My Purple Hair

From henna hair color to bottle blonde and now to purple. I’ve been dying my hair for a really freaking long time. Like, I don’t remember the natural color sort of long. And now I’ve given in to the latest trend of purple locks, and I sort of love it. I’m sure some of you are like “we GET it, Ashley -- enough with the constant stream of Instagram photos!” 

But, you guys, I’m having my hair moment. My Clementine hair moment.

So, I went from this:

To this:


(Oh, and this is a selfie-heavy post. Sorry.)

I’m using Overtone color-depositing conditioners at the suggestion of several readers. When I saw that the stuff is chemical-free (peroxide, ammonia, etc.), cruelty-free, and comes in so many colors, I said SIGN ME UP. I initially ordered the pastel purple, thinking that my blonde locks would soak in the tinge of color. And all it did was pleasantly tone the brass out of my hair.

So, once they got their vibrant purple back in stock, I ordered that -- stat. And during my first application, I was actually shocked and annoyed that it barely took to my hair. So, I did a little digging and decided to apply it to DRY hair for like 20 minutes. I even covered it with plastic wrap.

Yup. That worked like a charm.

(No filter:)


I am pro-Overtone.

Also: This isn’t in any way a sponsored post, I’m just enthusiastic about it.

So, I can wash my greasy hair every freakin' day and follow up with the daily conditioner. To get the best results, I usually towel dry my hair and let that stuff sit in around 10 minutes (longer than the directions). But it’s been working out great. I’d love to even do some pink over this purple color for more of a lilac effect. We’ll see.

Then I do the deep conditioner for some extra color punch once a week.

I don’t know how long I’ll keep up with purple hair. Or rainbow colored hair, since I’d love to try other colors. For now, I’m enjoying the flexibility I have to do this style since I still work from home. Honestly, I bet my boss at my last office job would have been cool with it. It’s fun. Ada loves it. In the end, it’s only hair.

And it’s way better than my DIY undercut, right?


(Side note: I’m still SO surprised + endlessly entertained by the negative feedback I got on that hairstyle. I got a couple emails -- really! -- from people telling me I made a huge mistake and that it looked awful. Dude. It’s hair. My hair! To me, not being adventurous at all with something as fleeting as hair is so terribly boring.)

As the blonde grows out of my hair or I get it cut, the color will be less noticeable unless I bleach it blonder. The color will also slowly fade (about at the same rate as semi-perm dye) if I keep washing it out. Overtone does carry some intense color depositing conditioners that are very bold, so there’s also that option. For now, I’m good. My purple hair even has me experimenting with new hairstyles.

Braids!


If you’ve been interested in dying your hair a funky color -- do it.

Life’s too short not to have fun with your hair.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a tasty mac + cheese recipe!

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Purple Cabbage Garlic Knots

Without planning to, I've set a new goal for myself. I'd like to create pizza dough in all colors of the rainbow, naturally. As you already know from the millions of recipes, our favorite dinners involve either pizza or garlic knots, so we've made an effort over the years to find a way to make it a healthier option. Using purees has really transformed this process.

So far, we have:

• RED with Beet Pizza Dough. 
• ORANGE, obviously, with my favorite Pumpkin Garlic Knots. 
• We could count our Chickpea Crust as YELLOW -- but I'll work on that one. 
• GREEN is in the form of delicious Pesto Dough made with homemade pesto.

And now PURPLE!


As I mentioned in yesterday's Curious George Juice post, I actually juiced the cabbage for this recipe instead of pureeing it. However, I'll give the puree option as well -- since it would be more like the other recipes we have on this site (in other words, if you'd like to try a similar dough, but don't have a juicer).

What's different with juicing versus cooking + pureeing is that the flavor is far more intense and concentrated. I'd describe purple cabbage knots as sweet and earthy. What I can't necessarily tell you is the difference with regard to nutrition. Obviously when juiced raw, the cabbage retains most of its nutrients, but loses the fiber. I don't know how much is lost in the baking process, but I am thinking more remains than with pureeing.

As you can imagine, the color is more vibrant, too.


PURPLE CABBAGE GARLIC KNOTS
works equally well as a pizza crust recipe

What you'll need . . . 

• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 warm water
• 1 tablespoon Sugar in the Raw (or sugar)
• 1 cup cabbage juice (room temperature or warm, not cold)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-1/2 cups bread flour

Method . . .

1. To make our cabbage juice, we set our Breville Juice Fountain on high and juiced quartered purple cabbage until we got 1 cup. Set aside.
2. Mix the yeast into the 1/2 cup of warm water + the sugar. Let sit until frothy -- proofed -- about 10 minutes.
3. Mix in the cabbage juice and olive oil until well combined.
4. Add in the flour a cup or so at a time until you reach 3 cups, then start kneading and add more as needed. You may need more or less flour, depending on a lot of factors. Just knead until you form a smooth, elastic ball that isn't sticky . . . but not dry either!
5. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel + let rise for at least 2 hours in a warm place.

My prettiest knots to date!


// PUREE ALTERNATIVE

If you'd rather use puree, just steam cabbage and puree in a food processor until smooth. You can experiment with using just a 1/2 cup puree . . . up to a full cup for the juice in the recipe above. Adjust your water content accordingly until you reach the same smooth, elastic round. All else should be the same.


// COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• For knots: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, preferably with a pizza stone inside. Divide dough into two large balls and save one for another day. Divide one of these balls up into between 10 and 16 knots, depending on size preference. Roll and knot your dough and then bake for up to 12-15 minutes. Top with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast for a non-dairy option).
• For pizza: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F, preferably with a pizza stone inside. Divide dough into two large balls and save one for another day. Spin or otherwise stretch your dough into a crust that will fit on your stone. Then bake for a few minutes before taking out of the oven + topping with your favorites. Bake for another 12-15 minutes.

Happy Friday!

Have you tried any of our colorful pizza dough recipes? Which one is your favorite? And do you have a suggestion for BLUE?! My mind briefly wandered over to a sweet blueberry recipe, which I might just have to try, but I'm not sure about that.


And don't miss our 90 healthiest recipes of 2013! Lots of delicious, wholesome foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Includes both vegan and vegetarian recipes to please the entire family -- even toddlers!




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