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If you have read my recent post about my Wellness Project that I am embarking on, you will know that one of the areas that I am focusing on is removing the toxins and chemicals from my home and body.  I have been doing this for several months now, trying different products and homemade recipes.  Some have been a complete flop, others have been alright and a few have been fantastic. This homemade recipe is one that I love and that works so well.  I am currently on my third bottle of it so thought it was time to share.

What I love about this recipe is that it uses just a few ingredients, it is easy to use, smells amazing and works really well. I use it in my bathroom, in the kitchen and even to clean my windows.

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp washing soda or washing crystals
• 1 tsp liquid castille soap
• Essential oils of choice - I use 4 drops of lavender and 5 drops of tea tree oil but you can also use lemon or sweet orange essential oils which smell amazing.
• 2 cups warm water - distilled is best but any warm boiled water will work
• Dark glass spray bottle for storage

Instructions

One of my overarching goals for 2017 is to actively make progress on caring for my body, mind and heart. The term "self-care" has become pretty popular over the past several years and is something that I have wanted to do more of, to do better at but I have found that to do that, I needed to make the concept a little more grounded for myself. There are so many different ways that you can approach this but I wanted to create a self-care series where I can share with you those things which I am actively implementing in my life and how they are working for me.

The first thing that I am going to be sharing are the changes that I have made to my beauty products. For the past five or six years, I have been struggling with my hormones. At first I went to my GP who suggested that I go back onto the Pill to regulate my levels but I knew that this wasn't the right solution for me.....I wanted to find out what the problem was and a way to fix it rather than taking something that would cover it up (this is totally a personal choice and I am by no means suggesting that you shouldn't take your doctors advise. I guess I'm just saying that the choice is yours to make, and this is the one that I made for me - so do what is right for you).

I came home and started reading every book and every article I could get my hands on related to hormones and natural solutions.  As with everything, there is a ton of information out there but one of the themes that came up time and time again was the impact that the chemicals in our skin and beauty products can have on your hormones. So I downloaded an app called Think Dirty and scanned each of my skin care products to find out how "dirty" they were. The app rates the products on how full they are of chemicals and other nasty ingredients and I was horrified to see just how bad they were.

Have you heard the quote by Maya Angelou that goes "When you know better, you do better"? Well that is exactly how I felt now that I had this information.  As i used up the products I had, I began to replace them with more natural ones. I did a lot of research trying to find these products so I thought I would share with you my favorite ones that I am using at the moment.        


1 Moisturizer | Trilogy Vital Moisturing Cream is definitely my favorite face cream that I have tried. It leaves my skin hydrated and isnt greasy at all. I bought mine from Feelunique.com and will be buying it again.

2 Shampoo and Conditioner | I have had a few hit and misses with this one but finally found some shampoo and conditioner by Pureology that I actually like and that works well with my hair.

3 Exfoliating face mask | This mask smells amazing and while I wouldn't, I'm sure you could totally eat this if a little were to fall onto your lip.  It provides a deep clean and smooths and brightens your skin. You can find this here as well as many other places online.

4 Hydrating face mask | Sukin hydrating facial masque was a happy accidental find. I was walking through Boots and it was on display at the end of the isle. This is an Australian brand that is paraben free and natural.... and super affordable. They have a great range of products and I will be trying more of them out in the future.

5 Face wash | When looking for a face wash I have two requirements. Number 1, it needs to froth. Number 2, it needs to give a good clean without leaving my skin dry. Origins Checks and Balances ticks these boxes for me.

6 Body lotion | This for me was one of the first items I looked to replace.  I tried a few different ones along the way but have settled on Weleda's Sea Buckthorn body lotion. Just lovely.

7 Deodorant | This has been my newest adventure.....and the most tricky so far. I've tried a number of different brands but found that none of them have really met the no stinking by the end of the day rule that I have.  My latest find is a little different from the normal sort of deodorant but it smells great and more importantly, it works...even after an hour and a half playing netball. Aurelia Cream Deodorant is a cream consistency that you rub onto your underarm and then turns into a powder. The brand has a great free from policy and is worth a look.

8 Body wash | Yes to Blueberries is super affordable and is pretty popular in most high street shops which is great.

And that is it for the first installment in this series. I hope you find this useful and if you have any recommendations for products that I should try please let me know.

January honestly truly gave me an opportunity to be BRAVE.... four opportunities to be exact. I have been terrified of the dentist my entire life. When I tell people that the dentist frightens me most people chalk up my comment to something along the lines of "isn't everyone?". They aren't being mean; they just don't realise how much of a fear it is for me. Sleepless nights for a week before the appointment, a racing heart, not being able to catch my breath, trembling, feeling physically sick.  My blood pressure actually sky rockets. Once I am there, i have to sit on my hands in the waiting room to stop myself running out and even once I am in the room, my dentist has to coax me into the chair.

With having to attend so many appointments in such a short space of time, I knew that I needed to find a way to better deal with this fear. Previously I have used a combination of calming herbal remedies and a scripture or two but I needed more.  If you have read my January review, you will know that one of the books I started reading in January was The Power of I Am. At the moment I am only about half way through  but the book is all about how we think and the impact of what we say to ourselves has on us.  I realized that by continuously going over in my head how scared I am, that I am giving those thoughts more power, like I am reinforcing them and my fears.


I began rewording my thoughts. When fear started to creep in I intentionally acknowledged the thought and rephrased the wording. I am so scared became I feel scared but I know that I can ask the dentist to stop whenever I need him to.  This took practice and consistency and it didn't stop the fear but it did make a difference.

On the 9th of March I am booked in to have my wisdom tooth out so this practice will be an ongoing one for me...but retraining my thoughts has a larger application and is something that I will continue to do in all areas of my life as we move through the year and most likely, for all my years ahead.

Have you been in any situations where you have had to focus on changing how you think? I would love to hear more about it.

As part of the game you need to submit a full length photo of yourself on your scale each month, so here it is...my before photo if you like.  I am both excited and scared silly but I am going to give it my absolute best shot to reach each months percentage targets.

I have been struggling with my weight for around ten years - trying to work out more, trying to eat better food, trying to say no to giving in and just eating what I want. Each time I fail, each time I try a little harder...I find my heart getting wrapped up tighter and tighter.

This is a real struggle for me. Not only to actually lose the physical weight but to unwrap my heart from the hold that this struggle has had on me. My core belief says that my worth directly relates to the number on the scale, that having a guy fall in love with me can only happen with a perfect body, that being happy is only for those who can shop in any clothing store and wear anything with confidence....but my mind knows that these beliefs are all a lie and a big one at that.

These past few months though, my hearts cravings have been shifting. They have been moving from craving skinny, thin and beautiful to craving freedom. I crave the day when this is no longer a problem for me, when food isn't my comfort, when my weight doesn't hold me back and when my value is based on more than just what the current cultural view is on the right body type.

I know that this change that I want in myself is not something that will happen over night. It is something that I am going to have to work on and I know that it isn't something I can do all on my own.  But this is my goal, this is what I am working towards, and this is where I am going to be owning and sharing my story while I practice loving myself every day.

While I work on untangling my heart and re-defining my core beliefs, my weight loss goal is to lose sixty pounds by the 31st of December 2016..... and there it is! I will be checking in on my blog at least once a month and hopefully a little more every now and then.  If you have a big goal that you are working on this year, I would love it if you shared it with me so that we can encourage one another.

We started off in the aromatherapy room. A steam room of sorts infused with menthol.  The heat was the perfect temperature for both of us ( neither of us can manage the stuffy, hot atmosphere of the sauna ) and taking in deep breaths felt so good.



From the aromatherapy room we made our way to the chill out room. This room was amazing. Two tiled chairs, shaped in such a way that your body just melts into it. And did I mention...... these chairs were heated!  Heaven I tell you.

After a cup of tea, we made our way to the Hydro pool where we enjoyed numerous jets of water massaging and hitting our body all over.  We spent ages in this heated pool and loved every minute of our time in it.


The one take away from the day was the reminder of how important it is to do things like this that help to look after yourself. It's not only about eating right and working out - relaxing is just as important.

I know, December 2nd is a crazy time to begin a journey towards clean eating, weight loss and living a healthy life.  Most people would have waited, enjoyed the month and made a start come January 1st....but not me. I didn't want to wait. I didn't want to give myself another 31 days worth of opportunity to overeat and pile on the pounds. So, December 2nd I weighed in for my official starting weight.

I am so glad that I made that decision, that I took the plunge and committed to living a healthy life through December. For the most part, I made good choices with what I put on my plate and into my body. I had a game plan for the month, one that would allow me to enjoy a few days off plan but one that would get me back on track with minimal damage to whatever healthy progress I had already made by Christmas.

Here I am, a few days over a month since I made the decision to start and I've lost seven and a half pounds. I am pleased with the progress on the scale, but more than that I am pleased with the changes that have taken place within me so far.  Each week I get on that scale and see the number on the little digital screen and while a part of this journey is seeing that number go down each week, that is probably the least significant piece of information that I am using to measure the progress that I am making.

Seeing the number on the screen drop is great, but my definition of success for a healthy life has been rewritten.  No longer is it all about the number on the scale but instead its about the healthy choices that I am making day in and day out.  It's about the condition of my heart and mental health. It's about how kind I am being to myself and about the small steps of progress that I am making.  I have come to realize that I can't control that number on the scale....but what I can do is make those daily decisions that will take me towards a healthier life and ultimately a lower number on the scale.

One of my big picture goals for 2016 is to become healthier by losing weight and becoming more flexible and strong and I can say that I am on my way to moving forward in this goal.

I have recently made some changes to the types of foods that I am putting in my body and I am pleased to share that so far it is going well.  The one meal that I have been struggling with a little more than the others is breakfast, so I set aside some time this weekend to do some research and reading and see what I could find.

When you start looking there is so much information out there, and for a newbie like me it is both exciting and overwhelming.  Eggs are the easiest and probably the most obvious choice but I can only eat so many eggs for breakfast before I go egg-crazy.  You can imagine how happy I was when I came across this little gem - gluten free, dairy free and no egg in sight - Low Carb Granola.
  


Let me know if you make it and what you think. Enjoy!

Part of my journey towards health this year is focusing on being kinder to myself. In just two short months I have found that this obvious yet often very difficult action makes my journey towards health much more pleasurable and manageable day to day.

I've decided to do a bit of a series on my experience with being kinder to myself and the impact that this has on my healthiness journey.  Right now I'm not entirely sure how regular these instalments will be but for now I am thinking I will probably add to the series every 1-2 months.

Just like my health journey, being kind to myself is also a journey. It is not easy and sometimes I have had to be very intentional about it. Some days have been better than others but each day I am learning something new. I am learning what works for me and sometimes, what doesn't work for me. This is going to be a lifelong process but I know that it will be worth the effort.

At the start of the year I realised that being kind to myself meant focusing on my thoughts and self talk and so, when I found my thoughts were negative or mean towards myself I carved out some time that evening and spent a bit of time journaling. Capturing what I was thinking, how I was feeling, how those thoughts were impacting me and what my coping mechanisms were during this time.  It was definitely a very interesting read. I always find it very bizarre to see things in writing because when you are thinking things we often accept them as fact, yet write them down and read them out loud and you will be genuinely surprised at how harsh and untrue (if that is a real word) your thoughts actually are.

The first thing that I noticed from my journaling is that the times when I was being the least kind to myself was when my thinking was what I would call "black and white".  Its all or nothing.  My thoughts were telling me that "I would either never be pretty enough for a guy to love me" or "I have failed so far at loosing this weight why would this ever change....regardless of how much I try". These thoughts weren't doing me any good or encouraging me.  They were in fact pulling me down further, putting obstacles in my path that I really didn't need.

I realised that for me, this all or nothing thinking is a sign that I am being too harsh on myself. To be kind to myself, I need to instead look for the grey. Look for the areas or instances where I could cut myself a break.  I don't always need to be perfect or do everything to an expert level. I have been learning that it's OK and even fun to be a beginner - to make mistakes, to do something "badly".

This grey area gives me permission to try something new without expecting perfection from myself. To develop my strengths and skills. To make mistakes. To figure out what I do and don't enjoy. To be kind to myself when I need it the most.

This month I am committing to living more in the grey areas. To focus on being kind to myself when I notice my thinking becoming all or nothing.  It wont be easy and I know that at times I will mess up but its a journey and journey's are seldom smooth.  I would love it if you joined me or left me a comment about what you have been doing to be kinder to yourself these past few months.

Oh my gosh, this is the best sausage casserole that I have ever made or tasted!  This is definitely going to become a regular in my menu planning. I found the recipe of the BBC Food recipes website and the original recipe is actually from the Hairy Bikers. I have adapted it slightly for my own tasting so feel free to do the same if you give it a try.

What I used

6 Heck gluten free sausages
150g unsmoked diced lean bacon
Chopped onion
Sliced mushrooms
400g tinned tomato with herbs
400g butterbeans
A squirt of tomato puree
Frylite spray
Smoked paprika
400ml vegetable stock
A dash of Worcestershire Sauce
2 bay leaves
A bit of Splenda
Mixed herbs
Salt & pepper
Garlic
Chutney

How I made it

Using a cast iron pot, I coated the bottom of the pot with frylite and browned my sausages. Once they were browned I took them out of the pot and kept them on a plate.

I then added the bacon, onion and garlic and fried them until cooked.

I added the rest of the ingredients except the butter beans and sausage and mixed well.

Once the sauce was boiling, the sausages went back into the pot and it cooked for 15 minutes.

Once the timer went off, I added the butter beans and cooked for a further 10 minutes. I served this with vegetables however you can include mash or rice if you like.

I am currently following the Weight Watchers plan. The casserole itself made 3 good sized portions and worked out to 10 pro points per serving.

Tips

If you are following Weight Watchers and want to reduce the points for the meal, feel free to use low fat sausages instead of the Heck sausages.

If you want a little more spice then add some chilies or chili powder.

Feel free to use chicken stock instead of vegetable.  The recipe calls for chicken but I didn't have any.

It might be just as nice using different beans if you wish. I may try cannellini beans next time.

Well, I hope you liked this. If you are looking for something new then I would definitely give this a try. Feel free to let me know if you enjoyed it.