{Guest Post} Women’s healthy lunch preparation

Modern day life has adopted many life style changes of which a good number is unhealthy. People are caught in a mad rush where they do not have time for preparing healthy food at home. Working parents resort to food from restaurants very often and their children naturally choose to eat easily available fast food. Junk food which is laced with synthetic colors and preservatives are high on calories. Such food only has adverse effects on human system and our health. Instead of grabbing the unhealthy food and spoiling our health we had better be cautious about the food we eat. There are other easy and healthy methods of preparing healthy food. Let us have a look at women’s healthy lunch preparation ideas.  

Dolmas wrap is a healthy Middle Eastern item for lunch which is full of dolmas and vegetables. It can be taken to work place if the components are packed separately. 

The ingredients required are;

•  ½ cup shredded romaine lettuce,
•  ¼ cup chopped cucumber, 
• ¼ cup chopped tomato, 
• ¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt, 
• a tablespoon crumbles of feta cheese, 
• 1/8 tea spoon garlic powder, 
• 1 whole-wheat lavash or whole wheat wrap 
• 3 prepared dolmas

Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, yogurt, cheese and garlic powder should be mixed in a bowl. The yogurt-lettuce mixture should be spread on the lavash, topped with dolmas and rolled. Lettuce- yogurt blend can be refrigerated up to one day.  

This Middle Eastern item contains 384 calories per serving. The calories are – 4 g fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 66g carbohydrates, 664 mg sodium, 15g protein, 9 g fiber and 360 mg potassium. It is also rich with vitamins A, C and calcium. We should have balanced food for maintaining our absolute physical health. The food we eat provides our body with essential nutrition: fluid, amino acids from protein, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and adequate calories. Leafy vegetables, pulses, fresh fruits, dry fruits, dairy products etc. must be included in our diet.  A healthy diet supports the energy needs of the body, helps in removing toxins from the body from time to time and safeguards our body metabolism. We should eat roughly the similar amount of calories that our body is using. Excessive calories harm the rhythm of the body and our health.  

Author Bio:   

I am freelance writer. My name is Thomas. I have liked to sacrifice my knowledge and my experience to entire younger’s. I wrote more articles and assignment for the developing the students careers. I have loved my profession. Recently I am working at the scholarship essay writing service. I have written the more scholarship essays also. I will publish the article topic is “Women’s healthy lunch preparation”. 

Aduna Moringa Launch

This post is well overdue. I was suppose to write this about 2 months ago. I have been super busy and just never got round to writing it.

About two months ago I was invited to Aduna's Moringa Launch party however I could not make it because of work. Fortunately, I still managed to get my hands on their new product, Moringa powder. They sent an information pack about Moringa and also a small tub of the super fruit powder.

I have been waiting for this product. I knew about this product when I went to their Make Baobab Famous photo shoot campaign back in May. The photoshoot was fun but rushed.

Before receiving the products I actually had already bought some Moringa seeds from Vauxhall market for £7.99. I went crazy when I saw them in the market. I bought them without a second thought. I took the seeds out of their outer shell and milled them into powder.

Moringa Seeds from Vauxhall market

When I opened Aduna's moringa powder, I realised that they are using moringa leaves and not seeds because the powder is green. This is before reading the front of the tub and information leaflet.

Aduna moringa leaf powder

What is Moringa and where is it from?
Moringa is a tree that is found in Africa and Asia. It is part of the plant family Moringaceae. Although it is native to Africa and Asia but it apparently it is widely used and grown in Jamaica too.  The seeds I bought were grown and imported from Jamaica. 

What are the benefits of Moringa?
Moringa is classified as a super food because it has a wide range of health benefits. It is high in protein and iron and has 13 essential vitamins and minerals. Aduna Moringa is high in antioxidants (it  apparently has six times more antioxidants than gojiberries meaning it is very good for skin's health, extremely anti-ageing and will boost nails and hair health.

The moringa seeds are rich in oleic acid. They have anti-bacterical and anti-fungal properties.

What does it taste like?

The moringa seeds and leaf differ in taste and I prefer the seeds. The seeds are extremely bitter but has a sweet aftertaste. The moringa leaves smells earthy and taste like pea protein. Does not have an appealing taste at all. Aduna describes the taste as "spinachy" taste. 

Those who know me, knows that I will still eat or drink if something is really good for my health even if it does not taste good.

How to use Moringa?

The Jamaicans ground the seeds into powder and add to water which apparently purifies it. They also just chew the seeds. But of course the powder can be used however you like. I added them to my porridge which was a bad idea as it made my porridge extremely bitter!

Aduna suggested sprinkling moringa leaf powder to salads, adding to soups or mixing into smoothies.

Although I've received the superleaf powder about three months ago, I still haven't added it to my smoothies and meals yet. I have too many superfood and superfruit powder in my kitchen haha. I will share my recipes when I do use it. Thank you Aduna! 

Freebies from Minvita

I am so excited about writing this post because it's about something I have been waiting to happen.
About three of weeks ago, I was contacted by Minvita via my Twitter. They asked me if I was interested in trying some of their products for free. (HELL YEH!! I have been waiting for healthy/natural food companies to contact me to be their sampler.)

Minvita's Tweet to me

Who is Minvita?
Minvita is a company that sells natural and healthy food and beauty products from around the world. See their website here. I have been using their baobab powder for almost two years now; I add it to my smoothies almost every morning. If you've been following my blog for a while you know that I discovered baobab powder at the Organic and Natural Beauty Show back in 2013.

So what happened and what did I get?
When I saw the tweet, the first thing I did was not replying to them but screen shotted the tweet and posted it on Facebook. Haha.
The social media manager of Minvita offered me to try sachets of their superfood or superfruit powders and body oil or a full-size tub if I was interested in one powder in particular.  They have so many products that I wanted to try but I did not want to be greedy so I just asked for sachets of the mulberry powder, a bit of sprouted black rice and bit of the baobab oil. I was intrigued by the body oil because I have been using the powder orally but never thought about applying on my skin.

So anyway, they sent me the products in less than a week. When the postman delivered it to me I was surprised to see the box because I thought there is no need to put the sachets in a box, they're only small. Or maybe they just wanted to ensure the products are well protected. I opened the box and I saw a full size tub of the mulberry powder along with a few extra sachets of it and baobab powder, a full size pack of the sprouted black rice, a few sachets of the body oil and some information leaflets.

I can't wait to use them. I will definitely share recipes and reviews soon. Minvita you are SUPER generous! Thank you so much!!

Banana Oatmeal Pancake {recipe}

I have been quiet with my weekly blogs and have let the guest posts take over the job in the past few months. Since I started a full time job, I haven’t been able to find the time to blog.  But I am never too busy for fitness. 

So what's been happening in the last few months?

I've started my very first full time job in an accelerator program as an Events & Marketing manager meaning I am involved with events a lot. It is my dream job. I love it when we have events because I am kept busy and I will be power walking from A to B, B to C, etc, throughout the day. That's exercise right there! But when we don't have events I will be sitting down majority of the time. Fortunately, my job is very flexible, I can get out of my desk and go for a walk whenever I want and  they have high desks where I can stand and work which helps a bit I guess. The fact I'm sitting majority of time that forces me to become active and stay motivated to keeping fit. 

Not only have I temporarily stopped blogging, I also stopped going to my spinning classes (last time I went was probably back in May). I went back on Thursday evening and boy I was struggling like hell. I couldn’t do one full turn from flat resistance, I could just about do a half turn. Throughout the lesson the instructor gives us guidance by telling us to keep our RPM to a certain number. Whatever the RPM he said, mine was always way below it. I just could not keep up. My average RPM was 62 and my highest was 135. Nevertheless, good thing I sweated a lot. My top was soaking with my sweat, yuk I know! 

I was surprised I struggled so much though because I have been jumping rope and doing lots intense cross fit exercises. I will write another blog about my recent fitness regime and goals. Anyways, I am about to share a new healthy and simple pancake recipe. 

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes {Recipe}

This morning I made some healthy pancakes. That's something I haven't made in a while too, I used to make healthy pancakes almost every Sunday. 

These pancakes have no added sugar and are high in protein and fibre. The riper the banana the sweeter will the pancakes be. If you prefer them sweeter,  I will suggest adding a couple of dates instead of sugar.  

You will need: (serves 1-2 people)

- I ripe banana

- 1 whole egg (I added an extra egg white for more protein)

- 1/2 cup of rolled out oats

- 1 tsp of cinnamon 

- 1 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract (optional. I add this for some nice aroma)

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit of milk or water to help it blend. 

Heat the pan with a drop of oil. Pour the batter in and cook each side for about 1.5 minute over

low heat. You won't need to add additional oil for the next few batches if you're using a non-stick pan. 

You can eat the pancake as it is or serve with whatever you like. But to keep it healthy don't opt for butter and syrup ;)  I will suggest: nut butter (my favourite is almond butter), berries, and/or other fruits. 

Thanks for reading. Please share if you liked my recipe and let me know if you do make theses banana oatmeal pancakes :)

{Guest Post} How to pull off a bold lip!

Today I'm going to show you how you can rock a bold lip! I know that some people don't always feel comfortable in wearing a bold lip, so here are some tips on how you can pull it off!

1. Make sure you are keeping the rest of your makeup simple and not OTT because you want the attention to be on your lips and if you wear a bold eye and a bold lip then it would look too overcrowded.

2. Take a cotton bud and make sure your lip line is sharp because any mistakes of slightly going out of your lip line will show up as the colour is bold.

 3.  With a bold lip I would highly recommend wearing a lip liner just so the colour doesn't bleed out of your lips as many bold lip colours do that and lip liners prevent that.

 4. If you are applying a matte lip colour then I would recommend exfoliating your lips and applying a very hydrating lip balm because matte lip products can be drying towards your lips and they can show the dryness or flakiness that you might have on your lips.

5. Apply your lip product in layers and blot your lips as you go to get the perfect lip!

So they are my tips on your how you can pull off a bold lip!

Hope you liked it!

Author Bio

My name is Daniah and I have a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog! I love anything beauty and I am constantly trying out new things. My blog has everything on there so definitely worth checking out (beautily14.blogspot.com) ! Email me atdjawad1406@gmail.com for any questions!

{Guest Post} Amazing benefits of Potato Juice and ways to use it

We are quite aware of the fact that kitchen supplies are one of the most extensively used skincare items in one’s routine and the easy availability makes these ingredients one of the most sought after remedies followed in every house. 

One such Ingredient is Potato. We have known potato as vegetable and is widely used as a main food item in every household. Like one of the most popular remedy in which potato is employed is for dark circles which just resist fading in spite of trying an army of eye creams, gels & serums. The regular usage of potato peel or potato juice surely works for genetic dark circles too! 

Let us explore more benefits of potato juice and how this ingredient proves to be a common favorite ingredient for taking care of the skin in a natural way. 

Removing Blemishes- 

Potato juice comes to rescue blemished skin and makes it even with prolonged use. These results show up in the long run and really improve the texture of the skin in a gentle & effective way. 

Treats Sunburns- 

If you are very prone to tanned and burnt by the Sun rays even at the slight exposure to the sun, then you definitely need to check out the wonderful job potato juice does to sun burns. 

Aids in Pre-mature aging- 

The harmful sunrays and continuous exposure to increasing pollution tends to makes the skin inclined towards aging quickly. This can be sorted with the regular use of potato juice to keep fine lines & wrinkles away. 

Treating Puffy eyes- 

If you are someone who gets up with puffy eyes and is clueless about the cure then potato juice is for you to use and get rid of the puffiness.I love doing smokey eye makeup and with puffy  eyes it becomes a nightmare to wear it and its only potato juice which comes to my rescue. 

Glowing face- 

For having a radiant & glowing face potato juice is really effective in doing so. It tends to have a bleaching effect on the face and gives a visible glow to the skin.There is nothing like a glowing face and a beautiful dress which I keep posting on my Indian fashion blog. 

Treating Grey Hair- 

Boiling potato peels and staining its water works very well on the grey strands of hair. Just use this water as the last rinse after shampoo and you will observe a difference in the color of the strand with regular use. 

Lightening Scar marks- 

Potato is also used to lighten scar marks by grating and extracting potato juice and mixing it with multani mitti & lemon juice and applied directly on the scar marks. 

As an anti-aging mask- 

Potato juice when mixed with a teaspoon amount of curd gives an excellent hydrating and moisture restoring mask which slows skin aging considerably and with continuous usage. This mask restores the lost moisture from the skin and makes the appearance of fine lines to progress slowly. 

Lightening Skin tone- 

Mixing grated potato and cucumber in equal proportions and applying it all over the face including areas around eyes works really well to even out the skin tone. Cucumber juice is rich in ascorbic acid & caffeic acid while potato contains starch Catecholase which is an enzyme which helps in lightening skin tone and treating puffy eyes. 

Author Bio: Anamika is the owner  of Wiseshe and Fashionlivemedia.She enjoys makeup and fashion and  playing with her 2 year old toddler. 

{Guest Post} Wedding Day Beauty Tips

If there is one day in your life when you want to look your best, then it is your wedding day. You never look just as beautiful and you never put so much effort to really shine like in that moment. There are lots of things to think about when you are getting ready for the big day and here are all of them, with some useful tips about them. This is a great chance to learn from the experience of other brides that have already gone through the entire getting ready phase.

Dress
This is what first comes to mind when you think about the wedding. You can rent it or you can buy it. Different people have different opinion on this. However, what is really important is that you feel really good in it. Some brides say that you simply feel that that is the right dress for you and the perfect dress for your wedding. If you have your own ideas about how it should look like, don’t hesitate to hire somebody to make it for you personally according to your design.

Accessories
There are tons of things that you need to make sure you got right. You will need a purse, and don’t you forget that. It should be small and compact so it doesn’t get in your way. Also, consider all the things that you want, like gloves, bouquets, belts, sashes and other things. It is very important that you choose carefully how much accessories you want to use because you can easily cross the line and have too much. This is especially the case with the jewelry. If you have ornaments on your dress or many details, keep the accessories to the minimum so that the whole combination stays tasteful.

Hair
Well, this greatly depends on the hairstyle that you already have. One thing is for sure and that is – don’t make drastic changes to your hairstyle right before the wedding. It never ends well and you end up being somebody completely different while you are walking down the aisle. It is not a thing to do at that moment. Also, make sure you know that the hairstyle should stay on for many hours, so make sure it is not too demanding. A nice and well-made bun is just the thing for your wedding day. Of course, it should be made by a professional. You don’t want to risk the bad hair day on your best day.

Veil
There are so many of them to choose from. The first thing to choose is the length. They go from face length, shoulder length, elbow length, chapel length to cathedral length. The first comes down to the chin while the last goes all the way down, dragging after the bride. After the length, you can also choose from a lot of shapes and sizes. Just make sure that the style matches the one from the dress. Also, you can avoid the veil altogether if you want.

Makeup
There is only two things you should do about your make up: the first one is to hire a professional to do it for you and the second one is to get at least one rehearsal before the wedding day. All those details that you use on your wedding day can easily turn elegant into ridiculous. Special kind of makeup that you don’t use every day can make that happen in a second. Therefore, tell your makeup artist what you want to wear and let them choose a style for you. Together, you will make it perfect.

Shoes
They should be amazing and they should be comfortable. Especially if you are planning on having only one pair of shoes for that day and they are high heels. If you cannot have both things, then have two pairs of shoes and change the pretty ones for the comfy ones sometimes during the course of wedding and after the ceremony.

Author bio: Ann Harris lives in Melbourne, Australia with her lovely husband and  two beautiful  children. She loves to write about love, relationships, beauty, weddings, DIY tips etc. Her hobbies include cooking and reading. Life is beautiful! 

{Guest Post} 5 foods that keep you healthy and young

Many people these days prefer looking young and instead of using the anti-ageing creams available in the market the following foods can help fight the age related complications and enable one stay healthy and looking young.

1. Kidney beans — these contain high levels of potassium and fiber which help lower the levels of cholesterol hence reducing risks to any heart disease, more so they contain high levels of proteins that keep the body healthy.

2. Blueberries — these contain high level of Vitamin C which eases blood circulation in the human body and they are also rich in minerals that control the ageing process and hence help in keeping the human body looking young and healthy. They also contain flavonoid- a compound that helps to boost human memory.

3. Avocado — these contain high levels of Vitamin E which is an excellent antioxidant and prevents collagen from damage, they also help in nourishment of the skin through regeneration of skin cells giving the skin a fresh look with a more youthful complexion and finally they help in keeping the heart healthy and maintaining the eyesight as one ages.

4. Red grapes — these are used to produce red wine and scientists have proved that moderate consumption of alcohol mostly red wine protects the human body against diabetes, heart diseases and loss of memory that is related to old age, more so red grapes contain a compound known as resveratrol which is an antioxidant that prevents the human body from ageing and helps to keep it healthy. The compound resveratrol is an anti-inflammatory that helps to keep the skin looking good and also offers protection against UV radiation hence protection against skin cancer that in most cases is caused by UV radiations.

5. Salmon — these contain Omega-3 fats that on top of nourishing the skin they prevent it from drying and ageing and therefore the skin is not prone to dryness and wrinkles. These Omega-3 fats help to improve flexibility of the skin and its ability to repair. Salmon also contains a compound known as astaxanthin- an antioxidant that prevents the human body from ageing and offers protection against heart diseases and cancer. European Health Insurance Card refers to a free card that gives one access to necessary medical care provided by the state in the course of a temporary stay in one of the European countries. The medical care is provided under similar conditions and at equal cost with the people insured in the country. This card is usually issued by the holders national health insurance provider and it doesn't provide protection against personal health care or other costs such as lost property or the
return flight and therefore it does not serve as an alternative to travel insurance, more so this card does not cater for the costs incurred when one is travelling for the purpose of getting medical treatment and lastly it's not a guarantee to free health care since each country's system of health care is different and free medical services in the home country may have to be obtained at a cost in another country.

This is a guest post by Kristy Jones who lives in Liverpool and is an avid writer and blogger. Her areas of interest are food, reviews (Book/Movie), Travel, Fashion,Lifestyle and fitness. She works as a guest blogger on her chosen areas of interest and currently writes on behalf of European Health Card .