♥ YUM!

At age 19, I can honestly say I’ve started to find balance in what I eat. I never weigh myself or count calories, but focus on eating fresh, wholesome food. I love going to Farmers Markets and buying produce that’s in season, and creating simple and delicious recipes. Lately, I love recipes which taste indulgent but are really super healthy and packed full of nutrients. These Superfood Raw Fudge Balls are a perfect example.

Why not take these bite sized delights to your next party to share, or wrap up & give as a gift

Recipe:

Ingredients-

♥ 1 cup dates (medjool work best)
♥ 1 cup walnuts
♥ 1/2 cup shredded or desiccated coconut, plus extra
♥ 1/4 cup raw cacao
♥ handful of goji berries (use dried cranberries for a cheaper alternative)
♥ handful of chia seeds

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Method-

1. Blend all ingredients together
2. Form into balls. If they fall apart, simply add more blended dates to the mixture
3. Roll in shredded/desiccated coconut

Ta-daaa!

This recipe can be altered according to taste or what you already have. Feel free to swap the walnuts for almonds or the dates for prunes. I decided to wrap about 10 of these for my ballet teacher the other day. Here’s how to wrap them up…

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Simply take 1 sheet of baking paper and 1 sheet of cellophane, as well as a longish piece of string

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Place about 10 fudge balls in the centre

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Wrap the baking paper around the fudge balls first, then the cellophane. Tie the string around to secure.

Gift complete! How easy was that? Does this look like something you’d like to make/scoff down?

Recipe by Hannah, a full-time nutrition student and blogger at Dear Asparagus!

Be well,

xoxo

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♥ Joshi’s Holistic Detox

I picked this up randomly when a lovely little bookstore near me was having a 50% off closing down sale. Never one to say no to the possibility of a bargain, I dashed in and came across Dr Joshi’s book which I’d been intrigued by previously but never bought.

While I don’t need to be slimmer, healthier I can always go for. Basically Dr Joshi draws on Ayurvedic wisdom, as well as the principles of alkaline eating to help you feel your best. You will go without a few much loved things for 21 days, incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and veggies (some are out though), gluten-free products, herbal teas, supplements and other good-for-you treats. It’s a really well designed program and leads you through everything with LOADS of information and reviews/testimonials from many of his well known clients, including Gwyneth Paltrow.

The only thing that is personally detrimental is that the majority of recipes call for chicken stock (even the veggie ones), so as a vegetarian it would be hard to follow the supplied detox menu. That said there ARE options, and I’m sure you could use veggie stock, but there’s a lotta chicken in this book – organic, free-range naturally! Which reminds me of THIS wonderful Youtube…

Despite the chicken qualms, I’d totally recommend this book if you’re game for a detox, but want to know all the little details behind how/what/where/why, in an accessible and interesting format. I really enjoyed it, go Joshi! Available on Amazon for about $21 USD.

Have you ever tried a detox or wanted to? If so let us know your experience / reason for wanting to try!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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There’s a lotta love to be had for products that have more than one use, not only do you save money and time, but you also save on precious bathroom bench space, something which is worth an increasing amount these days!

Here are my three current favourites:

♥ Jane Iredale Antioxidant Spray

Packed full of antioxidants and smelling like delicious oranges/tangerines, this product has a lot more uses than just pepping up your face on a hot day.

♥ Sets mineral makeup, of which Jane Iredale produce some pretty awesome varieties.
♥ Use to wet brushes to use with eyeshadow and make liquid liner, genius!
♥ Spritz over hair to control static.

The great news is that you can do all of this while smelling like summery citrus fruits. RRP $39.

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♥ Essential Kit Multipurpose Wonder Balm

This stuff beats regular paw paw balm any.day! It’s certified organic, smells absolutely amazing – kinda like a chocolate orange, and 100% of the ingredients are from a natural origin. Plus NO animal testing or animal products and it’s made in Australia! SIGN ME UP It even tastes yummy… should you accidentally (or not so accidentally) lick your lips.

Can be used for…

♥ Lip balm, smoothing eyebrows, giving your cheeks a highlighted glow, moisturising nails & cuticles, a thick body moisturiser, smoothing flyaways, soothes dry heels, protecting cuts, shaving… AND under wetsuits on long swims apparently!!!

It’s fast becoming a staple and comes with me everywhere. So much love! RRP $22.95.

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♥ Tisserand Ethically Harvested Lavender Oil

I’ve only just started to really get into essential oils and candles, but have always had a soft spot for lavender. Ah, quell-er of stresses, easer of sleeps! It’s always been good to me, and I’ve recently discovered that it has a lot more uses than I initially thought, lets have a look:

♥ A natural way to take the sting out of burns
♥ Super successful zit zapper – have been hitting this one up a lot lately, and it’s working!
♥ 6 drops on a damp flannel to help a headache
♥ Disinfectant for cuts & to help new skin grow
♥ And of course, a few drops on the pillow to de-stress & help you fall asleep

What are your favourite multi-tasking beauty & wellness products? Share with us below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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This crushes edition is pretty product-centric because there are just so many amazing things that have flown into my world in the past few weeks, I’m super excited to share ‘em with you, so lets get started

♥ Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser

I’ve been a longtime fan of the regular Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, and probably a little reluctant to venture away from what I know and love! The illuminating version takes it to the next level, while you can wear it on it’s own (it’s SPF 20), my favourite way to use this is mix a dollop with my regular, fairly matte foundation and watch the compliments roll in.

If you want a fresh faced glow, this is going to go a long way towards getting you there! Add plenty of sleep, green tea and exercise in and you’re set. It also comes in 4 shades, I use ‘Bare Radiance’, am a total ghosty-face and I LOVE it. RRP $78 from Adore Beauty.

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♥ Seven Wonders Argan Oil Spray

This stuff makes sleek, shiny hair almost too easy to achieve. Having tested out the rest of the range in a previous crushes post, I was a fan, but I was finding that having to rub the oil on your hands and apply to the hair was putting me off a bit. And then swoops in this guy, all spray-nozzle and thinner consistency.

Through a bit of trial and error, I’ve found the best way to get shiny, but not oily, hair is to spray one pump onto your brush and then run through slightly damp hair. This goes against the key beauty rule of NEVER BRUSH YOUR HAIR WHEN IT IS DAMP EVER EVER EVER, but really, I think we all secretly do. If you don’t, comment below and I will heap some praise on you!

This method has given me a lot more control over rogue flyaway hairs & will also make the bottle last a looooong time. Approx. $32.

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♥ Franc Essential Serum

I’m loving this crazy right now. As a girl who is obsessed with her rosehip oil almost exclusively, this serum took me by surprise. It actually does contain rosehip oil, as well as: macadamia, apricot kernel, avocado, carrot, centella, evening primrose, vitamin e, geranium, lavender, rose & sandalwood oils. Quite a few of which are organic. The vitamins that make my skin react so well to rosehip are in here, as well as a whole party full of other good stuff as you can see.

The smell is also far superior, kind of a musky-candy scent, and a little goes a loooooong way. I’m still testing this out but I can safely say that my skin really enjoys drinking it up at night, and I am thoroughly enjoying the way it looks in the morning. Winnah. RRP $72.

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♥ Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour in Sweet Nectar

Before Sweet Nectar, I’d never worn a bright lip colour. Reds & multiple shades of pinky nudes yup, anything a bit out there – nup. I adore this, slicking it on gives me that little bit of extra confidence, even on a regular day at the office. It goes on super easily, and when worn with a glowy foundation (as above), some mascara and a little creme blush you’ll have the ultimate easy beauty look. It also contains an SPF of 12 which is handy!

While the RRP is $44, there are some awesome deals available on StrawberryNET with some of the other Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colours from $14.50!!! Worth a look if you’re after some high-quality, but cheap, lippies.

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♥ Detoxing Clay Bath

At the moment I’m reading a detox book (more about that in the next crushes edition) and have become interested in possibly doing a light detox of my own. Nothing too full on, just a lot of healthy eating, green smoothies, yoga, quinoa salads, tofu and veggies, and no junk. The last part is the trickiest! Even though I do eat healthy the majority of the time, I am quite keen on my indulgences too.

When I heard about the detoxing Mojave Green Clay Powder, I thought it would be a good way to ease into a detox. It felt great to have a clay bath, though I didn’t have any symptoms of detoxing such as a headache afterwards, I’m going to keep up with them once a week or so and more frequently when I start my real detox and see how I go! $19.90 for 450 grams.

That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions or suggestions about my crushes then feel free to leave a comment below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo