Who do you wear make up for? Motivational Monday #3

The other day I was watching this video by Zanna Van Dijk and honestly if you havent checked out her videos then you need to they are amazing! In the video Zanna was talking about learning to love herself and finally feeling like she doesnt need to wear make up which I think is so important for us girls in modern society...we should never feel like we have to wear make-up!

This then got me thinking about why I wear make up and furthermore, who I wear make up for. I concluded that the reason I wear make-up is that it makes me feel good. I am obsessed with finding new brands and products and finding new ways of doing my make up, (reducing the amount of brands that test on animals in my collection, is a huge one for me right now). I feel ready for the day when I have applied make-up and a red lip always makes me feel like I can conquer the world. 

However, I feel just as comfortable when I am not wearing make-up I will happily go for a run with no make up on my face what so ever and then go shopping afterwards, just as if its a sunday and I need something from the shop for one of my Sunday bakes I will happily walk up to the shop with no make up. I have no worries letting people in my flat see me with no make up on at night and in the mornings either.

I feel that wearing make-up in this way is healthy for me (and im in no way suggesting that my way is the best way). I feel happy that without thinking about it I wear make up for myself and no one else because I enjoy the process of choosing the products and playing with looks.

I definitely wasnt always this confident and used to wear concealer over any blemish when I was younger and apply a small amount of mascara, even going to the gym, as I didnt feel I looked old enough and wanted to look grown up. 

After many years of people exclaiming over the fact I look about 8 years younger than I actually am I am totally used to this now and really couldn't care less! 

 I would be really interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this matter and to motivate you to consider: why do you wear make up or not wear make up, and who do you wear it for?

Are we our own worst enemies, or our own best friends?

Today someone told me they 'were their own worst enemy' and this got me thinking.

We live in a society where we are always comparing ourselves to others as I have mentioned in my previous posts. We have learnt to rely on others to deliver positive affirmations to us, and we have been taught to play down any form of compliment for fear as coming off big headed or too full of ourselves.

This is clearly something everyone wants to avoid, however we dont have to talk ourselves down in order to do that! As soon as you begin talking yourself down it spirals into a habit that becomes a self inflicted prophecy that you end up believing. But how can you prevent this from happening, and how can you get out of this cycle?

It all starts with thinking patterns. 

If you are already in a negative cycle then as soon as you think something negative you have to counter it with something positive. After doing this for 20 days...thats how long it is suggested it takes to learn a new routine/habit, this will become affirmed. The more you think negatively the more positive thoughts will just naturally follow, until you begin believing the positives. Once you have over come this you have to affirm the positives:

Tell them to yourself without a negative. 

Write them down. 

Do this even if you dont believe them trust me one day you will!

'Remember life is more than fitting in your jeans'-Ed Sheeran

I love Ed Sheeran and this is so true, who cares about what you look like focus on personal goals and traits that you love, set yourself goals and targets that arent visual, tell yourself about how you like a part of your personality, or set an aim to be more self-less, more helpful. Just thinking and following these actions will make you feel better about yourself. 

Confidence and Kindness shine through, you look incredible if you are being the kindest version of you you can be :) 

Find something you love and work hard at it every spare minute of the day.

Set your self targets for exercise!

Exercise is an amazing thing. Not only does it release endorphin's making you feel great but it also makes you feel better about your body. Dont worry about aesthetics just try and be the healthiest version of you you can be, eating as well as you can 80% of the time and focusing on finding a form of exercise you love! (I'm a massive fan of walking!) 

finally...

'YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY, YOU ARE TRULY YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND '

these are just my own thoughts, and I'd love to hear what other people think about it 
Emily 

Motivational Monday #2

How is it monday again?

I feel like the weeks go by at the speed of light nowadays, gone are the weeks of my childhood where the days would drag on and a week felt like an eternity.

For todays motivational monday post I wanted to write about self love. I'm at a time in my life where everything is extremely busy and I forget that I need to take a few minutes out each day for myself and my health.

I was thinking whilst blow drying my hair...as you do, that as a society we constantly look to others for reassurance and recognition; likes on an instagram, likes on FB, retweets on twitter, views on snapchat. We are bombarded by other peoples opinions of our lives everyday, its unavoidable and we live in a society that dictates that it is the amount of likes we get the defines us and our self worth.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

You dont get a like, for stopping and holding the door for another when their hands are full of shopping. You dont get a retweet everytime you compliment someone on their outfit and make their day. And you dont get a view everytime you take part in a charity event raising money for an amazing cause. We dont need to look to others to recoginse our self worth, we need to set ourselves goals and have confidence in ourselves to be able to achieve these and know that we have. Dont look to others for recognition, love yourself and know your self worth. Once you do this you will beam confidence and feel great. So take time out everyday to learn to love yourself that little bit more, without worrying what the rest of the world is thinking and doing. 

Are You Empowered?

Being a strong and independent woman is something I have always strived to achieve. I feel that we should be proud of who we are and our achievements, no matter how big or small we may perceive them to be. Now in my 20's I finally feel comfortable in myself and I no longer feel I need to act like others to fit in I am myself and if you like it thats great if not then I'm not going to apologies for who I am.

However, I never feel like I can meet my own expectations. Rather than be proud of what I have achieved, I am constantly beating myself up for the things I havent yet been able to do. Yesterday was international womens day and so I watched this video by Louise Pentland AKA Sprinkleofglitter and I would highly recommend you go and watch it! It really got me thinking about why I am always so harsh on myself, and that I should start remembering all the things I have been able to achieve rather than those that I currently havent.

I have a board of these quotes on my pintrest and I would love it if you checked it out.
I think its so important that we dont look at what others have and feel like we are inferior or that we arent as good as them...this isnt the case. We are all individuals and its really important we take other peoples achievements and use them to inspire us to do our best to achieve, and not let them make us feel like failures or to feel jealous! If they can do it so can you!

I thought I would take this opportunity to list out my current achievements that I should be proud of followed by a list of my dream achievements for the future, some of them may be a very long way in the future!

WHAT I AM:
I am a loving older Sister.
I have taught myself a-level biology in 8 months.
I have taken the huge decision to change direction, to follow my dream career.
I have organised multiple successful charity events.
I am non judgemental, kind and compassionate.
I am comfortable in myself.
I will always look for the good in people.
I have inspired others to do things they were scared of.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE:
To be a home owner.
To start a family.
To grow my blog.
To empower others.
To be kind and compassionate in my career.
To start a business.
To write a book.

Please comment on this post with a couple of achievements and dreams you have. Lets build each other up.

Motivational Monday #1

So for tonights post I decided I'm going to start a new series.

 I love scrolling through my pintrest and finding motivational quotes. They often get me thinking and give me the boost I need to keep going at life and giving it my all. Today I just wanted to share one quote with you all, its one that is particularly relevant in my life at the moment and I thought it was apt to share it.

At 21/22 myself and my friends are all at an age where we are just coming into adulthood, we have to adapt to new responsibilities, juggle work and socialising and find a successful relationship. Not only this but many of us also have other struggles in our lives that may be health/family or work related. To look at us no one would know that we were dealing with these but they affect us everyday and the way in which we cope with situations and our environment. Just because you cant see what a person is dealing with doesn't give you the right to loose patients with that person or judge them. Always treat people with compassion and kindness and never assume you know everything that is going on in a persons life, don't brandish someone with a label based on how they act as you dont know the reason why a person is acting that way. Instead I feel we should all offer kindness and try and support each other no matter how difficult that may be when a person isn't acting the way you would like or expect. I hope this quote makes you think, just as it made me think. 

Have an amazing week.

Emily 

Banana Saltana and Almond Muffins (Vegan and Refined sugar free)

Calories:71 (each)

Fat:0.3g Carbs 12.7g Protein 1.6g

INGREDIENTS:

200g Banana
150g Self Raising Flour
1/4 cup warm almond milk
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 1/2 marmalade
1/2 tsp almond extract
50g Saltanas

toasted almonds for decoration

METHOD:

1. pre heat oven to 180c
2. weigh out all ingredients.
3. mix the dry ingredients together.
4. mash the banana, and add to it the marmalade, maple syrup, almond extract, and almond milk.
5. add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix well, until all combined.
6. place the mixture evenly into 12 cake cases and top with the toasted almonds.
7. bake in the oven until golden brown and risen.
8. remove from oven allowing to cool.

enjoy!!

Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts (Low Fat, Milk Free)-A Health Lovers Doughnut Dream

60g Mixed Fruit

30g Glace Cherries

1 tsp-Ginger

1/2 tsp-Mixed Spice 

1 tsp-Orange Extract

100g-Self raising flour 

2 tbsp-Almond Milk

1 egg 

1 tsp-Baking Powder 

1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 180c. 
2. Combine the mixed fruit, cherries, orange extract, almond milk and egg in a food processor/blender.
3. Mix together the flour, ginger, mixed spice and baking powder and add the wet ingredients.
4. Mix the ingredients until you have a thick but smooth batter, add more milk if it needs loosening slightly.
5. spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into a silicone doughnut mold. 
6. Bake for ten minutes or until risen and browned. 
7. remove from the oven and enjoy!
8. They taste especially good with jam drizzled on top ;)

Low fat Vanilla and Maple Protein Pancakes (Milk and Lactose Free)

1 tbsp Vanilla Rice Protein Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 Large egg

1 Large banana (mashed)

Maple Syrup

• Mix the protein powder and Baking powder together. 
• Crack in your egg and stir well ensuring a smooth consistency.
• Mash half of the banana and add to the mix, getting the batter as smooth as possible.
• Heat a not stick pan on high and ladle in the mixture. 
• Once set all over, flip the pancake and cook on the other side for a further minute.
• Remove from pan using a spatula, and pour over your maple syrup.
• Enjoy!!

 (These can be easily made vegan by replacing the egg with a cup of aquafaba!) 

MY FAVOURITE HEALTHY VEGAN SNACKS

Protein:

• Pulsin Bars (I love the maple and peanut ones!)
• Crunch nkd Bars (Apricot are the newest of the Crunch variety and they are currently my faves however I am also a huge fan of the strawberry and banana crunch bars...lets face it they are the dream)
• Habas Fritas-Marks and Spencer 
• Banana Bliss Bars-Tesco
• Tru-Nut powdered peanut butter with chocolate- I sprinkle this over cereal, apples, bananas, and berries 

Carbs:

• BREAD BREAD AND MORE BREAD! 

I genuinely live off bread it is my favourite thing on the planet. I go to Sainsburys and but their freshly baked loafs, my healthy option is their sourdough rye bread, however I do also love a bit of their farmhouse loaf and their sourdough loaf. 

• Olive bread sticks-Marks and Spencer 
• Giant wholemeal Pretzels-Sainsburys 
• Salt and Vinegar Beetroot Crisps-Marks and Spencer
• Soreen Banana Lunchbox Loafs
• Berries, apples, and Bananas with powdered peanut butter 

Fats:

• Dairy free pots-Marks and Spencer (I love their apricot and strawberry pots, soooooo much!)
• Alpro plain soya yoghurt
• Pecans 
• Walnuts

Drinks:

• Soya/Almond milk hot chocolate with Dairy milk chocolate powder (Yes it is dairy free despite its name, which definitely confused my brother and cousin!)
• Soya/Almond Milk cappuccino
• Rebel Kitchen Coffee

As someone who is very allergic to milk I often have to look out for vegan snacks that I can easily Pick up on the go! I love reading what other people find so I thought I would join in the conversation and share mine :)

(Due to my exceedingly sensitive stomach all of these products will also be low Garlic, Onion, and oat free whilst also being low fat as my digestive system really struggles to digest these. I do see a dietitian to make sure my diet is as wholesome as it can be with my bowel not digesting certain foods efficiently at the moment.)

Chocolate Oreo Truffles:Vegan

These chocolate oreo truffles were born out of a crazy evening baking for my friends christmas gifts. I stood looking at the ingredients I had infront of me (Oreos, Digestives, and Dairy Free milk chocolate) and decided truffles were the way forward. I did also luckily have some vegan cream cheese in my fridge as well to bind these beauties together. I say luckily but of course I had cream cheese in my fridge because it is a life saver in my milk free life. I have had a few people ask for the recipe for these and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do! Please comment below if you do try them and of course if you aren't vegan/dairy free feel free to use non vegan ingredients that you may already have at home! 

What you will need:

• .1 pack mint chocolate oreos
• .4 tbsp dairy free cream cheese (I use Sainsburys)
• .5 dairy free digestives (I use Tescos)
• .200g chocolate (I like to use dairy free milk chocolate but any is fine!)
• .Cocoa powder (for dusting)

Method:

Place the oreos, and digestives in a food processor and blitz until crumb consistency.

1. Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water in a glass bowl until melted, ensuring no steam gets into the bowl. Or in the microwave for 20 second intervals stiring until melted.
2. Add the cream cheese and a Tbsp of chocolate into the crumbs and blitz again until combined.
3. take tsp amounts of the mixture and roll into balls between your hands.
4. Stick each ball onto a cocktail stick and cover in the melted chocolate, placing onto a plate covered in parchment paper. 
5. Once you have covered all of your truffles place them into the fridge to set for approximately 1 hour.
6. Remove from the fridge and cover all over in cocoa powder
7. Enjoy!!

Vegan Christmas Rice Crispy Treats