Foodie Recipe: Vegan Pesto

I LOVE pesto. When I cut back on dairy, I still wanted a great taste without sacrificing the bite and creaminess in great pesto. It usually throw it together, so feel free to modify it to your own liking. You can store for a few days in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

-1 cup dry basil (very loose cup, not packed)

- 3-6 cloves of peeled garlic

- 1/8 tsp of pepper (freshly ground is the best!)

- 1/8 tsp of salt

- 1/4 cup of olive oil

- 1/4 cup of pine nuts (I recommend buying and build and freezing the rest)

• Food recipe: Homemade Salsa Verde
• Food recipe: DIY vegan protein powder
• Foodie Tip Cream of Coconut
• Foodie Recipe: Vegan Cream & Mushroom Pasta

Marquita Bell is soaper-in-chief and the owner of TheBodyBuffet where foodie meets beauty. Based out of Philadelphia, The Body Buffet aims to cultivate beauty inside and out from foodie adventures, self-care tips, and via handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap and more. They use local ingredients when possible and have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009.

What are the Benefits of Activated Charcoal?

If you haven't noticed, activated charcoal has gained popularity as a natural skin care benefit. But what exactly are the benefits?

1. Detox & Anti-Aging

Activated charcoal is said to remove toxins and impurities from the skin, similar to clay.  It is known to absorb up to 200 times its weight in toxins. It is antibacterial, making it great for oily and/or acne prone skin. It is also said to have anti-aging properties as well.

2. Relieve comfort from insect bites

Because of the antibacterial qualities, applied repeatedly to bug bites it can alleviate itching. 

3. Reduces Body Odor

Some natural deodorants use activated charcoal to reduce the amount of body odor that results from sweating. However, used in large doses, it can of course stain anything it touches.

At the Body Buffet we LOVE to use activated charcoal as a natural colorant and a skin benefits. Please check out our natural soaps that have activated charcoal:

Triple Butter Raspberry

Triple Butter Salt n Pepper

Tiger Stripes

Fine Wine

Bay Leaf Splendor


Marquita Bell is a self-care advocate and the owner of The Body Buffet which creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap and more. They use local ingredients when possible and have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. Based out of Philadelphia, they aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out.

3 Benefits of Laundry Cream

In an effort to move to all natural products in my house, laundry detergent was at the top of the list for switching over. Although I had already switched over to a colorless, scentless detergent, I wanted something that wasn’t commercial and ideally was natural. I made the laundry cream this year and I have been a convert ever since. The biggest change I had to made was using a lot less detergent (only one tablespoon per regular load), and putting the cream in the basin of the washer instead of the detergent dispenser. The laundry cream also has far less suds but it doesn’t mean it cleans less. Here are three reasons why laundry cream is a great alternative to commercial, store-bought laundry detergent.

1. It works naturally.

Made with coconut oil, the laundry cream makes for a great natural cleaner. Coconut oil already has awesome properties and when it is made into soap, it becomes pure awesomeness. Pure coconut oil soap can generally be drying to the skin, however it makes it great for clothes and cleaning; things that don’t need conditioning. The laundry cream doesn’t contain any preservatives or stabilizers. The Body Buffet’s Laundry Cream is also lightly scented with lemongrass essential oil.

2. A little goes a long way.

The laundry cream is very concentrated not only taking up a fraction of the space that regular detergents do, but also making it easy to carry and transport if you don’t have a washer and dryer on site. Unlike with regular liquid or powdered detergents, you don’t need up to a cup just to do one load.

3. It’s affordable.

Compared to store-bought detergent, laundry cream costs about the same. I didn’t break the bank making the switch over. In fact it costs less than the commercial brand I previously used.

What are you waiting for? Make the switch over to The Body Buffet’s Laundry Cream. They come in 8 ounces (up to 80 loads) and 16 ounces (up to 160 loads). Visit thebodybuffet.etsy.com.

8 oz Laundry Cream

16 oz Laundry Cream

Interested in hearing more about incorporating natural skin, hair, and house care into your life? Sign up here to receive our weekly tips on living a more balanced life.

Marquita Bell is a self-care advocate and the owner of The Body Buffet which creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap and more. They use local ingredients when possible and have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. Based out of Philadelphia, they aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out.

Facial Soap Bars vs. Regular Soap - 3 differences

When I first began making soap I wondered about what many people question: What are the three differences between facial soap bars and regular soap bars?

1. Facial soap usually has a lower cleansing level.
One of the many quality scores in soap making revolve around the cleansing number of the soap. Different oils produce different cleansing numbers. For example, a soap that has mostly coconut oil has a high cleansing number and will likely strip the skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and sometimes inducing oiliness since your skin tries to over compensate for missing oil.

On the other hand, a hard oil like shea butter has a very low cleansing number. Therefore a soap made with mostly with shea butter will not strip the skin. In soap making for facial bars, you want to keep the cleansing number as low as possible. I ideally keep mine at zero. Now keep in mind, just because something is "low cleansing," doesn't mean it doesn't clean. It simply means that it strips less natural oils away.

2. Facial soap focuses on the skin properties of the face.
You're probably saying, "Well duh, hence the name Captain Obvious." But many people forget that the skin on their face is very different from their skin on their rest of their body. Facial skin has many more glands, is a lot thinner, and regenerates cells more quickly than the rest of the body. These factors make your face more oily and more sensitive to products. Hence why something that works excellently on your body, may be terrible for your face. Because of this you may be able to use a facial soap on the rest of your body, but not a body soap on your face.

3. Facial soap usually has ingredients geared toward specific skin types.
Similar to hair products, it is very rare that you find a product that truly works on all facial skin types, especially combination skin. As a result, great facial bars usually cater to specific skin types. A facial soap bar that works well for oily skin may be stripping for dry skin. Even people with similar skin types may need to try a few different facial bars to find one that works for them.  Ingredients can play a huge factor including which oils were used in the handmade soap recipe. As mentioned before, different oils have different conditioning and cleansing levels. Great facial bars take all of that into consideration.

At The Body Buffet we handcraft all of our recipes and also test them (never tested on animals!). Check out our facial bars:

 Avocado Cucumber Facial Soap

Strawberries 'n Cream Rose Clay Facial Soap

New Product: Orange-Cranberry Sunshine Soap

Don't let old-man winter steal your rays of sunshine. Fight him off with our winter-dry-skin loving orange cranberry sunshine handmade soap. Enjoy the nourishing effects of coconut milk while escaping from the UV rays of the actual sun (assuming you are showering indoors).

What are you waiting for? Invite this ray of sunshine into your home by clicking here.

The Body Buffet creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap, and more for the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. 

We use local ingredients when possible and we have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. 

The theme behind the blog plays into the "farm to table" movement which focuses on the importance of fresh, locally produced food. Why shouldn't your bath products be fresh and local too? 

We aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out. 

New Product: Chocolate-Covered Almond-Cherry Soap

Chocolate craving? We have something that may give you the same euphoria without the calories. Washing with our chocolate-covered almond-cherry soap may possibly elevate you new another level of chocolate. Why eat the bar when you can wash with it?

Click here to indulge.

The Body Buffet creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap, and more for the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. 

We use local ingredients when possible and we have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. 

The theme behind the blog plays into the "farm to table" movement which focuses on the importance of fresh, locally produced food. Why shouldn't your bath products be fresh and local too? 

We aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out. 

New Product: Strawberries 'n Cream Rose Clay Facial Soap Bar

Summer may be long-gone, but the chance to enjoy strawberries isn't. And why not indulge with something that won't add inches to your waist?

Our strawberries 'n cream handmade rose clay facial soap is a wonderful way to detox your facial skin while adding the nourishing benefits of coconut milk.

This handmade facial soap bar is great for oily to moderately oily skin and can be used a few times a week. Our facial soap recipes are created to avoid clogging your pores. Our facial soap includes shea butter, grapeseed oil, and rosehip oils, all non-clogging ingredients.

This all natural bar is colored naturally with the rose pink clay. It is also scented naturally with ylang ylang essential oil, which smells like flowers. Purchase this wonderful bar by clicking here.  

The Body Buffet creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap, and more for the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. 

We use local ingredients when possible and we have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. 

The theme behind the blog plays into the "farm to table" movement which focuses on the importance of fresh, locally produced food. Why shouldn't your bath products be fresh and local too? 

We aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out. 

We aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out.