Sunday, 4 October 2015

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES

Simple; a round-up of the great and good from the last month including skincare and audio visual delights.

This Works Light Time Cleanse and Glow*
A new little saviour in my morning routine, this light and fresh cleanser from This Works is jam-packed full of vitamin C and other skin brightening loveliness which work a treat to banish that sleepy look first thing in the morning. I've been using this every other day over the past couple of weeks and have already seen a difference in my complexion. It also smells bloody great too, so makes having to get up on these darker autumnal mornings that bit more OK.

Slimming Solution Teatox - Evening Blend*
I'm really not one to jump on the detox tea bandwagon - I'm not utterly convinced by their whole ethos to be honest, as there are no quick fix solutions to weight loss or slimming. I do however, believe in a healthy eating plan and everything in moderation whatever your body goals are, which is more realistic in the long run IMHO. So even though and I'm bit anti-teatox, and I am very much pro-tea and have been enjoying this blend as part of my current way of eating and trying it out in the evening. It's packed with stomach-settling peppermint and liquorice root, and has a really calming overall scent so a perfect one to have just before bed. 

Broadly
I'm mad for YouTube and there are some incredible vloggers out there creating genuinely brilliant original content. However, Broadly a new women's only channel from Vice, is pretty much the only channel that's had my full attention over the last month or so. Each video is beautifully shot in a documentary style and the content covers a whole host of subjects and issues specifically targeted to women. Go and check it out to see for yourself - you won't be disappointed.

One product that's been on my beauty wishlist for a long time is this face mask from Antipodes, so when I saw that Fenwick had started stocking it, I picked one up to give it a whirl. And I have to say, it hasn't disappointed and has been another skin superhero recently, so big up to you, Antipodes. If you haven't heard of the NZ-based brand before, they produce natural skincare and make-up, with fully recyclable (and very well-designed) packaging to boot. The change in weather and mixture of heating/air-conditioning has made my skin incredibly dry and lathering this on a couple of times a week has been helping with that Autumnal hydration drought and given me back some much needed softness to my skin too.

Have you tried anything from Antipodes? What have been your favourite things from past month?

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Monday, 2 June 2014

Recipe: Raw Cacao Nib Cookies

I'm on somewhat of a sugar-free tip at the minute thanks to the quite brilliant Sarah Wilson and her I Quit Sugar programme.

Ever since I first discovered Sarah's philosophy in January, I've been all over her way of sugar-free thinking, and trying out her recipes and ideas has been high on my agenda.

I'm going to full a post on things I've learned on IQS and how it's helped my training and general wellbeing, but in the meantime, here's a killer recipe for sugar and gluten-free cookies.

They are super-sweet (without any of the bad, bad, white stuff in there) and are a great fix when all you can think about is chocolate. Oh, and quick and easy to make to boot.

Cacao Nib Cookies (Makes 16 small cookies, or about 9 big cookies)
(adapted from Love & Lentils recipe)
What you'll need:

  • 1 1/4 cups ground almonds
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tbsp rice malt syrup ( I used Clearspring Organic Rice Malt Syrup)
  • 1/2 desiccated coconut (I actually used coconut flakes, blitzed in the food processor)
  • 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder

1. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F

2. In a small mixing bowl, mix the melted coconut oil and rice malt syrup. In a larger bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients; ground almonds, desiccated coconut, cacao nibs, vanilla powder, chopped almonds, sea salt and baking powder.


3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix, mix, mix until you have a cookie dough consistency.
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Form cookie dough balls from the mixture, and spread these out evenly on the tray.


5. Pop 'em in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Cool on a wire rack. I highly recommend you try one whilst they're still warm. Dreamy.


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