Easy 3 Minute Strawberry Smoothie

This smoothie is a great for "masking" the flavors of your daily extra protein powders, coconut oil, kefir, and chia seeds and stuff as it works well for masking virtually all of these things.

Grab yer blender, a few small-medium sized strawberries (leaves removed, of course), a half a banana, and some ice cubes and let me show you how I make a 3 quick 3-minute one-serving strawberry smoothie!

 First things first, my magnificent owl mug gifted to me from my equally magnificent mother. 

The owl cup, it's really a must for me, so go ahead and grab your own favorite mug before we start.

Now, the ingredients (for the exact easy smoothie like the one shown here) requires: 

3 small-medium sized strawberries 

Blender

About 4 ice cubes (or depending on how you like it)

A half a banana (or more if you like the banana flavor to be strong. I don't.)

Optional ingredients:

• Sweetener of your choice. This is a pretty sour tart smoothie. Okay let's be honest, this baby is downright sour without sweetener! I used a tablespoon of strawberry ice cream, but vanilla works too. You can use  milk, a shot of creamer, or even honey or vanilla extract, if you prefer non-dairy.

• Kefir

• A teaspoon (or less if you're like me) of peanut butter
•  A dash of orange juice for the extra Vit. C (preferably the real stuff)

 

• A scoop of chia seeds or Mila seeds, which is what I had on-hand.

 

• A teaspoon of coconut oil, for the extra health benefits
• A scoop of hemp protein powder. (I used Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Pro, which I've reviewed here, if you're interested.)

• A scoop of whey protein powder (I used Summit Nutritions' vanilla flavored pure whey protein, which I reviewed here.)

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil A Natural Remedy for IBS & More

  I have finally got to try Virgin Coconut Oil! I know it may not sound too amazing, but after I'd heard all the health benefits and weight loss, I really wanted to try it.

   I haven't been using the Virgin Coconut Oil for very long, but I do think it's doing me a lot of good! I have been using it for about a week now.

   If you don't know how Virgin Coconut Oil works, don't worry I'm going to let you know and I promise, no boring stuff!

   Right now, I can only say what I've seen happen with the Coconut oil, but I've heard others claim it helped them lose weight. I am unsure if that is one of the intentions of the Coconut Oil or not though.

   Virgin Coconut Oil has different health benefits. I've heard SO many people say that they used Virgin Coconut Oil and had their Irritable Bowel Syndrome completely reversed! They had no symptoms of it again. We'll see how that one plays out. I'm hoping it is that good. Remember, Tropical Traditions does not make these health claims, these are simply the things that people have told me they'd experienced. I will tell you what I've experienced and as I continue the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil journey, I'll update you on the benefits I get.

   First, I can't wait any longer on this one. I'm so happy to say that I've been using the Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions for about a week now and I was really becoming stressed as my "curse of the month" came closer. Due to the endometriosis as I've mentioned, I have one hell of a time usually every month and it can get miserable. To be honest, last month I wanted to actually die because the pain I had was so intense. I was taking wheatgrass and under the impression it was helping these issues, but I have had to stop because each time I took a certain brand, I'd end up even worse sick for days!

   So my hopes are in the hands of Tropical Traditions and need I say, they have not let me down so far! I have so far made it through a week with only 2 days of cramps! That is the very first time in years that I've made it through without excruciating pain at least once. The 2 days that I experienced cramps, they only lasted for a short while and they didn't get me too down. I was able to fully function.

   I do think this was due to the Virgin Coconut Oil. I will see how the rest of this week goes and we'll definitely know then. I'm very excited!

   You can use the Virgin Coconut Oil as a cooking oil. I've heard people say it's great for cooking eggs! I haven't tried that and probably won't, but it seems to be a popular way to use it. You can also simply eat it from a spoon like I've been doing. Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil is really delicious. Before I tried it, a family member told me they had used a brand several years ago and couldn't put it to their lips without gagging. Tropical Traditions was nothing like that. It's easy to use and you can use it in so many ways.

   It's an oil so it does have that texture, but I really liked the taste of the coconut! I absolutely love coconut. I do have a hard time eating it from a spoon when it's liquid-y for some reason. When it is liquidy, I simply put the spoon in and make sure the roof of my mouth doesn't touch the coconut oil on my tongue, I swallow it quickly and take a drink of Dr. Pepper and I never even know it was there. Never even taste it!

   To liquify the Virgin Coconut oil, you can place the conatiner of the oil in a pan of warm water. Believe me, it doesn't take much to liquify this stuff! With room temp. it was hot enough today to liquify it. You cannot microwave it. If you want it liquid-y, just place the container in the hot water.

   You can add a spoonful of Tropical Tradition's Coconut Oil to tea, coffee, foods. I haven't tried it in a drink, but I doubt that it would be bad. I actually like it a lot when it's solid. It's got a bit of a waxy texture. I also tried quite a bit of it on saltine crackers and liked it. I dipped dried cranberries in the Virgin Coconut Oil and loved that!

   Like I said, you can substitute your cooking oil with the Virgin Coconut Oil. I haven't cooked with it as I'm not much of a cooker, but I've heard great things about using it to cook with. I doubt that you would even taste the Coconut Oil.

   From what I understand, it seems you can use this Coconut Oil on just about any food/drink.

   If you aren't fond of the texture or taste, you can simply mix a small amount into cereal or oatmeal and never taste it. I've been dying to try it on a biscuit for some reason!

   When I was told that cats love the Virgin Coconut Oil, I was not buying it! I put some on my finger and stuck it in front of Patsie's (the pickiest cat I have) nose and she fell in love! That cat won't touch any food unless it's perfect. She thinks she's princess Patsie and she never eats off your hand, but she was begging for more of the Coconut Oil! I couldn't believe it. She'll hardly eat turkey! Fuzz and Pookie (cat and dog) also love the Coconut Oil and it's good for them so I've added it to their diet too and they're loving me for it!

   The Virgin Coconut Oil makes the pets hair healthy and shiny as well as humans.

   You can also use this wonderful stuff on your skin! I really was worried about the Coconut Oil leaving my skin so greasy, but it makes a perfect moisturizer! You can also use it on your hair and leave it overnight (with a scarf on to protect pillows) or wash it out immediately. I unfortunately forgot to use it on my hair! I can't wait to try it though. I've seen a big difference in Patsie's coat so I'm sure mine will be thick and shiny too! She was losing her fur due to some stress and it's growing back beautifully!

   And so far, the best thing about the Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil for me, is that my stomach and "female" issues have seemed to be drastically settled! I was so shocked. I've not had any of the usual daily pains and discomforts, no night panics or flare ups at all! I can usually count on having to take a few minutes to lay down each month around 6PM because it tends to flare up and bother me, but I've not had a single growl, rumble, pain except for slight cramps 2 days! I usually have some daily problems with my issues, but I've not had anything. I couldn't be happier and I really can't wait to see how much better things get after I've used it for a few more weeks! I hope that the I.B.S. reversal stories I've heard are true. It would seriously be life changing if the Virgin Coconut Oil can give me relief.

   I'm even thinking I may be able to stop the pain/anxiety meds that I was given after surgery. I have to take them daily. The anxiety meds really are hard because they make me well, to be honest, they make me high. Very high. It's not fun. It's an awful feeling. I take them before bed and if I get woke up before 4 hours have passed, I'll be confused and wander around and then finally pass out and wake up not having a clue what I'd done. I've really had times where I've had company or my sister stop by during the high time and I won't even remember it.

   There is no focusing for those 4 hours and sometimes, I just won't wake up no matter how loud someone is or how hard they poke me. I will be so amazed if the Virgin Coconut Oil will provide enough relief to where I don't need the meds. I will probably cry! Honestly.

   As for now, all I can say is with the relief I have had in only one weeks usage, I'm more than happy and I see better things happening every day. I'm trying to get the BF and parents to try it. My mom has cholestorol and my dad has some serious blood pressure issues lately, so they're warming up to the Virgin Coconut Oil. Although, I'll probably have to give them a little more info. I wouldn't be surprised if I found my dad cooking spam in Coconut Oil! It's supposed to help cholesterol so, we'll test it on my parents and see how much better it all gets which I've no doubt it'll make a big change.

 ALSO I'LL BE DOING A TROPICAL TRADITIONS GIVEAWAY! CHECK BACK TOMORROW TO ENTER!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.


• Note for Canadian bloggers: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway.

Wonderful skincare product! California Body

I always try to let y’all lovely readers in on all of my favorite, sometimes strange products and such. I have found another one worth blogging about! It would be my new pearl of the day…


California Body Care’s Fruit Enzyme Peel from http://www.californiabodycare.com/

I’ve actually got the peel on my face at this very moment! I really like it. I’ve used masks before, many, many different kinds and never really had results. In rare cases, I’d get a tiny glow for an hour or two after the mask came off. Nothing special. I’ve only used one other facial peel before and it was the kind you get from Wal Mart or CVS. I experienced no results from the peel whatsoever. I have used mud masks, Dead Sea, red sea, sea of this and sea weed of that and still came out with either a blistered face, or nothing at all.

I just rinsed the peel off of my face and let me just say WHOA! The directions said to leave on for 10-15 minutes then rinse. I however, got busy and left it on for about 30 minutes. I can’t believe how soft and velvet-y my face feels! My fingers are even soft from using them to apply to my face!

It honestly feels like a really soft, plush blanket. That is the only way I know to describe it and my pores are barely visible and as I’ve said before, they’re normally huge.

I am in the process of trying several different products from California Body http://www.californiabodycare.com/ (Check them out!) at the moment so I will be sure to keep updating you on each product. So far, I haven’t needed my usual moisturizer or make-up. It seemed to even my skin color and clear away all patches and discoloration. I have never in my life seen my skin looking so truly pretty. Normally you would never hear me call my skin pretty, far from it actually. I found the results to be absolutely stunning. That’s why I just couldn’t resist a photo. I just had to show the results.

And as crazy as it is, I am not wearing any make-up whatsoever. I’m sure that’s obvious. (lol) & before you even go there, you should know this photo was taken at 4:40 AM, with a migraine, olive oil in my hair and no masc1ara which is a huge deal to me! Lol. Let’s move on to the pros and cons, or should I just say the pros?

PROS:

1. This peel left my face very soft.

2. It’s organic.

3. Cleared up slight un-even skin tone.

4. Practically made my pores disappear! Wow!

5. Got rid of dead skin.

CONS:

1. So far the only thing I could even dream up is that I felt a tiny bit of tightness afterwards, but hardly enough to even matter. My skin wasn’t dry at all and the tightness more than likely came from tanning and my always having dry skin. Certainly not enough to where I even needed moisturizer. So I can’t really say there’s any cons here.

*I plan to write a review for the other California Body products I've been using. They certainly have some outstanding skincare products!