How to make Greens last longer and Get your Iron on Green Smoothie

Morning,

Just another quick entry recipe for a green smoothie. In terms of the longevity of the contents of your fridge leafy greens are usually the first to go. There are ways to make them last longer but realistically they will only last a week and a half max. In order to get the maximum amount of time out of them there are ways to slow down the wilting, decomposition process.

The best thing I can recommend is going to a farmers market to get your greens, not only do you cut out the cooperate middle man but you will have a wider selection and most of the leafy greens you get will still have their roots attached, meaning they are still alive to an extent.

Once you get your greens home here is what I do.

You will need: Paper Towels, leftover plastic bags, and extra large zippy bags


1. Rinse the veggies and lightly shake the excess water off.


2. If the roots are still attached, take one of the plastic bags, drizzle a little bit of water into it, and wrap it around the root of your green. Either tie it up tightly, or use a rubber band. You don't want water leaking everywhere. 


3. Wrap your veg in paper towel. Ideally layering it in between leaves, however I find that a few layers just around the exterior will suffice, you are trying to slow down the decomposition, not mummify it.


4. Place the wrapped veg, root first into a large zippy bag. This neatens the whole thing up so you don't get a wad of damp paper towels, loose leaves and leaked water puddling in your fridge. Don't zip up the bag! That it how the veg get slimy, they still want a bit of air to breath. 

This does take a bit of extra time, but it does save money and help you get the most of your greens.
That being said, If you do find your greens are getting a little limp and can't find the motivation to prepare them... SMOOTHIE TIME!!!

This smoothie comes with added iron. In terms of easy ways to get iron when living on a plant based diet, spirulina and spinach are in the top five, however, for many the prospect of eating a bucket of spinach in your salad or downing a heap of spirulina tablets can seem daunting. I recently invested in a container of dried spirulina as I was becoming really concerned that I had an iron deficiency. It only cost $30 for 300 grams from a discount health food shop. Which when you think about it is going to last longer than 3 kg of meat.
The second issue with iron is absorption. Iron that comes from non-animal based sources is called non-heme iron. It is more difficult for the body to absorb which is where vitamin C comes in, which can direction enhance your iron intake. So with that little pearl of wisdom. Here is the recipe


 Get Your Iron On Smoothie


Serves 1 very hungry vegan


1 cup kale
1 cup spinach
1 tbspn spirulina
250 ml pure coconut water (you can use tap water, I just like the flavor and the added nutritional benefits)


(If you have a crappy blender like mine, chuck these four in first and blend until smooth)


1 banana
1/2 pear
1/2 small avocado
200 ml Orange juice


Blend until smooth and serve in a massive glass :D

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Peace,
Kaitlin

Black Smoothie fussy goths and kids

Morning Everyone,

I said before I had been making a lot of smoothies lately. This morning I wound up with one that tasted amazing but, colour-wise looked a little terrifying. It was black... apparently my ratios of fruit were a little off this morning. I do think this would be the coolest thing a kids birthday party or Halloween party especially if you don't want to stuff the kids full of fizzy drinks, cordial and other crap full of preservatives. The spirulina is also a great way to sneak iron into your diet and pair with vitamin C can be more easily absorbed into the body.

Black Smoothie

Serves: 2

1 Banana
1.5 - 2 cups of frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
1.5 tablespoons of Spirulina Powder
1.5 cups of pure coconut water
1.5 cups cranberry juice

Blend until smooth and serve!

I would have posted a picture, however, I drank all of mine, an excuse to make another I think...

Peace,
Kaitlin

Hardcore, more like HardRAW! Green Smoothie Recipe!

Morning Beautiful Persons!


I've been wanting to do a post for the last week now but time has been my worst enemy! Ive gone off on a tangent from my study specifically with the intention of writing a quick entry on what I would call the most dedicated healthy diet on the planet. The EPIC RAW VEGAN DIET and how you can incorporate some of the benefits in your daily routine.

I count calories epically, however, not so much for the weight maintenance, rather to check the ratio of fat/protein/carbs, nutrients/vitamins/minerals etc. I started noticing I was never fully achieving my iron requirements. I wanted to up the anti and the best motivation for me to do it was to start taking on some raw recipes. In a nutshell; by cooking food the nutrients get removed and it chemically changes the composition, therefore eating raw = maximum nutritional value.  Unfortunately completely adapting to this diet is overwhelming for me, also I'm pretty sure both my partner and my blender (which has one foot it the grave) couldn't cope. Instead I've just started making green smoothies every morning!

Just a quick note; for ingredients: Most green grocers will stock kale, however, it's becoming pretty popular. If you live in Brisbane I recommend going to the Jan Powers Markets, every 2nd Saturday at the Powerhouse! There is a lovely lady there who has an entire stall dedicated to leafy greens for dirt (PUN) cheap! I think I spent about $35 for this much!

At first I was very cautious at what I should put in my smoothies, mainly because I didn't want to drink half a litre of grated parsley or something the colour of raw sewage.  After playing around for a few days Ive gotten into my own inventive rhythm. Here is my take on an easy yummy green smoothie

Kale Pear Parsley Banana Green Smoothie

serves: two (or one if you're greedy like me)

1 x Large Banana
1 1/2 cups of Kale leaves
1/3 cup of parsley
1/2 a pear
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup light coconut milk


Blend the crap out of it for about 2-5 minutes, depending on how awesome your blender is and then serve :D


Would love to hear your thoughts and prepare for another smoothie recipe later this week!

Peace, Kaitling

It's not easy being green in the city of flowers

Hello everyone!

I mentioned briefly in my last post that I was graduating. Well call me qualified because I now have a bachelors degree in theatre arts! The stress leading up to the day was horrific, mainly because of the  terrifying nightmare I had about my gown being too long and tripping over on the stage. Thankfully neither of these things happened.

The ceremony was very long and as we were graduating with the engineering faculty the motivational speeches which consisted of 40 different ways to say "go be successful, get a job and follow your passion," that last one was the only one that applied to the arts. Then we all paraded out in our wizard robes, thanked our lecturers and I endured another 40 minutes of photographs with my really expensive piece of paper. I am still seeing spots from the flash.

NORMAL

WIZARD!

I just wish I had put on more blush...

To the point! My experience was tainted by the fact Toowoomba, (The largest inland rural town in Australia) isn't accommodating for the plant based lifestyle, vegan or vegetarian. I'm do not plan to get on my high horse, I preach enough to my family about that.  I do want to use my experience as a grave reminder, ASK BEFORE YOU ORDER!

So after a dull two hour bus trip my fiance, mother and I had some time to kill and we were a bit hungry. Bon Amici's is referred to as one of the "trendy" vegetarian friendly cafes along the main road. The menu looked nice, it was late afternoon so many places were starting to close and we sat down.
I ordered a soy latte with an extra shot (it was a very long day) Despite this my coffee was still quite weak. I then asked the guy, (I don't like using the term waiter) what was vegan on the menu...

As I type this I am trying to be politically correct but I was really pissed off about this.

I was told very rudely that all the vegetable soups, dressings and everything else the might have been edible on the menu had some form of animal byproduct in it. This is the kicker though, I asked about the chips and he said that they were cooked in the same oil as the fish and chicken!!!! I'm sorry but in a cafe that brags about being a hipster hot spot, FRIENDLY TO VEGETARIANS with live music and other poser trendy crap THEY CROSS CONTAMINATE THEIR FRIES!

I was then offered to pay the full $11 for a plate of salad with no dressing and half the ingredients removed. I'm pretty sure my facial expressions did the talking for me. Ironically when you go to pay for your meal you can buy vegan chocolate at the till...

There are definitely places in Toowoomba that will cater for vegans and vegetarians, however, be aware you are a minority in a town that prides itself on being the "big smoke" for the rural farming type who come visiting on the weekend.
Toowoomba is actually a beautiful place to visit, especially during the carnival of flowers around September and despite retaining a stigma of being a  "dirty hippy", you can get  fresh produce tha is beautiful and cheap. This is why it makes me so sad that clearly the mentality of cafe owners feel so monopolised that they needn't follow the green movement and renew their menus to reflect the times.

So the lesson is, don't be the timid vegan. If you had a life threatening allergy you would ask everyone about everything everywhere!  Why is it so taboo to ask if your vegan? Most places won't be douche bags, and will offer to change your meal up a bit. Sadly Bon Amici's is not one of them.

Love you all,

Kaitling

Bellabox April 2012

Bellabox April Review

Hey everyone! I have finally gotten the time to review this months Bellabox. This is my second Bellabox and, in my opinion, was by far better and more applicable to younger subscribers.

Unfortunately I can't give you a picture of the opening, or the box or a lot of the packaging for that matter as I have been using the products for the last week (that's how much I love it) and have since redecorated the box and reused it for something else. Note: mad recycling skills!

Thus I will be using mostly product pictures! (Next month will be better I promise)

This months, as stated, was all about being "fashion forward", meaning alot of the products were aimed at a younger target market. The box came on time, perfect condition and I love that you can track your package via Australia Post.

I received

1. Hollywood Feet Secret Heel Cushions (2 pairs)
2. OP Therapy Body Hydrator, with emu oil, unscented for sensitive skin (75ml)
3. Benefit: Hello Flawless oil free oxygen brightening foundation in "petal" (5ml)
4. Ulta3 Nail Colour in "Jade" (13ml)
5. Comvita: Brightening Facial Serum, Cleanser and Brightening Protective Moisturiser (1.5ml each)
6. pureDKNY fragrance Verbena (1.5ml)

 1. Heel Cushions


I am really happy to have received these. They are really fricken handy, and like everything in the fashion world: has to be taped, because no one is bloody perfect!

How I tested them: I found my most uncomfortable high heels, (yes you know, the black ones, with the heels so high they could put you in the hospital if you fall over) then I put a pad on my right foot, left one is left vulnerable (lol pun!) and proceeded to traipse around the house for the next few hours. Yes that's right, I looked sexy in the name of science!

Another side note: They fall out of the packet, which upon closer inspection say left and right, I sat there for a good 10 minutes and couldn't tell the difference at all... They also smell mildly of baby powder, it says lavender, I don't think it does. I question why they even bother with scent because there is no way in hell my foot is going to be smelling like flowers, heel cushion or not, after dancing all night. On a plus they are dimpled like the the shower mats so your won't slip around on them.


Results:
 The tape holds! they do ease the strain on the heel and I would recommend those who are susceptible to heel spurs. I would purchase them and I will be using my other set for exciting celebrations this weekend. The lavender thing is a bit of a pointless add in though.

2.  Body Hydrator

I am a vegan (only in my diet) but even more so, I hate waste, so I felt obligated to use this product. This does contain Emu oil so it's not up vegan alley. I have tried to be as objective as possible.
The emu's used are domestically farmed, however, I find it ironic that they say the product is not tested on animals...

Pro's

I am aware that emu oil is fantastic, anti-inflamatory properties ect. and as far as quality goes, its fantastic. It's really hydrating, fixes dry skin in only one application. It is also Australian made and owned, yay for feeding our own economy!

Con's
It does take a long time for the cream to absorb. For about 15 minutes you do feel like you're covered in lanolin. Its not a greasy feeling, just a bit unpleasant.

Honestly the reason I wouldn't buy it is mainly because of the Emu oil and that there are already alot of body butters/ hydrators/ creams out there that don't contain animal and do the job just as well. I would look at their other products. I know other Bellababes received a pineapple scrub, ironically I am allergic to pineapple so the OP products either way would not have been well received.

3. Benefit Foundation

The foundation was the best part of this months box. I was concerned when I first opened it and saw what colour it was, I thought I was going to either set it aside for Halloween or give it to a friend. Then I tried it and there has been JOY, LOVE,  RAINBOWS ever since.  "petal" appears dark but I would say if you have warm, fair skin with subtle yellow undertones it would be a suitable candidate, especially if you are thinking about subscribing to Bellabox this month.

Pro's

• Easy to blend
• Doesn't sit or cake up on the surface of the skin
• Medium coverage (no foundation can claim to have full 100%  coverage)
• Photographs fantastically
• results in a fresh glowing complexion (Not really Matte in my opinion but can be powdered down)

 Con's

• Needs to be touched up after about 7 hours, and blotted every 3 (Brisbane humidity)

Lets be serious though, anything that stays on my face for over 10 hours probably isn't doing any wonders for your skin. I would say this is what Revlon Photo ready tried to be, thankfully Benefit chosen to skip on the shimmer.  I love this foundation, I am graduating this Saturday and will be using it for those pictures.

 4. Ulta3 Nail Polish

There are better nail polishes out there, three days after I got my Bellabox I was going through Coles and I found a tough of them for $2, which is the same price on this months card. At least they were honest... The other thing that annoyed me, was the colour. It is not "Jade", I suppose "Sparkly Camo-green"  didn't look so good on the bottle though. It does chip if a top coat isn't used, that goes for most polishes.  It was nice to get a nail polish, maybe a better colour and different brand next time.

5. pure DKNY fragrance

It's a very small sample (1.5ml). The fragrance is nice, light, fresh has subtle tones of citrus and what I think smells like English flowers: gardenia, jonquils ? It's targeted at a younger market. I am a perfume junkie, I have too many! I would consider getting this if I was going through duty free, and is a nice perfume for a teenage girl. It reminds me of something that would be worn tastefully at a formal or cocktail event. I just wish we got a larger sample because I have been using it.


6. Comvita 
(no pictures sorry)

I am very cautious of using facial products. I have only just gotten my skin looking clear. I do however, have a guinea pig :D Unfortunately he wasn't much help in the feedback department.
I am on the fence with giving out facial products; on the one hand you can find something amazing, on the other, you could break out. A single serve of cleanser or moisturiser really isn't going to tell you much.  I will say that olive leaf is an amazing product to get your immune system up. I really hope I don't get cleansers three months straight.




FINAL THOUGHTS


This month's Bellabox was much better than last months. (I still use last months shine serum though!) It had a great concept, plenty of variety and it was great to see a big name like Benefit in there with an awesome product sample. It really made the box worth it for me. I felt like my box matched my profile and i loved sitting down and having a play with the products. I will be buying the Benefit full size when I run out of the sample. This is a great service but needs a little tweaking, my only criticism is that give the fillers the flick (nail polish) and invest it into more of something else.

I also really think Bellabox should run a competition on ways to recycle the boxes they come in. It would be really fun and a great way to get creative and I would love to see what others are using them for.

Peace
Kaitlin

Ps. Will be posting pictures of myself on Saturday with my expensive piece of paper.
 
Images supplied by:
 Bellabox.com
Beautyhaven.com.au,
http://www.uk1weddinggifts.com
benefitcosmetics.com

Apivita Green Clay Mask

Welcome!

I'm Kaitlin, resident blogger! 

I want to share my experiences living in the middle of Brisbane, specifically on my two passions: food and beauty. I am a cynic and I'm not going to pander, my opinion is what it is. take it or leave it, or you can laugh at it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to look back and laugh at some of the things I write.

Today's Review:

 APIVITA:  EXPRESS BEAUTY WITH GREEN CLAY , DEEP CLEANSING MASK

Today I woke up feeling not so fantastic after a very fantastic last night. After contemplating how horrible and cruel the sun was for shining in my window I reached a conclusion that it would be best to engage with "the system".

I wipe this one out after the rare occasion that my body was simple too weak to handle the fun of the last 12 hours. These sort of nights usually result in physically impossible anomalies! Your shoes suddenly turn into ankle eating monsters, lipstick lids magically have disappeared and makeup, which on any other normal day would disappear from your face , has now become emotionally attached  despite the fact you remember going through a pack of makeup wipes and half a bottle of cleanser at 3 am.

I like to recuperate with a facial, I feel better, my skin appreciates it and it means that my fiance does the cleaning because he believes I'm suffering by spending so much time in the bathroom. 

I went on a nail polish mission yesterday, wound up at Priceline and stumbled upon the Apivita products. There is literally something for all skin types. I'm acne prone, however, have sensitive skin therefore I am quite critical about the individually sold sachets. 

Price: $7.95 - 

It's not cheap for only two serves. It doesn't look like there is much inside the packaging but it is more than enough! The product glides on really smoothly, sets well and washes off easily. Plus you get to sit still and do nothing for 10 minutes :D

Pro's

What really sold me on this was there was no stinging. For me, clay masks that sell themselves on the premises of pore purging can start to irritate my skin after about five minutes so I end up washing them off.  Express Beauty has a lovely cooling effect, which was muchly appreciated after last night. When I rinsed it off, my skin did feel a little tacky for a few minutes, however, it goes away and my skin was left smooth, clean and glowing.  Another great thing about it was I could still facially express myself without my skin feeling overly tight and its now been 6 hours and my skin doesn't have the evening oily sheen it usually gets.

Ingredients

It claims 89% natural ingredients: lavender, Camilla, sunflower, aloe, propolis (what regulates the oil).

 Free of: Parabens, Silicones and Propylene Glycol.

Nothing is Australian though, Its made in Greece.

Final thoughts

I will be buying this again, the price is a bit high for someone to use regularly on a student budget, It is worth it for a special occasion. Mothers day is coming up so I feel it will make it into a gift pack.

Check out their website for a full range of masks.

http://www.apivita.com/face/express-masks.html

Hope you enjoyed my first review and let me know your thoughts!

Peace, 

Kaitling