"Cooking Well" is the ultimate guide to beauty, inside and out (Hatherleigh Press).

"Cooking Well: Beautiful Skin" is the ultimate comprehensive guide for all things beauty, inside and out.

While Spring is about cleansing inside, Summer is often about looking great. Beauty and skincare expert, former model and passionate animal rights activist Elizabeth TenHouten's book does both, and does them well.

TenHouten believes that "outer beauty radiates from inner beauty, so the more a person works on her inner self, the more beautiful she will become continue to become, inside and out."

To put the book to the test, we tried out some of the recipes ourselves and tracked the results. Here is what we found:

Toning Tomato Mask

For healthful outer beauty, we followed TenHouten's Beauty Byte directions of mixing together 1/4 cup of low-sodium tomato paste with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to make a smooth paste. After slathering it onto our face and neck and rinsing with warm water after 15 minutes, we were left with supple, bright, and refreshed-looking skin that had a healthy glow. Be sure to splash with cold water after to close pores, as TenHouten advises.

Healthy Hair Olive Oil Treatment

Following the book's directions, we microwaved 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil for 25 seconds and massaged it into our hair and scalp before shampooing. This natural hot oil treatment left our locks shiny and soft!

Spicy Warm Tomato Soup

After heating olive oil in a large pot and sautéing onions and garlic, we stirred in fresh Roma tomatoes, canned crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth. After letting it simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes and stirring occasionally, we stirred in some Tabasco sauce and garnished the dish with some freshly chopped basil and a generous pinch of black pepper before serving.

Making this soup a few different times, each batch tasted a bit different due to the sweetness or tartness of the tomatoes used. However, the dish was consistently wonderful and refreshing. Just one big bowl instantly made us feel good, knowing we were eating something hearty yet very healthy for us. 

We modified slightly by stirring in a little more Tabasco and black pepper, but the simple recipe is great on its own as well.

Cooked tomatoes contain higher levels of the antioxidant compound lycopene, so this is a wonderful meal that does some Spring cleaning from the inside.

The Gold of the Incas

This recipe uses antioxidant-packed quinoa and brown rice as the base, and adds in healthful ingredients such as low sodium chicken broth, shallots, porcini mushrooms, white asparagus, and pumpkin seeds. This dish was filling enough to be a full meal on its own, although it is listed as a side dish in the book. It was delicious and full of different flavors and textures. For those who have never tried quinoa, the grain has a nutty flavor to it and can often be used in dishes that call for rice.

The aspects we especially loved about the book include that the directions are simple, and that each recipe contains a note on the side, often touting the health benefits of the key ingredients used. Referring to the Kale Layered Lasagna recipe, TenHouten writes, "Kale is high in fiber and simply chewing it activates detoxifying enzymes in the liver." To try these recipes and more, find the book here.

Informative and practical, "Cooking Well: Beautiful Skin" equips anyone looking to get beautiful on the inside and outside with 75 antioxidant-rich recipes and 50 D.I.Y. "Beauty Byte" recipes, as well as meditation techniques to explore your inner beauty.

You can reach Tanaya Ghosh here, or follow her on Twitter.