BeautyHealthZoneBlog.com

Avocado Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:41:00 PST

I received a request from Cheyelle on one of my smoothie posts for the recipe of an avocado smoothie, I already have a number of smoothies on the blog, but none with avocado. To be honest I have not had avocado for a long time now, because it is not something I normally eat. However, I have a recipe here for a creamy avocado smoothie and I just thought of some ingredients that would go with it to make it smooth and creamy.

For people reading who have never tasted avocado, they generally have a very bland taste and reminds me of butter without any salt added to it. It has a rich creamy taste. You can also use avocados to make a home-made dip.

A lot of people use avocado in home-made hair and face masks because it is very nourishing and moisturising.

My intention was to add some oats to the smoothie, but I forgot, maybe next time. I had my little helper with me and she suggested some lemon juice because she loves lemon, but of course that would curdle everything up, so I didn't add any lemon. I also wanted to add flaxseeds or linseeds but I couldn't find any in the shops, although I should have picked some up from the health food shop when I was in there last week.

I used two types of greek style yoghurts, Rachel's was more expensive costing nearly two pounds, but it had a much creamier and sweeter taste than the shop brand yoghurt, also it is organic. The shop brand (Morrisons) greek-style yoghurt was a little on the sour side, although it was also very creamy to taste. The honey really does make a huge difference to the taste and my niece told me so.

You will need:

1-2 ripe avocados
1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds (good source of fibre and protein)
1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds (good source of fibre and protein)
4 tablespoons of Acacia honey (or whatever honey you have in your cupboard) or brown/white sugar (or sweeten to your taste preference)
Greek style yoghurt (I used Rachel's yogurt organic greek style honey and Morrisons shop branded greek style yogurt) 250g from each pot. They are 450g and 500g respectively.
1 pint of milk
Crushed ice (optional)

Instructions

Using a knife, make a cut all around the avocado and then peel off the skin. The skin should peel off easily. Once all the skin has been removed, cut the avocado in half and remove the seed or stone.

Put all the ingredients into a blender or smoothie maker and blend it all until completely smooth. The result is a green smoothie with a faint nutty taste. Pour into smoothie glasses or cups, add some ice cubes and a straw or chill in the fridge and enjoy it later.

Related Blog Topics

Fresh fruit smoothie: Strawberries, nectarine and green or white grapes

Fresh fruit smoothie - Green golden delicious apple, green grapes, apricots and plum

Carrot, plum, grapes and banana fruit and vegetable smoothie

Kiwi, apricot, grape and tomato fruit smoothie

How to make a healthy fruit smoothie - A very quick recipe ideal for breakfast!

5 fruits and vegetables a day - Tips on adding more fruit to your diet

Make your own banana smoothie / milkshake

Quick lunch ideas - Croissants with cheese and mushrooms

10 ways you can be more healthy

Cut out saturated fat in your food and save your heart

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:52:00 PST

Last week after cleaning (removing fat) and boiling some oxtail and putting the meat gravy in a bowl, I left the meat stock to stand and after cooling down, a film of oil settled on top of the meat stock and once it had completely cooled down, a thick film of fat was layered all over the top of the meat stock/gravy.

I make it a point to remove all traces of excess fat from any food I am eating, particularly from meat products as these are the oils that build up in the arteries and eventually clog them up causing heart attacks and so on. Also, this is the fat that you see coming out through some people's skin, particularly those with oily skin, like myself.

Excess fat removed from meat stock

Additionally, people who are trying to achieve their weight loss goals can do so by cutting out this type of fat from their diet.

Meat stock with all fat removed

Anyway, I used a spoon to scoop off the excess fat along the top of the gravy and this is despite cleaning and cutting off all traces of fat on the meat before cooking it.

I have posted some pictures below for illustration. You can see the fat I removed in the blue cereal bowl.

Pancake day delights, pancake recipe and some cooking instructions

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:52:00 PST

I had a request to make some pancakes on pancake day, thankfully the kitchen cupboard was packed full of flour so I was able to make a big blender full of the pancake recipe and then my niece came round later and I was really glad because she loves pancakes and all that good stuff.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of some of the delights I made on pancake day and leftover mix, which I refrigerated and used up the next day.

Pancake ready to eat

Instructions for making pancakes and pancake recipe

Ingredients:

125g of plain flour
1 or two medium free range eggs
300ml milk
2-4 tablespoons of brown (demerara) or white sugar (vary this to you taste)

Vegetable oil for frying

Honey or syrup (Optional)
Lemon (Optional)

Utensils:

Crepe or frying pan
Flat cooking utensil or similar spoon for frying

Method:

Add the milk, flour and eggs to the blender and blend until completely smooth. (To make the mixture more runny, add a little milk or water, if you want it slightly thicker, add a few more tablespoons of flour until you have the consistency you want.)
Heat the frying pan or crepe pan and then add a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Pour in a little amount of the pancake mixture and evenly spread it out by twisting the pan until the pancake/crepe has formed its shape.
Fry for a few minutes and then turn it over with a flat spoon or flip it (I'm no good at this). See pictures on this post.
Once pancake has a golden brown colour, place on a plate and roll it up. (You can add honey or syrup if you like)

You can make about 12-14 pancakes with this mixture depending on how thick or thin your pancakes are.

To liven up your pancakes and make them more healthy, you can add cooked or fresh fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, pear, apple etc. or you can put some ice cream on it.

Happy Valentine's Day and some love songs

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:00:00 PST

I love listening to love songs, here is my selection of some of the songs I like or remind me of a romantic situation. Of course, there are lots more that I like. Oh and and I think everyday should be a romantic day, not just one day dedicated to it. I don't really celebrate any of that stuff anyway because I think it's commercial, but I thought I would get in the mood and post some love songs anyway.

Stevie B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)

Womack & Womack - Teardrops

Musiq Soulchild - Love

Hold on to the night - Richard Marx

I'd give anything - Gerald Levert

P Square - Ifunanya (Love)

P Square - No One Like You

Skillet - Collide

Collecting and Volunteering for Haiti every Sunday for the next few weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:15:00 PST

The United Haitians in the United Kingdom and a number of volunteers from all walks of life, careers and nations joined together last week Sunday to help out, contribute and donate our time as well as clean clothes, shoes, food, toiletries, books, toys and medical supplies to be transported in sacks and barrels to Haiti.

I heard about this relief effort through a friend of mine who does a lot of community work, via text message. I meediately told a few of my friends and family about it and they gave me some clothes to take with me.

A number of people kindly and generously donated food in the form of tuna, sardine, pasta, noodles, there were lots of cans of things like soup, Quaker oats, biscuits, cookies, cous cous, lentils and lots of dried foods that transport well.

Some people generously donated jars of baby food, which had been carefully wrapped up in bubble wrap.

A number of thoughtful people also donated plates, cutlery and small mini kitchen areas where the recipients of these goods could set up and cook their meals.

Among the many goods received were tubes of toothpaste, soap, candles, matches, torch lights, batteries, shower gel, towels, toiletries and provisions for personal hygiene. Medical supplies in the form of plasters, bandages, pain killers and first aid boxes were also received.

If you have any clean clothing, food, blankets etc that you can contribute or if you contribute your time throughout the next following Sundays to gather together aid for the Haitian people devastated by the earthquake it would be much appreciated.

For the next few weeks we will be organising, collecting and sorting clothes, food and provisions to be shipped to Haiti, so please help out if you can spare a few hours of your time.

Important note

If you are sending or bringing items please do NOT bring any used socks or used underwear or dirty and soiled clothing, for health and hygiene reasons. Thank you.

Also, please bear in mind that Haiti is a hot Country and items of clothing such as fleeces and heavy jumpers may not be the best and most suitable clothing for that sort of climate.

Thank you.

The next date, venue and meeting time is:

Sunday 14th February 2010

Hearts to Africa,

Eltringham Street,

off York Road,

Battersea,

London SW18 1GT.

12:30pm to 4:30pm.

UHUK is a UK registered charity number: 1133997

Here are some pictures I took last week...

One of the many food barrels that we packed, ready to be shipped to Haiti

Bags of donated clothing ready to be sorted

Cleans clothes, shoes, blankets

Medical supplies and food

Some food ready to be packed in barrels

Group pictures

Hearts to Africa and UHUK Volunteers

Jeans and other clothing going to Haiti

Food ready to be packed into barrels

Packaging up some books ready to be shipped to Haiti

Volunteers sorting the clothing

White sack full of clean sorted clothing

UHUK and Haiti First! Haiti Now! youtube video

Thank you to all those people who have generously donated their time, effort, good wishes, prayers, and items of clothing, food and provisions.

Related Blog Links

Earthquake in Haiti - What can we do to help?

United Haitians in the United Kingdom (UHUK) public meeting Saturday 13th February 2010

United Haitians in the United Kingdom (UHUK) public meeting‏ Saturday 13th February 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:44:00 PST

The next public meeting co-ordinated by the United Haitians in the United Kingdom for the Haiti First Haiti Now! Reparations Campaign will be held this Saturday. You will be able to get involved in the aid and relief efforts for the people of Haiti and give some ideas for this planning meeting.

The next public meeting will be held on:

Saturday 13^th February 2010

Venue: Southwark Town Hall

35 Peckham Road

London SE5 8UB

Time: 4 pm – 7pm.

This will be a real opportunity for a final briefing for all those people who intend to volunteer for driving, packing and sorting of clothes, shoes, food and medical supplies for transportation to Haiti to help the Earthquake victims, which will take place the next day:

Sunday 14th February 2010

Hearts to Africa,

Eltringham Street,

off York Road,

Battersea,

London SW18 1GT.

12:30pm to 4:30pm.

UHUK is a UK registered charity number: 1133997

Earthquake in Haiti - What can we do to help?

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:07:00 PST

After hearing about the earthquake in Haiti that has devastated so many lives, I thought I would post something on this blog to create some awareness and to appeal to people to donate money, help, and prayers. Please donate what you can as every little amount, no matter how small helps to get the people back on track with food, clean water, clothing and shelter.

You can donate money to the Red Cross, World Food Programme, Salvation Army. There are others, but these are the most popular ones that I have found online. I have added some information on ways to donate at the foot of this post. Through another blog, I have also come across a list of survivors from the Haiti earthquake.

Hundreds of thousands dead in Haiti quake Rubble Rescues

Earthquake in Haiti

Wyclef Jean take on Haitian hunger

What can you do to help?

American Red Cross The red cross charity has people helping out in Haiti. To donate money to the earthquake relief Red Cross Twitter feed, "Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Partners in Health - Is an organisation that has been operating clinics in Haiti for over 20 years. They have been working in Haiti since 1985.

Doctors Without Borders This is a French organisation that has been in Haiti for years. To donate to the Doctors without Borders/Medecins sans frontieres (MSF) Haiti appeal in the UK please ring 0800 088 7460 or visit their website, (which also contains this info) at Medecins sans frontieres

Yele Haiti Foundation - This is an organisation set up by Wyclef Jean, a Haitian-born singer and former member of the group Fugees who has been working for the advancement of Haitian Society long before the earthquake struck. To donate to Yele, text YELE to 501501 to donate $5 from your mobile phone.

Some information about text donations

For those in the UK wondering if they can donate through text messaging, I have called my phone operator, T-Mobile, and they have confirmed that you can make donations like this through text messaging, it will then be included with your phone bills, this is good if you do not have a credit card to donate with. I would say though that the money will probably reach the earthquake victims a lot quicker if you make direct donations through the various charities websites if at all possible as the text donations can take a while (approximately 90 days) to reach the victims.

Cooking Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:51:00 PST

This is a short movie clip preview of me preparing and cooking Christmas dinner/lunch on Christmas day. This year we opted for chicken and beef (although I forgot to include the beef steaks in the video). The chicken and beef were washed and seasoned overnight and then they were wrapped up and stored at the bottom of the fridge for hygiene and safety reasons.

There are a number of vegetables on the menu such as carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, string beans, potatoes and parsnips, which I roasted on the side of the chicken. This is the first time I have ever eaten parsnip in my life and it tasted pretty good, so if you have never eaten it, it is worth sampling. Just peel off the skin with a potato peeler, brush them with oil and leave on the side of your roast. If you look closely at the chicken, you will see the parsnips on the side.

After about half an hour of cooking the chicken, which was a very large one, I sliced some red and white onions over the chicken and added it to the hollow of the bird. in order to add more flavour and give the chicken a nicer aroma. I used to stuff the chicken with sage and onion stuffing, but nobody really eats the stuffing so I stopped doing it, besides it makes the chicken cook for longer.

The vegetables were all washed, peeled, sliced and then boiled. the vegetables were cooked towards the end as they only take a few minutes to boil. To save time, money and energy, I cooked some of the vegetables together. The potatoes were added to the oven and baked once the chicken had been cooked halfway through, I used Aunt Bessie's this year, again these taste good and are easier than having to peel the potatoes, boil them and then bake them as we sometimes do. Gravy was made last, you can add the juices from the roast or use granules and some herbs and spices as you wish.

For dessert we had mince pies, apple pie and custard, there was a fresh cream option.

Cooking Christmas Dinner

Merry Christmas and Lights in Oxford Street, London - December 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:13:00 PST

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all my readers....

Here is a video I made of the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London, December, 2009. The video also features the Selfridges window display 2009 and the Oxford Street Christmas Market.

Well, I hope you enjoy it!

Christmas Lights in Oxford Street, London, December 2009

Snow in South London at Christmas, December 2009

London Christmas Lights in Oxford Street December 2009 - Part 2

Cooking Homemade Aberdeen Angus Beef Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:50:00 PST

One of my favourite things to eat are beefburgers, and from time to time I like to make my beefburgers at home, actually most of the time.

I was given the Flip UltraHD Camcorder to trial and sell for a few weeks, so I used it to make a quick video of my favourite burgers.

The burgers are Aberdeen Angus from The Cooperative and I like these specifically because they are not packed full of artificial ingredients and additives and because you can actually taste the quality beef.

I will be back with some commentary and how to instructions, but for now you can just enjoy watching the video.

Mashooq Hair Oil Review

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:27:00 PST

Mashooq hair oil is a blend of natural oils, which is totally chemical-free. It contains coconut oil, palm oil, olive, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil and wheatgerm oil.

In terms of consistency, the Mashooq hair oil becomes solid and thick inside the bottle if the weather is extremely cold, but at room temperature on a warm day, it liquifies and is much easier to use. If you are using it as a hot oil treatment, you can put the bottle into a bowl of hot water as it comes in a strong plastic bottle.

I have been using this oil off and on for some months now, I bought it at the Afro Hair and Beauty show earlier this year, unfortunately I only bought a set of three products and they were the small bottles, which were 100ml each. I bought the shampoo, conditioner and hair oil as these products usually work quite well in synergy. You can see the shampoo and conditioner in the picture above, they are the bottles with the pump.

After using the shampoo and conditioner, I am not a big fan of either of those personally. However, I am completely happy with the Mashooq hair oil and so is my mother. In fact, she has been asking me to buy her two big bottles of the oil for some time now as she really loves it. My mother has fine hair, mine is medium thickness.

The oil comes in four sizes, which are 25 ml, 100 ml, 250 ml, and 500 ml. I have since bought the 500 ml bottle, which you can see in the picture above next to the 100ml size.

Mashooq hair oil being used on Dyed hair
It is suitable for all hair types

My hairdresser also really loves the oil as well and sometimes uses the oil to base the scalp and hairline before a relaxer. Now, I have been my mother's and sister's hairdresser since I was teenager, unfortunately, I have to do my own hair or got to ahairdresser. I do all the treatments, including texturisers/relaxers and styling for my mother and we use the Mashooq hair oil to completely base the scalp and ends of the hair before we relax it or add colour to the hair. The Mashooq oil helps to add shine, lubrication and also protects the hair from damage from the chemicals.

Because the oil absorbs into the hair and scalp extremely well, it is also good general everyday use as well and is not too greasy and leaves the hair nice and flexible and helps to prevent dryness along the ends too. It can be used for all hair types.

You can also use this oil to steam the hair for oil steams. This will leave the hair shiny and soft, helping to reduce breakage.

I also came across a discount voucher code for their site, although I don't know when it will expire.

Mashooq Hair products 25% Discount Code: MSHQPRIMA

Related Blog Links

Hair Oils

Jennifer Myers Hair Oil

Growing your hair longer - Some top tips...

Hair - Frizzy ends?

Aphogee Treatment for Damaged Hair

Clairol lock' n roll heated rollers for bouncy curls and waves in minutes

The secrets to growing longer hair faster

Steaming the hair, a great way to add moisture to dry hair

Afro Hair and Beauty Show May 2009 Feedback

Some pictures of my hair

Related External Link

Mashooq Hair Oil website

Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil Review

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:09:00 PST

This quick review focusses on the Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil hair moisturiser.

A few days ago, I was looking through the bathroom cupboard for a light moisturiser for my hair. I have been wearing the hair down for the past few weeks and the weather here in the UK is currently very icy and cold, so I needed something I could use to moisturise the ends of the hair to help to retain softness. I haven't been flat ironing my hair too much, neither have I been using too much heat as these tend to dry the hair out after a while, but I have been wrapping it at night, well sometimes, with a satin scarf to stop it rubbing against the pillowcase and looking rough.

The ORS Carrot Oil has a faint carrot-like smell, I like it, but some people may not like the smell, so try to open it and smell it first before buying it if you can. I have heightened smell, so the scent of a product is very important to me. In terms of consistency, it has a creamy soft texture, actually like mayonnaise.

According, to the information on the packaging, the ORS Carrot Oil also helps to strengthen the hair and helps to prevent shedding or breaking. It is suitable for natural, relaxed, pressed, or colour treated hair.

The ORS Carrot Oil contains a blend of ingredients such as beta carotene, Vitamin F, nettle, coconut oil, castor oil, safflower oil and amino acids to help rebuild the hair.

The Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil moisturiser is a good product to use on the scalp, it leaves your scalp moisturised and the hair feeling very soft. I think the main advantage of this product is the moisturising properties, you can use it on your scalp and along the length of the hair as well, especially on the ends to protect them from that crunchy dry feeling you can get from the cold weather.

Homemade Egg Treatment Conditioning Hair Mask

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:25:00 PST

A few days ago I made a homemade conditioner for damaged hair. This mask is made mostly with raw eggs and is an excellent conditioning and strengthening hair mask. Eggs are high in protein and will give your hair a nice strengthening protein conditioning, particularly if your hair is breaking. I remember we used to buy Dop shampoo, which contained eggs back in the 1980's.

I have a box of raw eggs in the fridge, however, I have been away for some weeks and I know that these are no longer worth eating as I boiled a few when I got back and unfortunately, they came out quite rubbery and funny looking. So, instead of throwing them away, I decided to use them to make a homemade egg hair treatment for hair conditioning as I don't like wasting food.

You can use this hair treatment either wet or dry. This is the wet method, but you can apply the mixture to the hair and leave it to dry as well.

What ingredients will you need for the egg hair treatment recipe?

1, 2 or 3 eggs (dependent on how much hair you have)
A dash of olive oil or two tablespoonful
Dash of your favourite hair conditioners

Beat or whisk the eggs until smooth, add some olive oil to the mixture and whisk it to make it smooth. You can mix the eggs with your favourite conditioner or add the egg to the hair and then squeeze on some of your hair conditioners afterwards. I mixed some moisturising conditioners in a separate container afterwards and worked it all into the hair after applying all the egg mixture to the hair.

Cover your hair with a plastic cap or two. I suggest two as the egg mixture is runny. So, two plastic shower caps will help to lessen the chances of the egg mixture running down your face.

Sit under a warm dryer or use your Aphrodite conditioning cap (This is what we used) on setting number 2 for about 30 minutes. The Aphrodite conditioning cap has 3 heat settings.
Do not use a hot dryer as the eggs will cook in your hair and this can be very difficult to get out of your hair.

Once you have finished conditioning the hair, rinse thoroughly to ensure that all the egg residue in the hair has been removed. Your hair should feel soft to the touch. Eggs also give the hair a nice healthy shine.

You can proceed to style the hair as normal, e.g. blow dry and wrap, roller set and wrap, blow dry and then flat iron etc, but ensure that your hair is well moisturised as the protein in the egg can leave your hair feeling dry in the morning.

Other similar homemade hair treatments you can try

You can make a honey and egg hair treatment, mayonnaise and egg hair treatment or avocado and egg hair mask. You can try these other homemade hair masks or use a combination of these ingredients.

Mayonnaise, honey, olive oil and avocado are well known for their moisturising properties in haircare.

Rash on my neck cured by "Soul Cream"

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:30:00 PDT

I have had an awful rash on my neck, which resembles eczema, for some weeks now and since I don't actually have eczema, I was wondering where the rash came from. The only explanations I came up with were that it may have been caused by my necklace which I have worn for over 10 years now, jewellery needs to be cleaned from time to time, so I took it off and gave it a good clean by washing it with soap and water and then wiping it all round with some spirit.

I thought maybe the rash was due to an allergy to something I ate (I eat junk food at times) or stress related. Stress can do strange things to a person, it can make your hair fall out and it can cause unexplained skin problems such as acne, eczema-like rashes etc.

I have been contemplating whether or not to visit my Doctor and ask about this rash, but I find that I have a Doctor phobia. I only go to see my Doctor when I feel like I am dying or something. This suits me personally, however, please don't copy me, my mother is a Nurse and I usually ask her for advice if I feel ill. So, if you feel ill, go and see your GP.

Anyway, my dad gave me this cream ages ago, which he tends to find really good. I think it smells quite bad, it is made up primarily of Sulphur and is conveniently named "Soul Cream". However, I think the effectiveness of this cream outweighs the smell of it. On the tub it states that it is natural skincare, which is good. The tub is quite tiny, it is 15g in size and very small and cute. On further inspection of the tub, the cream is made/supplied by Ujamaa CM.

The main ingredients in the Soul cream are Parafinnum Liquidum, Sulphur, Aloe Barbadensis, Petrolatum, Apple and Banana.

You can actually smell the mixture of apple and banana inside it, but the smell of the Sulphur supercedes all its other ingredients and is very strong. I recommend that this cream is used either at night or on days when you are staying inside the house.

Now, the cream itself is excellent at stopping itching on your rash or skin ailments. It is also wonderful because it miraculously heals up your skin and is very moisturising. The persistent and itchy rash that I had on my neck has nearly disappeared completely after using the cream for about a week. I usually apply it to my neck after a bath at night or after first cleansing the area.

I would recommend the Soul cream, it is excellent.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie: Strawberries, Nectarine and Green or White Grapes

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:41:00 PDT

Yes, I know I have been missing in action for a little while now, but I have some urgent things to do in my offline life...

Anyway, here is another one of my delicious fresh fruit smoothie recipes with pictures. This one consists of strawberries, green or white grapes, and nectarine. This smoothie is ideal to have with a light lunch or as a refreshing appetiser on a hot sunny day. You can leave it in the fridge to chill until you are ready to drink it.

I was reading in an old newspaper just today that smoothies count towards two of your 5 a day fruit consumption. I really don't pay major attention to these things but I do try to eat as healthy as I can and I guess these little tidbits of information help in a way.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Approximately 12 strawberries
2 handfuls of green grapes / white grapes
1 nectarine

Other things you will need:

Blender
Utensil to cut fruits
Drinking glass
1 small glass of water (chilled)
Sieve (optional)

Preparation and instructions

Wash all the fruits and cut them up as pictured. Take the stone out of the nectarine and if you have seeds in the grapes take them out.

Put all the fruits into the blender and add a small glass of water (as pictured).

Blend for a few minutes until smooth and pour into a large drinking glass. If you cannot have fruits with the seeds such as strawberries, then you can use a sieve to help to get rid of the seeds as some people may not like the bits but I find it does not bother me too much.

I hope you enjoy it.

Gerald Levert - I'd Give Anything (Video Version)

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:09:00 PDT

This is a slight deviation from my usual health and beauty topics, but I need a gap filler. I am currently trying to do a hundred and one things at a time and I haven't had much time to blog, although I have a lot of things to say and write about.

This video is from Gerald Levert. I was watching it online a few weeks ago and thought I would post it here. This is one of the classics and reminds me of a time when people just sang good clean love songs, not all the stuff you hear these days, which they call music.

I have watched this video a number of times....I like it that much!

Gerald Levert - I'd Give Anything (Video Version)

Memories of September 11 World Trade Centre 2001

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:45:00 PDT

I have been deliberating whether or not to post this....

I was reading another blog and the topic of the post was where were you on 9/11? I thought I would write something here.

I was working at a hospital in London in the Primary Care section, my colleague switched on the radio as she normally did every morning and we heard that a plane had flown directly into one of the twin towers. I thought this was some silly joke as the DJs sometimes mess about. All of a sudden another plane....I think we went to a few news websites and we couldn't believe the awful news and the drama as it unfolded....Nobody could really work that whole day as we just listened and watched online for news and people throughout the hospital kept calling to tell us what had happened and emails were flying in left and right.

Next came the conspiracies and there have been many ever since....Only God knows the true events that took place on that day.

Porridge oats - A Nutritious and Filling Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:15:00 PDT

Some mornings I wake up feeling extremely hungry and feeling as though I have not eaten for days. On days like this, I like to have some porridge oats for breakfast. I usually buy the big box of Quakers Oats mainly because this is what we have always bought, but to be quite honest you can buy any own brand porridge oats as they are very similar.

Porridge oats are high in fibre and roughage. It is a very filling and satisfying breakfast. Once you start eating it, you can feel the holes in your stomach filling up, well I always do. Porridge is also a very good breakfast when it is cold, as it is nice and hot. My mother used to make porridge for us and it was great especially when the weather was cold. It is ideal with a cup of tea or orange juice to prepare you for your day.

Additionally, porridge is good for the heart and helps to reduce cholesterol and it helps to make you more regular as well. Actually, there are a number of health benefits to eating porridge.

Once you have cooked it, and it is easy to cook, you can add honey, sugar, some people like to put jam on it or fruit like bananas on top, but I usually just eat it the way you can see it in my picture with about a spoon of sugar or more if needed. Surprisingly, when made with semi-skimmed milk the porridge is still very creamy and appetising. I started drinking semi-skimmed milk when I was about 15 or 16 and managed to convince the whole family to drop the whole fat milk. In fact, I can no longer drink whole fat milk, but at first I thought that I would not be able to cope without whole milk.

As far as cereals go, I used to enjoy the cereals packed full of sugar, when I was a teenager, but I found that these cereals not only lost their appeal but after eating them I would not be satisfied and would continue to feel hungry.

I have some quick instructions on how you can make yourself a wholesome bowl of porridge for breakfast below.

You will need the following:

A cup or mug to use to measure the porridge
A pot
Wooden spoon
Milk and/or water
Sugar or honey

How do you cook it?

If you are making the porridge for one, use about half a cup or a standard sized mug to measure the porridge. It tends to expand when you start cooking it so cook only what you need.
Add enough water and semi-skimmed (green top) milk to completely soak up the porridge in the pot. If the porridge soaks up the water quickly, you can always add more water or milk later on while you are cooking it. It is a good idea not to add too much water initially as it is hard to get rid of it once you start boiling the porridge and then it will come out too runny. You can add the sugar or honey to taste before or after you cook it.
Put the pot on the cooker and heat up the porridge on a medium heat and immediately start to stir continuously until ithe porridge starts to bubble up. If the porridge looks too thick, add some more milk or water and continue to stir. The reason why you have to continuously stir it is that it can get lumpy if you just leave it unattended. If you stir it continuously, you will have a very smooth lump-free porridge.
Once the porridge looks as though it has absorbed the water well, pour it into a bowl (see my picture) and proceed to enjoy it.

If you are not going to eat the porridge straight away and decide to leave it to cool down, you can use a spoon to add a little milk or water to the top layer of the porridge to stop it forming a hard skin, of course some people like the skin, but others may not.

Measuring the oats in a cup

Porridge oats in a pot with wooden spoon

Semi skimmed milk

Cooked porridge

Well, hopefully this post will be useful for someone. Below you will find a short video I made of how to cook porridge oats on the stove.

Cooking porridge oats on the stove

Related External Links

The Health Benefits of Oats

Boots Exfoliating Gloves

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:22:00 PDT

This post is going to be short and sweet...

I have been using some exfoliating gloves for my skin now since June of this year as my African fishnet sponge has been slowly falling apart (I have an attachment to that sponge).

The exfoliating gloves are easy to use. You just slip them over both of your hands, use your normal shower gel or bar soap to form a lather and then smooth the gloves over your skin. The exfoliating gloves are excellent for sloughing off dead skin cells and keeping the skin smooth and soft. I bought mine from Boots, but you can buy these anywhere.

I forgot to say that these gloves can be wrung out and left to dry afterwards (I put mine on the radiator everyday) to keep them from smelling.

This is how an African fishnet sponge looks....

African Fishnet Sponges

Fresh Fruit Smoothie - Green Golden Delicious Apple, Green Grapes, Apricots and Plum

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:32:00 PDT

Here is yet another of my natural fruit smoothies made from 100% fruit, water and no artificial ingredients.

This smoothie consists of green grapes, apricots, plum and green golden delicious apple. I wanted to see how a smoothie would turn out with apple. Normally, apples are juiced, but I thought I would try leaving the skin on this time and retaining the fibre, which is so good for the bowels, great for the skin and general good health.

Fruits are rich in vitamins and essential nutrients the body needs to function smoothly and efficiently.

This smoothie has a sweet and very refreshing crisp taste, the apple gives it an interesting flavour.

So, this is my latest smoothie, which I hope you will enjoy...

This is a 100% Green apple, apricot, plum and green grapes fruit smoothie. It contains no sugar or artificial ingredients.

You will need the following fruits:

1 Golden delicious green apple
A large handful of green grapes
1 plum
6 apricots

Fruit platter of green grapes, apricots, plum and green golden delicious apple

A glass of cold water

Other stuff you will need:

A utensil to cut up the fruits
A blender (my Cookworks blender cost me under £15)
A drinking glass
A small glass of cold water or freshly squeezed orange juice
A straw (optional)

Wash all the fruits and cut them up, taking care to remove all seeds and pips from inside the fruit. Put all the fruit into the blender, add a small glass of water and blend on the highest setting for a few minutes. If the blender takes a little while to get going, just add some more water to loosen up the fruits. Check the consistency of the smoothie and make sure all the fruits have been blended.

Pour into a glass and enjoy your smoothie.

Related Blog Topics

How to make a healthy fruit smoothie - A very quick recipe ideal for breakfast

Carrot, plum, grapes and banana fruit and vegetable smoothie

Kiwi, apricot, grape and tomato fruit smoothie

Make your own banana smoothie/milkshake

Quick lunch ideas - Croissants with cheese and mushroom

Homemade ice lollies to help you cool down this summer

10 Ways you can be more healthy

5 fruits and vegetables a day - Tips on adding more fruit to your diet

Related External Links

Fruits even better for you than previously thought

Lush Dark Angels Facial Cleanser/Exfoliator Review

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:08:00 PDT

Well, here is another of the Lush products that I have been using for a few weeks now. Lush Dark Angels is a cleansing and exfoliating facial scrub that you can use twice a week to cleanse and exfoliate the skin. It is great for 'young and oily skin' according to the information on the container.

Lush Dark Angels - Fresh Handmade Cosmetics - 100g

It contains among other things, charcoal (I bet you are surprised about that), Rhassoul mud, which I have heard of many times, but don't really know much about. It also contains sandalwood and black sugar, well this explains why it has a sweetish taste when I am using it to exfoliate my lips.

Now the Lush Dark Angels facial cleanser looks kind of dry from the picture I have taken, but is actually quite moist to the touch and very soft.

To use it, you need to scoop out a clump of it, put it in your palm and add a few drops of water, just enough to mix it all into a paste that you can smooth over your face. You then give your face a nice exfoliating scrub by using your fingers in an upwards and circular fashion to wash your face. I have very oily skin, so I use it twice a week. It makes your skin feel very smooth and clean, despite the fact that it does not actually foam up, it cleans the skin very well, amazingly. It does not leave the skin feeling dry, but your skin just feels very fresh and clean all over.

It has a pleasant and likeable scent, well it does contain sandalwood, which is an essential oil, so I think this is what it mainly smells like. I have offered it to some friends and family to use, but they appear to be put off by the appearance, oh well, more for me, I suppose....LOL

I store it at the bottom of the fridge with all my other Lush products to keep it cool and fresh. It does have a use by date and a longer shelf life than a lot of the Lush products in the jars.

Related Blog Posts

Lush Love Lettuce Face Mask

Lush Brazened Honey Face Mask

Lush pampering facial treatment for mums

Lush Tea Tree Water Popular Toner Review

Boots The Spa Detoxifying and Nourishing Organic Body Mud

Beauty and Skincare: Characteristics of combination skin

Beauty and Skincare - Tips for oily skincare

Beauty and Skincare: Characteristics of Dry and Dry/Combination Skin

Beauty and Skincare - Tips for Dry Skin Care

Dry winter skin - Top tips to keep your body skin moisturised and itch-free

Winter Skin Care

Some Tips for Combination Skincare

Refined Cocoa Butter - Great for healing the skin

5 Steps to Flawless Skin

Ice Guard Natural Crystal Deodorant Review

Keep yourself looking young without the surgery and botox

Everyday Personal Hygiene Some Top Tips for Top to Toe Grooming

Footcare - 6 Tips for avoiding smelly feet

Carrot, plum, grapes, and banana fruit and vegetable smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:16:00 PDT

So, I have decided to come out of hibernation to bring you my latest smoothie recipe, which is packed full of vitamins, fibre and nutritious goodness.

I normally enjoy juicing my carrots along with apples at times, but the problem with juicing is that you lose out on a lot of the fibre in the fruits and vegetables, so blending the whole fruit and vegetables helps to retain the fibre goodness contained within the fruit.

I find that carrots are great for the skin helping it to look shiny and glossy, they say carrots are also good for your eyes, it is also good for the hair. Bananas are rich in potassium and quite filling, so I thought I would combine these fruits and vegetables to see how they would turn out. I like experimenting.

Straight away you can taste the banana and a hint of carrot in the smoothie, it is a good combination of fruits in my opinion with a very sweet taste and no artificial ingredients.

I hope you enjoy it....

Here are the fruits you will need as pictured:

2 large sweet Carrots peeled
A large handful of Green Grapes
2 sweet Plums
1 ripe Banana
1 small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (chilled)

Other stuff you will need:

Blender
A utensil to cut up the fruits
Potato peeler
A drinking glass
Straw (optional)

Cookworks blender - Cost me about £10-£12

Wash the fruit thoroughly, then use a potato peeler to take off the top layer from the carrots and then slice them up into little discs, cut the plums in half and remove the seed inside.

Put all the fruits into the blender and then add a glass of pressed or freshly squeezed orange juice or water to the blender as pictured.

Blend the fruits for a few minutes until completely smooth. If the smoothie looks too thick, add a small amount of water to loosen it up a little and make it smoother.

If you want your smoothie to be ice cold, you can chill it in the fridge for a few hours. I kept mine overnight and it was still fine the day after, but generally I like to make these fresh about twice a week.

Enjoy your smoothie.

Bullying and Harassment at Work? - New Research Study aims to Tackle Workplace Bullying

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:29:00 PDT

If you have ever experienced bullying or harassment at work, you can now document your experiences in a new research study aimed at finding the causes and effects of bullying.

The Centre for Research on Workplace Behaviours based at the University of Glamorgan's Business School are carrying out this research study and would like to hear from people who have experienced or are experiencing bullying and or harassment in the workplace.

This study aims to document actual experiences of staff who have been bullied at work and is a great opportunity to document your feelings in a no holds barred fashion as opposed to the usual questionnaire style research where quite often you do not have a chance to say exactly how you feel.

If you are experiencing bullying at work please document your experiences and take part in this research. There are also a number of links that I have added at the foot of the post.

"We have seen an increase in reported stories of bullying, harassment, pressured workplaces, violence at work and deviant behaviours in the last decade. We have also seen increased employee anxiety; a change to concepts such as loyalty, commitment and service."

University of Glamorgan

Hopefully, this study will prove to be useful and help to highlight this common workplace occurence and will add some value as opposed to the usual "policies and procedures", such as equality and diversity, grievance procedures etc, which are usually not worth the paper they are written on and a waste of time, in my opinion. Hopefully this study will actually help to influence policy that actually works for real people in real situations.

The study is based on actual day to day experiences on bullying in the workplace in the form of keeping a diary.

This is an important piece of research that will document actual experiences of workplace bullying on a day to day basis through a diary style study.

In order to participate, you can email the University of Glamorgan and they will send you a template of a diary for you to record your thoughts and feelings over an eight week period. Once you have completed the diary, a researcher will contact you. You can keep a daily diary of your thoughts, feelings and actions about your experience of being bullied in the workplace for eight weeks. Your details will be kept confidential and you will be asked to sign a consent form before you take part.

There are no financial costs involved in taking part in the study, which is voluntary. You can choose to cease participating in the study at any time.

If you are interested in taking part in the research project, or simply wish to find out more about it you can contact them in the following ways...

Email: workplacebehaviours@glam.ac.uk and/or cdavies3@glam.ac.uk

Telephone: 01443 483575

Visit their websites: New bullying at work study or Centre for Research on Workplace Behaviours

Sickle Cell Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:39:00 PDT

July is Sickle Cell Awareness month. Unfortunately, I just found out. Anyway, it is never to late to spread awareness about Sickle Cell or any other illness if it helps people, so I have added some useful information and links to PDF documents at the foot of this post.

Starting on the 1st of July through to 31st July 2009 there have been a number of events raising awareness about Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia across the United Kingdom. You can make a donation, volunteer or buy a book or literature from the Sickle Cell Society's shop in order to raise funds. You can also become a member.

Sickle Cell is a disorder, which currently has no cure, and affects people of African, Carribbean, East Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Asian descent. It is common in areas where malaria affects the population. I have been reading about this and apparently the sickle cell and other related disorders helps to prevent the effects of malaria (providing a type of genetic advantage), which is confined to mainly tropical areas of the world.

Due to low haemoglobin in the red blood cells, much needed oxygen required by the body in order to function efficiently is not transported as the red blood cells become sickle shaped (like a half moon). This can lead to tiredness, pain, anaemia, general crises and a host of other complications.

The Sickle Cell Society is a charitable organisation based in Barnet North London which is committed to providing help, support, research and information sharing on all aspects of Sickle Cell. It was set up in 1979 to provide awareness about Sickle cell and a number of related disorders such as Thalassaemia and Haemoglobin C.

Among the number of leaflets available are a guide for parents, guardians and families, pregnancy screening: antenatal and newborn screening programmes for sickle cell and Thalassaemia, nursing a child with sickle cell, advice to employers, a guide for teachers, information, counselling, care and much more...

Visit the Sickle Cell Society website for more details.

Related External Links

Sickle Cell Society website

Planet Sickle - Informational website for the kids on SC

Sickle Cell Society's Awareness Month July 2009 - With NHS Facts and Statistics

Antenatal and Newborn Screening Programmes
for Sickle cell and Thalassaemia

Sickle Cell - A General Guide to Sickle Cell Disorders - PDF document produced by Sickle Cell Society

Pregnancy screening and Genetic testing information - PDF document produced by Sickle Cell Society

The School Child with Sickle Cell Disorder - PDF document produced by Sickle Cell Society

Sickle Cell Trait and Sickle Cell Screening Tests - Patient UK

Sickle Cell Disease and SC Anaemia - Patient UK article with non technical language

Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell Anaemia - Patient UK article with technical medical terms

Understanding Sickle Cell Disease by Miriam Bloom

Lush Pampering Facial Treatment for Mums

noreply@blogger.com (Beauty and Health Editor) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:06:00 PDT

This week-end, I decided to give my mother a facial treatment in order to pamper her. I have devised a mini-facial with the Lush products I bought for this pampering facial for my mum. Last week-end I washed and blow-dried her hair and gave her a facial treatment, which she enjoyed very much. A few weeks before we went to the MAC shop in the West-end (Central London) for a makeover.

We decided we would do the pampering facial twice a week from now on, as mum's need pampering too....

So, here are step by step instructions of the products we used and how the facial was done.

Here are the products and items we used and what you will need:

Lush Fresh Farmacy Facial Cleansing Bar
Lush Sacred Truth Face Mask
Lush Love Lettuce Face Mask
Lush Vitamin C Toner Tabs
Lush Endymion Face Moisturiser
1 x Face Flannel
1 x Large Towel
1 x Big Bowl
1 x Smaller Bowl or plastic container
Cotton Wool Pads
Hot Water from the kettle or hot tap

Cleanse

Start out by washing the face with Lush Fresh Farmacy Facial Cleansing bar to cleanse and prepare the skin. This bar is good for skin that is prone to spots. It is not your typical soap bar and does not dry out the skin, but leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and clean. It has a pinkish colour, which reminds me of marshmallows, for some strange reason.

Facial Steam

Lush Vitamin C Toner Tabs

Boil the kettle and pour some of the water into the big bowl for the facial steam.

Put one Lush vitamin C toner tab into the water, it will fizz up and dissolve into the water.

Sit over the steaming water and cover your head with a towel for extra steam effect (If you find that the steam is too hot, take the towel off for a few seconds while you get some fresh air). After about 5-10 minutes of steaming your face, you are now ready to apply the face mask.

Face Mask

Lush Love Lettuce Face Mask

Lush Sacred Truth Face Mask

Scoop out a little of the Sacred Truth and Love Lettuce Face masks and mix together. (You can use just one mask at a time, but I decided to use both) .

Apply the mask to the face just over the eyebrows leaving out the eye area and lips, and all the way down to the neck. Leave on for about 10-15 minutes or until the mask becomes dry and hard.

Pour the water containing the vitamin c in the big bowl into a smaller bowl or container as you will need some for use as a skin toner after the mask has been washed off.

Pour some hot water from the kettle or from the hot tap into the big bowl and wet the face flannel. Squeeze out any excess water and place the flannel over the face and pat gently. This will help to soften up the facial mask. Repeat once again.

Now, wet your fingers and gently massage the face in circular upwards strokes as though you are washing the face and use the mask to exfoliate the skin. You can also use the face flannel for this step if you wish, but don't rub to hard. Now, use the face flannel to wash the mask off the face taking care to be gentle around the eye area.

Rinse the face flannel.

Once you have washed the mask completely from the skin, you will tone the skin with the water infused with the Vitamin C Toner Tabs, which was used for steaming the face earlier.

Tone

Take some cotton wool pads or balls and dip into the Vitamin C enriched water and wipe the face and neck with it. Repeat once more. This will leave the skin looking fresh and smooth and will remove any remains of the mask on the skin preparing it for the moisturiser.

Moisturise and Protect (with mini massage)

Lush Endymion Face Moisturiser

Follow with a moisturiser. We used Lush Endymion Facial moisturiser, which is meant for oily skin but contains cocoa butter and a number of skin beautifying and moisturising ingredients without an oily feeling. Scoop up a small amount of the moisturiser and rub between your palms to warm it up and then apply to face and neck in an upward and outward fashion. You can give a mini massage on the face and neck while you apply the moisturiser.

That's a wrap....you are all done now, until the next time....

Related Blog Posts

Lush Tea Tree Water Popular Toner Review

Lush Love Lettuce Face Mask

Lush Brazened Honey Face Mask

Lush Dark Angels Facial Cleanser/Exfoliator Review

Boots The Spa Detoxifying and Nourishing Organic Body Mud

Beauty and Skincare: Characteristics of combination skin

Beauty and Skincare - Tips for oily skincare

Beauty and Skincare: Characteristics of Dry and Dry/Combination Skin

Beauty and Skincare - Tips for Dry Skin Care

Dry winter skin - Top tips to keep your body skin moisturised and itch-free

Winter Skin Care

Some Tips for Combination Skincare

Refined Cocoa Butter - Great for healing the skin

5 Steps to Flawless Skin

Ice Guard Natural Crystal Deodorant Review

Keep yourself looking young without the surgery and botox

Everyday Personal Hygiene Some Top Tips for Top to Toe Grooming

Footcare - 6 Tips for avoiding smelly feet