Whipped Shea Butter Cream

sheacream

Organic Whipped Shea Butter and Almond Oil Recipe

This luxurious hand and body cream is amazing for the winter months.  The entire recipe consists of only two ingredients and its really easy to make.  It is particularly good for dry chapped hands, dry skin on your face and for any eczema or psoriasis you may have.

You will need:

A food processor

Storage Jar or Tin

Piping bag

Organic Cold Pressed Almond Oil (3-4tbsp)

Organic Shea Butter (1 1/2 cups)

I put about a cup and a half of shea butter into the food processor and blend on low power until smooth. 

Keep the machine running and add the almond oil into the shea a tbsp at a time, this will fluff up into a thick cream.  Add more almond oil if nessecary until you get the consistency you are after.  Keep checking, it literally takes a few seconds of blending to fluff up.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into your suitable container.  This will keep for a long time!  I would say about 6 months to a year.  Check it before use if its been a while. 

The cream is brilliant when used overnight after a nice relaxing hot bath.  I apply the cream to my hands throughout the day during the winter months to prevent cracking and dry skin.  I also add my own essential oil blends but please do your own research when it comes to essential oil use.  I add the oils after the initial shea blend and additional oils and butters can be added to the cream too.

It is important to use Organic Ingredients where affordable as they are so much kinder to your skin, the environment and the producers of such ingredients.  Also look out for Fair trade options for your ingredients as this will ensure you are putting your money towards good causes, small farms, cooperative groups etc. and helps to support those who need it the most.

I hope you enjoyed the video below and I would love to hear of your experiences with this cream, please drop me a comment or two.

Peace, love and blessings to you!

(!!!You should always test new products on your skin before use and list ingredients/check allergies before giving as a present!!!)

Melty “cheese” sandwich

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Oh yummy!

I don’t usually use fake meats and cheese because I don’t really feel they add that much to us nutritionally, I could be wrong but sometimes you just fancy some greedy foods!

I picked up some vibites beef slices in Holland and Barrett the other day so I had some vbites beef style slices with a violife cheese slice, tomatoes, jalapeños and some “mayo”.

Melted the lot in the foreman grill and served with a little salad

Blackberries (brambles) for lunch!

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Seasonal warm smoothie made with freshly picked brambles (blackberries) that we found on our forest walk with the dogs today…I love those heavenly moments when nature provides something so delicious, nutritious and so unexpectedly!  🙂

So the ingredients were…

a handful of blackberries,

a green apple,

a pear,

tbsp of maca,

tbsp of goji berries,

tbsp of flax seeds,

tbsp of pumpkin seeds

and topped with half almond and half water…

In my vitamix I can blend it on high for a few minutes and it will warm it up because let’s face it it’s freezing outside and who wants to drink a cold smoothie heading into the winter months…not sure if this works in other blender models you can give it a try.

If you like it a litte sweeter you could add a date or two or a dollop of honey.  This recipe was shared between two people.

Kale super smoothie

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Sorry it’s been a while folks, I’ve been busy studying a very basic course on Naturopathy, it’s just the tip of the iceberg but the knowledge I’ve gained has been very useful so far and it’s a good introduction to Natural medicine etc.  I hope to continue further along with some plant powered study! 😊

So here’s a quick smoothie I knocked up and it was so powerful I went for a run afterwards, my legs are still sore and that was a few days ago ha ha ha!  The black kale plucked fresh out of the garden still covered in the morning dew was absolutely amazing and I could feel the effects of the nutrition immediately lifting my  morning brain fog!  It seriously felt like a light coming on, it could also have been the ginseng kicking in!  I’m so impressed with this stuff it’s definitely on the garden growing list next year!

So I blended it in the vitamix with persimmons (I’m a persimmons addict at this time of year) and a whole orange, a tbsp of pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and some ginseng!  I topped up with water as I had ran out of almond milk!  You could use half almond milk if you prefer.

Black kale (cavolo Nero)

whole orange peeled

persimmons

tsp ginseng

tbsp pumpkin seeds

tbsp of flaxseeds

I should probably add I shared this with the kids!  It’s quite a lot to consume yourself!

Plant powered body fuel!  😎

Fresh green apple juice

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I was lucky enough to get two massive bags of green apples from a family member this year and before I made jam and pies I wanted to make some delicious fresh apple juice.

I chopped and put through about eight apples into the juicer.  You could use more or less but I had two adults and three young kids to feed.  I also added some ginger and lemon for a boost against some coughs and colds in the house just now and four sticks of cavolo Nero kale torn fresh out of the garden plot.

A delicious boost of seasonal nourishment before school and so easy to make.

Locally grown vegetables

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Lovely fresh vegetables from the the Gordon Castle estate local to us in Fochabers, Moray.  I would recommend a trip up to the recently restored gardens and lovely cafe/restaurant.  The shop near the car park usually sells a selection of seasonal foods grown in the gardens.  In the past we have purchased delicious potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkin, squash, beans, artichokes and s fee other bits from the shop.

Check out the link below for further info.

http://www.gordoncastle.co.uk

Natural Coconut Water

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Natural coconut water is so simple and so refreshing.  Fill up a sports flask with coconut water and half water for pre or post workout drink, also a great drink for the summer garden.  Its Autumn here just now though and I’m drinking my coconuts indoors before I move onto hot cacao drinks mmmm…

Coconut water is a great natural electrolyte, and it contains high amounts of potassium. It is also lower in carbohydrates — It only contains about 4.5% carbohydrates, whereas typical sports drinks can contain a 6%-8% carbohydrate concentration. (Dr. Axe)

My son drank two of these after school the other day, they are expensive fresh and I cant keep up with that demand ha ha!  You can buy a good high quality coconut water from the supermarket but most of them are heat processed and I try to avoid pasturised drinks where possible, simply because pasturisation in most cases = high heat which in turn destroys some of the nutrition (not all of the nutrition though), they are still beneficial to your health in some aspects though. Coconuts are not always easy to obtain fresh though and if I cant get them fresh the pasturised stuff is second best.

Also a great addition to smoothies and deserts, some raw desserts use coconut water in the blending processes.

Here are some additional facts in the links below.

https://www.davidwolfe.com/how-coconut-water-can-help-your-body/

If you are looking to purchase coconuts in bulk, which is possible via mail, then you can purchase them in a 6 or 12 pack by clicking on the image below.  If your not using many though I would purchase a 6, I have purchased a 36!! before and they all went off before i got through half of them.

Click on the image to order coconuts

 

Blackberry (bramble) picking

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We were talking the other day on our way to a birthday party about how awesome it would be to pick some fresh and wild blackberries (brambles).  When we arrived and to our surprise out of the kitchen window there was a huge blackberry bush. I grabbed a bowl and went out to inspect.  There were loads of ripe and ready to pick brambles.  All the scratches and scrapes were worth it as we gather a massive bowl up.  When we got back I made a blackberry and apple gin which will be ready in time for Christmas and a blackberry jam for my kids.  I’m not particularly keen on high sugar content jams but I needed to preserve them quickly as they were starting to spoil only after day two after picking.  So a high heat recipe was required.

If I were to come across such treasures again I would blend them up immediately into a smoothie when I got back to my kitchen as the nutritional content of blackberries is really high and they contain all sorts of goodies like vitamins A, C, and K, magnesium, potassium, and fiber.

“Vitamin A helps maintain eye health while vitamin C promotes wound healing, keeps gums healthy and helps the body absorb iron. Vitamin K, along with magnesium, are important in promoting bone health. Potassium plays a role in health blood pressure levels. And fiber helps control cholesterol and keeps you regular.” http://www.livestrong.com/article/110325-blackberries-nutrition

If you fancy trying your hand at foraging then check out the book below with a variety of things you can find for free in the wild.  Its so satisfying to go out and find something so satisfying in the wild.

Click on the book above for some more foraging adventures.

Lemon Vit C Boost

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“The juice of a fresh-squeezed lemon in water has many medicinal values, as well as its benefits for cleansing the body, stimulating the liver, and improving digestion and elimination” http://www.waterbenefitshealth.com

Drinking lemon water is a great way to start the day!  Its a great source of Vitamin C for your body and lemons are also known for their detoxing and alkalising health benefits.  Below are some links to some articles I found online about the benefits of lemon water.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/111175-benefits-lemon-water/

http://www.waterbenefitshealth.com/benefits-of-drinking-lemon-water.html

I personally try to drink this 3-5 times a week, but I have a very busy kitchen in the morning with kids running around looking for food and we have smoothies and juices being made left, right and centre so I drink it when I can.  It really doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare and you can have it with hot water or with cold.  If its the colder months I prefer to have warm water.  After a glass of water or the lemon water above a smoothie is the next important breakfast step for us.  The kids usually have a  glass of water, or lemon water, a smoothie and some homemade bread or muffins.  Then additional fruit if we can squeeze it in.  We’re not perfect by any means but we try to get those super foods into them as much as possible.

Click on the link below for the smoothie glasses that I use for my vitamin waters, smoothies and frozen puddings.  They are fab and can also be recycled once the use is finished which is important for me.  The kids love the ones with the straws.
Click on the image above for mason jars

Spicy mushrooms with peanut slaw wraps

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I was looking for a really quick lunch fix the other day and this Asian infusion hit the spot!  Spicy mushrooms and onions with homemade peanut slaw wrapped in a corn wrap with additional spicy sauce if your brave enough.  I adapted a recipe from the book below – Rich Roll – The Plant Power Way.

Its a great book for easy family plant powered recipes and Rich Rolls story to fitness and health is very inspirational.  I’m also studying his plant powered educational course on the Mind Body Green website.  Its great for getting ideas for fueling your body for fitness and for daily meal ideas.  Click on the image to take you to his book.  Anyway back to my recipes, the ingredients are as follows…

Mini corn wraps

Mushrooms

Onions

Mini cabbages

Carrots

Peanut butter or Almond Butter

Tamari Sauce

Mirin

Rice Vinegar

Garlic Clove

Sunflower seeds

Shred the mini cabbage and the carrots and mix in a bowl, in a jar add equal amounts of soy, mirin and rice vinegar and a heaped tablespoon of peanut butter, close the jar and shake or use a small blender.  Add to the shredded cabbage and carrots and mix through.  Cook the mushrooms and onions in a little coconut oil and add a spicy sauce of choice.

Add the slaw to the corn wrap and top with mushrooms, wrap and enjoy!  Yummy! 🙂

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