wellness

Reflection Friday: That Capsule Wardrobe Lifestyle

Something I’ve been fascinated with for a while now – capsule wardrobes and living with less! It’s been bit of a personal struggle (being a stylist & fashion blogger with a love for shopping) and it’s perhaps one for that #yearoffear list! 

(Image Via Here)

As I mentioned in my #yearoffear post, we let a lot of stuff go with our big move – it was a wonderful, light feeling. When we got to Dublin however, opening our boxes a few months later, I was rather surprised at some of the things that I had kept (because there are always “what-if”s). I was not as ruthless as I’d thought I’d been. Again, with our apartment being small, we let go of more stuff!

I’m now wanting to take it to the next level! WHY?

  • My head feels clearer
  • It helps with decision fatigue ( Like when your cupboard is bursting but you’ve got nothing to wear – now, everything just works together making life easier)
  • I feel liberated – I own stuff, stuff doesn’t own me!

As I said, it’s a constant personal goal and not always easy. I’ve opened my shoe cupboard a few times already to edit and simply closed it again! That’s my next goal!

Want to learn more about living with less, living with intention and “letting go!”? Check out Courtney Carvers Blog, Be More With Less & her insightful post, 10 Books That Changed Me! 

(Image via Be More With Less)

Happy Reading!

TIP: Turn all your coat hangers facing the same direction. Every Time you wear something, put the coat hanger back facing the opposite direction. Soon you’ll begin to see what never gets worn.

21 Day Nourish & Glow Round Up

So my 3 week program is done and I enjoyed every minute of it. (Ok, except for the first few days where I felt like I was going backwards, my body adjusting to some new food groups) The fact that I could still have my (daily) 2 cups of coffee & a steak was a big win! What I’m taking away or adopting from the 21 Day Nourish & Glow Program is:

*Starting the day with hot/warm lemon water (Read up on the benefits here!)

* Switching from milk to sugar free almond milk (I’m less bloated)

* Adding smoothies to my diet (A great way to pack as much goodness & skin glowing ingredients into one meal) I’m going to be alternating them with eggs or grain-free granola for breakfast. (Here are some recipes from week 1 if you missed it)

* reigning in my alcohol intake to a few nights a wk – i.e. no booze Sun-Thurs (well lets see how we go, I aint no saint when I hear POP, FIZZ!) I sleep better, more motivated and productive!

*Colour!! Think red cabbage, peppers, spinach – the more colour the better!

* Lots of healthy, easy new recipes – (Marlien even puts your shopping list together!)  And here’s my gift to you! Marlien’s Grain-Free Granola Recipe. It’s so comforting, nutritious and more-ish!

RECIPE: Grain-free granola with tahini & honey:

½ cup of raw cashew nuts

½ cup of raw almonds

1/3  cup of raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup of shredded coconut

1 tablespoon of coconut oil molten/ slightly warmed

Tahini & Honey (see instructions for qty)

Fine pink salt

In a bowl, stir the coconut oil through almonds and cashews, adding a pinch of salt. Next place them on a baking sheet and put them in a 150 degree Celsius preheated oven for 7 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

Next lightly toast the seeds and shredded coconut in a large dry pan for 7 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, when coconut become golden remove the pan from the heat and allow the seeds and coconut to cool, still giving it a stir now and again whilst cooling.

Now simply stir all the nuts, seeds and coconut together until it is well mixed and make sure it is properly cooled before storing it in an airtight jar/ container.

Serve the grainfree granola with 2 tablespoons of tahini & 1 tablespoon of honey. (I can’t get enough!)

Results you can expect from the 21 Day Nourish & Glow Program: 

Glowing skin (Definitely improved!)
Weight loss (Tick)
Clear mind (Tick)
Clear eyes (Tick)
Faster metabolism (Not sure but I did lose weight)
Decreased anxiety (Tick)
Stronger immune system ( Well I’ve not been sick 🙂  )
Dramatically increased energy levels (Mmmm I still crave a power nap – but I still wake up at night for a toddler)
Better quality of sleep (Tick)

If you feel like you’re in bit of a slump – I can highly recommend this tailor-made programme (R550) Find Out More Here! 

*Side note: My thoughts on Sugar & Low Carb – now if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll be asking, now what happened to Banting Kim? Most of Marliens Smoothies have 2 fruits in – and I think a little fruit sugar & raw honey is fine – they have amazing health benefits. It’s more about being aware! As Sarah Wilson from “I Quit Sugar” said, she would have 3 fruits, dried fruit, honey in her tea and some dark chocolate after lunch and dinner and think she was being healthy – that’s around 25 teaspoons of sugar! And sugar is sugar – be it from fruit or a coke!

So I’m still staying away from sugar with the exception of 2 fruits every other day and some honey. I’m also staying away from the carbs, but adopting some slow release, starchy veg/legumes like chickpeas and sweet potatoes. And look, I use this as a general lifestyle & way of eating. I’m not the sugar police – cheesecake still makes me week at the knees!

It’s about experimenting and listening to your body and fueling it with what makes you feel GREAT! xx

Reflection Friday: Facing My Fears Part 1 & My First Audio Interview #yearoffear

When we decided to move to Dublin, almost a year ago now – I didn’t realise I had subconsciously started my #yearoffear. It was the catalyst for the change I was so badly craving. I was feeling stagnant and all my fears were just keeping me there! (More on that coming in Part 2.) But it wasn’t until I listened to (and here I go again) a podcast with current internet sensation Kendra Wright from heykendra.com, that I really made the conscious decision to start facing my fears.

 

Kendra Wright is a blogger, writer, speaker and location independent entrepreneur. She has completed over 700 self assigned comfort zone challenges and specializes in teaching others how to break through fear and uncertainty, productivity slumps, and create better work life balance (without abandoning the inner hustle).

To cut a long story short – I got to interview Kendra so that I could share with you our thoughts on #theyearoffear, productivity, blogging and living life!

Here we go:

A big thanks to Kendra once again for sharing her story! For more on #theyearoffear see here, and for more on her calendar planning system, see here! Leaning into my fears has been one of the most rewarding & exhilarating things I’ve done! Once you start, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier! I have a long way to go . . .  pop back next week as I speak more about my #yearoffear xx

 

Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program Week 1

So it was that wake-up call I needed when Marlien mailed me to introduce me to her Yoga Retreat, and so that’s how I found out about her Nourish & Glow 21 Day Program. Having moved countries, cold weather, lots of travel, Easter, my Birthday etc – I felt like my diet & health were slowly, sliding downhill. Having enjoyed the low carb, high fat diet – I thought Marlien’s approach would be interesting to try and compare. Although I find that the low carb diet works for me (When you’re not drinking champagne & eating Easter bunnies), one can get stuck in a rut of the same recipes, ingredients etc – and I felt like a complete “reboot” as Marlien calls it, is what I needed too!

Week 1: 

Every morning I start the day with hot/warm water and lemon, then 20 minutes later I can have my coffee. I was most relieved to hear I could keep the coffee! However, I had to cut the dairy – and so I’m now embracing unsweetened almond milk and already pretty used to the new flavour.

My breakfast has been a green smoothie and has surprisingly kept me full until lunch. Lunches and dinners have been hearty, tasty and I’ve been enjoying trying some new recipes. All the meals have been really easy to prep & cook! From a fragrant thai fish red curry to salmon, roast chicken and crunchy salads. I’ve certainly never felt deprived!

The first two days I was pretty grumpy however- I break it down to possibly the introduction of sugar (i.e. fruit and I was by mistake buying almond milk that has sugar in it, instead of the unsweetened one)  Also, no wine!! Haha! I also felt rather bloated after the lentil dhal soup, again, my body not used to the carbs. I also felt rather week and tired.

But by day 3/4 I had started sleeping on a MUCH deeper level. My mood was incredibly positive and my mind clear. I’ve also cut back from 3 coffees to 2/day. (My coffee intake increased after the birth of Harry!) On my Saturday morning run, I felt the strongest I’ve felt in a while! For me, I think cutting out dairy & alcohol is the game changer! (Boo but yay!) I am allowed one cheat meal per week (still no dairy or unprocessed carbs though)  and so I didn’t cheat on my meal, but I did have 2 glasses of wine and a cappuccino with milk (naughty, but I was in a pub!) I was awake all night! PAIN! Getting enough sleep is another game changer. When one is not rested one gets hungrier, moodier and me, well just plane nasty!

So I’m excited to see how I feel after week 2. I’ve been given a new smoothie to try this week, the Post Practice Protein Smoothie which is DELICIOUS! Here are 3 smoothie recipes from Marlien for you to try. I’ll be back next week with a progress report! Happy week ahead x

Post-Practice Protein Smoothie: (All smoothies are gluten, grain & dairy free vegan and paleo friendly).

1 cup of almond milk

1 ripe banana

8 raw almonds, soaked overnight

8 raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight

2 tbsp hemp seeds, soaked overnight

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp raw honey

Add all the ingredients to the blender jug, and then simply blend until you have a smooth texture. Remember that your nuts and seeds need to be soaked overnight to get a smooth texture.

Health benefits:

Almonds are rich in vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, manganese, zinc and calcium. I recommend soaking almonds overnight before use as this deactivates the enzyme-inhibiting compound found in their skin.

Cashews are high in magnesium, a mineral which most people are deficient in due to large-scale farming. Magnesium is involved in over 200 functions in our bodies. Cashews also contain vitamin E, copper, iron and selenium.

Bananas are high in potassium. An excellent prebiotic (food for good bacteria), they are also rich in folic acid and other antioxidants.

Raw, unprocessed honey has powerful antibacterial and anti-fungal properties as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. It is one of nature’s true healing gifts to us. Raw, locally produced (from your area) honey can help relieve allergies and makes an excellent natural cough mixture if prepared properly on low heat with lemon rind and juice.

Enzyme & Vitamin A Smoothie:

Serves 1 large smoothie or 2 small smoothies

1/3 cup of fresh pineapple

1/3 cup of papaya

1/3 cup of mango

¼ cup of hemp seeds

Add all the ingredients to a blender jug and simply blend until you have a smooth texture.

Health benefits:

Enzymes are essential for good health as they assist in energy production, absorption of oxygen, fighting infections and healing wounds, reducing inflammation, getting nutrients into your cells, breaking down fats in the body, proper regulation of hormones and carrying toxins out of the body. Papaya and pineapple are both especially rich in enzymes.

Glow Smoothie:

1 cup of baby spinach OR kale, washed & dried

1 small avocado, peeled

1 small banana, peeled

1 kiwi, peeled

50ml of water

1 tablespoon of wheatgrass powder (optional)

Health Benefits:

The avocado provides good fats and will give you sustained energy throughout the morning; Avocados are also rich in vitamin E, folic acid and antioxidants.

The leafy greens in this smoothie promote glowing health with huge amounts of Phytonutrients, fibre, vitamin A, C, K as well as folic acid and potassium.

 For more recipes, check out Marlien’s Blog Here!

Reflection Friday: How 7 Female Leaders Spend Their First Hour at Work

I get so buzzed listening to productivity podcasts and learning about inspiring & time saving morning routines! Here’s a great article on How 7 Female Leaders Spend Their First Hour at Work.

 

I try to make a list the night before, of what needs to be accomplished the next day so that I feel organised and in control before going to bed, and upon waking. I try start the day with a walk and a podcast to open up my mind to ideas/ to learn something / get inspired! But watch this space – I’m working on a blog post on how I structure my day & what I’ve learnt! I’d love to hear how you spend your first hour at work?

x

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