Monthly Archives

February 2014

Posted on February 27, 2014

5 natural ways to whiten teeth

How To

Beyonce-white-teeth

Apparently, one of the first thing people notice about me is my teeth – I know, weird! who notices teeth right?

Those were my initial thoughts, but then I though about it. They have good reason to notice my teeth because in fairness I do a lot to maintain the whiteness.

As much as I love coffee I don’t drink it because I’m afraid it will stain my teeth, I don’t drink fizzy drinks because I don’t like the feeling it leaves on my teeth and I don’t smoke…. well you know where this is going!

So for those of you who are looking to get pearly whites yourself, then you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to get your teeth whitened. If you want, you can use natural methods to whiten your teeth at home:

Baking soda and lemon

Before you brush your teeth, mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of lemon until you have a paste. Brush your teeth with the paste for a minute and then spit it out. Don’t leave this in your mouth for too long because the baking powder is quite abrasive.

Oil pull

Put a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and swish it around your mouth for a couple of minutes. This will get rid of all the bad bacteria in your mouth and leave your teeth feeling fresh and shiny.

Banana peel

Use the inside of a ripe banana peel and rub it on your teeth for no more than two minutes. The potassium and magnesium from the banana will absorb into your teeth and whiten them.

Strawberries

Mash a few strawberries to make a paste and leave it on your teeth for no more than two minutes. Rinse out your mouth with clean water and then floss out any seeds between your teeth. The malic acid in the strawberries help get rid of any surface discoloration on your teeth.

Charcoal

Dip a damp toothbrush into powdered charcoal and brush your teeth for 2 minutes. Spit it out and then rise your mouth thoroughly. Charcoal helps get ride of bacteria that cause cavities so if you do this a couple of times a week you won’t have to go to the dentist as soon as you thought!

At the moment I’m using the first method. I only do it three times a week, but if you’re new to whitening your teeth at home then you can start off by doing it every second day. I love strawberries far too much to try that out and the idea of putting charcoal on my teeth is a bit scary! Let me know if you have any favorite methods yourself 🙂

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Posted on February 23, 2014

Oat bran muffins

recipes

2014-02-22 14.02.59

I love porridge. I have it every morning and it wouldn’t be the worse thing to have in the evening (if need be!). So you can only imagine my disappointment when I opened a packet of what I thought was porridge and found oat bran instead – not the best feeling in the world.

Thankfully, I found a few healthy recipes that include oat bran in them. I decided to give oat bran muffins a try and being the rebel that I am, I also added a few of my own ingredients to it:

300g oat bran
100g brown sugar
50g honey
2 tbs baking soda
2 tbs oil
2 eggs
250ml milk
vanilla essence
cinnamon

2014-02-22 14.04.41

The mixture is pretty easy to make. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then mix the milk, oil and eggs until well combined. Put spoonfuls of the mixture into muffin cases and cook at 220°C for 15 minutes.

A mini oat bran muffin has no more than 170 calories, which, might sound like a lot for some, but I think it’s perfect. It’s also much better than your average chocolate bar. But if you’re a calorie counter, then I wouldn’t advise you have one of these everyday. Like anything, moderation is key!

Since I managed not to throw in some avocados into this recipe, I believe congratulations are in order 🙂

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2014-02-22 14.08.05

Note: This recipe makes up to 28 mini muffins but with medium-sized muffin cases I’d imagine you’d get about 14 out of it

Posted on February 17, 2014

Dry skin VS dehydrated skin

Natural beauty
derma
I recently went to The Buff Day Spa to get a mini facial and somewhere between the time that I arrived and the time that I left, I found out that my skin is dehydrated – I know right, how could a person who is prone to oiliness ever suffer from dehydrated skin right?
Those were my thoughts exactly.
Up until now, I was part of the confused group of people who thought dry skin is caused by a lack of water and moisture in the skin and that a person prone to oiliness could never suffer from skin dehydration, but boy have I been wrong….
Although one part of this misconception is true, the other part couldn’t be further from the truth and here’s why:
Dry skin is a skin type so if you’re born with it, chances are you’ll die with it too –sorry but it’s the truth. It usually occurs when someone has under active oil glands. This means that the skin doesn’t produce as much oil that it needs to stay moisturised, leaving them with a rough and flaky appearance.
Dehydrated skin on the other hand is a skin condition, meaning it’s easier to treat than dry skin. Often caused by external factors like the weather or harsh cleansers, dehydrated skin lacks water content but is still able to produce oils – which is why someone with oil skin can also have dehydrated skin.
The underlying  difference between the two if that one is a skin TYPE and the other is a skin CONDITION. The only way to treat either one is to use products recommended for your skin.
I’m currently using Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser and I’m quite liking it at the moment. I’ll wait until I finish the whole bottle before doing a review, but so far so good.
If you’re unsure of your skin type,you can find out here.

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Posted on February 11, 2014

Chocolate avocado mousse

food

avocado chocolate mousee

I know I know, at this stage I’m pushing it with my avocado recipes. But, this one is really tasty! It’s almost hard to believe that something like this could even be a healthy dessert! You only need a few ingredients and it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes – perfect for those who want a quick sugar fix.

So what do you need?

avchoc

2 ripe avocados
2 tbs 100% cocoa powder
2 tbs honey
1 tbs almond milk 

Note: Make sure the avocados are ripe. I made the mistake of using a not so ripe avocados and let’s just say my mousse  didn’t turn out quite ‘moussy’.

What to do:

Peel and pit the avocados before you put them into a blender. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend. If you don’t like your mousse too thick you can add some more milk. I like mine thick and creamy so I try not to put too much liquid. After a couple of seconds your chocolate avocado mousse should begin to look something like this:

avvv

Once it has the consistency you’re looking form you can serve it right away!

It’s a great way to get some avocado’s into your diet, especially if you’re not a huge fan. I’m going to calm it down with the avocado recipes now, but do give this one a go, it tastes amazing!

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Posted on February 10, 2014

3 ways to make your eyes look bigger using makeup

Eyes/ How To

cara-delevingne-profile

A lot of people forget that the eyes are the first thing a person sees when they look at you. Okay, so there’s the occasional eye drop down to your twins – yes there are some pervy people out there…..

But in general, the eyes are what a person first sees, so why not make the most of it and make your eyes bigger and brighter with these simple tricks.

1. Calm it down a few notches with the liner

Steer clear of black liner. The only thing black does for your eyes in make them look smaller. If you have pale skin stick to white liner on your water line and if you have dark skin go for a brown liner.

2. Brighten your inner corners

This is the oldest trick in the book, and possibly my favorite. My ‘go to’ makeup consists of a simple winged eye and gold shadow/ highlighter in the inner corners of my eyes to open them up. If you have fair skin then you should opt for a silver in your inner corners rather than a gold.

3. A good mascara

Nothing like a good mascara to get the job done! It makes all the difference in the world, believe me. With a good few coats of  a lengthening mascara, you will make your eyes look instantly bigger without using false lashes at all.

If you have any eye enhancing tips feel free to share them with me!

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Posted on February 4, 2014

Why you should eat more avocados

food/ Not so guilty pleasure

avocado-half

I’m a huge fan of avocados. I love how you can have them with something sweet or you could enjoy them with something savory. Something hot or something cold. As a side dip or a main…..they’re just so versatile!

Lately, I’ve been trying to get a lot more of these into my meals. Since the average avocado has over 200 calories as well as healthy fats, it’s the perfect fruit – yes it’s a fruit, to build muscle tissue and gain weight. Not to mention how good it tastes…..
Now you know why I like my avocados, but why should you get more of these into your diet?
Healthy skin
Of course, anything that’s good for your skin doesn’t get past me. Not only do the antioxidants in this fruit help get rid of the toxins that promote early aging and wrinkles but, they’re also high in vitamin E which is well known for protecting the skin- clearly you’re in good hands!
Good fat
Again, healthy fat. The ones your body actually needs. People with a low-fat diet usually find themselves with sugar cravings (that won’t sit well in the belly!)
Filling
Since avocados contain fiber, you will find only one of these will keep you full for a while. You won’t feel hungry again until long after you’ve had a full avocado – sounds like a lot for some, but believe me, after a work out I could eat a horse – no joke!
Healthy oils
This means it can help restore your healthy body weight. So even if you aren’t trying to gain weight, you could still do with a bit of avocados every now and again,
Versatile
Use it to make a salad or a smoothie. It works well as a replacement for butter or to make ice cream  (yeah that’s a new one, but it’s actually nice!)
Hope I’ve convinced you to eat some more avocados, if not,  check out my avocado ice cream recipe below (not the time of year for it I know, but I guess you can say I’m a bit contrary!)

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avic

Posted on February 2, 2014

Avocado ice cream

Uncategorized

avocado icecream

I’ve been eating pretty clean lately and only recently I found myself craving some sugar, It’s funny because only a few weeks back I was bragging about how unaffected I was by sweets and junk food – guess I was on a different boat this week!

Anyways since there’s always a few avocados lying around the house, I thought I’d make up a ‘healthy recipe’ to beat my sugar craving. I know it’s a bit odd to have ice-cream in this weather, but what can I say, I’m a bit of an odd ball myself so what can I say!

I know there’s a good few recipes for avocado ice cream , but some contain dairy or sugar – two things I’m trying to avoid… so here’s a dairy-free alternative:

2 ripe avocados
240 ml soya milk
130 ml soya cream
75 g  honey
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Peel and pit the avocados before you put it in the blender.

Add the other ingredients and blend until smooth.

You should get about 1 litre from this.

Put it in a freeze-proof container and freeze for at least 6 hours.

If you like your ice cream a bit soft then you don’t have to wait long before scooping it up.

I know it’s no Ben & Jerry’s, but it’s definitely much healthier!

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