Snacking Organic

Hey All

We were recently sent some snacks to try as part of a Organic September. Both L and I try to eat healthy as much as possible and organic is something my other half and I have been recently trying to buy. We recently made the decision to start up Riverford veg boxes which is a company that delivers in season organic fruit and veg! We are loving these so far and it definitely seems to taste better.  We also had a lot of hello fresh boxes which some of the products were organic (I'm not sure if it all was or not, you can read about those here).

Organic snacking isn't something I've really thought to look into, especially not teas. I love teapigs and some of them are organic but not all. 

As soon as the parcel arrived I couldn't wait to taste everything. I'm a fan of different teas and rooibos is a favourite. I've had the oatcakes a lot before as my mum was wheatfree for a while.

Kromland Farm Organic Rooibos Caramel Tea* retails for £2.49 for 40. For herbal teas I think it's a pretty standard price and not much more than normal herbal teas. For me I will definitely be repurchasing this. For a while I've been trying to reduce my caffeine intake. I have one of the giant sports direct mugs (tacky I know but as a tea lover the bigger the better, size matters!!) in work and I was drinking about 5 mugs of tea , green tea or coffee and more at home. Rooibos is naturally caffeine free and the natural caramel flavours adds a touch of sweetness to a rich tea. I like to drink this without milk. I've been swapping out about 3 of my massive mugs of tea for this instead so hopefully I'll be weaned off caffeine again soon except for my morning cuppa! I'm pretty evil without that! 

Next up is the Ombar Buttons Coco Mylk * which retail for £1.49. I was really dubious about these. I instantly assumed dairy free would then be some sort of fake chocolate and just not taste good or it would taste overly sweet. I was so pleasantly surprised by them. They get there flavour from Raw Cacao and coconut palm sugar. These are so good, they have a great natural chocolate flavour which is still creamy and not excessively sweet and a perfect taste of coconut that isn't overly fake. I also love that the ingredient list is pretty small, when I know most of the ingredients on something it does make me more intrigued to eat it. As well as being dairy free they are suitable for vegans!

Not the healthiest of snacks but both L and I would rather get out sweet treats in this way then a normal bar of chocolate.

Clearspring Snack Organic Tamari Roasted Sicilian Almonds* retail for £1.49. These were the clear winner in the snack we got to try. L is much better at snacking on nuts than I am. I don't tend to buy them much and I really should as they are a great source of fat and protein. To me unless I fancy it nuts seems a bit boring but these have got a great taste to them. It's hard to explain, slightly sweet, sour and just good really! (there is a reason I'll never be a food blogger I struggle beyond it tastes good, it tastes bad!!). I loved these so much I've already ordered more. They are great to keep at my desk for when I want a savoury snack.

Nairns Organic Oatcakes* retail for £1.09. I've had these a lot before as I mentioned above my mum used to follow a wheatfree diet so got these instead of bread. I'll start with what annoys me with them. I wish they came in 6 packs of 4 oatcakes rather than 4 pack of 6. When there is 6 in a pack I eat them all but would have been satisfied at 4. I really like these and always have. I find them pretty tasty and snack on them dry as they are most of the time. Or if I'm having them for lunch will have something like tuna or avocado and salmon. They do seem to go with everything and are a great way to start to introduce organic foods into your diet. I would have normally picked up non organic without thinking but would always grab the organic ones instead now.

Do you purchase any organic food? Would you now consider it?

Love M

xxx

Laguna Health and Spa*

Hey All

As I write this L is on her way to Paris for a work trip lucky lady! Last week we were lucky enough to be invited to the Park Plaza hotel in Cardiff for some treatments in the Laguna Health and Spa. I actually used to be a member of the gym there so have used the pool many times but never had treatments.

We were treated to a 25 minute treatment each. L chose a massage and I choose a facial! A facial is always the treatment I choose for a spa day. I find them relaxing. The reception area had a great display of Elemis products and little ornaments and candles around. It was comfortable to sit whilst waiting for treatments. For spa days there is a dining room and relaxing room so you don't have to leave the spa to eat lunch (I do prefer this for spa days as once I've got my robe on I don't want to have to get dressed mid way through!).

The rooms we were in were clean, neutral and felt calming. There were little tealights around the sink area and a chair to put your things on. The beds were comfortable and the towels big enough to cover you. I do find sometimes It can be cold having a facial as the towel is a bit short but here it was fine and the rooms were a comfortable temperature.

My facial was amazing!! I think I had a cleanse, exfoliation, mask, eye mask, tone and moisturise. It was so relaxing. While the mask was on the therapist gave me a head massage that was so relaxing! I also really like that the eyes were given attention as I've found usually during a facial nothing was put on the eyes except cotton pads so it was nice product was put on them. I couldn't fault the therapist. The only suggestion I would give is to give clients a sheet with the products that have been used or tell them as I like to know what's been used as sometimes like to purchase them after a treatment!

L also liked her massage. She said it was really relaxing and a great massage.

It involved not only a full massage from neck to shoulders and lower back, but also a scrub which was lovely and unexpected. Her skin has been feeling so soft since then! 

Both treatments were great and I'll defintely look to go back when me and my mum look for our next spa day!

Park plaza also do amazing afternoon teas which L and I have been for before. I recently went for the Gin Afternoon tea with friends. Some spa packages include the afternoon teas so I thought I'd show you some photos of them. L and I went a while ago for the normal one but I think it's pretty similar offerings still.

Love M

xxx

Lush - The Experimenter Bath Bomb*

Hey All

A few weeks ago we popped to an event at Lush Cardiff to see some of the new products (you can read this post here!) we were given a few goodies to try and after seeing this one in action I was excited to see it in my bag! 

You can't help but be drawn to this amazing brightly coloured bath bomb. It's got all the colours. If I'm honest I was too busy dropping it in my bath to see all the colours to sniff it. It contains tonka and vanilla though which are two fragrances I love in Lush products!

Here you can see some of the glitter in the bath bomb. It's a subtle shimmer one so you won't step out of the bath looking like a twilight extra!

It is one of the prettiest bath bombs to watch and leaves amazing colour swirls reminding me of some of the bright 90's tie dye! It also gives a nice little bubble when it's fizzing away so you can see all the colours!

As it spreads out in the bath it leaves lush pastel colours and sparkly water, I couldn't get the shimmer in the water to show fully but it was gorgeous!! 

The experimenter retails for £3.95 but is a big colourful explosion! This is definitely one I'll be repurchasing!

Have you tired it yet?

Love M

xxx

Tough Mudder South West 2015

Hey All

Last weekend I completed my second tough mudder. (me and L did it last year, you can see last years post here!). This year was much harder than last year due to a lot of rain. Who knew when we booked an August one it would be such crappy weather.

The before and after!

Tough mudder is an obstacle course set over 10-12 miles. The South West course when held at Cirenchester seems to be 11 miles. This year again I was wishing for 10 miles. This year we also completed the course on Sunday and although it was still full in our warm up when it was time to set up we didn't have to deal with any of the really long queues we encountered last year on the Saturday. Sunday's are also cheaper!

The guy below me gave me a boost after this photo was taken as I realised I was stuck ha!

It's not the cheapest thing to do, (if you're considering one definitely sign up sooner rather than later as it gets progressively more expensive!) the one thing that pulls me back to tough mudder as a challenge is that it's not a race and is all about team work. Everyone on the day helps everyone and all around the course it's like that!

This year some obstacles were changed to make them harder. Here is Mud Mile. Last year it was dry whilst we were running, this year between the humps was filled with water!

The favourites like Arctic Enema and Electroshock were still there as well as some new ones's to try! Round the course I struggled this year due to the amount of rain that had left almost the whole 11 miles as running though mud which meant falling over lots and more pressure on my knees!

 (clearly I'd just been hit by the electric shock here ha!!)

I'd really recommend tough mudder to anyone. Get your friends joined up as it really is great fun! And not many other races give you a pint as you cross the finish line!

I love that they mix it up each year and add to it. I definitely want to do more. Plus the motivation of a new coloured headband keeps me going!

Have you done a tough mudder before? Would you?

Love M xxx