Water Challenge

I am aiming to increase my water intake and set myself (and you) a challenge to do just that.

I am on the water challenge and I have had a great day with that but the rest has not been so great.
It's no big deal, it's not the end of the world for sure. Does that happen to you sometimes?
Its half term school break this week so we can allow some changes to the regular routine.
There are some exciting things planned which I cannot wait to share.

• Quick, Simple Hand Made Gifts for Mothers Day
• Green Cleaning Recipes

Keep in touch on Facebook: Awesome Naturelles
Speak to you soon

18 Quick & Easy Tips to Increase Your Water Intake

18 Quick & Easy Tips to Increase Your Water Intake

Decide from the start that you are not going to give up until you reach for a drink of water as your drink of choice!

Start the day with hot water and lemons. You can add a slice of lemons or squeeze fresh lemons into the cup. This gives the body a wake up call and kick starts the metabolism (to put it pleasantly!!)

Use a beautiful carafe and keep it filled with water wherever you are. Of course have a glass handy nearby. This works if you are at home and you know that you will be in a specific room for most of the day or somewhere away from the water supply. 

Make use of your home water filter if you realise that you don't like the taste of your tap water.

Pep up your water. Add crushed mint leaves, frozen or fresh lemon or lime slices to add some zesty zing to your drink

Claim an interesting glass for your water challenge. Set aside a special glass, a wine goblet or something humorous that will just make drinking more water an awesome body spa adventure.
Drink water before you have that sugary snack that you think you want. This will let you know if it's hunger or thirst as we often assume that we are hungry and not the other way around.

Use a straw to drink your glass of water and see how fast it disappears, especially with wider straws. We tend to take in bigger gulps with straws, something that I will definitely be adopting.

Carry a bottle of water in your bag to sip on while you are queuing at the bank or waiting to pay for shopping. Keep sipping until you get to the top and you would have increased your water intake already.

Include drinking water as part of your skincare routine as you do the daily cleanse and moisturise or my favorite Oil Cleansing Method. Drinking water is the first and last step in the routine. Drink, Cleanse, Moisturise, Drink again. 

Juicing is a great, healthy way to increase your water intake as the vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots and celery contain large amounts of water along with a burst of beneficial nutrients. A double whammy enjoyable health boost!

Treat yourself to a special water bottle that is yours alone to take to the gym or use at home or work. Mark it with the times of day when you wish to have drunk certain amounts. Mark it  for set times  (11am, 1pm and 3pm), you want to finish the bottle to ensure you meet the goals. 

Put three rubber bands on a bottle and take one of after every refill to help you meet your water quota for that day. This will help you to keep a tally on your intake. Two rubber bands left means two more refiils before bedtime so get going. Drink Up!

After every visit to the rest room, have another glass of water to replenish your body's water supply. If you do this constantly, your trips to the rest room will decrease as your body finds its true water balance. 

Only have a fizzy drink after 2-4 glasses of water. You set your own target to test yourself. Fizzy or Water? Who will win that battle? I can only say: 'Think of the waistline'

Drink a selection of herbal teas for variety as well as their excellent health boosting benefits. You can enjoy fruity, green and a range of low cost herbal teas from every supermarket or health food store. Enjoy something new!

Try to drink cold water as often as you are able as this actually burns more calories and is absorbed into the system more quickly. Try for at least once in a normal non-exercise day when temperatures are low. It's part of the challenge!

If you are drinking juice, dilute it with water as a quick, easy way to increase your intake making the juice last even longer. 

Challenge yourself with others on this blog, post your successes, ideas and tips every day and encourage others.

Good Food

http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/archive

This is so true

I was inspired by this on Pinterest and had to share. See the link above for more interesting health ideas.

So plan ahead to have good food readily available everywhere you look
Fruit on the table. 
Vegetables in the salad drawer and lots of fresh frozen food in the freezer.
Let there be an overflow in your house.

Valentines Day Plans?

Its the Love Season.

How will you be spending the day?

Are even bothered by it all or do you show continuous love every day of the year through all that you do?

Will it irritate you if your other half doesn't do anything at all and you just get a peck on the cheek and an even cheekier grin?

What's the deal here for this 2013 Valentine's Day?

Even if you have not thought about it by now, there is still time. It's not over until it's over!
Think of the sweetest, silliest and simplest thing that you can do and go do it.
Give some love and celebrate your spouse.

Some thought ticklers for you

• Buy a special Valentine's Meal from your supermarket
• Prepare a sweet strawberries and cream desert. Add chocolate chips for decorations.
• Buy an orchid or extra special flower arrangement though the prices are through the roof at present. But that's the point, isn't it?
• Make breakfast in bed if they have the day off
• At least buy a humorous card and seal it with a kiss.

Share your thoughts on Valentine's Day in the comments box. Give others some inspiration..

Awesome Protein Boost

February Focus includes increasing  protein intake to assist with  hair and nail growth and to increase staying power throughout the day. No more afternoon slumps!

The first recipe, which I found on Blended Recipes,  is mainly for growing sons (I have 3 of those!) and those doing regular exercise and gym workouts. But do try it if you feel so inclined.
http://blendedrecipes.com/

Sources of protein
Peanut Butter
This is a hidden gem in the food cupboard. It has fiber and protein both of which help to keep you feeling full for longer, so you don't need to eat a lot of it. It is nutrition packed with great goodness. Vitamin E, bone-building magnesium and muscle friendly potassium to name a few of them, all in a serving of this little thought of food. 

Greek Yogurt 
Packed with protein which helps promote fullness. A typical 6-ounce serving contains 15 to 20 grams, the amount in 2 to 3 ounces of lean meat. That makes it particularly appealing to vegetarians, who sometimes struggle to get enough of the nutrient. An identical serving of regular yogurt, on the other hand, provides just 9 grams, meaning you may feel hunger pangs sooner. Be wary of the fat content in Greek yogurt. 
Best to buy low fat or no fat versions for health benefits. I originally used yogurt I had in the fridge at the time and will be changing to Greek yogurt in the future. 

If you like peanut Butter and do not have any nut allergies, this one really works well. 

Protein powder
A concentrated shot of protein to enhance the drink. There are many on the market to choose from which you can research for your individual needs. Fortunately there are small sizes available to help you in your trial and error here. Do not worry as the amount that you will be using will not give you hard muscles like Popeye! 

This smoothie is great for after a workout or as a meal replacement to prevent you from flagging mid afternoon in addition to all the many nutritional benefits.

Recipe 1

2 banana
1 scoop of Protein powder
1 tbsp peanut Butter
Few Frozen Mango chunks
1 Tbsp Oats
1 cup of no fat Greek yogurt (you can use a flavor of your choice)
Add extra milk or water for liquid
1 tsp honey (or natural sweetener of your choice)

Blend Away! 

Recipe 2 

This is a protein and iron boost drink with Spinach

Spinach
A very nutrient-dense food. It is low in calories yet very high in vitamins and minerals.
This is an excellent leafy green vegetable which is high in iron, protein with an abundance of nutrients which put it on the list of super foods.

1 Banana
1 Apple
Mango Chunks
2-3 Tbsp Flavored No Fat Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Oats
A good handful of spinach

Blend Away!

Try these and enjoy good health
I love reading your comments, please share.

Food for Your Soul

Bible and Breakfast

A different post from me today sharing a bit about spending quality time with God. After a month of intentionally seeking God through prayer and fasting, I woke up with the thought that we should always be looking after the health of our inner man as much as we do our physical bodies. 

As a busy woman with a whole heap of things to be done daily, I know that this is a challenge to many. 
Some would put it under the huge banner of time management; 'How can I use my time better to get all the things i want to get done, done!'
I don't have the perfect answer but I find it helps me when I take time to have breakfast with my bible.  
By this I don't necessarily mean that I eat breakfast and read my bible but that I break the fast of the night by reading my bible. This feeds my inner man with peace for the day, strength to deal with matters in hand, wisdom for situations that arise and joy in knowing that I am not alone through it all.

I have a range of devotionals along with my trusted King James Study Bible which I use depending on the tug of my heart that morning. As the Holy Spirit leads!
A few of these are in the pictures above.
Have you used any of these and with what results?

No guilt or condemnation here!

For some of us, we may still be trying to get it right and that's good because you have not given up. 
For others, it may be that the middle of the day is better or the midnight hours are the best for you.
For still others, you may just be thinking about it and that's great because you are being drawn to action.

Does it have to be early morning?

I use the term breakfast very loosely here. Of course we have our physical breakfast first thing in the morning but in spiritual terms I don't think we should get hooked up on the time that we do this. Our lives are busy, indeed! As an early riser the morning works great for me but you may have a different energy cycle which suits the evening best. 
So take break fast to be that time you take to break the fast for your inner man and give him his breakfast. 

What tips can you share with all the busy women trying to fit this into their schedules? 

Five Awesome Tips I can share

1. Don't despise the small beginnings, 5 minutes is better than none; 1 verse is better than a whole chapter.  
2. Have the Bible close at hand so that you can just reach for it when you are ready
3. Plan to wake up 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the house or stay up 30 minutes later. 
4. Put on your favorite Christian Radio station through the cable TV so you can hear the Word, listen to praise music and be encouraged throughout the day. 
5. Play an audio Bible program either through an app on your mobile or again as a radio station through your cable supplier.                                 

Share your stories. I love to read your comments.

Five reasons to enjoy sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are go! 

Keep a pack of these nutritious, inexpensive and delicious vegetables always handy in your store cupboard to enjoy all round health benefits. Awesome!!
I must admit that I never used to like these as I enjoyed the white sweet potatoes so much  more. That is until the price went off the scale! 
So it is now good to know the nutritious value of the yellow sweet potatoes. They are power packed with goodness. A must for your kitchen supplies.

Five reasons to enjoy sweet potatoes

1. Rich in betacarotene, which gives it the beautiful yellow orange colour and provides vitamin A; great for your eyes and for bone strength.

2. Awesome source of Vitamin C which we all know wards off the flu and colds. But did you also know that this vitamin is essential in bone and tooth formation and in the production of collagen which helps maintain a youthful elasticity to your skin? 

3. Sweet potatoes are a source of Vitamin D. This vitamin  plays an important role in our energy levels, moods, and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth, and it supports the thyroid gland. If our bones are healthy then our hair will be healthy too!! 

4. Sweet potatoes contain iron. We know we need iron for our energy supply but iron also plays other important roles in our body such as giving us a resistance to stress, proper im­mune functioning, and the metabolizing of protein, among other things.

5. A great source of magnesium which helps us to relax and stay stress free. We appreciate any natural help we can get from Mother Nature to stay calm and relax. 

Check this source for even more reasons to include sweet potatoes in your weekly shop! 
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-reasons-to-love-sweet-potatoes.html


Awesome Tips!!   

1. Great for a quick meal or to take to work for lunch.
2. Make extra and freeze a batch.

Recipe Suggestion

Big Flavour Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbs Sunflower Oil

2 garlic cloves
Grated Ginger

1 onion chopped

500g sweet potatoes peeled and chopped

1 cup red lentils

1 jalapeno pepper (optional)

1 tsp cumin
1 stock cube in 4 cups water

Method
Heat the oil adding onion, ginger, garlic and jalapeno pepper stirring until the ingredients are soft and have released their flavours
Add the sweet potato, lentils and 4 cups of stock to pan and stir gently
Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the texture is as smooth as you enjoy.

Sometimes I add coconut cream for a different taste, yummilicious!!
You can blend if you prefer a smooth texture.

Serve with whole wheat bread or pitta