LEMON & COCONUT BLISS BALLS

I love bliss balls, cookie balls, protein balls, whatever you like to call them. They usually take about 5 minutes to make, everything gets chucked in the food processor -  roll and refrigerate and eat. So hard to muck up. I normally make weekly batches and take them to uni to keep me from eating the desk during the 3 hour long classes.  yes, 3 hours long. I love chocolate bliss balls with dates and coconut oil & nuts but I've recently been enjoying lemon and coconut ones. Lemon + coconut is actually the most tasty flavour combination and a nice change from chocolate. A little less heavy.

LEMON + COCONUT BLISS BALLS

+  1/2 cup shredded coconut
+  1 cup almond meal
+  4 tbsp melted coconut oil
+  3 tbsp rice malt syrup/ honey
+  juice & zest of 1 lemon
+  tsp of vanilla essence (optional)

Chuck everything in the food processor and blend. Adjust to taste- adding more rice malt syrup or honey if desired. Roll into balls. Then roll in shredded coconut or sesame seeds. Pop in fridge to firm up. * I havent tried freezing these balls but they could be delicious enjoyed frozen! :)

Drink with tea or anything that makes you happy x

SUKIN SKINCARE

I have always been a big fan of Sukin skincare. They are an Australian based organic, vegan, skincare range. I've used their cleanser and moisturiser for a few years and last week they had a competition on Instagram to win $100 worth of their products from their online store and I was lucky enough to win! I never win anything! I feel like everyone says that but it's true. Last thing I remember winning was a mcdonalds colouring in competition when I was 7- so naturally I was extremely chuffed with this winning prize upgrade.

One of the most wonderful things about Sukin is how affordable their products are. For 100 bucks, I managed to score six products which is nuts. Since skin is the largest organ of the body (everyone forgets that!) it's so important we look after it instead of suffocating it with toxic junk which makes up most commercial skincare..
Sukin stuff all has
- no sulphates
- no proplyene glycol
- no artificial colours
- no parabens
- no artificial fragrances
- no animal derivatives
- no triethanolamine

In other words... just all the good stuff. The stuff a normal human being can read on a label without requiring a chemistry degree to understand it. Think Aloe Leaf juice, Vitamin E, Rosehip oil, Lemon myrtle. Food for your skin. And all for under $20 for nearly all their products- which is pretty unheard of in 'stuff-thats-really-good-for-you' world. A moisturiser will set you back about $8.95. Pennies!

Anyway, my favourite products I've tried so far from this little treasure bundle have been the night moisturiser, rosehip oil and clay face mask. I get hectic dry skin in winter... the adventures that come with having an auto immune condition also mean that any changes in my body always outwork them self onto my skin. Most mornings this winter I've woken up and my skin is so thirsty and dry.  The other night I slathered the night moisturiser all over my face, mixed with a few drops of rose hip oil and when I woke up in the morning, I kid you not - skin wasn't dry. First time in a few months, it still felt soft and hydrated after a nights sleep.

Anyway, enough typing. Go and try it. I can proudly say Sukin have successfully roped me in as a ranting, happy fan. To happy healthy skin x

COCONUT, RASPBERRY & HONEY POPS

All time favourite snack at the moment. Kinda weird for winter but who cares. I kinda invented these the other day hence the very approximate quantities- just go with it.

COCONUT, RASPBERRY & HONEY POPS

+  1 can of coconut milk
+  big handful of mashed frozen raspberries
+  1/4 cup of honey/maple syrup
+  teaspoon of vanilla essence
+  handful of coconut shreds (optional)

Mix all together in a bowl. Add more honey or stevia to sweeten to taste. Pour into iceblock moulds and pop in freezer to set. Yum.

DIY CLEAN CLEANING

So for a long while I have wanted to rid my house of hectic chemical cleaning products. I held out from getting rid of the Exit Mould and bleach cos I don't think I actually believed natural household products would cut it. But a few months ago I ran out of Ajax and decided to bite the bullet and oh my goodness was it worth it. I had this yuk brown grime that was accumulating on the bottom of the kitchen sink. Scrubbing it hard with the  dish brush didn't get it off, and Ajax hadn't worked either. I'd kinda resigned myself to the fact that maybe it was just a result of an old sink which wasn't getting any newer. Out of slight desperation, I sprinkled a few spoonfuls of baking soda on it, waited about 10 secs, rubbed it with the brush and watched as it magically took all traces of gross grime off!! I actually could not believe my eyes. And that's not even being sarcastic. Then I sprinkled it all over the bath with some vinegar and it worked a charm. Dirty bath ring be gone!

The height of success happened the other night when Matt spilled a whole glass of red wine on our carpet so we sprinkled baking soda and sprayed vinegar on it and left it to dry. After 48hours I vacuumed it up (with apprehension) and the stain was completely gone!

Hope I've convinced you. Non toxic cleaning isn't invasive, it won't kill your lungs, you don't need to wear gloves, it won't kill you or your children if swallowed, you're not harming the environment and it works just as good- if not way better then commercial cleaning products.

*For an all round, all purpose cleaner fill an empty spray bottle about 2/3 of the way with water, mix 4 tablespoons of vinegar and a few tablespoons of lemon. Perfect for most things.

*Baking soda can be used directly (or mixed with water to form a thick paste) on any surface for tougher stains, such as carpets, bath, kitchen sink and ovens.

*I store undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle as well to spray straight when required.

Can't go wrong with these 3 ingredients! It's cheaper and it's cleaner. Go green x

CHOC PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Is there really any better combination then peanut butter and chocolate? Nah. Ricotta and honey, tomato and salt and salmon and cream cheese all come pretty damn close for me but I think this one may win out.
I decided to make these last night whilst making dinner and a cheesecake. Our kitchen is spatially challenged at the best of times. By the end of it nearly every dish we owned was being utilised, many balanced precariously on any placement resembling a surface, including the toaster, the lid of the kettle and the floor. Sigh. Never the less, one must persevere and it paid off cos these puppies turned out amazing. Closest version I've made to Reece's peanut butter cups. I will be surprised if you can stop at one.

CHOC PEANUT BUTTER CUPS                                                                                                   

Makes 6 cups (double recipe for more)

Peanut base:
+  1/2 cup natural peanut butter i.e no added sugar or salt
+  1 tbsp natural maple syrup
+  2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Mix above ingredients together in a bowl and dollop a teaspoon into bottom of paper or silicon lined muffin tins. Place in freezer and make choc topping while base is freezing.

Choc top:
+  1/4 cup (or little less if u prefer your choc less rich) cacao powder
+  1 tbsp of natura maple syrup
+  3 tbsp melted coconut oil

Combine above ingredients together well in a bowl and pour a teaspoon over each peanut base. Pop in freezer to harden up and consume baby!

FAT, SICK AND NEARLY DEAD

 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' is a 2010 documentary following the journey of an australian dude- Joe Cross as he sets out to regain his health through a juice fast. He fasts from food for 60 days, consuming only juice - and mainly vegetable based juice at that. He was on medication at the beginning of his fast and managed to come off it during the fast, whilst also losing a total of 45 kilos. Amazing. He also meets the loveliest man (Phil Staples) on the way who is also morbidly obese who asks for Joe's help in regaining back his health and life.

I watched this for the first time last week and was super moved and inspired! I loved watching Joe tackle his health head on and learn about the importance of holistic health and nutrition along the way. Even better was watching Joe help Phil. I'm gonna stop typing cos Im gonna ruin the whole thing. You can watch it at the Youtube link below x

   

   

NEVER GIVE UP

hello. I am currently neck deep in exam prep. Bio chemistry & Human Bio. Two very challenging subjects. In between metabolic processes, I keep finding myself jumping on Pinterest. It's so good for the soul. Sometimes you just need visual inspiration for academic motivation ha. Reading 'Never Give Up' in giant pretty letters strewn across my screen actually makes me consider not giving up - as terribly sad as that may sound. For any other tired eyes- feast your wayward wednesday evening hearts. x

all images via here