunks and place it into a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. Process the salmon until there are no longer large chunks. Add the minced onion and ginger root and process it again until it almost forms a paste, but small chunks remain. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and add the egg whites and salt. Mix until combined. Next, spread the mixture evenly over the tops of the three slices of bread. Cut each slice across the diagonals, vertically, and horizontally to form 8 triangles, from each slice of bread. Pour the sesame seeds into a shallow bowl. One triangle at a time, dip each triangle into the sesame seeds to cover the tops and sides. Then place each triangle, so they do not touch, on the prepared baking sheet. When all of the triangles are covered in sesame seeds, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the triangles for 6 to 10 minutes until they are cooked through (the salmon should be a pale color throughout). Remove the triangles from the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Serve immediately. Makes 24 triangles.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Mulled Cinnamon Cider

Jessica Wu, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at USC Keck School of Medicine and author of Feed Your Face: Younger, Smoother Skin and a Beautiful Body in 28 Delicious Days shares her recipe for a warm, skin-friendly sip. “Mulled cinnamon cider keeps you hydrated without the sugar and dairy that can aggravate acne breakouts and rashes. In addition, this recipe contains vitamin C, which is essential for building strong collagen,” she says. (Check out these other vitamin C-rich foods.)

Ingredients:

  • One gallon, fresh apple cider
  • 6 cinnamon sticks
  • One orange slice
  • Coconut milk (optional)

Directions: Add the fresh apple cider, six cinnamon sticks, and one orange sliced into rounds to a large saucepan. Heat until boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Cool and strain cinnamon and orange slices. Pour into mugs and add a splash of warmed coconut milk for richness, and garnish with a cinnamon stick and/or dust with fresh grated nutmeg.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Colorful Quinoa Salad

With red, green and orange veggies, this side salad is a virtual rainbow of good health. Sophie Jaffe, certified raw foods chef, nutritionist, and owner of Philosophie Superfoods uses coconut oil and lime juice for the dressing. “We used coconut oil as the base for the dressing because it’s super anti-bacterial, which means it will keep your skin looking clear and glowing from the inside out,” she advises, adding that lime juice infuses a tangy dose of Vitamin C, a natural anti-ager. Check out these genius uses for coconut oil.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cooked tricolor quinoa
  • 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  • ½ red onion
  • 2 cups of kale, washed, ribbed, and chopped
  • ¼ cup of pine nuts
  • juice of 1 medium lime
  • 1 roasted or boiled sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pink peppercorns
  • ¼ cup pomegranate seeds or cranberries

Directions: Heat virgin coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until browned (about five minutes). Add kale, stirring until wilted and just tender (but still bright green) about three to four minutes. Add salt and pepper and stir. Add sweet potatoes, kale, and onion mixture and lime juice to cooked quinoa. Fluff with a fork to combine. Garnish with chopped pine nuts and pomegranate seeds and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

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Courtesy Lisanna Wallance, gourmandesante.com

Morning Glory Muffins

This healthier twist on the bakery classic from Keri Glassman MS, RDN, of Nutritious Life, replaces the oil with pumpkin puree for a skin boost. “Beta-carotene is a ‘carotenoid’ which works as an antioxidant in the body, fighting free radicals that oxidative stress and inflammation to counteract everything from dry skin, to dandruff, to wrinkle formation. It also contributes to healthy blood circulation, helping to give your skin that sought after ‘glow’,” she shares. Find out more health benefits of pumpkin.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 cup grated granny smith apple
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2/3 cup black raisins
  • 2/3 cup pecans
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a regular-sized muffin tray with baking cups. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, carrot, apple, and ginger until well combined (wet ingredients). In a separate bowl, stir together the almond flour, raisins, pecans, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chia seeds (dry ingredients). Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Scoop batter into lined muffin tray, filling the cups ¾ of the way full. Place muffin tray in the center rack and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.

All photos courtesy of Lisanna Wallance. For more delicious recipes, visit her at Gourmande Santé, and on Instagram.

Alexis Farah
Alexis is a freelance lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Self.com, Dermstore.com, Yahoo.com, Women's Health magazine and FabFitFun.com. She's the founder and editor of RandomActsofLipstick.com, a website dedicated to covering beauty products, brands and influencers that give back. Before becoming a freelance writer, Alexis was on the EverydayHealth.com team as the Senior Beauty Editor. She started her professional career in the beauty department at Women's Health Magazine and learned social networking 101 at Attention, a social media PR and marketing agency. It's rare to catch Alexis without SPF 30+ or bright red lipstick.