Category: Wellness

Essential Oils – A New Found Love in Life

I never thought about essential oils as a constant presence in my life, until a few weeks ago.

As some of you might already know, this past year has been a year of interesting changes. The biggest and most challenging change of all was our relocation to New Zealand. It did not start very well. I found it very difficult to adjust to this new life having lived the last 8 years of my life as a nomad hopping between tropical countries.

Having said that, when I started to settle I also started to look at my wellness under a different light. As I am approaching this year my 42nd birthday, I have been feeling the need to look after my body a little better. Not that I was not doing that before, but I wanted to do more.

I started to run approximately 10 km three times a week and I have started to use more natural products to take care of my skin. Bear in mind, here in New Zealand you can easily find creams made out from local plants and flowers.

Discovering Essential Oils

A few weeks ago I came across a very interesting article on the web about the benefits of essential oils. I was very intrigued by it and I read it all. It was very interesting indeed, explaining in details how essential oils can affect your mood, health and immune system. There is basically an essential oil for everything:

Lemon – to uplift sullen mood and inspire positive thinking

Peppermint – to stimulate the mind and enhance mental agility

Lavander – to help heal and inspire tranquillity

Sweet Orange – to uplift your emotions and sweeping away stress

Just to name a few. This whole new world of essential oil really got me intrigued. Some people apparently did not need to use medicines anymore after using essential oils. When we think about it, once upon a time, people only used the power of medicinal plants to cure the body.

I wondered if essential oils could have helped me address my sinusitis and chronic cough. I had to buy some and experience their benefits for myself.

Doing My Research

There is a huge market out there selling essential oils. I started to research, surely I was not going to buy the first ones I came across to. I wanted to be sure to buy pure and certified essential oils.

There is also a price issue. Essential oils can be very expensive (in fairness, you might need a room full of plants to make a little flacon of oil) but you also need to beware of cheap oils as they might not be pure but diluted.

Ater researching for a couple of days – yes you read right, I spent a couple of days researching! – I shortlisted a few brands and checked their websites one by one. When I came across the website for Edens Garden Essential Oils I knew instantly I found the right ones. Or maybe, have they found me?

Edens Garden Essential Oils

At first, my eyes were attracted by the beautiful layout of their website and the cuteness of their bottles. Not to mention their very exotic name! I started to read on the About Us page and I was very impressed by their genuine concern for customers and their goal to offer an affordable product without compromising its quality. Awesome! They value their customers and potential customers.

Reading on through their pages I also learned that all their oils are tested before being bottled. The final thing I looked at was the price. I was expecting them to be quite expensive, but to my surprise, they were very affordable. That’s it I had to have them.

They have so many great products to choose from including some really good value sets. I was spoilt for choice. Such an extensive range of oils and blends, it was hard to choose.

I decided to go for the “3 Blends & 3 Singles Set”.

How excited when I finally received my package. I tried them right away. I had an essential oil diffuser at home that I never used. This was the right occasion. They all smell fantastic. I have been using them every day and night. My favourite one for the night is the Good Night. I guess it was made for that! It is calming and soothing. During the day I interchange them all and use them constantly. I work from home and I have the diffuser going on all day.

I think they might be helping with my cough issue as well.

Affiliate Programme

I was so satisfied with my choice and so happy with Edens Garden product that I felt like promoting their amazing essential oils to other people as well so I applied to their affiliate programme and they accepted me. As a thank you, they were so kind to send me a welcome gift: “The Aromatherapy Set” and a beautiful ceramic diffuser which I promptly set up in my living room. I absolutely love this set. My favourite one is the Sweet Orange, it really is a mood uplifter!

I am very happy with the quality of product Edens Garden delivered. I will surely continue purchasing their essential oils and I will keep recommending them.

Have you used essential oils and what is your experience with them? Feel free to share your thoughts, I would love to hear from you.

02/11/2017
5 15 Minute or Less Healthy Dinners
Healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

I love cooking. Now that we are in New Zealand I cook almost every night. I can make up a delicious healthy meal in almost no time.

Here are some of my ideas for 5 healthy dinners to put together in 15 minutes or less. All serve 2 people.

Stir Fry Chicken with Vegetables

Ingredients:

250 gr. skinless chicken breast – diced
1 clove of garlic – crushed
1 cm. piece of ginger – chopped
½ red onion – sliced
1 red bell pepper – sliced
1 yellow bell pepper – sliced
250 gr. fresh green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
½ cup coriander – chopped
Salt & Pepper

Method:

Heath 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan or wok. When hot, add onion, ginger, and garlic. When they start to brown add the chicken breast and stir-fry till golden. Set aside.

Heath the rest of the oil. When hot add the bell pepper and broccoli and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the precooked chicken then the soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and coriander and stir-fry for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

250 gr. Penne pasta (or any shape of your choice)
1 tbsp olive oil
250 gr. fresh asparagus – chopped
250 gr. fresh mushrooms – chopped
1 clove of garlic – chopped
½ onion – chopped
½ cup vegetable stock
½ cup Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Cook pasta in plenty salt water using a large pot.

Heath the oil in a frying pan. When hot add onion and garlic and sauté until golden. Add the asparagus, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

Cook for 2-3 minutes till mushrooms have released all water and have shrunk. Add the vegetable stock and cook for 5 minutes.

Mix the sauce together with cooked pasta and sprinkle with plenty Parmesan cheese on top.

Broccoli & Chinese Mushrooms Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic – sliced
1 red chili – deseeded and chopped
1 head fresh broccoli – chopped
250 gr. Chinese Mushrooms – chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 2 limes or lemons
Coriander – chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Heath olive oil in a frying pan or wok. Add garlic and chili, cook until soft. Add broccoli and cook for 1 minute. Add Chinese mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes while stirring quickly.

Add lime juice, soy sauce, salt & pepper, and coriander. Toss well and serve.

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

250 gr. skinless chicken breast – diced
1 clove of garlic – crushed
½ onion – sliced
1 red chili – deseeded and chopped
1 large red capsicum – sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Lots of Coriander
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
1 avocado
1 pack of flour tortillas

Method:

Mash the avocado with salt & pepper for guacamole and set aside.

Heath olive oil in a frying pan. Add garlic, onion, and chili. Cook until soft.

Add chicken breast and cook until slightly brown. Add the capsicum and cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste, lemon juice and coriander.

Warm up the tortillas in a frying pan or in the oven. Serve fajitas with the mashed avocado.

Ginger & Honey Prawns

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red chili – deseeded and chopped
1/2 onion – diced
1 clove garlic – diced
2 cm. piece of ginger – grated
2 tsp honey
250 gr. large prawns – unpeeled
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup coriander – chopped

Method:

Heat the olive oil and chili in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and honey. Cook until onions soften. Stir continuously.

Add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes. Stir as needed until prawns are pink. Add salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your dinners in good company. Buon Appetito!

If you have any recipe suggestion feel free to comment or please get in touch

Related articles across the web
- What To Cook For Dinner
- Chef Wendell: Preventing heart attack
28/02/2017
Blueberry Smoothie Recipe Without Yogurt
We all love a good healthy smoothie. Especially when summer time comes; the sun shines and we feel the need for fresh healthy nutrients.

Fresh fruit smoothies normally come to mind when it comes to make a choice of healthy food or drink. Nutritious smoothies can easily replace a meal on a hot summer day.

You can make a smoothie with almost any fruit available. Today I picked blueberries. These incredibly tasty indigo-coloured berries contain good anti-oxidants and are a very good source of vitamin C and vitamin K.

In addition to that, they provide your body with many more benefits including fighting urinary tract infections and boosting your brain health.

There are so many different recipes for a tasty blueberry smoothie. It can be done with ice cream, milk, sugar, honey, yogurt, coconut cream, just to name a few.

It is all up to your taste and fantasy, really. It is very easy to create a tasty blueberry smoothie with the simplest of ingredients.

Yogurt is one of the key ingredients to make a rich and thick smoothie. However, there are many other different ways to produce a super creamy smoothie even without yogurt.

If you are not a big fan of yogurt, or you have an intolerance or allergy to it, don’t worry. Here I have a fantastic recipe to make a tasty blueberry smoothie without yogurt but full of goodness.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 spoon of honey
- Half a banana to add extra thickness (optional)
- Some ice cubes
Procedure:

Place all ingredients in a blender, ice cubes at last. Blend for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth and thick.

Place in your favourite glass and decorate with fresh blueberries.

Sit back and enjoy the goodness!
13/02/2017
6 Tips for a Better Detox

The opinion, experience and advice expressed in this article are solely of my own.

Last week I did a 3 days detox for the first time in my life.

For the whole 3 days I was not allowed any food. I used a certified organic dietary supplement called FAST by Miessence.

A good friend of mine did it before me and recommended the product. She was incredibly satisfied with the result, so I thought: “Why not? I have nothing to loose!” Besides that, I had indulged myself excessively during the Christmas and New Years holiday so I thought I could definitely do with a detox.

The ingredients in FAST are all organic plant and herb extracts and are to be blended to make a shake 3 times a day. It is basically your substitute for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don’t worry if you do not have a blender. I don’t have one myself so I put the powder in a small bottle with water and shake it.

The flavour is… let’s say interesting. Quite herby and minty. It is not totally bad but it is not great either. The first day I found it hard to drink. But I got used to it and the following drinks were not as hard as the first one.

During the course of the day, you are only allowed to drink water or herbal teas. My drinks of choice were homemade soda water with lemon, peppermint tea and lemon & ginger tea.

Day 1 was hard. Towards the end of the afternoon my head filled up with all sorts of thoughts and questions about life, past, present and future and my power of concentration dropped significantly.

I had a very bad night sleep, in fact I was awake for most of it.

Day 2 was not too bad at all. I got used to the drink, I felt positive and I was looking forward to the next day. That evening I even made dinner for Dom. I made him a cottage pie and I watched him eating it. He said he tasted delicious (and I believed him cause he had 3 portions!). That made me quite proud of myself because I was able to cook a tasty meal without even tasting it!

Day 3 was the hardest. We had a family gathering in the evening with lots of delicious food and I could not eat it. I could have broken the fast but my will power won over my love for food and I made it. Needless to say that I was very much looking forward to breakfast the next day.

In summary, the 3 days detox has been a success. I did not loose any weight (I do not need to as I am already quite fit) but I lost lots of water retention, my skin looks and feels better, my mind has been much clearer, I feel more relaxed and positive and finally my chronic cough has also improved (I do not cough much anymore).

All in all, it was a very positive experience. It was hard, I do not deny it but I am very glad I did it.

Following my experience, I came up with 6 tips to help you get through the fast:

1) Stay hydrated – drink lots of liquids as in water or herbal teas. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated at all times, plus drinking could ease your feeling of hunger.

2) Stay positive – it can be easy to feel down if you feel hungry. Keep your mind focused on the end result. You might suffer a bit but it will be worth it. Try to think about things you like.

3) Do not leave your last drink too late in the evening – FAST has some herbs that give you energy, if you drink it too late during the day you might have troubles sleeping. This happened to me on day 1 so I made sure to have the last drink no later than 7pm on day 2 and day 3.

4) Think about the delicious food you will have at the end of your FAST – it worked for me, whenever I felt a bit hungry I would think about something I would have liked to eat when the detox was over.

5) Keep your mind occupied – work, read a book, practice your hobbies or have a nap. You might feel a bit low on energy which is perfectly normal, so you can indulge yourself on an afternoon nap.

6) Keep an open mind – do not have expectations about the end result and embrace the detox. Each person is different and the detox has different effects on each one of us. Allow it to work on your mind and body.

Please leave a comment or drop me a line if you have any questions or if you want to share your detox experience.

19/01/2017
Picture Of The Day

When in Mexico…eat Tacos!!

These are probably the most delicious fish tacos in Tulum and they come with a complementary salad buffet.

My favourites are the octopus tacos as featured in the picture.

This delicious fish taco little restaurant is right behind the hotel Mango Tulum where I am currently working as manager and diving instructor. They sell tacos from as little as 1 and a half dollar each. Worth a try if you are around.

11/02/2016
Photo of The Day: Fresh Juice Stalls in Siem Reap

One of the many juice stalls scattered along the Old Market area in Siem Reap.

You can keep cool under the sun with delicious juices/shakes at only $1 a pot. And at night they magically transform in Cocktail stalls, selling delicious cocktails at $1.50. Double Bargain!

13/03/2015