#23) Egg on your face?

One of nature's most perfect food for our healthy consumption is the egg, an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals. New research at the University of Alberta, Canada, has discovered that the egg also contains antioxidant properties that help in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Dr. Wu and his team of researchers at the university's Dept. of Agriculture Food and Nutritional Science Department examined egg yolks produced by hens that were fed typical diets of both wheat and corn.  They found the yolks contain two amino acids, tryptophan and tyrosine, which have high antioxidant properties.

They found that two raw egg yolks offer almost twice (2x) as many antioxidant properties as one apple and about the same as half (1/2)  a serving of cranberries (25grams). When the eggs are  fried or boiled, the beneficial properties are reduced by half.

Dr. Wu also found that egg proteins work the same way as ACE inhibitors, the prescription drugs used to reduce high blood pressure.  That finding contradicted the notion that eggs increase high blood pressure because of their cholesterol content.    So relax, eat your eggs, both the yolk and the white of the egg and you will find a little egg on your face is good for you and a very healthy addition to your daily diet. One egg is about 6 grams protein and 70 calories, a great way to start your day for breakfast.

Also remember that some people have an intolerance to eggs.  Often this specific food intolerance will be from chickens fed soy or corn vs. chickens that have the freedom to roam and consume natural foods, we do not see free range chickens very often anymore.   If you suspect you may have a food intolerance you might want to avoid all products made from egg completely and see how you feel after several weeks of total and complete abstinence.  Other common food intolerances are to dairy(milk), soy, peanuts, gluten(wheat), corn and sugar.  The symptoms most often entertained from food intolerances are bloating and gas, indigestion, low energy, foggy mind, mood changes, and even sometimes a difficulty in losing weight.   Until next time, Dr. Mark Doyle.

For more information on our Weight Loss Programs in Bellevue, WA, please visit:

http://www.3010weightlossforlife.com

Visit our website for more info on Dr. Doyle's high tech clinic in Bellevue, WA. 

http://www.8thstreetchiropractic.com/

Bloggers! Win tickets to the Olympic Games with Coca-Cola

Examples of Coca-Cola's colour-coded recycling bins designed for London 2012

I hope all you bloggers with some waste-busting credentials out there have got your fingertips at the ready, because today's news is that I'm judging a fantastic competition that's promoted by Coca-Cola as part of its Olympic Games Sustainability Challenge and which is inviting YOU to talk about my favourite topic.

REDUCING WASTE!

And the prize on offer is an exciting package featuring two tickets to the Olympic Games for 4th August, as well as travel and accommodation, all of which are provided by Coca-Cola as as an Olympic sponsor.


All you have to do is publish a blogpost about easy ways in which you are reducing waste in your household and link it to the competition blogpost at the Coca-Cola Website. 

I would love you to take part and share some inspirational and entertaining snippets of how you juggle your waste at home  - and seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the entries did actually feature some snazzy juggling action.

For more information about the competition, go straight over to my blogpost at their website, and follow the instructions there. I've included lots of ideas about ways in which you can take part.

But remember, to be in with a chance of winning, make sure you enter by the closing date which is midnight Friday 13th July.

And with any luck, if you're one of the winners, I will see you there.

I won't be difficult to spot, I'll be the one snapping photos of the colour-coded recycling bins as well as some of the other examples of waste reduction featured around the Olympic Park.  I may even drag along Shedwyn, my roving reporter from last summer's 1000 bins campaign. After all, it's right up her street.

Until then, good luck to all who enter. I can't wait to visit your blogs and be inspired by your talent.

Now, get ye gone from here and go over there instead.

http://CokeURL.com/karen

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Disclaimer: I will not be paid by Coca-Cola for launching, promoting and judging the Olympic Games Sustainability Challenge. However, I have been invited to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games along with some of the competition winners and a Coca-Cola representative as a thank you for working with them.

Cheering myself up with zero waste flower power

I've been feeling totally rubbish today, possibly overtired following the weekend's BritMums conference.  I've got a busy few days coming up, Mr C's at a long conference and to be honest, I'm feeling overwhelmingly disorganised and quite glum!

After a morning of sweeping and mopping the floors like a charlady - no, we don't live in a huge house, it just takes my procrastination that long to get into the swing - and working my way through the emails and four cups of tea, my mood still hadn't lifted.

There was nothing for it!

I took to the garden with a scissors. Not even my pruning shears.  Honestly, there was no time for such precision in getting the proper tools.

I was on an urgent mission to find something cheery amongst the flowerbeds!

I know I could have sat down on a bench and admired the Sweet Williams outdoors, but I was after mood-lifting prettiness, to give me a visual energy boost and supplement those mugs of tea, indoors!

As I dropped the cuttings into the vase, I acknowledged that this was something I now take for granted, but here I had a vase of flowers with:

no plastic packaging;
no rubber bands;
no plastic packet of flower food;
no paper wrap;
and zero flower miles. 

That's very different to the regular bunches of flowers I used to bung in my trolley at the supermarket.

I tell you, I was that excited thinking about how much crud I've saved on my floral habit, I also got snip-happy with the Alliums

There are lots of resources and discussions about growing food, encouraging us to keep it local and to avoid packaging, but its floral cousins get much less attention, even though almost 90% of cut flowers are imported into the country. So if you're looking for proper inspiration regarding what to grow in your garden or further information on buying British seasonal flowers, I recommend the following links.

Cut Flowers-Growing & Selection, The RHS
Choosing British cut flowers, Sarah Raven.
Growing cut flowers, BBC
Why buy British grown cut flowers, The Flower Co-Operative
British flower bouquets, Wiggly Wigglers

Now as for that glum mood, which inspired this blogpost in the first place.  I am very happy to say that it's lifted!

Here's to happy planting!

BritMums Live! A glimpse at blogging for the greater good.

The 'Blogging for the Greater Good' panel at Britmums Live with Camila Batmanghelidjh - Kids Company, blogger Kylie Hodges, Claire Hazelgrove - ONE.org, Polly Gowers - Give as you Live and blogger Kate Davis-Holmes

If you haven't been introduced to BritMums yet, I urge you to listen up and take note.

This weekend, the online community, formerly known as British Mummy Bloggers, gathered together for BritMums Live, a high-profile conference with over 500 delegates in attendance, attracting members from all parts of the country and with a diverse range of personal stories and blogging achievements.

Bloggers, old and new, listened to inspirational talks from blogging peers, as well as a range of celebrities from the more traditional media world.  Well-known bloggers such as Antonia Chitty, Julia Boggio and Kate Davis-Holmes, sharing programme time with some of the nation's well-known faces including Sarah Brown, Cherry Healey, Eleanor Mills, Katy Hill and Ruby Wax.  The topics were just as extensive, from experiences with depression to finding your voice, photography, publishing, video blogging, beginners tips, advanced tips, work\blog\life balance, food and blogging for happiness.  And the great thing was, it didn't matter about any individual's background, whether it was journalism, TV or blogging, being a speaker or a member of the audience, the atmosphere felt very much a level playing field.

One of the key messages to emerge from the conference was how influential bloggers have become and the evidence was pretty clear, with major names such as TK Maxx, Crocs, Panasonic, Lego, Warner Bros and Butlins being present on the day as sponsors. Brands are keen as ever to win over online voices, using modern-day word-of-mouth to share news of their latest products, through blogging platforms and micro-blogging such as Twitter.

But it's not just about manufacturers and retailers getting buy-in. In recent years, there has been an increased trend in bloggers standing up for their passions and working in partnership with the third-sector, raising the profile of charities and key issues.  For example, many of the BritMums community have already voiced support for PiggyBankKids, a charity founded by Sarah Brown, that helps vulnerable babies and children.  PiggyBankKids' presence at the conference spoke volumes, as did the fact that fundraising enabler Give as You Live was the event's key sponsor, highlighting how online shoppers can raise money for their favourite charity at no extra cost to themselves.

At the Blogging for Greater Good discussion, members of the panel - pictured above - highlighted the power of bloggers in profiling good causes and reinforced the point that charities don't necessarily need bloggers' donations, it's the blogging that is most important, encouraging support from online followers, as well as friends and families.  It's very much about sharing the personal stories that people have to tell that can connect closely to a specfic cause.

Whether as individuals or a a group, blogging seems to be entering a new era,  It was mentioned on more than one occasion how professionals within 'traditional' media have been turning to bloggers and Twitter to source stories, topical commentary as well as content for programmes and new TV formats.  My own experience can already testify to that, having had several opportunities to contribute towards and influence production content for a range of local radio broadcasts, national radio and a TV documentary.  It now seems to come with the territory and as been something that's taken some time for me to get used to.

Four years ago, it felt like wading in jelly to justify myself as a blogger but things have since changed and both BritMums Live and the recently-held Cybher demonstrated that many other bloggers have noticed the changes.

So, what did I personally gain from this weekend's event?

Firstly there's the gratitude that I've continued to blog about a topic that I care about, despite numerous moments of self-doubt and the odd period of burn-out.  BritMums Live served as a reminder of why I started blogging.  It's about the passion and the sharing.  This blog may be niche, but I do it because I care about my children and the generations that follow.  If I can learn and help shape positive change as a result of my discoveries, I will be happy that I've done my job as a blogger.

Then there's the awesome support. A hugathon, full of old friends and new aquaintances. I tend to be one for discrete waving than shouting out a total roll-call, so I shall just say, quite warmly and with much appreciation, thank you all, you know who you are. And to my pals who buffered my nerves during the awards evening, and then boosted the flow of wine when I didn't win, an even bigger thank you to your good selves.

And finally, there's that kick up the backside again, the one where I should really pull my finger out and write that book. With great advice from author and mentor Antonia Chitty, I now need to jump those hurdles of time-conflicts, mobilise my resources and get cracking.

Of course, being a waste-geek at a conference that coincided with Recycle Week, I couldn't help cast my mind back to the fabulous contribution the community gave to the campaign, just three years ago in 2009, and I wondered if there could be scope again.  It was much fun with lots of people rising to the challenge and demonstrating tonnes of creativity in spreading the word, so I very much hope it can happen again.

In the meantime, there's no way a rubbish blogger should really end a blogpost about a blogging conference, without demonstrating some evidence about what bloggers are doing to shrink their rubbish.

So here's my old pal and 'Rubbish Dieter', Tim, author and blogger at Bringing up Charlie, who after a dash of wine, attempts to reveal the fullness of his relatively new compost bin.  He slimmed his bin by 50% you know!

Oh yes, sorry I forget to say, the conference may be called BritMums Live, but in this age of equality, fathers are made welcome too.

Recipe: Harissa Turkey with Pomegranate Couscous and Tzatziki

This is something I quickly whipped up in my lunch break from work today. It's really quick to make (20 minutes), healthy, filling, and soooo tasty. I love harissa- if you are unsure as to what it is, it is a tunisian spice paste made mostly of chilli, but mixed with other ingredients like peppers, onions, carrots, and cumin. It can be varying levels of spiciness so finding the brand you like is important. My favourite is Bart's harissa paste, lots of flavour and not too spicy for me. All the main supermarkets sell it so you won't have a problem finding it- you'll find it in the "world" section in supermarkets (where you find a mishmash of things like miso paste and dolmades and various other cool ingredients).

Harissa Turkey, with pomegranate and coriander couscous and tzatziki
Turkey
2 turkey breast escalopes
2 tsp Harissa paste
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cous Cous
150g cous cous
180ml boiled water
Seeds from half a pomegranate
Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic salad dressing (pre-made or home-made)
Salt and pepper to taste

Tzatziki
250g natural yoghurt
½ cucumber, grated
½ red onion, finely diced
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic paste (or vey finely chopped garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a roasting tray, lay the turkey escalopes out. Cover in the Harissa paste, some olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, put boiling water over the couscous and cover for at least 5 minutes (or until the couscous is cooked). Add the pomegranate, coriander, dressing to the cooked couscous, season to taste, then set aside.
3. Meanwhile, Mix together all the tzatziki ingredients together in a bowl, and season to taste.
4. Remove the turkey from the oven, and serve with the couscous and a few generous tablespoons of tzatziki.

Recipe: Greek Salad

Hey guys. So "Widcombe Rising" is Bath's biggest street festival, it is a big mish mash of art, drama, music, food, drink and festivities- and my boyfriend Nick and Natural Theatre Company director Ralph Oswick organise it every other year . An estimated 8000 people visit Widcombe Rising on the day, and it is always fantastic and fun filled. This year,since it was all "Olympiad" themed, i decided to have my own stall selling Greek salads! I did really well actually, and reckon i would have sold out if it hadnt have rained a bit on the day. This is the recipe that i used to fill my greek salad pots, it's a main course sized portion for 1, that can of course easily be multiplied to feed a family, or to make a fab side dish. In the picture i've just used red peppers (because i ran out of green, lol) but it's always good for appearance sake to use different coloured peppers. Also, this dish is so healthy- each portion makes up 3 of your five a day!!

Greek Salad (serves 1 as a main course)

100g tomatoes, sliced into wedges (or halved cherry tomatoes)
5 black olives
20g thinly sliced red onion
¼ (50g) peeled and sliced cucumber
30g (1/4) red pepper
30g (1/4) green pepper
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
50g feta (diced into cubes)
Pinch dried oregano

1. Combine all the ingredients except the feta and oregano together in a mixing bowl. Plate up the Greek salad, top with the feta, and sprinkle the dried herbs over the top. Serve!

Recipe: Turkey Saag

Hey guys! Sorry I havent posted in a while, but i've been doing a lot of shifts at Cosy Club lately, and then I had to cater for a big street festival on sunday (which i'll fill you in on all the details in a couple of days). This is another really nice recipe incorporating turkey, a meat that I am becoming very fond of at the moment. It's just nice to know that the meat i'm consuming is incredibly low in fat and very high in nutrients at the same time. I've converted Nick onto it as well, he loves it too now. "Saag" is the Indian word for Spinach, and you will often see Chicken (Murgh) or Lamb (Goscht) Saag in Indian restaurant menus, although in my recipe i chucked in a few new potatoes as well to make it a little more filling. PS: I made the paste using my new hand blender/ processor attachment thing, am in love with it SOOO much!!

Turkey Saag (serves 4)

Curry Paste:
½ white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green chilli, seeded
Small handful fresh coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Curry:
2 tbsp olive oil
500g diced turkey breast
1 tin coconut cream
300ml chicken stock
1 red pepper, diced
125g (about 3) new potatoes, diced
200g spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander for garnish

1. In a food processor, blend together all the curry paste ingredients until it forms a paste. Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the curry paste, frying for a couple of minutes. Add the turkey, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add all the other ingredients (except the spinach), and cook for a further 20 minutes on a high heat, stirring often. Add the spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve with some extra fresh coriander.

Recycled Paint? Yes please!

Anyone who's tried to take a pot of paint to a recycling centre will most likely have been met with the disappointing news that unfortunately it can't be recycled due to the nature of the chemicals. Often the advice is to use it up, donate it to a community repaint scheme, or dry the contents thoroughly with sand before bunging it in the rubbish bin.


But there is another solution, one that I discovered quite recently, which is to actually recycle waste paint into new paint.  This is something that I thought would be impossible, until I stumbled upon the West Sussex based company Newlife Paints.

Newlife Paints does exactly what it says in its company name.  It breathes new life into old paint by reprocessing it into a new product, which contains a minimum of 50% recycled paint.

Created in 2008, the business has an agreement to recover water-based emulsion paints from nearby Household Waste Recycling Centres. The tins are separated into key colour groups, exterior or interior use and matt versus silk finish, after which the paint is blended, tested and treated, before being filtered and packaged ready for sale.  As a result of this process, each year, the company has been able to divert an estimated 100 tonnes of paint from landfill or incineration.

A few months ago, following my cheeky request to try it out, Newlife Paints were kind enough to send me a tester pot.  Unfortunately since then, things have been so busy,  it has spent most of its time just sat on the shelf.

But seeing as it's Recycle Week, I thought there was no better time to give it a go and yesterday I finally managed to grab myself a roller, open the pot and slap it - yes, that is my decorating style - onto a wall that has been in much need of redecoration for as long as I've been staring at the unopened pot of paint.

So what's my verdict?

I'm no professional, but on application, the pale magnolia emulsion certainly seemed to live up to any quality brand that I have used before and provided good coverage and a finish that offers more credibility to my decorating 'skills' than I possibly deserve. Even after the first coat.

I was particularly pleased with this, because the wall upon which the paint was tested (pictured above), has seen a lot of knocks and handprints from the younger members of our household.

The paint also dried fairly quickly and left no real distinct smell around the house.

That's the verdict on the product.  Sadly my husband's verdict on my decorating skills is not so positive. Apparently preparation is the key to perfection and I really should have taken the trouble to mask off the areas which I didn't want to paint. Admittedly, I was over-keen to get started and as a result I'm not sure I'll be trusted to be left unsupervised with a roller in future, whether I'm doing my bit for recycling or not!

But now that there's a choice of  buying 'new' or 'recycled' paint, for me I'll be choosing the latter, especially as Newlife Paints state that every 5 litres of paint recycled results in an estimated saving of 13.58 kg in CO_2. 

Stockists are mainly limited to West Sussex based companies at the moment, but the company has an online store for nationwide orders and is also preparing to launch its product range into 120 B&Q stores_. The emulsion range is good, offering a choice of 32 colours and Newlife Paints provides a colour matching service too.

With innovative processes like this now being available in the UK, I would hope that paint recycling along with community reuse schemes will continue to divert increasing amounts of paint that is wasted through landfill and incineration.

It would be great to see more recycling centres collecting pots for recycling or reuse and I certainly hope that Newlife Paints can expand its recovery and reprocessing service into new areas.

Local paint collection is one thing that I feel we currently miss out on in Suffolk, but I now feel confident that it's only a matter of time.

____________________________________________________

More information about Newlife Paints can be found at www.newlifepaints.com. For details of Community Repaint schemes, visit www.communityrepaint.org.uk.

Confessions of a rubbish blogger - for Recycle Week

Blimmin' 'eck, it's Recycle Week!

The 9th one apparently - although I've only ever been aware of the last 5.  I reckon I must have been sleepwalking beforehand, probably too busy at work or with the kids, or doing the washing up, picking pins out of the wall or probably flossing.

Well it is a bit of a bizarre thing to have on your kitchen calendar isn't it!

"Recycle Week whoop whoop. I love a bit of that!" isn't quite the typical cry to be heard in the average household, unless of course you happen to be someone entrenched deeply in the recycling sector and can't wait to make a big noise this week.

So, seeing as I'm pretty much of a waste groupie, with one leg dangling inside the recycling industry whilst keeping the other one safely on my home turf near the kitchen sink, I thought I ought to contribute in my own way and confess a few things that might bring hope to you all....

Gawd help us!

Here goes.

Sometimes, dare I admit, I get caught without my resuable bag. Yes, mostly I juggle, partly to stand by the the 'refuse' principle and sometimes to replicate the challenge of Buckaroo, but on a few occasions I've had to give in.  But eh! I have refused plastic bags in Harrods! Yes Harrods, the place where I would once go just to get my hands on one of their shiny green carriers! So I reckon my halo remains intact, even if on the rare occasion it might look a bit dangly!

I once called my sister a waster! I was five. She was two. She was wasting her food. I got told off for swearing. I was simply being truthful. Tact was never my strength.


Many people think I live at the recycling centre!  I don't. I only pop in when passing, which might be once every 4-6 weeks. Thanks to a number of joint projects, I now have a 'Recycle for Suffolk' hi-vis jacket but I promise you all, I never attempt to impersonate a recycling operative, that would be mean to the professionals and the unsuspecting public.


I can be a real prude! So when asked by an Irish radio presenter, about the one thing we should never send to landfill, to this very day I still don't know why I blurted out 'sanitary towels'. Still blushing, I think I should have said food waste instead, even if I was secretly proud of getting over my hang-ups and abandoning the disposables. I fear it was too much for both me and the unsuspecting man on the radio, let alone his audience!


Ringing up my local council's waste strategy officer to ask where I could recycle my husband's old pants, just a matter of days before we did a joint presentation, did nothing to end my blushing or help my professional reputation! But bagging them up and dropping them in the textile bank did make me feel a whole lot better, as well as knowing what to do with the dodgy old loo seat!


Kevin McCloud once took a shine to my lovely upcycled handbag, which is made from old redundant firehose diverted from landfill. When he asked to look inside, I became utterly embarrassed that it had been a long while since I'd last emptied or recycled its contents. 'Always be prepared' has since been my motto, even if in reality, I still use my bag as a mini waste transfer station.  From that day I have not let anyone else peer within!


One of my scariest moments was during filming for a TV documentary when I had to go through a family's rubbish that was spread out on their lawn, within minutes of meeting them. Apparently the director got that idea from this very blog.  However, I don't remember writing anything about me personally emptying out bags of doggy doo.  Thank goodness for the protective masks, even if the elastic did break frequently, adding to the waste pile! It was worth it though. By picking out all the things that could be recycled locally, stuff that could be reused as well as disposables that could be replaced with longer lasting alternatives, the family reduced their rubbish even further during the week that followed.


And finally, there is the matter of my own rubbish. Despite forever pushing towards the road towards Zero Waste, we still have some rubbish that unfortunately has to go to landfill.  Things like confectionery wrappers, crisp packets, toothpaste tubes and other types of multi-material laminate packaging, plus the odd scrap of food waste, when our wormery needs a pepping up or if, like any other household, things haven't quite gone to plan.

I admit that we are lucky to live in a part of the country where the recycling services are extensive, where we can recycle almost every type of plastic packaging in our kerbside bins as well as hard plastic such as broken kids toys and coathangers at the county's Recycling Centres.



The moral is that recycling services are improving all the time and councils across the country are using Recycle Week to help boost awareness of what can be done to reduce waste locally, whether it's encouraging you to recycle all your plastic bottles or to find out more about organic waste.

So if you're not up-to-date with the latest facilities in your area, it really is worth logging onto your council's website to find out what's happening, or visiting www.recyclenow.com.  And if you're a newcomer to the whole idea of wastebusting, especially when it comes to food, you'll find even more advice at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.

And my last piece of advice is, no matter how daft your recycling query might be, don't be shy about calling your council.  The worst that'll happen is you'll cheer up someone's day and at best, you'll know what to do with that thing that's been niggling your recycling muscles for far too long!


_________________________________________________________

Blogger disclaimer: In the climate of sponsored blogs, I'd like to clarify that this blog is totally independent of Recycle Week and all websites listed above. This post is not sponsored. I just know a blimmin' useful resource when I see one!

6 Good Habits Before Bedtime Bring Wrinkle Loss

There are lots of simple ways help you to reduce wrinkles on your face. They just take you a short time to do before going to bed.

1. Glass of milk and honey

People have used warm milk and honey for centuries to help them sleep. How this drink encourages sleep is not fully understood, and there is little scientific evidence to support milk and honey's use as a sleep aid. Regardless, those who find that warm milk and honey helps them sleep may be reacting to the comfort of a drink they enjoyed as a child, the relaxation of sitting quietly before heading to bed, or the amino acid L-tryotophan, which encourages sleep and is present in milk. Unless you suffer from gastrointestinal problems from drinking milk, there is no harm in trying this beverage if you're having trouble falling asleep.

2. Hair massage

Hair massage is good for quickly combating stress. A good hair massage helps to increase blood circulation to scalp skin and aid hair growth. Hair massage also reduces stress, tension headaches and induces good

3. Soak and massage your feet

Soak feet in warm water about 10-15 minutes. Gently rub the bottoms of the feet just as you get into bed. It will assist in the calming of your nervous system, and sooth your journey to peaceful sleep. Plus, it reduces anxiety! This produces a calming sensation that relaxes both the mind and both, and helps people fall asleep faster. If you often do foot massages at night (the feet tend to be the coldest area of the body in bed, so warming them up will also help you fall asleep), your nervous system will begin to associate the smell with sleep.

4. Go for a walk about 10-20 minutes

Walking slowly about 10-20 minutes before going to bed brings a better blood flow, this not only makes you fall asleep fast, but also gives you a skin rejuvenation. So, instead of reading newpapers, watching TV or even working, take a walk before going to bed. Do not be nervous before going to bed mental, avoid strenuous exercise or physical labor. Instead, it should be a walk in the outdoors to minimize the subjective stimulation.

5. Ventilation window

To keep the air fresh in the bedroom, you should open the door for a while before going to bed even when it'swindy or cold weather. The air exchange and circulation help you sleep better. Remember not to open the window while you are sleeping.

6. Teeth brushing

Brushing your teeth is even more important than you do in the morning. Brushing the teeth in the night before going to bed is an ideal time. Like, whatever we ate in our dinner, it washes out and teeth are cleaned. Even there will be no mass between gums. It smells and feels good. In addition, this brings you a comfort when sleeping.

Beautiful Skin With Honey

Many ladies admire my silky smooth skin. They often ask me about a special method for skin cares and get surprised at the answer “honey”.

As you know that honey is nature's energy booster and a natural remedy for many ailments. That’s why honey can not only provide nutrients but also prevent our skin from a lot of harmful factors.

Here is about how to get beautiful skin with honey with different kinds of mixtures:

•  Squeeze a fresh lemon, thoroughly mix lemon juice with 20 grams of honey. Then slightly rub this mixture on your face from 15-20 minutes, clean your face with warm fresh water. Times: one per day. Uses: provide nutrients for a soft and beautiful face skin.
• Thoroughly mix glair of 1 chicken egg with 10 grams of honey. Then slightly rub this mixture on your face from 15-20 minutes, clean your face with warm fresh water. Uses: provide nutrients, soften, remove wrinkles and pigmentation marks.
• Thoroughly mix 10 grams of honey with yaourt. Then slightly rub this mixture on your face from 15-20 minutes, clean your face with warm fresh water. Uses: provide nutrients for a soft and acne anti skin.

In addition, honey is the best natural acne treatment you can find. You can put it on toast or in tea. To use honey topically, mix 1/2 cup of warm water and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Use a cotton ball and apply it directly to the blemish. Remember to clean your face before you start to put pressure on the cotton ball to soften the blemish. The use a cotton swab to dab honey on the blemish and keep the it on your skin for ten minutes, then rinse off.

Love yourself and get relaxed is also the best treatment for your skin.

Lemons for Beautiful Skin

Lemons are wealthy in nutrition and can be used as numerous beauty, skin, hair and healthcare remedies. Lemon behave as firmers, diuretics, skin cleansers and detoxifiers for that body systems. They contain many substances for example citric acidity, calcium, magnesium, potassium, ascorbic acid, bioflavonoids, pectin, and limonene, which are crucial towards the physiques daily functioning.

Lemon are used to cleanse and freshen the hair and skin. Use lemon slices to melt rough skin spots for example elbows and heels. Lemon slices also help deodorize and mix a couple of teaspoons of fresh lemon juice inside your bath and you'll feel fresh the entire day. Fresh lemon juice can be included to your favourite facial cleanser or shampoo to refresh and tone your scalp. It may also help prevent dry skin. Lemon rinds could be applied onto scars because it helps healing. Lemon is really a ,natural bleach it can benefit to diminish brown spots and acne scarring too.

The most known substance that lemon behold is Ascorbic Acid. Ascorbic Acid is definitely an antioxidant, that is vital to getting rid of toxins that may damage healthy cells through the body. Toxins would be the greatest threat to the skin simply because they damage the cell and it is membrane. Ascorbic Acid may be the only antioxidant that that may also greatly increase bovine collagen synthesis. Bovine collagen accounts for skin strength and elasticity, and as we grow older bovine collagen production decreases and results in wrinkles.

Here are some tips to get your beautiful skin with lemons:

- Freshly squashed lemon juice. Indeed, it is just one of nature's gifts to beauty. To eliminate melasma along with other darkening of your skin, squeeze a brand new lemon and dab the fresh lemon juice towards the affected part. It is necessary to not expose the skin towards the sun after using fresh lemon juice evidently as it might irritate it. Apart from as being a good home cure to lighten the skin,it's also a great antioxidant that keeps you youthful searching.

- Avoid burning exposure. Safeguard the skin with sun block when you are outdoors. You might want to steer clear of the sun especially throughout midday once the warmth is intense. Put on shades and to safeguard your skin around your vision. Particularly when heading out for any go swimming,always safeguard yourself in the dangerous sun rays from the sun by utilizing sun block.

- Drink lemon juice everyday help you to get rid of toxins and have a healthy feeling. Which give you a younger beautiful skin without any wrinkles and acne.

Simple Steps to Get a Natural White Skin

No need to spend so much time and effort for whitening your skin. Just use 5 following simple tips to get a natural white skin:

1. Sun-cream

Sun-cream is an effective skin-whitening tip which isn’t normally thought about. You should not think that sun-cream’s effect is only to prevent your skin from getting darken by sunlight. The uv and different environmental impacts leave us sunburned skin and increasing melanin rate (Melanin seriously impacts on our skin pigmentation. The more melanin we get, the darker the skin is). Sun-cream prevent the skin from not only uv light but also increasing the melanin rate. If you often use sun-cream for a long time, you will find out its effect.

2. Moisturizing your skin

It seems that moisturizing is unrelated to skin whitening methods we are mentioning to. However it is really important to get a natural white skin. Dry skin brings a darker skin and it is easier to get sunburned. Therefore, moisturizing is a natural way to defend the skin against darkening effects and the moisturizing balance brings a silky smooth skin.

3. Tomatoes

Tomato can bleach, it is a natural raw material for whitening skin. Slice tomato into half and segregate the seeds. Wash your face in circular motion and use your usual soap. Rinse and pat dry. Use tomato in your face circular motion. Leave it into 15 minutes. And if you want to fast whiten you skin you should leave in over night. You can see the result in the first day. Your face will become shine and whiten. You use everyday as a good result.

4. Wheat flour

A healthy skin keeps us far from darkening impacts. Maintaining a soft and resistant skin by wheat flour is a good idea. You should mixture wheat flour and yaourt. Then you apply the mixture on your face from 15-20 minutes. This should be done once a week to keep a healthy skin.

5. Papaya

Papaya is one of nourishing fruits good for hair, skin and digestive system. In addition to eating, you can apply the pureed papaya on your skin. Clean your face with warm fresh water after 20 minutes. This leaves you a natural soft white skin.

Competition: New Covent Garden Soup of the Month: Summer Green Minestrone!

Hey guys! One of the most exciting wins of the last couple of years is having one of my recipes developed and produced by New Covent Garden Soups! This months "Soup of the month" is my "Summer Green Minestrone with Smoked Bacon". The theme of the competition was "Shape up with Soup" and they thought my recipe fitted the bill perfectly- containing lots of healthy green veggies, but with the flavourful addition of smoked bacon.

It's an adaption from a recipe on this website, they had to use white onions instead of red, add some potatoes, and blend it up a bit- so it's not exactly the same as my original recipe, but I had it for my lunch today and i think it tastes great! Infact I think it's one of NCG's best soups actually! Am so happy about the whole thing, and this will look fab on my C.V. when i want to go into food product development after my degree. Look how happy I am, haha!!