Thursday, 20 February 2014

Create a Toxin Free Home | Chemical Free House Cleaning Tips

It's easy to forget but creating a toxin free home is really important in creating a toxin free body!

Spraying harsh chemicals around the house isn't good for anyone , especially if you have little kids around!

I personally can't even bare the smell of the chemicals from cleaning products anymore so for the past 7 or 8 years I mostly use the below. 

Swap out the harsh cleaners in your home with some of the below home made cleaners -

Window cleaner -  white vinegar (it works a treat!)

Kitchen cleaner  -   use an old spray bottle and fill it up with half a bottle of white vinegar and the other half water, add a few drops of eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil

Bathroom/ Tile/ Grout cleaner - baking soda mixed with water (works absolute wonders!)

Air freshener - use an old spray bottle and fill it up with water, add a few drops of your favourite essential oils such as rose, lavender, eucalyptus

Moth deterrent - lavender oil. Lavender oil is known to be a natural moth deterrent. Wipe out cupboards with a cloth containing a few drops of lavender oil

If you have any chemical free ideas for your home, I'd love to hear them in the comments below!


 

Sunday, 9 February 2014

PRODUCT REVIEW | Schkinny Maninny Juice Cleanse - 3 Day Juice Detox


Schkinny Maninny are a juice detox company that offer many different cleanse options. I opted for the 3 day juice only cleanse. I wasn't really sure what to expect, here is how it all went.
Day 1

I woke up super excited to start the Schkinny Maninny cleanse... And then it dawned on me that I wouldn't be eating solid food for 3 days which did make me a little nervous.


The little esky containing my juices was waiting for me when I got to work and what was even more exciting was the little bag of goodies next to it! It included some herbal tea bags, relaxing bath salts, a small container of sunflower & pumpkin seeds (woo hoo solid food!) to stimulate digestion by chewing, a small container of psyllium husk just in case you need a little fibre,a little loofah to dry brush your skin which promotes circulation which helps with detoxification and a cute card which told me what should expect to happen while my body detoxes. Once I sat at my desk to start work I had a lovely email from Schkinny Maninny with lots of encouragement and to let me know that any symptoms I may experience are normal and not to freak out. The morning flew by and I had to remind myself to drink the juices, you get 6 different juices per day and they are quite large (600ml to be exact) so you definitely don't feel hungry.

By the time lunch time came around, the smell of my colleagues food was wafting through the office taunting me so I took myself for a quick walk (or window shopping rather) and then found a quiet spot to sit in the sun and enjoy my lunch time juice.
  

I felt fine during the afternoon, maybe a little foggy headed which is normal but I didn't have any major symptoms such as headaches which I was expecting as I do have a coffee everyday. I was really craving a night in on the couch which is unlike me so I guess the worst part about the day was the laziness I felt. Apart from that I was fine. By night time I was fairly tired. Went for a slow walk after my "dinner" couldn't manage much more.

The nut milk went down a treat, it was quite thick in consistency which was nice. It was definitely filling which is probably what made me so tired.

Started falling asleep on the lounge at around 9pm which is not like me at all, I kept myself awake as my favourite show (revenge, how good is it!) was on TV but I kind of just wish I gave and went to bed earlier.

Overall on the first day, I felt pretty good. I wasn't hungry at all and didn't experience any detox symptoms. I thought the three days would be an absolute breeze!






Day 2

Not so good. Where there a highs there must be lows and my goodness day 2 was pretty low. It was awful. I thought because I ate mostly healthy most of the time I wouldn't experience any detox symptoms... Well I had another thing coming...

I woke up feeling ok and quite excited to begin another day of drinking only juices. That excitement lasted until around 10am by which time my head started to feel like it was full of clouds and an awful headache wanted to join in on the party.

By lunch time I was feeling really grumpy (which my colleagues thought was hilarious) and all I felt like I could hear were people talking about food! All day! How dare they! Didn't they know I was doing a juice cleanse! I kept myself distracted with work until the afternoon. The rest of the day was ok minus the headache and trouble concentrating (oh and the fact that I couldn't bare anyone talking to me as I was just too grumpy).

I definitely won the prize for most bathroom breaks in one day. My bladder was more active than all the pregnant women's in office combined.

As soon as I got home, I drank my late afternoon juice, tried to avoid the family as much as possible, then I ran a hot bath and added in the container of bath salts supplied to me from Schkinny Maninny. It was the best part of my day. I felt all my angst wash away and felt a little more motivated to make the hubby and son some dinner. I actually fell asleep in the bath which was quite strange (it was only 4.30pm).

Post bath I drank my yummy nut milk drink, relaxed on the lounge while still feeling grumpy (and trying to avoid too much communication with hubby) and tried to get an early night but couldn't sleep until midnight. I think I drank my nut milk too early, not sure what happened but I had a really restless night sleep.

Day 3

Woke up feeling refreshed and clear and noticed all of my bloating had gone away. I felt great!

Headed into work and the morning flew by.

I had my juice drinking down pat by this day, one every 2 hours from 8.30am or around about that anyway.

By the 3rd juice (lunch time) I was a little over liquid and could once again hear my colleagues talk about food. If you can't beat them, join them, so that's what I did. I sat around the little lunch table swigging my juice while they all had delicious soups with bread oh my goodness it was torture...to make matters worse they started talking about coconut ice cream, then old childhood favourite chocolates (remember the golden roughs anyone..yum!)
I didn't feel hungry at all but I couldn't stop thinking about what my first meal would be post cleanse. I also had an intense craving for slow cooked beef with polenta that I just couldn't get out of my head! That would have to be a meal for the weekend. On my post cleanse motivational card from Schkinny Maninny it mentions not to get stuck into anything to crazy like a steak the day after the cleanse as your body needs time to adjust back to solids. If that wasn't the case I would have found some ragu and eaten it for breakfast post cleanse!

Overview -

Post cleanse I felt fantastic. Lighter (although I don't own scales so I'm not sure if I lost weight), my eyes and skin felt much brighter and clearer and I definitely had much more energy. My stomach was flatter and I didn't have any bloat whatsoever which was great. I didn't want that feeling to ever go away so I stopped drinking coffee every day.. hopefully that lasts!

It was so nice to have a break from making my own juices/ smoothies so that part of the detox was a real treat!

Post cleanse, you should do what the team at Schkinny Maninny recommend and eat only salad and fruit the day after your cleanse. I thought it would be a great idea to treat myself to a gluten free muffin for breakfast the next day.. Not such a great idea, 3 little bites and I felt ill.

I felt like Schkinny Maninny was a great company to try for my first cleanse. There were lots of motivational emails and note cards which did help along the way so you know what you should and shouldn't expect.

Most of the juices were really delicious (my absolute favourite was the pine grapple and the nut milk). A couple were difficult to drink (green salad was very lemony) but I drank them anyway knowing that it was for the greater good of my detox.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! Just maybe not for a little while..

Would I choose Schkinny Maninny again? Definitely, loved all the little things that were included in the gift bag and the juices were a great size so I was never hungry.

You may or may not experience similar symptoms to me, it totally depends on the level of toxicity in your body.

The funny part is since I stopped the cleanse I'm craving juice more than ever!

CHEAPER TUESDAYS - Schkinny Maninny offer a 10% discount if you order on a Tuesday :)

You can learn more about Schkinny Manniny
here.

If you have completed a juice cleanse or are about to embark on one, I would love to hear about it in the comments section below.

Bee xx

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014

RECIPE | Raspberry & Coconut Cream Love Bites (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)

Just in time for Valentines Day! Why not make your loved one a treat, or just make some for yourself! These are a great little refreshing treat, they need to be eaten semi-frozen so great to have during summer time :)



Raspberry & Coconut Cream Layer Ingredients:
2 cups frozen raspberry (you could use strawberries instead)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup coconut cream
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons real maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons coconut nectar (optional)

Chocolate Icing Layer Ingredients:
1/3 cups coconut oil
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 tablespoons real maple syrup or honey

Directions

  • Line a small square cake tin with baking paper (you need a small one or it will spread out too far in a big one, mine was about 20cm x 20cm)
  • Blend all of the raspberry & coconut cream ingredients together until smooth, you may need to stop the blender to mix them up a little half way through depending on what time of blender you have
  • Fill lined tray with blended mix and freeze for a couple of hours or until almost set


Chocolate Layer

  • Melt together all chocolate icing ingredients in a small saucepan over very low heat
  • Pour over raspberry layer and put back in freezer for around 20 minutes


It should be ready now to take out a slice up & enjoy!! You may need to wait a couple of minutes after you take it out of the freezer to slice up.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! 

If you do, please hit one of the share buttons below to spread the love! 

Bee xx