Blackberry Picking

Today I went blackberry and raspberry picking with my mum. We spent 2.5 hours in the fields and it was so much fun. Each full punnet weighing 1kg was £6 each which in total came to £36. At first we were surprised but then I worked out how much they would cost in tesco and on offer per kg it would be £8. So we got a pretty good deal and the experience was awesome too (pick and eat as you go yum!) We have decided to keep one punnet to eat fresh and to freeze the rest for smoothies and dressings. I can't wait to share my recipes with you soon on Robyn's Recipes :)

Here are our delicious produce:

We also bought a pumpkin 3kg at £1.50, and made a fabulous pumpkin soup. We saw a whole field of huge pumpkins, I tried to lift one and it was literally impossible! It must have weighed 3 stone or more, wish I could have bought that one. 

Versatile Coconut Oil - Cosmetic Use

Coconut oil has many uses: 

1) It works nicely as an all over body moisturiser, especially for dry legs after sun exposure. I have been applying it every morning and night to my legs to help preserve my tan since being on holiday. It melts nicely in the palms once scooped out and smoothes on effortlessly It smells amazing too!

2) Use it as a makeup remover for my eye makeup, I rub it all over then gently wipe it off with a dry flannel. 

3) Leave-in hair conditioner, scoop out a half pea size amount and melt in palms, smooth sparingly in the ends of your hair or massage into scalp. Great for restoring hairs natural glossy shine after washing. 

4) Nail cuticle treatment, massage into nail beds if hands are dry from over washing. 

5) Lip balm, just smooth a little on and your good to go. 

6) Foot treatment, rub in between your toes to cure athletes foot, repeat every night for 5 days and it should be a lot better. This is due to its antibacterial properties. 

This one is by 'The groovy food company' and is organic extra virgin coconut oil cold pressed. It is found on amazon or in Sainsbury's in the oil (food) section about £7.

Important Hint:  I would not advise eating it though as it is pure fat! Only use externally for true HCRV health :) 

Homegrown Carrots

I went round my Gran's house today and she had some carrots in a tub for me to pull up. So here they are nicely arranged in size order :)

Homegrown Apple

Picked straight from the tree this morning. It is a wonderful experience to pick your own especially from your own tree. Free, Organic and delicious. I would definitely recommend if you have the garden space to plant an eating apple tree :)

If you like it chopped up like this, I used an apple corer which makes it so quick and simple. 

Vegan Toothpaste

I recently repurchased this toothpaste for the third time today from Holland and Barrette at £2.49. It has a delicious subtle peppermint flavour that doesn't burn your tongue or distort the flavour of your food after using it. It is free from harsh chemicals such as sulphates which are responsible for the frothiness in regular toothpastes. This toothpaste doesn't have that overly frothy lather but a more subtle active cleaning method. It contains Salvadora persica which is known as the tooth brush tree and works amazingly. One tube lasts my family about 1-2 months using a pea size amount. I use an electric toothbrush which works the best with it too.

I would highly recommend this for a simple toothpaste switch for a healthier mouth.

Vegan Lip Balm

I went to town in search of a vegan lip balm today and decided to try out Lush. I entered and asked the assistant who showed me this:

I smelt it and wow a burst of freshness with a sweet lemon sorbet aroma. I was instantly in love and hoped that it worked as well as it smelt. I purchased it at £5.75 took it home and applied a little to my lips, it was very moisturising and flowed on nicely. I haven't put any on since because my lips still feel soft and that was 4 hours ago and I'v eaten and drank since. So in my opinion so far it is very nice. I think it will last me a long long time as I only needed the tiniest amount which lasted 4 hrs. I will try it out for a whole day and see how it lasts. 

10 Weeks, 3 days Pure Vegan

I recently got back from Mallorca which was lovely. The variety of fruits was wonderful and allowed my mum and I to be 100% raw for 2 weeks. I read 80/10/10 by Douglas Graham in the first week and was greatly informed about the real hazards meat, dairy, gain and fat have on the body as well as all the recipe ideas and inspirational stories.

I now bulk buy my bananas by the box from Lidl, only £12 per 18kg box. It's not at all embarrassing and the staff there know other people who have bought boxes of bananas. This made me think that there must be some more fruity people in my area :) which is encouraging. I have also found a local grocery shop which is relatively small but I can bulk by my tomatoes there and they also sell cheap awesome Piel de Sapo melons (See picture 1) for 89p. 

Today I went to my local Arab high street where I bought a 15 inch long watermelon (see picture 2), a young coconut and a 12 inch papaya (Cost £14). Pretty pricy but well worth it, check out Robyn's Recipes soon for new recipes. 

I'm also enjoying running every evening for 10-20 minutes around my area and loving spin classes at the gym 2-3 hours per week. Since being HCRV I have noticed the spin classes getting easier each time so have been able to turn up the tension more frequently, keeping in pace with the instructor and pushing myself harder. I have also been enjoying doing my 100 squats a day. 

Today I have eaten purely watermelon (that I bought today) until dinner when I had 10 bananas.

  

Picture 1:

Picture 2:

Original Source Review

I decided to try out the vegan original source body wash today. It claims to be natural, against animal testing and packed with essential oils. It also contials 10 lemons! I was very impressed with it as it lathered up nicely, is moisturising and left me with a fruity fragrance. I found it in Boots but it can also be found in supermarkets.