Ain't that the pits

I'm a bit slow sometimes. Most of the time I'm super-fast and intelligent (clearly! *cough*), but I blame occasional downfalls on excellent marketing by brands set to take over the world one little lie at a time. For example, deodorant. Do you know how many different types there are and what they do to your skin? Either did I. Until I looked into it a little while ago, I hadn't the foggiest. My curiosity spiked when the idea that you could develop cancer from overuse of antiperspirants went around. The brands clearly deny it because they like making money from as many harmful products as possible... and research hasn't found strong enough evidence (there's enough for me) that would thwart these nasties from sitting pretty on supermarket shelves. So here's my take on the whole thing...

* Antiperspirants. Nasty. We sweat to regulate body temp and clear toxins out of our system, it's a process our body needs to do and has down pat. So why spray something on your skin that stops the sweating altogether? WHY? And guess what genius ingredient they use to prevent sweating? Aluminium. It doesn't just sit on your skin, but gets into your blood stream and changes the physiology of your body. It may even raise the risk of Alzheimer's Disease by 60%. Do. Not. Want.

* Deodorants. Better, but be careful. These try to neutralize the smell by killing the bacteria. Watch for aluminium and parabens - a common preserving ingredient found in beauty products that gets into your system and disrupts the hormonal balance (for starters) by mimicking oestrogen. Parabens have also been found in human breast cancer tumours. Ick.

* Crystal. Sound a bit crazy? This is the best you can get, in my book. It's made up of a smooth chunk of crystallized mineral salts that kill bacteria on the surface of the skin (and so goes the BO), while letting you sweat. You'll get used to it, and feel better for it.

For those wanting to know how to spot a paraben, here's a list of them:
- Methylparaben (E218)
- Ethylparaben (E214)
- Propylparaben (E216)
- Butylparaben
- Benzyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Methyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Ethyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Propyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Butyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Parahydroxybenzoic acid
- Parahydroxybenzoate

A slice of cosy and a cup of tea

Oh banana bread, contentment on a plate. I had a few super ripe bananas bringing in the fruit flies last week and a spare 20 minutes. I looked up banana bread in one of my fave recipe books - Wholefood by Jude Blereau - and made my own version from it. You really can't mess this up. I promise. No whisking! Nothing tricky! Plus there's no sugar. (I understand if this statement leaves your wary... often it means there's loads of artificial sweeteners which are hideous and mess you up, but never fear my little pastry chefs, no such ingredient will ever enter my kitchen).

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a loaf tin with butter. Place 270g wholemeal flour in a sieve with 2 tspns baking powder, sift into a large bowl and add 1 tspn cinnamon, 1/2 tspn ground nutmeg, 60g roughly chopped walnuts and 60g chopped, pitted dates (or handful of sultanas). Mix well. Add 2 lge or 3 sml bananas, mashed with a fork, 70g melted unsalted butter, 125g yoghurt and 125ml (full fat) milk. Mix through. If it looks dry and lumpy, add a splash more milk. Place mixture in the tin and top with slices of banana (optional). Bake for an hour, or until golden and cooked in the centre. Leave to cool for 15 mins then turn on a rack. Eat within 3 days (try and stop me).

Toast lightly or eat as is, top with a little butter or fresh ricotta and strawberries. Yummers.

Round 'em up

Welcome to my new weekly episode called Friday Round 'Em Up. Here I may focus on such fascinating nuggets as how much I've learned in the previous seven days on earth, how little sleep I've had or how badly I miss my old friend vino de plonko, (it hurts the most on Fridays). Each week will be mindless, quick bursts of randomness, nothing you need to concentrate on. See, I'm here for you.

This week I've learned the value of time alone. Hubby and I both work from home, and as happy as I am to have the amore of my life less than a dozen steps away, it tends to drive us both a little crazy. Yes, he gets regular, dishy dishes made for him, but he also has to contend with my constant IT queries, plans for the weekend, jokes from friends and other wifey stuff. As for me? I suppose I miss the "honey I'm home" time when we used to catch up on the day.

So now I wait, keep my rosy lips sealed, and discuss things anew at night. I save the good news and the wardrobe challenges and the funny facebook updates and throw it all at him during breaks on the 7pm Project. It's romantic, I know. I'm like that. And it works. Absence of annoying interruptions really does make the heart grow fonder. Who knew?

Summer beauty

As my beauty products slowly take on a more natural ethos, I'm left marveling at the simple things that can make you look and feel beautiful. And while summer's (apparently) here for a couple of months yet, let the world be your spa.

* Sit on the wet sand at the beach, let the waves lap at your toes while you use handfuls of sand to scrub your feet smooth
* While you're there, splash sea water on your face. I know I've raved about it before, but it really does boost cellular growth and circulation while removing toxins from your system
* A good mid-week boost for your skin (all year round) is to mix sea salt with olive oil and scrub all over in the shower. Just be gentle when you dry off as the oil should linger on your skin - no need to moisturise
* Make like Cleopatra and have a milk bath. Add a cup of full cream milk (or milk powder) to warm water and soak, using a face cloth to gently scrub top to toe. Just don't forget to rinse off quickly in the shower or with a small bucket of water.
* A lot of anti-dandruff shampoos are so fiercely drying for the hair, so instead just put a few drops of tea tree essential oil into your regular shampoo every time you use it. Another alternative it to put lavender essential oil onto a cotton ball and dot onto flaky areas of the scalp, leave overnight.

Lazy? Feel like shopping? I hear you. Check out these delicious, natural beauty peeps: Dr.Hauschka for the yummiest face moisturisers, oils and treatments; Pod Puraceuticals for heaven-sent mani and pedi scrubs; Ulittlebeauty for super smooth lip balm and heavy-duty face masks; Phyt's for lush cleansers; Pure Fiji for the world's greatest body scrubs; Ecoya for good-for-you and divine smelling candles; Alchemy for the creamiest leave-in hair conditioner.

Personalities, body types and rose water

Ayurvedic medicine has always intrigued me. The practitioners of this traditional medicine believe in balance, where natural urges are not suppressed (they believe this can lead to illness). As you may know I'm a fan of moderation, never elimination. Have your (organic) cake and it eat it (mindfully) too.

Originating in India, Ayurveda translates as "science of life", it's a holistic healing practice. Now for us westerners, holistic is a recent buzz word that means looking at the whole body, mind and soul... but for ancient healing practices throughout Asia, holistic is a way of life. Always has been.

There are three doshas, or body types, in Ayurvedic medicine. You may relate to more than one, but there's always a dominant dosha for you. These are their main characteristics:

Vata - creative, imaginative, changeable moods, excitable, high energy in bursts; slender, quick walkers, cold hands and feet, dry skin. May suffer from worry, anxiety, headaches, constipation, sore throats, and back pain.
Kappa - calm, relaxed, affectionate, compassionate, faithful, graceful, self-sufficient, peaceful, possessive; soft hair, skin, eyes and voice. May suffer from colds, sinus congestion, obesity, allergies and depression.
Pitta - focused, confident, competitive, passionate, fiery; good metabolism (and, therefore, appetite) strong build, fair or reddish skin. May suffer from skin problems, ulcers, heartburn and arthritis.

Here's a rough guide to what's good for each type (a selection from Amadea Morningstar and Urmila Desai's The Ayurvedic Cookbook):

Vata - grounding and warming foods, like spices (ginger and cloves, anise, cayenne, cinnamon, garlic, horseradish, caraway, mint, mustard seeds, parsley, cooked onion, paprika, rose water, vanilla, tarragon, thyme and rosemary), sweet fruit (mangoes, nectarines, bananas, coconut, fresh figs, peaches, and strawberries), cooked grains (oatmeal, basmati rice, and brown rice),
Avoid too much raw food, sugar, ice-cold drinks, frozen and dried foods, alcohol or caffeine.
Try calming exercises such as tai chi, yoga and walking, sip warming herbal teas, sesame oil rubbed into shoulders in the morning.

Kappa - light foods, like low-fat meat (especially but not restricted to chicken and turkey), beans (not soy), vegetables (peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, corn, peas and celery) and a variety of light, crispy foods.
Avoid excess fat and heavy protein, excess sugar, dairy and bread.
Try regular dry body massages, challenging yourself, vigorous exercises (tennis, aerobics, etc).

Pitta - cooling foods are best, try bitter green vegies (watercress, rocket, parsley), fruit (berries, apples, apricots, coconut, figs, mango, oranges, pineapples, plums, watermelon and pomegranates), dairy (milk, cottage cheese, soft cheese, ice cream), grains (barley, basmati rice, and wheat), plenty of protein, spices (coriander, cumin, mint, parsley, dill and fennel) and sweets (maple syrup and raw honey).
Avoid humidity, spicy foods, excess red meat, alcohol, caffeine and salt.
Try eating when you're hungry and also swimming and walking.

Now clearly I've only touched the tip of the wondrous mountain that is Ayurveda. And, as per usual, I focused only on the food. So predictable. If you want to know more, you can find a qualified therapist here (this I am not).

Illustration above is by me, Frankie Warhol, and is of Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda.

It was just mint to be

My vegie garden isn't going so great. Thankfully, it's the condition of the soil (to be sorted this weekend), not my quasi-negligent ways (to be fair, I didn't just water them, I talked to those seedlings). The tomatoes are the only thing going nuts, though we did manage to sprout a few beans.

After scoring a handful of big blue pots on eBay, I went crazy planting herbs, which have thrived, much to my relief. At the moment I have rosemary, coriander, parsley, chives, oregano, basil and mint. Oh, how I love mint: easy to grow, deliciously aromatic and a more than a little pretty. However, I'm super happy I planted it in a pot, as it looks set to take over its corner of the world.

Well known as a breath-freshener and subtle energy booster, mint is also helps the digestive process, calms indigestion, relieves nausea and cold/flu congestion and reduces the levels of toxins, bacteria and fungus in the body. Here's a few of my fave recipes:

* Tear a few mint leaves in half, place in a mug with a squeeze of lemon juice and teaspoon of manuka honey, fill with boiling water. Best way to start the day. You can also add fresh ginger and lime zest.
* Make a fresh juice of pineapple, rockmelon and mint.
* Mix mint with natural yoghurt, lemon juice and diced cucumber. Serve with curries or Greek lamb.
* Make a salad of rocket, goats cheese, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, parsley and mint.
* Mix mint through fresh raspberries and eat at roughly the same time as dark chocolate or caramel.
* Add to a risotto of asparagus and peas with a bit of lemon zest and parmesan.
* Throw a few into fresh spring rolls with avocado, carrot, rice noodles and chilli.

A year less ordinary

I have a few resolutions for this new year. OK, a lot... each day I think of more things I want to do/be/have. I so desperately want to make more time for reading, painting and yoga, which may be conquered solely by taking Monday's off. Yes, I know I'm a bit lucky to be able to vote for long weekends as I'm my own boss and, well, I can. But it will mean putting in serious effort Tuesday to Friday. For serious. Still, whoever did their best work on a Monday?

One other big resolution is to listen to my instinct more. Gut reactions are always the best, so I'm going to fine tune mine so I get it loud and clear. People who don't listen to their instinct seem to always have bad luck or lousy timing. Those who rely on their intuition don't have a breezy life, but they find themselves consistently in the right place at the right time. Here's my instinct-cranking plan:

* Meditate every morning as soon as I wake up. Doesn't matter if it's five minutes or 15, and it never matters if my mind wanders the whole time, it still makes a difference to my day.
* Buy only products - shoes, clothes, etc - that thrill me to the core. You know the dress that makes your jaw drop with OMG? Those ones. And only those I can easily afford.
* Eat food that nourishes and only when I'm hungry. As much as I love salads and roast vegies, I'm only human. And Canadian. Brownies can nourish, so can lasagna with three cheeses. But I'll only buy or make them with the best ingredients. And I've learnt over the last few months that the less sugar I eat, the less I crave, so at least banana bread won't be served with every afternoon tea.
* I'll listen to other peeps more. Every life has learnt a million lessons along their own unique journey, so rather than retorting with inappropriate jokes (I don't really. Much), I'll be trying to switch off the "What'll I say next?" button when someone else is talking. And just listen. A quiet mind is a great place for intuition to grow.

Here's a great quote from D. H. Lawrence:
For whereas the mind works in possibilities, the intuitions work in actualities, and what you intuitively desire, that is possible to you. Whereas what you mentally or "consciously" desire is nine times out of ten impossible; hitch your wagon to a star, or you will just stay where you are.

And one from Albert Einstein:
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.