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♥ Healthy frozen treats by Detoxinista

As the weather heats up I’ve been craving cooling foods and drinks, but on a sugar-and-dairy free diet reaching for the ice cream isn’t possible. So I’ve been on the lookout for some healthy alternatives and stumbled across a fantastic website with tons of inspiration – www.detoxinista.com

The website is packed with healthy, but indulgent and very yummy recipes. So far I’ve tried the frozen almond butter fudge, replacing the honey with liquid stevia (about 15-20 drops) and chocolate coconut milk ice cream, again with the liquid stevia replacement. Both are divine and don’t last long! They’re also really easy to make. I’ve varied the fudge with a tahini version (so yum) and also a macadamia nut butter option (see pic below). I also reinvented the ice cream into a citrus version, adding the juice and zest of half a lemon to the mix instead of the cacao.

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♥ Lifestream Spirulina Blue

I’ve reached the end of year with flagging energy levels so have been in need of a boost. Superfoods like spirulina are a great way to get some extra vitamins and minerals into your body in whole food, rather than synthetic, form. I’ve tried various spirulina powders, but they can be pretty unpalatable and I find that adding a scoop to a smoothie tends to overpower the other flavours. So these spirulina tablets are a great idea. Not only are they easy to consume, but the ‘blue’ version means they contain 50% more phytococyanin than other spirulinas, which has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

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♥ Bali Love

I’ve recently returned from my second trip to Bali since moving to Perth, which again proved balm for the mind, body and soul. This time I stayed in East Bali at the gorgeous Alila Manggis. It was beautiful and peaceful, just what I needed, and I did very little other than relax by the pool and enjoy some blissful Balinese massages.

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However I did take a day trip to my beloved Ubud for a bit of hustle-bustle, shopping and some raw food treats. I lunched at the Clear Café which has a fantastic and very varied menu with a mix of raw and cooked foods, including some fish options. I had the hummus trio with raw crackers which was delicious and very healthy.

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♥ Raw Essentials Skincare

I like to keep my skincare as natural as possible and this range is spot on. It’s also local, which I love, created just down the road in Fremantle. After the Bali holiday my skin was feeling quite dry and, well, a bit scaly!

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The citrus body scrub, made with raw sugar and poppy seeds, has been really effective in smoothing things out again. I’ve also been using the light face cream which is packed with essential oils (like all products in the range) so it smells amazing and it’s a perfect lightweight but nourishing moisturiser for the summer. Since I’ve been using the face cream my skin feels really soft again.

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♥ Green Juice+Smoothie Combos

Trying to decide between a morning juice or smoothie, I’ve been experimenting with juice+smoothie combos. A ‘joothie’ maybe? Or a ‘Smuice’?? My current favourite is zucchini, broccoli and lemon juice with half an avocado blended into it. I’ve also created a thirst quencher with lemon juice and blended cucumber and avocado. The only downside is that you have to clean both the juicer and blender….

What are you crushing on at the moment? Leave a comment below to share the love!

Article by Karen, currently feeling very excited about the New Year and all the exciting wellness possibilities ahead!

Be well,

xoxo

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I’ve always restricted my diet for one reason or another – vegetarianism in my teens, a milk intolerance picked up in my twenties. Over time, I’ve come to appreciate that my somewhat ‘sensitive’ system does better without dairy, wheat and sugar. A helpful discovery, yes, but one that makes me feel quite isolated as I scour menus for an item I can actually eat, and makes me cringe when friends invite me over for dinner. It can also make cooking a bit of a challenge which, to be honest, I’ve always been a bit lazy about, relying on a few tried and tested basics.

So it was with great delight that I recently came across Lee Holmes’ wonderful book Supercharged Food: Eat Your Way to Good Health.

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The book emerged from Lees’ own health struggles with an auto-immune condition that left her barely able to function. Through trial and error, she discovered that radically changing her diet to exclude wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar led to a dramatic improvement in her health. Inspired, she set out to share her message and ideas with others, and the Supercharged Food brand was born.

♥ Photo from Superchargedfood.com

The book includes over 90 recipes based on Lee’s dietary philosophy. It is beautifully presented, with gorgeous photos that make your mouth water, enticing you into the kitchen. There’s also helpful information about healthy living, as well as support with getting organised for a new way of eating, such as sorting out your ‘supercharged pantry’.

The sign of a good cook book is that it doesn’t stay pristine for too long and my copy of Supercharged Food is now happily splattered with my culinary experiments! Current favourites are the genius ‘Crustless Quiche’ which finds its way into my lunch box most days, salmon and turnip patties for a simple but tasty supper (who’d have thought a turnip could taste so amazing?) and the gorgeously named ‘Vegetable soup on a cold night’.

Lee’s website is also fantastic and includes an online shop where you can source some of the ingredients for her recipes, such as stevia, as well as other yummy healthy stuff.

Supercharged Food has totally reinvigorated my relationship with cooking (and eating!) and I’m so looking forward to creating many more of Lee’s appetizing delights!

Where do you get inspiration about eating more healthily? Are there any books or websites that have ‘supercharged’ your food?

Review by Karen, who has a big appetite for both food and life!

Be well,

xoxo

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Not too long ago, opting for natural skincare meant you might have to compromise on quality or results. But the recent explosion of eco-friendly products onto the market, as well as tried and trusted brands amping up their purity credentials, has changed the beauty landscape immeasurably.

Whilst this is something to celebrate for the conscious consumer, it also introduces the conundrum of choice. Time spent poring over lotions and potions deciding which one to spend your precious dollars on can be enjoyable, but it can also be a tad bewildering. So we at Wellness WA are very pleased to help fast-track your decision making process by trialling some of the loveliest newcomer ‘au naturel’ brands available.

One such new kid on the block is RICH Skincare. It ticks all the right boxes for clean skincare, with no sulphates, parabens, artificial colours or fragrances. The range combines science with nature, incorporating the best natural elements from anti-ageing research. More superficially, it has beautiful, chic packaging, which looks very pretty in your bathroom.

I tested three products, replacing the ones I use day-to-day – the Deep Cleansing Milk, Ultra Hydrating Day Cream and Advanced Peptide Night Cream. As their name suggests, the products are very succulent – perfect for my winter skin. They have a delicate, fresh fragrance, in keeping with the natural ethos. But how did they perform?

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♥ The Deep Cleansing Milk ($44.95) was very effective at removing make up, including eye make-up, and without making my eyes sting like some other natural cleansers I’ve used. It glided on smoothly and rinsed off cleanly leaving my skin soft and refreshed.

♥ The Ultra Hydrating Day Cream ($49.95) was very moisturising, but without the heaviness you sometimes get in anti-ageing creams. I also found that a little went a long way, so good value.

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♥ The Advanced Peptide Night Cream ($59.95) was my favourite of the three. It felt like such a soothing and luscious treat for my skin after a long day and the fine lines around my eyes do seem to have softened.

All that and RICH is also made in Australia, so a smaller carbon footprint too. One more thing to make your skin glow!

If you’d like to trial this range, you’re in luck! Tomorrow we’ll be giving one lucky reader the chance to win a goodie pack consisting of an Ultra Hydrating Day Cream & an Advanced Peptide Night Cream!!! Stay tuned 🙂

Review by Karen Miller.

Be well,

xoxo