'aloe, aloe!' (natural body lovin')

gotta love when close friends move house and have a massive over haul of all their goodies. today's score is of the green and potted kind. aloe vera to be exact.

i have not so enjoyable memories of aloe vera from my childhood (which i now look back on and reminisce about). my mum used it when i got sun burnt. she used to take one of the 'leaves' and slice it in half, then smear the aloe gel from inside the leaves all over my sunburn. except she would use the 'leaf' as an applicator and those nasty little spikes you can see on the edges of the leaves would sometimes scratch my tender, crimson skin. and trust me, that stung like crazy!

however, her insistence that the mild smelling, jelly-like goo that made up the majority of the inside of the aloe leaf was actually quite beneficial for healing my sunburn now seems to warrant a closer look. so i did a bit of digging, considering i am now in possession of rather large, healthy pot of green, spikey, gooey, supposedly sunburn healing goldmines.

aloe vera has been used in traditional medicine in China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Jamaica, Latin American and India. medical research has reported that aloe can be used to heal first and second degree burns, making my mum's use of it as a treatment for my childhood sunburn spot on. it can also be used to treat other burns, and to help relieve insect bites and stings.
aloe also has antibacterial and antifungal properties, aiding in treating minor skin infections (like boils, grazes, or cuts), and have been shown to inhibit the growth of the fungi that causes tinea.
it also has potent moisturising capabilities (which have been flogged commercially), so used in it's purest form straight from the plant, or mixed in with your favourite natural organic body moisturiser, it will prove to be beneficial both for healing and protecting your skin.

and as an interesting tid bit, in clinical studies, aloe compounds have been successfully used to reduce gingivitis and plaque (in your mouth). but i wouldn't go out and start chewing on it (although there are some claims regarding aloe's internal health benefits, i'm not confident of their validity so i won't post them, but click on the link if you are interested), from memory, it doesn't taste that nice!

so to get your mittens on those amazing (external) health benefits get yourself some aloe, break off a leaf, slice it in half and smear that clear jelly-goo all over yourself.

just watch out for the little spikes.

x

take a deep breath

heard about air pollution? if you haven't, i'm not sure where you've been...
the latest and greatest threat from pollution comes not from smog, or dirty city air, but from in your own home. Research from the US Environmental Protection Agency has reported the toxic compounds that have everyone up in arms about cars and aerosol cans accumulate inside buildings, increasing their concentration 200 to 500 times that of the air outside.
are you thinking about what's in your next breath?

before you go out to buy a face mask, read on.
there are a few simple things you can do to circumvent this problem...

1. open a window... i know this seems obvious, but allowing for ventilation won't let more chemicals in, it will allow for the flow of fresh air through, which dilutes present chemicals and actually prevents any further build up.
2. get you mittens on an air ionizer... air ionizers increase the beneficial negative ions in your air, counteracting the positive ions that build up due to heating systems (which cause tiredness and susceptibility to sickness).
3. get a plant! plants are amazing air filters. they replenish oxygen levels, act as humidifiers, and reduce the vapours released by synthetic chemicals. the peace lily (spathiphyllum) removes ammonia, acetone, ethyl acetate, benzene and formaldehyde fumes.

 peace lily

so take a deep breath

x

natural body lovin’ - part two!

household secret identity number two: the ONION!

the humble onion, consumed in nearly every household in western society, and countless other cultures around the world. it's such an unassuming part of the grocery shopping that no one thinks any further about after it's chopped and thrown in dinner.
but onions are a many layered thing. underneath their flavoursome skin are antibacterial properties that have been used for centuries (literally). Chinese and early American settlers used onions to help treat coughs, colds, and bacterial infections. modern complementary medicine is still using it as an antibacterial for small cuts, and also as relief for wasp and bee stings (just rub the cut side of an onion on the sting).
the World Health Organisation advocates the use of onion to prevent poor appetite and atherosclerosis (a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries), and onion extract to treat colds, coughs, and bronchitis.
and the most amazing onion secret?
it's a cancer preventative.
cultures with high levels of onion consumption in their diet have up to half the level of stomach cancer prevalence compared to other westernised cultures.

need any more convincing? (if you do, try here for more info)

x

choc banana ice dream with walnuts

amaaaaazing chocolate and banana vegan ice cream!! it's perfect if you don't like or can't eat dairy, and you're craving ice cream. i know that bananas are expensive at the moment, but if you find some particularly ripe ones that are on sale at the fruit store, they'll work just fine, as riper bananas tend to flavour better when cooking with them.


Preparation time: 10mins (+ approx. 5 hours freezing time)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 550g (1lb) frozen banana
•  ½ lemon, juice only
• 295g (10oz) silken tofu
• 1 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 tbs honey or agave nectar
• 125g (4oz) dark dairy-free chocolate, chopped into smallish chunks
• 50g of raw walnuts

1. Blend the frozen banana with the silken tofu, lemon juice, cocoa powder and honey or agave nectar until thick and smooth.
2. Add the chopped chocolate and walnuts and blend for another 30 seconds or until the chocolate and nuts are mixed through and there is still lots of chocolate and walnut chunks mixed through.
3. Serve straight away as a soft cold pudding or freeze in an air-tight container for up to 5-6 hours until just firm. If it freezes to a point where it is too hard, allow it to soften a little before serving.
    
4. Enjoy! 

there are heaps of online resources for vegetarian and vegan recipes but Veggie Num Num would have to be my favourite (i realise the name is a little quirky, but it's literally the noise you make when you're eating this ice cream, so i kind of understand where it came from).

x