#30daysofmeditation Challenge

Hello and welcome back to Adorn Beauty.
Today I wanted to share with you a challenge I am currently doing with a few of my Tone It Up gals and to invite you to join in as well!
~
So if you've been reading this blog for awhile then you know that I have been on a health and fitness journey for almost two years now. This has come from joining Tone It Up, following Lorna Jane's Move Nourish Believe philosophy and overall just deciding I wanted a better quality of life!
If you want to read some of those posts to see where I am coming from then click on any of the links below
(they will open up in a new window for you - I hate when websites don't do that, don't you?!)
TONE IT UP
MOVE NOURISH BELIEVE
HEALTHY LIVING 
WHAT I WORE RUNNING

Ok so now onto this challenge! Myself, Sue and Karin (my Tone It Up accountability buddies, #tiusisters, SOS's = sister of support, friends and overall amazing ladies) were chatting the other day and it came up that we wanted to try meditation and see what all the fuss is about with calming your mind, not thinking 1000s thoughts all at once and even just to see if its something we could master! So we came up with the plan to do #30daysofmeditation whereby the only rules are:

1: Meditate everyday for at least 5 minutes for 30 days

Simple hey!  

I recently have joined up to a local yoga studio (an entire other post on that will come up soon I'm sure) and I have started seeing the benefits that can come from yoga (aka I can now touch my toes....say whaaa?!?!).

With my healthy lifestyle I have focused on cardio and toning and it finally clicked that yoga was the final piece to the healthy body puzzle for me! It not only has made my fitness in these other areas better, but its given me a better connection to myself, what makes me happy and what is truly important in life.

In my yoga classes we start with meditation and end with meditation and wowie, this is the first time I think I've actually 'gotten it' and was able to let my mind be still

Now hands up if you love sleep? (both my arms are raised right now) For me, meditation gives me the same effect an amazing nights sleep does. You know that feeling when your in the 'sweet spot' with all the blankets wrapped around you, warm and cosy and juuuuust about to fall asleep? Yeah that's the feeling meditation can give you!

Other than the instant feel good feeling you can get from meditation, there is actually so many health benefits from it too. This image I found below sums it all up perfectly!

Amazing hey, reading that was enough of a motivator for me to give it a go, I'm excited to see how i'll feel after 30days and to see if I can tell any changes mentally and physically - I am hoping to be able to get to the stage where I can use meditation wherever I am as a way to deal with stress. I would also love to be able to really feel I am in the 'zone' with meditation - not just sitting there going 'I'm thinking, I'm thinking, its not working I keep thinking!'

I wanted to also share with you all some of the meditation apps, websites and videos myself, Karin and Sue have been using - its fun to try out new ones and learn what works best for you. Here are a bunch that we've used so far (ps they are all FREE!)

Apps:
Calm - LINK!
Breathe - LINK!
Omvana - LINK!

YouTube:
Lorna Jane & Melissa Ambrosini - LINK! & LINK!
The Five Minute Miracle - LINK!

If you decide to join in on this #30daysofmeditation please leave in the comments other apps, sites, ways of mediating that works for you! I'd love to try as many as I can and that way we can all share the ones we like and what works best for you!

So what do you think? Have I convinced you to give it a go? Try and mediate everyday and see what happens? Let me know if you are going to join in with us, and make sure to hash tag on Instagram #30daysofmeditation if you do!

xoxo

RECIPE: Broccoli Basil Chilli Pasta

Hello there, welcome back!
Today I want to share with you all a recipe I made a few weeks ago when I was craving some comfort style food! This recipe is super simple, super quick and super tasty! 

Ingredients:
Wholemeal Pasta
Broccoli
Basil
Chilli Flakes
Parmesan
Garlic
Olive Oil
Pink Himalayan Salt
Pepper
~
Method:
1: Place water onto the stove to boil. Whilst it is heating up, cut up your broccoli and grate up some Parmesan cheese 
2: Once the water is boiling, put in some olive oil and pink sea salt and throw in the wholmeal pasta. I normally cook pasta for around 12 minutes, so once you feel its halfway done throw in the broccoli too
3: Once both the pasta and broccoli are cooked, drain the pasta but keep a cup of the water it was cooking in
4: Put back onto the stove, add the crushed garlic, chilli flakes, basil, parmesan and cup of water and mix all together
5: Plate up and top with salt and pepper and some fresh basil!  
~
YUM! So simple and easy to make but totally fail proof winner!
Let me know if you make it and what you think.
xoxo 

Goodness Me Box

Hello there, welcome back to Adorn Beauty!

Today I wanted to share with you a subscription box that is available in Australia that is aimed at healthy eating (raises fists and cheers loudly). 

Subscription boxes are something that is rather popular overseas and is slowly making its way to our shores in terms of beauty boxes, but there isn't too much about (at least not here in Aus) for healthy eating. This is where Goodness Me Box comes in, it's a once a month subscription box that is sent to your home or office filled with health food! Mostly snacks style but some cooking ingredients too this box is full of goodies! 

When I found out about it I immediately signed up and paid for my first box which was $25, filled out a questionnaire all about what I like to eat, if I have allergies, what healthy eating means to me etc and then a month later I received at my work the August box! 

I wanted to share with you all everything that came in the box (which is a lot!) so beware, this is a photo heavy post! 

So as you can see, for $25 you are receiving well over that amount. I am so happy with this box and am excited to see what the next box will hold. There is something that I love about receiving health food that is a surprise to open and see what you've gotten. I love it when I recognise a health brand that I've had before because I know I like it and I also love it when there are items I've never heard of before because its fun to experiment with new foods, learn about new health benefits and discover new obsessions! 

So far my favourite item in the August box was the Brookfarm Porrij, it was so tasty and nutty and perfect size for a breakfast! 

If your interesting in signing up to receive a box too CLICK HERE!

~

Let me know if you sign up and we can swap recipes! 

xoxo 

Being Sick: Tips!

Hello there and welcome back!

Sorry for the lack of posts - I've been quite sick with a flu / cold / infection this past week. 

Sickness is NEVER fun and I for one suck at being sick! I always get so frustrated, upset at myself for not being able to fight it off, annoyed that I'm letting my work down by not being able to work and overall just very unhappy with the debacle! 

I'm sure this blog post title sounds a little odd, tips for being sick? umm no thank you! But I thought this post may be of help to others who, like me get really upset not only with being sick but also at yourself when your sick and could use a few tips to make the whole ordeal better for your mind, body and soul.

Tip 1: REST! 

Golly gosh this is a BIG one, we live in a society that is constantly on the go, open 24/7 and the thought of stopping for even a minute seems ridiculous! Please if you take anything from this post, if you feel yourself getting sick or unwell - STOP and REST! It is the absolute best thing you can do for your body in the short and long run. I use to be a person who would ignore sickness, decide that I was too busy to be sick and continue on with my busy lifestyle. I then got Glandular Fever which really stopped me in my tracks and forced me to rest. I now unfortunately get sick really easily as my immune system is so low from that (which is a key factor to why I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle to stop the sickness as much as possible). 

I know it can be really hard sometimes to stop and listen to your body and to give it just what it needs, but if its asking for rest you've got to listen! You'll get better quicker, take that breather to stop and really re-set yourself and you avoid making anyone else sick as well. No one wants to be that person who infected the entire office for months!

Tip 2: HYDRATE!

Such an important thing to always make sure you are hydrated and drinking plenty of water, but its even more important when you are sick! Staying hydrated is key to a speedy recovery but something that I for one do not like to do when sick. Water never tastes nice when you already have that horrid taste in your mouth and its something that I never use to have when I'm sick. Now i've realised how critical it is I try to have as much fluids as possible but not always in the way of plain water. Here are a few of my favourite drinks from this week!
1: Coconut Water - perfect to stay hydrated and has a much better taste than plain water when sick
2: Tea! - Regular tea, camomile tea, green tea, herbal tea are all great to have; especially when you have a sore throat
3: Fresh juice - I've been having a lot of THIS BRANDS juices this week and they have been great; yummy flavours, no added nasties and tasty! 
4: Hot water with lemon, honey and ginger - fresh and full of nutrients and the warmth again is really nice on the throat and chest

Tip 3: POSITIVE THINKING!

Ahhhh positive thinking can sometimes be the last thing you want to do when your sick and just feel so terrible so all you want to do is have a pity party! 
The last time I was sick I was overseas in London and I found a new way of dealing with it so that it didn't hinder on my time away. When I first started getting sick I thought I had hay fever so it didn't bother me because in my head I was thinking 'oh I've only got hay fever its not a problem I won't let it bother me whilst I enjoy myself' It then turned into an infection that required antibiotics but I kept the same mind frame about it and decided to think 'my body is just sick at the moment but it doesn't need to effect how I am emotionally, I can still be happy and enjoy the sights' 
This actually really helped, being able to separate how I felt physically to emotionally was a bit of an 'ah ha!' moment for me. There will be times when you feel horrid with a cold or flu and you can allow it to make you feel unhappy and sad and grumpy to; or you can maintain a positive outlook, know you will get better, stay thankful and make the entire ordeal a lot better in the long run!

Tip 4: ENTERTAINMENT!

I've been sick for 7 days now and am still not top notch. This has meant i've spent the entire week in bed which after so many naps and sneezes can get a tad dull. A few of my favourite things to entertain myself (of course if your up to it - no one wants to read when they have a head cold!). 
1 - YouTube - oh my gosh am I obsessed with YouTube or what? It is what has given me hours of entertainment this week and super easy to just zone out to on the laptop whilst lying down. 
2 - Pinterest - Ahhhh to pin hours away and daydream about future projects, travels and outfits, almost makes you forget you don't feel well! 
3 - Reading - I love to read so its quite easy to lie in bed reading my kindle. If your not sure what to read my all time favourite book is 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult, its SO good and will make time pass super quick because you won't want to put this down!
4 - Movies - always a good idea, and when I'm sick I tend to prefer lighthearted funny films, one I watched this week was The Other Women, very funny! 

Tip 5: BEAUTY!

If your feeling up to it there are a few beauty type things I do that help me feel so much better!
1: Shower! All my life no matter what if I say to my Dad oh I don't feel well, I have a headache, I'm sad or tired or annoyed his first suggestion hands down every time is 'you should have a shower that will make you feel a bit better' 
Funnily enough it does work. You always feel that bit refreshed after a nice hot shower. You get to get the grimy 'sick' feeling off yourself! 
2: Hair & face mask: If i'm feeling up to it I will throw in a hair mask and pop on a face mask before I have a shower. Easy way to tick off some of those beauty tasks when you know you've got the time. It also helps with that refreshed not so sick feeling once your out of the shower with clean hair and smooth skin! 

~
So there we have it, some of my tips on being sick and how to deal. If your sick I hope you feel better soon - follow these tips and you will!!!! 
xoxo

THIS WEEK: Top 5 Eats

Why hello there, welcome to a THIS WEEK post; where funnily enough i'll be posting something random for this week (great concept right?)

~

Anywho this week I wanted to share with you my at the moment top 5 favourite food items. I am one of those people who goes through phases of obsessions with certain foods and consume them as much as humanly possible until I either get sick of it or move onto the next obsession. I went through a phase as a kid of being addicted to butter menthols - cant stand the thought of eating them now as I overdid it! Here is hoping I don't do that again with any of my favourite foods!

~

 

#1 Pepita Seeds

I am just loving these little fellas at the moment. Small, green, crunchy - perfect addition to my granola, top of smoothies, in salads, on top of half an avocado as a snack - the list just goes on and on! Give them a go if you've never tried them before, something about the crunch of it is entirely satisfying, and the fact that they are green pleases me oddly.

#2 Granola
I'm more than sure I don't need to harp on about this one too much, if you've read THIS POST then you get it (are you addicted yet??)

#3 Almond Flakes
Ahhh almond flakes, there is just something about them being cut this way that I really like, I prefer this style of almond over whole or chopped - the thin-ness and crunch... so good! I have been having a handful mixed in with my all time fav breakfast (recipe HERE), or roasting some to top salads with, and of course they are a big feature in the Granola and I may stand in the kitchen picking them out to munch on! #obsessed

#4 Tahini Dressing
Lately I have been trying to spruse up meals with interesting salad dressings - you make a good dressing you can make the entire meal that much better in my opinion! A new favourite of mine that I go to a few times a week is incorporating Tahini!
oh merrrr this is so TASTY! It is also boyfriend approved which is a sure sign its good right? This dressing is so perfect with fish and salad - try it on your next meal I dare ya!
Recipe: Tablespoon of Tahini Paste
Juice from half a lemon
Juice from half a lime
Dash of soy sauce
Put it all into a jar and shake it up and top on salads or fish!

#5 Hazelnut Cocoa Spread
Oh me oh my.... as a nutella addict this may be my most favourite find this year.... yes!
Nutella is all full of sugar and has no nutritional value so I try to avoid it, so when browsing in the health food in Coles I spotted this and nearly did a dance right then and there as I scanned the jar.
IT TASTES LIKE NUTELLA PEOPLE!
But it only has hazelnuts and cacao and its organic..... I mean!!?!!
This is the ultimate treat for me, I am obsessed! I have it spread over quiona brown rice crackers and sometimes I just have a spoonful (my favourite way to eat it), it also tastes amazing put into a protein smoothie with banana!

So there we have it, 5 of my favourite food items right now, here is hoping I don't overeat any of them so that it turns me off.... highly doubt it!
xoxo