Friday 27 June 2014

Gardening: a new hobby

Since we moved to the house we live in now and have this great big garden, I've discovered I actually like gardening.
I think that because I only lived in appartments with balconies before, the gardening bug didn't have time to infect me!


Now we only need some good weather and we're good to go!

Our dog loves the garden too, and demands lots of entertainment involving squeaky toy throwing, ball throwing, hunting for dog biscuits and rolling in the grass...


We even got a spot with natural shade during the day and where there's evening sunshine. Great for cosy evenings with a nice cold G&T!











We hung lots of chinese lanterns in the tree next to the terrace and added solar lights around the garden, for summer evenings outside.

My boyfriend built a wooden terrace enclosure where we can put flowerpots in the top part, so it gives a sense of privacy when we are eating outside.






I got 5 birdhouses for my birthday from my boyfriend, which adds colour to the garden.
This year there are no occupants, but I'm hoping that next year we will have 'rented out' at least one of the houses to a bird family.






My boyfriend also used his genious to build me a herb rack next to the kitchen door, so I have fresh herbs at my fingertips...

It's a really great way of growing herbs, and most of them are perennial, some just annual, so I can make sure that aside from the regular favourites I can try out new kinds of herbs each season.


On the other side of the rack we have got our mediterranean herbs in pots and they seem to have flourished since planting them over a year ago.
We found the sage underneath our hedge, planted randomly, so we dug it out and put it in a pot and now it seems much happier.








Last year we started also with some fruits and vegetables and had strawberries (they were all eaten by birds, I think I got to eat two in total), red peppers and tomatoes.

This year we are growing a few more veggies, and we've decided to add a raised vegetable bed to our garden next year, so we can try our hand at even more!







The tomatoes here aren't ripe yet, but it's going to be a fantastic harvest!



We've already been able to enjoy a few cherry tomatoes though!



The red bell peppers are taking a while to get started, but we've got tons of potential fruits now.

Cucumbers on the left need a bit more time, but the radishes in the middle are going to be eaten this weekend. The courgettes (zucchinis) are in need of a new container, they are getting huge already, hopefully we'll have a good harvest here too.

We also bought two lemon trees, but I'm not sure how they will do in our climate. So far we've got plenty of starting fruits, and lots of new blossoms, so here's to hope!






Since we haven't grown our own salad this year, I tend to buy organic lettuce of some kind and add lots of our home grown herbs. My favourite salad dressing is one inspired by Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.


Recipe for the ultimate salad dressing

Ingredients to dress a large salad for 4 persons:
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of organic creme fraiche
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and pour over your salad, mix well and enjoy! The dressing keeps for up to three days in the refrigerator.
I find this dressing goes really well with most salads, but my favourite is lambs lettuce or romaine.

Next post will be on natural dental care, which I hope to post at some point next week.

xxx C

Thursday 26 June 2014

Natural haircuts: my first-time experience at a natural hairdresser

I am abundantly posting today, probably because I didn't post last week!

This weekend we visited my boyfriend's brother and sister in law in Cologne and whilst we were there I managed to get an appointment at Just Nature for a haircut. Just nature is not only a hairdresser's but also a natural cosmetics store.

I really needed a haircut, my hair was getting quite long (which is what I want) but also looked like it had been nibbled on by rodents! All thin and shapeless at the ends, it really didn't look good anymore.

I gave the hairdresser (very lovely guy, he's a master hairdresser, so he has many years of experience) a simple brief: please cut my hair into a style that's not too out there (I hate 'modern' haircuts) and something where I can just wash and go.

First he really took his time to find out what I wanted, and then I had my hair and scalp brushed. He massaged some Hauschka neem oil into my scalp and then my hair was washed whilst I was lying on a bed. Very comfortable. He used John Masters mint shampoo, which made my scalp tingle nicely. The hairdresser really observed how my hair falls and then started cutting my hair. A lot came off! I now have my hair jaw length and layered, and I really can wash and go! I haven't had a bad hair day since I left there last Friday!

I also left the shop with a few things: John Masters shampoo, a new boar bristle brush, some neem hair water from Hauschka, a trial size peppermint Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, a face mask and new courage with my great new haircut!

If you happen to be in Cologne and you want to visit the shop, its on the Ehrenstrasse number 40. You do need to make hairdressing appointments in advance, but browsing the shop is already more than worth it. They have a great selection of natural cosmetics.

XX, C.


Deodorants: can we stay smell-free and non-toxic?

I think one of the first things in natural cosmetics after trying no-poo (more on that when I get to hair care) was trying to find a 'clean' deodorant that also stopped me from being smelly all day long.

The search was quite long, and I'm not sure if I've found my holy grail in natural deodorants yet.
I first made a homemade stick deodorant and a roll on, then experimented with a cream type. I found that aside from it being awfully messy (especially the stick deodorant) to make, I wasn't getting the consistency nor the function of store bought conventional deodorants.

I think I also had a mindset that I had to stay dry, like when you use a chemical laden antiperspirant. Once I got away from those thoughts, I decided to try some store bought natural deodorants, mainly in roll on form, some in pump spray.

I tried many store bought ones that DEFINITELY did nothing, worse: they made me smelly!
Even though I like some of the Hauschka products, their deodorants are definitely not part of the products that I enjoy. Neither are the Weleda deodorants, nor the Alva ones. They just didn't work.
I was slowly giving up hope that I was ever going to not be smelly if I wanted to be chemical free under my arms.


At some point I happened to be in a Douglas shop doing some work research and stumbled across a natural deodorant from Biotherm. It is called Deo Pure Natural Protect and has the EcoCert label. This is one I still like using, even though it's expensive. I find it works especially good when doing sports and when you know it's going to be a very hot day. If you don't like alcohol, then this roll on is not for you. I find it works well and is gentle enough to even use after shaving. The fragrance is a nice fresh and sparkling witch hazel and citrus fragrance. There is also a men's variant of the same deodorant, and I've used that one as well. The fragrance is a bit stronger litsea cubeba, but function and price are the same. I just happened to get the mens one when I found the women's variant was not available. This is one of the items of natural cosmetics that are great to get at airports in bulk, as you can really save on the cost!

The second Deodorant I found was from Ovimed, a stick deodorant. Unfortunately, aside from all the nice essential oils there are still petrochemicals in this one, so it was a one off buy. It did work, and if you don't mind propylene glycol et al, then this could be a very nice aluminium, talc, silicone, and paraben free alternative. It certainly worked very well, although the smell is quite special. I would say the smell is a herbal spicy citric fragrance. Not really my thing, but the fragrance doesn't overpower at all.

At the moment my favourite everyday deodorant is the cream deodorant from Soapwalla. I love the consistency, the smell and how well it works, even on warmer days. The consistency is light gritty, but not too bad, considering it is a baking soda based deodorant cream. So far I haven't noticed stains on my clothes either. The fragrance is quite polarising I think, but also totally natural, and I really like it. There are notes of tea tree and peppermint and I find that the peppermint lasts longer.


Last but not least: the deodorant creams from Ponyhuetchen. This is a Swiss brand/shop, and I like them a lot. I recently ordered Bluetenzauber (a pretty floral fragrance) and Kokoskuss (a sweet coconutty fragrance) and got a sample of Erlkoenig (a green herbal fragrance) to try out. The consistency of the creams is light gritty, but not overly so. They go on really nicely, and so far have not stained my clothes. They work well, and last all day long without losing their functionality. The fragrances of these three aren't natural, so be aware when you order deodorant creams to check should this be important to you. I don't mind too much, I think the dosage of fragrance is very low anyway, so it shouldn't cause issues to non-allergic people.
Since the allergens aren't labelled on the ingredient list, I would think that they are below the registration level or allergen free.

I still have a Speick roll on deodorant to try out. I got it in my first ever Biobox in April. Once that has been tested, I'll post an update.

Next post will be about gardening: veggies and herbs and I'll post a recipe for my ultimate salad dressing.

XX, C



Tuesday 17 June 2014

Recipe: Grain Free Bread



I'm back from my conference in Deauville. 

It was really great, I spent three days networking, talking, catching up with old friends and ex-colleagues, smelling old and new things and getting inspired.

Once back home we had guests over on Saturday and on Sunday to BBQ. This of course involved getting several delicious flat breads and dips from our fabulous Arabic/ Mediterrannean supermarket at the end of the street. Since several grains cause allergic skin reactions for me, I need to eat grain free bread. Not such a simple thing. I try to eat a fairly ketogenic/ low carb diet, so many of the gluten free breads you can buy in store are out too.

Maria Emmerich has a great recipe for bread, and I used that for inspiration to create my own. It's reminiscent in taste to Waldkorn brood, a Dutch very dark wholegrain bread.

I've been making this bread for about six months now and I usually make two loaves at a time and slice them up and freeze the slices so I always have some bread on hand if I fancy it.

Here's the recipe:

'wholewheat' seed bread for allergics, inspired by Maria Emmerich

Makes 2 medium sized loaves.
One serving is 2 slices.


Ingredients:

2 medium sized bread loaf pans, I use silicone
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup flax meal
90 grams psylium husk powder
1/4 cup cracked flaxseeds brown
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda, aluminium free
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt, fine
5 tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar, unfiltered
7 egg whites
2 tablespoons lightly roasted macadamia nut oil or another oil of your choice
1 3/4 cup boiling water



I use measuring cups and spoons because it's so easy and since I've had to adapt a lot of US recipes it just seemed to be the logical option. You can find them in most good kitchen stores and of course online.


Preheat oven (upper/lower heat setting) to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 175 degrees Celsius.

Mix all dry ingredients apart from the seeds well. Add the seeds, mix well again. Then with a kitchen machine with the dough appliance (I used a handheld mixer with dough hooks) add the egg whites, the vinegar and the oil and knead well until mixed. You should have crumbs. Then boil the water and pour it in the bowl immediately and knead until sticky and well mixed. To do this I also use a regular handheld mixer with the dough hooks. It saves time and isn't so messy. Divide the dough into two, and fill the two medium sized bread tins with the dough. Press down so there aren't any large gaps, this prevents too many holes in the bread when cooked later on. The tins are up to 1/3 to 1/2 full. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Take the bread from the tins and set on the rack with the oven off and the door open for 10 to 20 minutes to dry out completely. Then move bread to a cooling rack and cut when cooled off into medium slices. Freeze those that you are not going to eat, and keep the rest in the fridge.



Enjoy! I love toasting my bread and spreading it with mushed avocado with a little garlic and seasalt. But the world's your oyster really!

Tomorrow, I'll post a short review of my latest used deodorants.

xxx C.

Friday 6 June 2014

Chaos: a normal state of being



So we have a nice dressing room at home. His side: organised, everything nicely folded and in its place. My side: clothes, bags and shoes crammed in double the space he has, and I'm needing more space! Reason why: I can't get rid of anything! I don't hoard, but I certainly am loathe to sort through my things and maybe pack them up and bring them to a charity shop, and throw away shoes with no more mileage. I always think I could use the items at some point. I never do! So on the programme for when I get back from my business trip: a clear out of my wardrobes.

The picture above is my dressing table. My sweetie installed a mirror with LED lights alongside so I can really see everything clearly. It's an old dressing table/desk that belongs to my mother, and I used it as a desk myself when I was younger and still in school. Now it's back in my posession and serving me very well again.

I have been better at organising my cosmetic products: I have separate drawers for separate areas of my body and so it's more overseeable. I use a mixture of high end niche natural cosmetics and cheaper products. I guess I like treating myself to a more luxurious item from time to time. I love trying out new stuff, and so I've got lots to discuss here!

Week after next, I'll start with deodorant reviews and a discussion of which ones I like to use.

xxx, C.

Thursday 5 June 2014

I'm going to do some writing, cooking and reviewing here!

Very soon my personal blog about natural cosmetics, health and nourishment will be properly written into existence. For now just a quick post.

I can't promise anything new and/ or revolutionary, but I can promise entertainment, reviews, recipes and my testing failures!

I have been inspired by some wonderful blogs on health, food and natural cosmetics and I wanted to share what I have learned and experienced so far in my quest to get healthier and live a more environmentally responsible life in our consumer society, without having to compromise on luxury and pleasure! (I promise, this will have been the longest sentence on the whole blog!)

I'm off to a conference next week, but once I get back I'll try and review a product or two at least once a week, post a recipe or two and maybe entertain with some anecdotes from my life.

xxx, C.

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