♥

Here’s a delicious smoothie recipe that is one of my favourites and that I whipped up on this quiet Friday night at home! I’ve had a big week, so there’s nothing better than relaxing at home, schmoozing around and making plans for the weekend (Farmers market! Body Balance! Yes!) while indulging in some decadent tasting but fairly healthy snacks!

Ingredients:

1 x banana (preferably frozen if you prefer a thicker ice-cream like consistency, yummo)
1 x cup of frozen blueberries (they also make your skin glow, bonus)
1 x teaspoon of wheatgerm (I keep this in the freezer to maintain it’s freshness)
1.5 x cups of chocolate Vitasoy

Method:

Pop em all in the blender, blend on high for a minute and do the crocodile rock around the kitchen because your DELICIOUS AWESOME SNACK IS READY!

CROCODILE-ROCK-NOW, WHEN YOUR FEET JUST CAN’T KEEP STILL!

Aside from that, Tonight is going to involve lots of organising in the Wellness WA office & replying to e-mails. Very productive.

My gorgeous writer Kelly-Anne had a fantabulous beauty mega-spree this evening so expect to hear all about THAT in the very near future – this is me being jealous, right here.

Be well,

xoxo

Diet by D’Zyne

It’s often thought that dietitians are for those people who already have a health problem. Seeing a dietitian for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity or being underweight is common because it can be a way to manage, change or prevent a condition without the use of medication.

However it’s not just the unwell that can make the most of dietitians. Seeing a dietitian can greatly improve your general well-being. As Jo-Anne Dembo, Accredited Practicing Dietitian from DIET BY D’ZYNE says

“Your body is like a car, and if you try to use cheap oil as fuel, then your car is not going to work efficiently.”

The same goes for your body, you have to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs to work properly and look after itself. If you don’t feed your body the right foods, it can rebel against you. You might not see the effects immediately but you will in the end.

The simplest way to improve your diet, is to pick good foods, fruit and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, foods with a low fat content and your proteins too, eat small meals and eat often. A little of everything and not too much of anything. If you’re eating well and are doing a regular amount of physical activity (don’t chicken out, work up a sweat) then you are allowed to treat yourself occasionally. Whether your treat is some chocolate or a small plate of pasta is up to you.

Don’t get your hopes up though, just because you’re seeing a dietitian doesn’t mean change will be easy! There’s no secret pill and you won’t walk out having lost 10 kilos, you have to do as you’re told. That being said, they won’t cut out all the things you like, leaving you with carrot sticks for every meal. Small changes can make a big difference and it’s not as hard as you might think.

To touch on the vegetarian, vegan and raw diets, if you’re thinking about changing to one of these or have already, it would be good to see a dietitian. To live a healthy life, you do need to make sure you are getting enough of all the essential vitamins & minerals. If you’re not eating correctly you can miss out on these, but this goes for everyone and is possibly even more relevant to those who don’t eat many fruit and vegetables. Remember, a healthy well balanced diet is just the start, if your focus is on a lifestyle approach, you will see results. To get the most out of your life and your body it’s a great idea to see an Accredited Practicing Dietitian.

Changing your diet, while simple, can pre-empt health issues for the long term and also make you feel wonderful in the short term. Changing to a healthier diet can have different effects on people, you could get more energy during the day, you could lose weight and your skin could clear up. So not only will you start feeling better, you’ll start looking better too.

If your family has a history of health issues, looking at diet early on can delay or lessen the effects of those.

To find a consulting Accredited Practicing Dietition, check out the DAA home page http://www.daa.asn.au, call 1800 812 942 or search the Yellow Pages.

E: nationaloffice@daa.asn.au

(There is a search function on the website to find dietitians in your area!)

Article by Liv Bambola!

I mentioned in my previous post that I bought a bunch of organic kale for $2.50, the reason being that many of my health loving internet friends tout kale as one of the most important vegetables that you can whiz up into a healthy green smoothie.

I like me some green smoothies so away I went, kale in hand & put about 7 stalks in the blender with some water, apple juice and a banana, which is my usual go-to with spinach instead of kale.

The first thing I noticed was that my blender wasn’t hearty enough to quickly whiz up the kale. It’s a tough critter and took about a minute on high before it started working properly.

Secondly, when all was blended and done… the taste.

Oh dear. Apparently you’re meant to slowly work up to bunches of kale in smoothies, starting out with a couple of leaves at first. It was very bitter and extra apple juice didn’t help. I felt like throwing up due to the intense taste!

Kale smoothie mission = FAIL.

So learn from my mistakes, next time I will do the following:

– Use only a couple stalks of washed, organic kale
– Break it into pieces before blending
– Add some frozen blueberries/blackberries to sweeten it up

Dear kale smoothies,

I can’t stop thinking about you. I know it didn’t work out the first time between us, but I think if we spend a little time apart thinking about what we both want out of the relationship, then maybe we can be together…

Yours hopefully,

Annette

Be well,

xoxo

On a scale of one to ten how typical is it to be inspired to take up dancing again when watching SYTYCD on late night television?!

Regardless of the answer to this question, inspiration has taken hold & me + 1 gorgeous friend are going to be shimmying, floor routine-ing, chair dancing & doing tear drops till our calves fall off! YAY!

Show girl shape up, here we come!

Check out: Sugar Blue Burlesque for more details!

The other great thing to happen Tonight was a salad of EPIC PROPORTIONS!! I’ve recently started getting pretty full-on into delicious salads and am definitely feeling the benefits of it.

Tonights number included such hits as…

♥ Handfuls of baby spinach
♥ Light fetta (with non-animal rennet of course)
♥ Vine ripened tomatoes
♥ Sweetened dried cranberries
♥ Chickpeas
♥ Sesame seeds

Honestly, it sounds so simple but tastes so amazing!

My friend & I have regular “salad dates” once a week, so much healthier than the coffee & cake that most of us go for! Maybe you can try having a salad date too?

It’s fun to go shopping for the ingredients, prepare it together & then sit down in front of a bowl of amazing vitamins & flavour while watching other people exercise! Alternatively you can watch coming-of-age teen comedies which we seem to alternate between.

Please make sure to enter the Safire Competition if you haven’t already and want the chance of winning some sweet goodies!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Every day when I wake up in the morning I grab some breakfast, have a shower and then commence my daily beauty routine.

If it’s a casual day I’ll apply moisturiser, sunscreen, foundation and lip gloss. If it’s a work day then my blush, lip liner, mascara and lipstick will also make an appearance, and being a makeup artist if I’m getting ready for a night on the town then my friend the makeup kit joins me.

Doesn’t seem like a big deal, considering it takes me on average little more than 10 minutes to complete this morning ritual, though you might be surprised when I tell you that the Australian woman absorbs approximately 2kg of chemicals into her body through the skin each year.

In an effort to look our best, some of us use up to 20 different products a day, I’m sure you’re thinking “no way”, but if you had a think about what your apply to your face and body everyday – and then also take into account reapplication throughout the day then 20 isn’t really an unrealistic number! And just to really add to the “yuk” factor – nine out of 10 people use products which are past their use by date!

So at this point I’m sure some of you might be saying “so what”? Well what you might not be aware of is that many of the products contain synthetic chemicals which have been linked to side effects ranging from skin irritation to premature ageing and even cancer.

Richard Bence, a biochemist who has spent three years researching conventional products, said: “We really need to start questioning the products we are putting on our skin and not just assume that the chemicals in them are safe. We have no idea what these chemicals do when they are mixed together, the effect could be much greater than the sum of the individual parts.”

I hear you saying well I apply it externally on my skin, it’s not like I’m eating the stuff! Well contrary to popular belief absorbing chemicals through the skin is actually more dangerous than swallowing them. The human body is pretty clever, when we ingest food and drink through our mouths, it kick starts digestion, saliva in the mouth contains enzymes that break down the chemicals, and then the stomach does it thing and so on. When you apply skincare, chemicals are absorbs through the skin and get straight in to your bloodstream, there is no protection.

Of course not all chemicals are detrimental to our health but some you might like to keep an eye out for are parabens (para-hydroxybenzoic acids) which are used in products including soap, shampoo, deodorant and baby lotion. Traces of parabens have been found in breast tumour samples, although its link to the development of the cancer is disputed. Sodium lauryl sulphate, used to help create lather in soaps, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste and bubble bath, can cause skin irritation. (Paul Stokes—The Daily Telegraph)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you need to throw out your favourite shade of lip gloss, do away with your magic foundation or leave your house make up free – I just ask that tomorrow morning when you start your daily beauty routine have a quick read of what’s in the product your using and ask yourself the question is there any ingredient contained in the product that you don’t want swimming around contaminating your blood?

Eleni Cardaci is the Founder of Safire Natural Skincare and is passionate about raising awareness about Health & Wellbeing. To find out more Eleni and Safire Natural Skincare visit http://www.safire.com.au