I am a big tea drinker, I drink tea every day and I love to try different flavours. Tea is very comforting, it makes me sit down and relax, even if t’s just for 10 minutes, it gives me a mental break. What makes it even better is when the tea is organic! Did you know that conventional tea brands have been shown to contain high levels of toxic substances such as fluoride and pesticides! When you start drinking organic tea you can really taste the difference, especially when this tea comes from an ethical company such as Loose Lips Tea. Stemming from Melbourne, tea artisan and founder of Loose Lips Tea Co., Cherri Davis, has created a wonderful gourmet collection of beautiful hand blended teas using all organic ingredients. I tried the following two teas - ![]() So French Special Earl Grey I have always loved earl grey tea, not realising up until now what a difference there is between the tea bags and real earl grey tea, especially the french type! There is a huge difference in the quality and taste, as soon as I opened the packet of the loose tea the scent was so amazing and the taste was even better. The divine aroma of the tea is very relaxing, this could be put down to the bergamot oil, which is known to relieve anxiety and stress. The rose petals and lavender also make it a relaxing and refreshing tea and the black tea leaves contain a nice little caffeine hit. I love this tea during the afternoons to keep me going for the rest of the day. It’s a good pick me up tea, at the same time helping me to relax. A very luxurious tea, which I can imagine sipping in a quaint little tea shop. ![]() Peppermint and liquorice Two other favourite teas of mine are peppermint and liquorice, but I’ve always had them on their own, not combined! This is actually a very clever and tasty blend. I usually drink peppermint tea after a meal, it helps with digestion and gives me fresh breath. Peppermint aroma is very uplifting. Liquorice tea is really good for settling the stomach and quenches my sweet tooth naturally. Combining these two teas almost feels like an after dinner dessert. It’s also a great breakfast tea as the menthol in peppermint can stimulate the brain and help with concentration. This tea is caffeine free, so I can also drink it in the evenings to help me relax, as menthol also works as a mild muscle relaxant. Loose lips teas are of a very high quality, they taste and smell amazing and are full of anti-oxidants and healthy herbal ingredients. The large bags of loose teas are also very affordable!
Available at Loose Lips Tea Co.
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Melbourne is one of my favourite cities, if you’ve ever been and experienced the delightful cafes, laneways and eclectic shopping you’ll know what I mean. It has a classy european feel about it, which is different to any other city I’ve been to.
Australian fragrance label, TÄNDA Modern, have recreated this feeling in a scented candle which is so reminiscent of my times in Melbourne. Made with pure soy wax and with a natural soft wooden wick, which I have never seen before. I was intrigued to see how well the wick would work, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it burns very well and it gives off more of a natural scent. It also makes a soft crackling sound, which reminds me of an open fire. The candle contains the gorgeous scents of roasted coffee and dark chocolate. It reminds me of sitting in a dark cosy cafe, surrounded by amber lighting and eating a delicious creme brûlée. Or perhaps enjoying a caramel latte after a day of shopping and exploring the amazing parisian style shopping arcades of high end fashion or my favourite vintage boutiques in Melbourne. It’s amazing the power that scent can have on someones mind, if you could smell this candle, you’ll know what I mean. Everyone who has walked past it in my home, has said to me, omg, what is that scent! It smells good enough eat! It really makes me want to fly away to a long weekend in Melbourne! but seeing as I can’t do that right now, I’ll keep on sniffing this beautiful candle. Completely organic and vegan, burn range times are from 30 to 90 hours. Available at TÄNDA Modern. ![]() Stress and anxiety are some of the worst health problems we have to face, but yet so common. The problem is we don’t take the time to sit down, relax and slow our minds down. We work all day, come home, make dinner, make sure everyone else is happy and very often forget that we need to take care of ourselves. Massage therapy is my number one therapy when it comes to helping me unwind. Just to sit back, feel my muscles being massaged and warmed up and taking my mind off everything else for a while. Shiatsu massage therapy is an effective way to relieve tired, aching and tense muscles and help your worries drift away. It is a Japanese massage technique where the focus is on the pressure points in your body. I have had a shiatsu massage by a therapist and I think it’s one of the most powerful ways of bringing harmony back into your body and mind. The problem with having a massage by a therapist is that it’s very expensive if you want to keep up with it regularly. This is where a shiatsu massage pillow will come in very handy. As long as you purchase the right type of massage pillow with enough power to get into those tense muscles, such as the Infrared Heating Shiatsu Massage Cushion, you’ll be doing your body a huge favour, as tense muscles can lead to all types of health problems. Shiatsu massage applies deep pressure to your pressure points, so the massage pillow you buy really needs to be able to press in deeply to your muscles to relieve tension and balance the meridians in your body. My main issues are lower back pain and tight neck and shoulders, so this is where I wanted to put the shiatsu pillow to the test. The first night I tried out my pillow I sat on the couch, plugged it in, placed the pillow behind my lower back and felt like I was in heaven. The heads in the pillow had just the right pressure to get into my lower back tension and when the pillow heated up I felt like purring like a cat. Heat in massage therapy is very effective and soothing. Next I tried it on my shoulders and neck, wow, this pillow really gets into the sore spots at the base of my skull, usually only a therapist can find these, I can never manage to find them myself. It kneaded through the knots in my neck. I always have one shoulder blade which becomes quite sore, so I placed the pillow on that area, sat back and let the tension melt away. I also tried the pillow on my calves, as I had very sore muscles after attempting a long walk which was beyond my fitness level. I sat on the bed, placed the pillow under my hamstrings and the pillow gently massaged and eased my sore muscles. The pillow stimulates the acupuncture points, which can help strengthen the immune system and eliminate toxins. The infrared heat stimulates blood flow and is just so relaxing. Very good for strained and tired muscles. It’s ergonomic design is made with high quality materials and an overheat safety protection. It has four rollers to get into all those tights spots and pressure points. I wish I had purchased one of these pillows years ago, I always looked at them in the stores and wondered how effective they would really be, but now I’ve tried it I’m addicted. What I like about this particular pillow is it’s handy to carry around with you, especially if travelling. This would be so good for long road trips, there is a strap on the back of the pillow, so you can place it over the back of the car seat and it will be held in place. Many people also don’t really like visiting a massage therapist , they can find it a bit daunting, so having a massage pillow to use in the privacy of your own home would make such a difference. You can use it on your neck, abdomen, calf, lower back, upper back, thigh. It comes with a power adapter and a car adaptor plug, so can be used at home, car or in the office. Just sit back on the couch, bed or place it on the back of the chair. My favourite time when using this massager is when I come home from work, it relaxes me almost instantly and works on tight muscles from sitting at a desk looking at a computer for too long. Also helps with my tension headaches and to relieve anxiety.
Your perfect massage pillow awaits you at Crazy Sales. Rev3 Energy Drink is a superior natural energy drink with the fortitude of a supplemented sports food and a formulation developed by the scientists of USANA, manufacturers of the highest-rated, most effective nutritional supplements and health care products in the world. Rev3 doesn’t contain any of those artificial nasties such as aspartame and sucralose. It doesn’t make you jittery and gives sustained mental clarity. The following ingredients L-Carnatine, CoQ10, Korean Ginseng, Magnesium and B Group vitamins are the key to Rev3's energy. If you’re looking for a natural energy drink which is low GI, does not contain any artificial sweeteners and tastes amazing, this drink is for you. Years ago, particularly when I was making a long commute to work, I drank an energy drink every day, but I stopped when I realised what these energy drinks actually contain. I’m glad at least I was not drinking the energy drinks which contained artificial sweeteners, as these ingredients are very detrimental to ones health. I see so many people drinking diet energy drinks, if only they realised that these artificial sweeteners have been linked to cancer and many other serious health problems and disease. Even the mainstream energy drinks without the artificial sweeteners are full of refined sugar. This is why I was so happy to discover USANA's Rev3 energy drink, the ingredients are all natural and after ingesting it I don't feel like I'm having heart palpitations! The taste is amazing, it tastes like pomegrante and berries, it's not too sweet and it's very refreshing. Thankfully it tastes nothing like those extreme energy drinks, which always seem to leave a strange aftertaste. This drink is very pleasant and crisp, I was surprised at how delicious it tasted. All of the ingredients are completely natural, each ingredient is actually good for you. The herbs are nourishing and the caffeine comes from green tea and white tea. As this energy drink is low GI, I found that it gave me an energy boost througout the day, not just a burst of energy which only lasted 30 minutes like with some drinks, but a sustained clarity in my thinking and feeling more alert. Really good for after a late night or if I had a bad nights sleep and just need that extra lift throughout my working day or before yoga class. Rev3 does not contain any artificial flavours, sweeteners, preservatives and colours and is also great for your health, as it is fortified with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. I'm happy to be adding Rev3 to my daily health routine. Rev3 is available at USANA. ![]()
Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine dates back more than 5,000 years and is an extremely effective and safe way to treat illness.
For a long time now I’ve been a fan of eastern medicine and chinese herbs, as I have found they have had a very gentle and healing effect on my body. Up until now I’ve usually taken the pill form of chinese herbs (those little tiny tea pills), but recently I’ve had the opportunity to try Bioray's chinese herbs in liquid form. I’ve found this to be a better way of taking these herbs and I’ve noticed they work more quickly on my body and are also alot more gentle on my stomach. This magic little bottle I’ve been using is called Red Rooster, it’s designed to help you get your mojo back and give you back your get up and go. This is a chinese kidney yang tonic, it supports a healthy adrenal system, particularly good for men who may need some extra sexual stamina. It's also a great boost for womens libido. What I always seem to be needing more of is energy, living an extremely busy lifestyle working full time, I need whatever help I can get. I take this in the morning ( a few drops in water) and I also carry it with me to work and use it just after lunch time to get me over the afternoon slump and feel more alert. I combined using this with Loving Energy to help balance yin and yang. Loving Energy is a restorative tonic which blended really well with Red Rooster. Some of the ingredients used in Red Rooster which help to boost your energy are bupleurum, panax ginseng, astragalus seed, American ginseng, damiana, cinnamon cortex, licorice. Bioray is a company from Laguna Hills in California and have been featured in Sunday London Times, New Women Magazine and FHM. Their products have been expertly formulated, tested and used with great success by patients and doctors for over 20 years. One of the big differences between Bioray's traditional chinese herbal medicine and other chinese herbal medicine companies is that Bioray's products are all organic, every product is made from high quality organic ingredients. They are affordable too! Bioray ships their products worldwide and I found them to have very friendly and helpful customer service. I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. ![]() Lacto-Free is a supplement which is designed to break down the lactose in dairy products. It helps ease the symptoms of lactose sensitivity and allows you to enjoy your favourite dairy foods. I’ve been testing these pills out over the past couple of months, as I have a very noticeable sensitivity to dairy. When I was younger I could pretty much eat anything, but as I’ve aged, my stomach has become very sensitive when it came to dairy and gluten. These tablets are best to be taken before you eat dairy, so if you know that you’re about to go out to dinner and want to treat yourself to dessert or maybe some cheese (mexican food is a good example!), take one of these before hand. I found that you can also take then after you eat dairy, it can come in handy when you’re going out and end up eating pizza, but taking them beforehand worked better for me. The main symptoms it eases are bloating, cramps, excess gas and diarrhoea. The tablets are mini size and are very easy to swallow. I'm not going to become a huge dairy eater, but it's nice to know that when I do treat myself to some cheese or ice cream, I can take a Lacto-Free and not experience embarrassing. symptoms. The ingredients are - Lactase (4,000 Acid Lactase Units), Microcrystalline Cellulose, Povidone, Magnesium Stearate. No artifical flavours, colours or sugars. Yeast , dairy and gluten free. Preservative free. Visit Lacto-Free for your nearest stockist. If you’re still using normal string dental floss and are thinking that it removes all plaque from between your teeth, think again! I was given the CareDent EeziFlosser and Interbrush to try and it’s made a huge difference to how clean my teeth feel. ![]() The EeziFlosser slides comfortably between each tooth and it reaches way up to my back teeth, which I usually struggle flossing. It has a small handle which you can hold with one hand and the small size makes it very easy to reach each tooth. The fibre string doesn’t break, sag or get annoying sheds. It was gentle on my gums. It even comes with a little toothpick built in on the end of the handle. ![]() The InterBrush is an innovative little device. It’s a tiny little flossing brush with soft rubber bristles. The brush slides in and out of the gaps between each tooth and removes anything left behind which normal flossing doesn’t seem to remove. The bristles grab hold of plaque and food stuck between teeth. There are 3 sizes, I used the small blue. I wish I had a never ending supply of these brushes, it makes flossing almost enjoyable! They reached my back teeth so easily, which I'm happy about as my dentist keeps reminding me to floss my back teeth, but I've always found it so difficult to reach back there and get the floss in between them. These are both a great addition to my dental routine, hopefully my dentist will notice the difference too. I have quite sensitive teeth and gums and found each product to be gentle. You can buy the InterBrush and EeziFlosser at the CareDent website or selected stores and pharmacies. ![]() I’m one of those people who carries eye drops with me everywhere and I also leave a bottle on my work desk. I have a tendency to get very dry eyes, usually from air conditioning and sore eyes when it’s windy and there's too much pollen in the air. The Murine Eye Mist is a spray mist, which you spray onto your eyelids. Previous to using this I had always used normal eye drops and I can say this eye mist is a lot easier to use, especially when I’m at work and I don’t want to mess up my eye make up or walk around with eye drop tears running down my face! This preservative free spray is designed for dry, sensitive eyes. The eye mist applies liposomes onto the eyelids which keeps your eyes feeling refreshed. Spraying the mist on my eyes gave an instant cooling sensation and I could feel my eyes becoming less irritated. With a spray you might wonder if it will work as well as eye drops and it does, the mist gets absorbed through the eyelids. I also know that many people feel very uncomfortable using eye drops, so they put up with having irritated eyes, this spray would be perfect for those of you who have difficulty using drops and for those who wear contact lenses. Even if you have tired eyes when watching tv or after a late night out, this will take away alot of the blurriness in your eyes. For more information you can visit the Murine website, the spray is available from Pharmacies. ![]() When I received my bottle of Amazonia Raw Sugar Crave Release Spray to review, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I hadn’t heard of this before and wondered if it would really work. I started using this after the Christmas holidays, a time when I gave up all healthy dietary habits and ate a lot of sugar filled desserts! The spray contains many different herbs, flowers, leaves and seeds which are anti-parasitic and help to fight sugar and carb cravings. It does have a distinctive taste, the flavour which stands out to me is the oregano herb, if you’re used to drinking and eating herbs, you will know what I mean. They're not going to taste sweet, but they work! Occasionally I use oregano oil on it’s own to help with intestinal issues. All of the ingredients are well known herbs which have amazing health benefits, normally known to treat stomach problems. This spray works by balancing the intestinal flora in your body, which in turn, helps to stop unhealthy cravings, I go through stages of the month where I do crave sweets and carbs, the times I used this for cravings I found myself wanting different types of healthy foods, all of a sudden I'm enjoying salad sandwiches, which isn't the type of food I usually crave, to be honest I haven't had a salad sandwich in years (that's probably not something I should be admitting!). I also found this spray extremely helpful for treating an upset stomach, this is because the herbs contained in the spray kill off nasty germs and targets bad digestive bacteria, which is very good for people like me with food sensitivities. Whether you are trying to lose weight and cut back on sugar or just want to keep your insides working smoothly, this is a handy spray to have. I’ve been using it every day to keep things balanced. Developed with the help of naturopaths and nutritionsist, this spray was created by a hands on Australian company called Amazonia, creators of premium organic health products which have developed a huge following, both in Australia and Internationally. Following are a list of all ingredients and their health properties - Green Black Walnut Hull - stomach infections and parasitic infections Clove Flower - upset stomach, nausea, bad breath Pumpkin Seed - intestinal parasites, infections Gentian Root - germ killer, intestinal parasites, muscle spasms Hyssop Leaf, - digestive and intestinal problems Cumin Seed - digestion, bloating Cramp Bark - fluid retention, cramps Peppermint Leaf - digestion, heartburn, ibs, upset stomach, bacterial overgrowth Chinese Rhubarb Root - stomach upset and pain, fine cleanser for the intestines, bowels, liver and blood, helping to rid the system of accumulated toxins. Thyme Leaf - germ killer, breath freshener, parasitic infections, sore throat, upset stomach and pain Oregano Leaf - heartburn, bloating, cramps, intestinal parasites, allergies Fennel Seed - digestive problems, bloating, gas Available at Vitamin King ![]() This book is fantastic for anyone living a busy lifestyle who doesn't want to spend a lot of time cooking, especially those who work full time and come home tired like me and need a fast tasty meal! It’s packed full of really easy recipes, there’s a section for busy mums, romantic meals and recipes for kids. Even if you’re not vegetarian this still makes a great book to have handy. If you’re vegan there are also a lot of recipes which don’t require dairy or eggs. I love the ease of the recipes and the fact that I already had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. The book is set out well and the recipes are easy to follow. Kids are going to love the food you make them from this book, even big kids! My favourites? The vanilla french toast made with almond milk, creamy corn soup made with coconut milk, quick burritos, tomato poached eggs (shaksouka) , caramel pears, date and coconut bites! There are also some healthy smoothie recipes and a great red wine punch. The beginning of the book also has some interesting health facts about vitamins and vegetarian food. I'm a fan of this author, he makes it easy to change to a healthier way of eating. It's available as a paperback or Kindle on Amazon. I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. |
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