Beauty & Wellbeing Crushes: Cinnamon, Tummy Tea, MooGoo Eye Serum and…Banancakes?!

Cinnamon

If someone held my spice rack hostage and said I could only choose to save one spice, it’d definitely be cinnamon! Lately I’ve been using outrageous quantities of it in at least one meal a day.

Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar levels and is a killer source of manganese, which is an important mineral for maintaining healthy bones.

Five ways I’ve been adding cinnamon to my diet:

♥ In greek yoghurt mixed with blueberries
♥ In coffee with a little bit of stevia
♥ In my daily green smoothie (along with cayenne pepper and ginger for a real kick up the bum in the morning!)
♥ Sprinkled on cubed pumpkin or sweet potato along with Himalayan rock salt, roasted
♥ In my banancakes (see below!)

Banancakes

I love pancakes on lazy Sunday mornings, but unfortunately they’re a “sometimes food”. I can’t even describe how thrilled I was to stumble across a “pancake” recipe with two ingredients – banana and eggs – and then to discover it tasted like banana bread…!!!!

After my first shot at making these banana-y pancakey gems, I christened them “Banancakes”. If you’re sceptical, I urge you to try these out because they are the best thing since sliced [banana] bread.

Gemma’s Banancakes

Ingredients:
♥ One medium banana
♥ Two whole, organic, free-range eggs
♥ Cinnamon!!

Method:
In a blender, whiz up the eggs until they’re frothy. Slice up the banana and add it in with a hefty pinch of cinnamon until you end up with a smooth “batter”.

Grease a frying pan with some coconut oil and pour the mixture on – smaller pikelets are easier to flip! Keep the heat on low-medium (the sugar in the banana caramelises and therefore these babies burn easily). Just like pancakes, flip the banancakes when you see little bubbles on the surface. Cook on the reverse side until they don’t feel squishy to touch – it’s about five minutes on each side.

They’re fairly moist so they don’t need any accompaniments, but they are delicious with a drizzle of organic maple syrup.

T2 Tummy Tea

This tea has helped me curb my coffee and hot chocolate addiction and up my water intake. With peppermint leaves, liquorice root, fennel seeds and calendula petals, Tummy Tea starts off refreshingly minty and ends delightfully sweet (thanks to the liquorice root). It makes for a perfect brew after a meal or snack, aiding with digestion and the sweetness tends to trick my mind into thinking I’m having dessert! Tummy Tea is sugar and caffeine-free and has been taking pride of place next to my kettle since the start of the year.

MooGoo 3 Vitamins Eye Serum

The three vitamins in the MooGoo 3 Vitamins Eye Serum are vitamins E and C (antioxidants to prevent aging) and B5 (to soothe the skin). The base is a blend of jojoba and olive oils so the product is very moisturising and you only need a little bit to go a long way.

I’ve been using this serum morning and night and have found my under-eye concealer goes on smoother now, and my dryness is improving! I’ve experienced no irritation and so far I’m impressed with how well it absorbs – even though it’s an oil, it doesn’t sit on the skin’s surface for ages, meaning you can apply it for daywear without waiting for the stuff to sink in! RRP $24.90

By Gemma Clark, who would be devastated if someone actually took her spice rack hostage.

Be well,

xoxo

Made with Love: Home Made Smelly Things to Make You Feel Good – Part 1.

♥ ♥

I’ve always been intrigued by the senses we have, and losing even one would be life changing. No tasting mum’s cooking, no watching your favourite trash TV, no cuddling with your dog and feeling how soft his ears are, no listening to your girlfriends re-cap a bad date, no smelling the roses/the coffee/clean laundry.

Which is why I think we should make the most of our senses and push them to the sensory limits.

My grandad went blind a few years ago. He was a computer nut, a woodworker and loved watching the cricket at the WACA. Fast forward to now, his life is completely different. Really, all he wants is a good nights’ sleep because the sun no longer controls his body clock.

This got me thinking about ways to relax and calm the mind to drift off to sleep when you’re limited by the senses you do, or don’t, have. I always breathe very deeply to fall asleep, so to enhance the benefits of focusing on breathing for relaxation I started to look into aromatherapy.

After all my research, I ended up realising I’d get more bang for my buck making a few different natural products if I was going to invest in essential oils and other aromatherapy supplies. The three below work out as nice cost-effective Christmas presents if you make them in bulk (around 10 or more of each) and use similar essential oils in each.

“Dream On” Pillow Spray
Lavender, orange & lemongrass

According to Smell Boffins & Researchers, lavender produces calming, soothing and sedative effects when the scent is inhaled. Lemongrass revitalises the body and relieves the symptoms of jetlag, clears headaches and helps to combat exhaustion and stress-related conditions. Just what grandpa ordered!

You will need:
♥ Lavender essential oil
♥ Orange essential oil
♥ Lemongrass essential oil
♥ Water
♥ 30-50mL plastic spray bottle (re-use an old hair product container, or buy new)

This is dead easy. Fill the bottle up to about 1cm from the top (excl. where the cap screws on). Either straight from the bottles, or using a pipette, add:

6ish drops of Lavender
4ish drops of Orange
4ish drops of Lemongrass.

You might need more if you’re bottle is bigger than about 50mL, or if you want a bit more oomph!
Shake well, spritz on pillows and bed linen, sleep tight all night!

Stay tuned for 2 more posts and yummy recipes to try! x

By Gemma Clark, an 8-hours-a-night sleeper with soft lips whose entire house smells like a lavender bush.