Small change, big rewards

In an effort to not sound too dreary and start stressing about the fact that we are a few days away from March (which means I have just over a month until my wedding (yay!), I decided to fill today’s post with a few of the things I have been doing to help me feel good, look great and give me much needed, all round happy feeling.

Spend time making a green juice in the morning.

These few minutes chopping up vegetables, washing and blending them are therapeutic to me. I feel as if my day is starting slowly but pleasurably. If you have the time, then make the conscious decision to slow down the morning routine and start the day off by doing something important for yourself. If you don’t have the time, then prepare your juice the night before. While it may not taste as fresh, you’ll still be getting valuable nutrients. Ideally, you could chuck all your chosen veggies in a blender to break down the fibre and drink it as is. I love adding coconut water as opposed to tap or filtered water as it gives the juice a great flavour.

I also love adding some of the Nature’s Nutrition products as I prefer its taste to other green powders, especially if I decide to only make a celery juice.  

My favorite juice to make every morning is:

  1. About 3 -4 long celery sticks,
  2. A half cucumber
  3. A squeeze of lemon
  4. 2 small apples

Blend or juice and enjoy! PS: If you decide to blend it and have some left over, freeze the juice in an ice-cube tray and drink the next day.

Look after your hair

Yes, this is a bit of a selfish point to mention but why not? After all, if you look good, you feel good (and vice versa). I have written a dedicated post here about my current favorite hair-care brand, GlamIt and my top products from their range. While it is easy enough for me to say ‘wash your hair, don’t use heat and only use quality products’ it’s not always possible. Each hair type is different and what works for me won’t work for everyone else. There are so many amazing things you can do for your hair from whipping up a homemade mask (read some of GlamIt’s recipes here), to using Amla or coconut oil to nourish your hair. That said, the one trick that really worked for me was to stop using a towel to dry my hair. I hate to admit it but I simply flick my hair into a towel and rub it vigorously which not only made my hair frizzy, but also gave me lots of split ends and breakage. I have found that the best way to dry my hair carefully after a shower is to wrap or pat it dry with an old t-shirt (and who doesn’t have old tee’s laying around?).

Invest in your skin

One of the most important things to me is to take care of my skin on a regular basis. I make sure to eat a diet low in sugar and greasy food as whatever I eat, shows on my skin. While I have found having a green juice to be a great detoxifier for my skin, I also take more serious steps to make sure that I always have a healthy glow with as little breakouts as possible. I have been going to Rashieda from Infusions Skincare & Wellness on a regular basis to help maintain the glow. Because I will be getting married soon, Rashieda has put me on Lecithin and Vitamin A to help speed up the process of healing for my skin. It’s been a few weeks now of religiously taking these tablets and I have noticed a visible difference in the appearance and feel of my skin. I have been doing a combination of a few different treatments which I will write about more in depth in my next post.

Take it easy on the sugar and dairy

The quickest way to make myself physically ill is to have an excess of sugar and dairy. And when I say ‘the quickest way’ I mean it. After eating too much sugar (or something just slightly sweeter than what I am used to), it takes me under 5 minutes to feel the effect (however, that does not mean that I will stop drinking a Wembly Falooda Crush, the IBS is SO worth it!). I have become more serious about cooking and enjoy the mindfulness of eating that comes along with it but, on the days where I am not home, the Nourish’d and O’ways Teacafe are my go-to’s. Read my review of O’ways here and Nourish’d here. Both are utterly wonderful, delicious and offer vegan and options (Nourish’d is fully vegan).

A vegan friendly meal I have been making quite often is roasted sweet potato with broccoli and quinoa:

  • Preheat the oven and rub 1 -2 small sweet potatoes in organic coconut oil. Make a few slits in it or stab slightly with the sharp point of a knife.This takes part to make since the sweet potato needs to be in the oven for  at least 30 minutes – 1 hour depending on their size. I usually make 3 -4 at time and save the rest for the next day.
  • Make quinoa according to package instructions but instead of water, cook it in vegetable broth for added flavor.
  • When potatoes are nearly done, add some coconut oil to a hot pan and add 5 -6 tenderstem broccoli stalks. I leave all the leaves on as they turn into a delicious crisp that is not at all bitter. I actually think that they taste much nicer than kale chips!
  • Top the potato and broccoli  with sea salt flakes and some freshly ground black pepper. You can also drizzle the potato and broccoli with a squeeze of lemon juice and a tablespoon of tahini.
  • Enjoy!

X
Fatima

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2 Comments

  1. Am I right in that you are getting married? If so many congratulations I hope you have a wonderful day Would love to hear how it all went Hope I haven’t got the wrong end of the stick Xx

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