Quick & Healthy No-Bake Oat Bars!

I adore the granola bars and oat bars you can buy from shops, but the majority of them are full of sugar and other nasty ingredients that aren't good for you. So recently I've been making my own! They don't contain any gluten or wheat, no added sugar, no flour, nothing artificial!
They're extremely quick and easy to make, don't require baking and they leave hardly any washing up - bonus!

They don't require baking in the oven as they contain coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, but a liquid when heated up. It's a lot better for you than other cooking oils too. We also have honey in this recipe, which isn't the best thing in the world but I only use a bit and it's a hell of a lot better for you than sugar. These bars are so yummy, extremely moreish, gorgeously chewy and you don't have to feel guilty after eating them!

Firstly you need to mix 1 cup of a nut butter of your choice, I chose almond with a little bit of peanut butter too (I ran out of almond butter..oops), just under 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of coconut oil in a saucepan over a low heat until the mixture has melted and there no lumps left.

Then take the mixture off the heat and add 2 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats and any extras that you want!
I added seeds, shredded coconut, flaked almonds and cranberries to my bars! Dark chocolate chips, raisins or different nuts are some options.

Pour the mixture into a container, make sure you've lined it with greaseproof paper first!

Pop it in the fridge and leave it to set for a few hours.

Take out of the fridge, cut into pieces, share with family and friends, and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS -
1 cup almond butter (or any other nut or seed butter you'd like)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 1/2 rolled oats
1 cup of cranberries, seeds, flaked almonds and shredded coconut combined. 

1. In a saucepan on medium heat mix the almond butter, honey and coconut oil together until melted and free of lumps.
2. Take the saucepan off the heat and mix in the cranberries, seeds, flaked almonds and shredded coconut. 
3. Pour mixture into a greaseproof paper lined container, make sure it's all flat! Place it in the free for a few hours until fully set and solid.
4. Cut into pieces and ENJOY!

Have a wonderful Easter!

x

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The Importance Of Avoiding Sugar!

I've always had a pretty healthy diet, ever since I was little I never had a high fat or high sugar diet and I've always been sensible with what I eat. Recently, however, I've started taking healthy eating a lot more seriously and I really think it's important for other people to do the same. Nowadays nearly everybody eats rather bad food, and I think a big problem of that is they don't actually realise what harm the ingredients they're eating is doing to them. I could go on about the absolutely disgusting effects of 'food' from McDonalds, Burger King, and other fast-food chains, I could rant about being people so many processed foods, but today I'm focussing on an evil thing called sugar.

Like I said, I've never had a high sugar diet. I've always preferred savoury over sweet and I've never been a big pudding eater, however occasionally I would have a pudding, or ice cream, or things like granola bars bought from the shops (very high sugar contents)…even fruit juice isn't good in large quantities. But recently I've almost completely cut sugar out, and I always make sure I check the labels of foods I think may have sugar in - some people roll their eyes when I tell them this, but it's just sensible and I have quite a few reasons why, which I will get onto shortly.
I'm not saying never treat yourself, of course you can have foods with added sugar every now and again but consuming them regularly can have huge effects on your body.


The first thing to know is sugar IS addictive. Fact. I was talking to someone the other day who said she was trying to eat healthily, but found it impossible to not have sweet things because she craved them. This isn't down to 'just having a sweet tooth', it's down to addiction. When we eat sugar dopamine is released in the brain, which gives us a feeling of pleasure - the same way drugs like cocaine work, our brain is then programmed to seek out the sugar to get that feeling of pleasure again, and again. The less you consume sugary foods the less you will crave them, honestly, try it for even a couple of weeks and you'll see what I mean. When I first started this cutting out of sugar I stopped drinking squash, after a couple of weeks I tried it again and couldn't even finish the glass because the taste of sugar was SO strong.


• Sugar itself doesn't contain any vitamins, minerals, protein, essential fats or beneficial things. It's empty calories. So if you eat things like chocolate bars, Pringles, Coca-Cola (evil drink) or other fizzy drinks, biscuits, cakes, ice-cream, etc you're filling your body with very little nutrients and you're bound to end up deficient in many important nutrients.

• Too much sugar can overload the liver. Fructose sugar can only be metabolised by the liver, eating a little bit or from good foods like fruit is fine (also eating fructose sugar after a workout is better as the body deals with it in a healthier way), but in other cases the sugar overloads the liver and turns the fructose sugar into fat - some of this fat is shipped out around the body but some will remain in the liver, where it builds up over time and can lead to liver disease.

• Too much sugar can cause insulin resistance, which creates a whole load of problems, including diabetes. Insulin allows glucose (blood sugar) to enter cells in the bloodstream, and gets the cells to burn glucose instead of fat. If too much insulin is being produced then the body becomes sort of immune to it, and it stops working as it should.
Fact - people who drink beverages with added sugar regularly have a 83% higher risk of developing type II diabetes. So, stick with water!

• Avoiding sugar will reduce your risk of developing cancer. There is a lot of evidence to back up this point. Insulin is one of the key hormones that regulates the growth of cells, so increased levels of insulin  which make the body immune to the effects of the hormone can contribute to developing cancer. Also, the problems sugar consumption can have on the metabolism can drive inflammation in the body, another cause of cancer.

• Sugar raises your cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease - the biggest killer in the world. Saturated fat is obviously not good for you, but actually sugar has more of an effect on cholesterol levels. In just 10 weeks of regularly consuming bad sugars you could increase the hormones in your body that lead to heart disease.

• Sugar rots your brain. No, really, it does destroy your brain. It even contributes to the degenerative brain damage disease Alzheimer's.

• Sugar actually robs your bones of vital minerals. Sugar depletes your bones of key nutrients like calcium, magnesium and copper which are vital for your health.


So, after all those horrible facts why would you want to eat sugar? You'd have to be mad!
If you eat sugar a lot you should think of it like an addiction, because that's what it is, and it's doing an insane amount of damage to you, so cut it out! Just stop consuming it. Try it for just a couple of weeks and your craving will significantly decrease.
Do remember sugar is added to a ridiculous amount of things these days, whenever I go shopping and look at the labels on foods I'm always shocked to see what products have added sugar in them, even foods that are marketed as being good for you contain SO much sugar - including those yogurt drinks and Naked smoothies. Try to avoid these foods, eat clean, natural foods - which are more delicious (I think), better for you in every way and will satisfy your hunger more.
FACT - In 1850 the UK consumption of sugar was about 8kg per person a year, by the year 2000 it had risen to over 65kg per person a year.

So, avoid - biscuits, sugary cereal (go for no added sugar muesli, pure porridge oats which you can add fresh fruit to, flax seeds or almonds for more taste, or fruit and plain yogurt), crisps, fruit juices, squash, cereal bars, ice cream, etc.
To satisfy any strong cravings for sweet foods opt for fresh fruit - pineapple, mango, apples and blueberries are among my favourites, you can make no-bake oat bars at home with coconut oil (I might post a recipe soon), peanut butter and apple, Quakers oat biscuits are low in sugar, greek yogurt, soya yogurt, nuts and homemade ice-cream using just bananas (google recipes) are among the yummy snacks to try.
I think it's so important to eat healthily, both for the body and the mind and it makes me quite angry and sad that the importance of this isn't taught, and people don't take it seriously. If everyone ate fresh, natural, clean food we'd have a health epidemic!

Do you eat sugar regularly?

Will you be cutting down?

x

The Benefits Of Lemon

Recently I've started putting slices of lemon in my water, to make it a bit more tasty and also because there are so many health benefits. I already knew a few of them but after doing some research I found a load more, and I have come to the conclusion that lemon is a magical fruit.

1. Helps keep your skin looking clear. Lemon juice contains antioxidants which will help to clear up blemishes and also keep you looking younger. Lemon juice can be applied straight to the face as well, apply it to problem areas (as long as they're not open wounds, or severe acne), leave the juice on for half an hour and rinse. Lemon juice will also make you look more radiant, as it's detoxifying your blood.

2. Boosts your immune system. If you're someone who gets ill a lot, especially if you get colds, (thankfully I'm not like that) then drinking lemon water is a good idea! Lemon juice contains loads of vitamin C, which helps protect and keep cells healthy, maintains the body tissue around your organs and helps wounds to heal.

3. Helps with digestion. Lemon juice will aid your body with digestion and relieve heartburn, indigestion or bloating.

4. Balances your pH levels. Having a good pH balance in your body is important - if unbalanced it can cause problems with the digestive system, immune system, respiratory system, nervous system, muscular system, and many more. Although on their own lemons are acidic once they're inside the body they are one of the most alkalising foods. Drinking lemon water regularly will help reduce the acidity in your body, which could have been caused by a high-fat diet, airway conditions like asthma, drinking too much alcohol, obesity, etc.

5. Stops you overeating. If you're trying to lose weight, or simply by healthier by not snacking so much then the pectin fibre in lemon juice will assist in fighting those cravings.

6. Helps reduce feelings of anxiety or depression. I didn't really believe this one, but lemon juice is supposed to be very calming, even the smell of it can really help.

7. Cleanses your body. Lemon juice helps to flush out any toxins from your body. The juice will help maximise enzyme function, which stimulates the liver and aids in detoxification. It will also help loosen toxins in the digestive tract, due to the high number of minerals and vitamins in the lemon.

8.  Keeps your breath fresh. No-one likes smelly breath! Lemon juice will keep your breath much fresher.

9. Energises you. Lemon juice contains more negatively charged ions, which react with your body and provide you with more energy.

10. Great source of potassium. Potassium is really good for heart health, and also the brain and nerve functions.

So now you see what I mean, lemon is magical.

Try putting it in your water!

x

Goodbye Coffee, Hello Pukka!

I've always been a healthy person, but within the last year I've really started to think about what I'm eating and drinking, both for health reasons and just to feel generally better. 

I'm by no means someone who cuts out carbs, ALL sugar, counts calories, etc but I do watch what I'm eating. I don't like having much sugar, e.g. fizzy drinks, sweets, cakes, I make sure I have healthy snacks throughout the day instead of crisps or the like. 

But I realised a few months ago I was drinking coffee everyday, I wanted a healthier alternative…that's where Pukka comes in. 

Pukka is a brand that have created organic, herbal teas that are delicious and rich in health benefits.

If you'd said to be a year or two ago that I'd be drinking herbal teas everyday I wouldn't believe you, I never liked the thought of them, I imagined they'd taste bland or unexciting - I was wrong.

Every morning I have the Pukka cleanse tea, which is organic nettle, fennel and peppermint. It says this one purifies your skin and I have found my skin looks brighter since drinking it! Plus, it tastes amazing.

In the evenings I have either the Mint Green tea which is organic whole leaf tea with sweet spearmint, or Three Mint which is organic peppermint, spearmint and field mint, which is meant to refresh and soothe digestion. The latter is my personal favourite, as a lover of mint flavour it's perfect!

Pukka do a whole range of teas, with flavours such as cinnamon, cardamon and ginger, cinnamon and sweet vanilla, lemon, ginger and honey, peppermint and liquorice, rose, vanilla and camomile and many more amazing flavours, there's something for everyone!

If you're looking for a healthier hot drink, or just to try something new I can't recommend these enough.
You can see the whole range of Pukka teas here!