Organic and Botanic, Cruelty Free Skincare

I was kindly sent a tub of Madagascan Coconut Preserving Day Moisturiser and  a jar of Madagascan Coconut Brightening Eye Serum to review.

Organic and Botanic are a luxury, organic, cruelty free skin care company so no paraffins, parabens or SLS  thrown into any of their range and no animals have suffered for your beautiful skin.

With paraffins, parabens and SLS being linked to skin irritation, hormone disruption and even cancer their absence more than welcome and the reason I am promoting these products on a health and fitness blog.

Their product range stems from three main plant based ingredients, Mandarin Orange, Amazonian Berry and Madagascan Coconut.

Mandarin has excellent antiseptic, anti fungal properties while also nourishing with vitamin C and E whilst also toning your skin, helping with acne and oily skin.

Amazonian Berry is a little hard to work out, I assume it is Acai berry but it's not really clear.

Now if it is in fact Acai then it is again packed full of vitamins C and E making it great for anti ageing and along with it's omega fatty acids it will help tighten and lift your skin.

Madagascan Coconut has  anti bacterial, anti inflammatory and anti fungal qualities as well promoting collagen in the skin and packed full of vitamin E to help keep your face eternally young!

Onward to the actually review!

Both products smell absolutely amazing.
I didn't know if I was supposed to eat them or smear my face in them.

The cream has such a strong a aroma that you can smell it from the other side the room if someone is putting it on, I see this a big positive, I absolutely adore the smell of it.

You don't need you use a lot either product, with the eye serum tightening the skin around my eyes almost immediately and the cream absorbing into my skin just as fast.

My skin felt both tighter and softer from day one however even though I love both products and it broke my heart doing it,
I felt I needed to give them a more rigorous review.

In steps my neighbour!

Now I hope she won't mind me saying that on occasion  she does get the odd out break of acne where as I barely even get a spot month to month.

 Within days of using the day moisturiser her skin cleared up and as the cream did with me made her skin softer.

She has been using both daily for months, loves both products and still has plenty left

The only potentially negative thing I could say is that I didn't really know what I was doing with the pipette.

When I tried to put it directly onto my face I ended up with it in my eye, luckily with all the ingredients being organic I didn't go blind.

Going forward I used a cotton pad to avoid any further accidents.

Now the awkward part the price.

Organic and Botanic are a luxury brand and you pay a luxury price to get a very definite luxury product.

The moisturiser retails for £67 and the eye serum for £69 and I feel both are very much worth the price tag.

With the quality of ingredients, quantity you need to use and the quality of the products in general you really are getting value for money.

If I had someone special in my life then I would definitely be picking some up and I think I am a bit past buying my mum a Valentines!

TrueNopal Cactus Water

2016 seemed to be all about Coconut Water and the trend seems to be still be going strong but even though I am partial to the odd carton I am hoping that True Nopal Cactus Water is going to take off in a big way!

I first came across it at the Vegan Life Live Expo and have been obsessed ever since, sadly the only place I have been able to get my hands on some is at my local Waitrose, which is almost 3 miles away!

 The best thing for me about  cactus water is the taste.

 It isn't a flavour that you need to get your head around like the first few times you have coconut water, with the cactus water having a fruitier taste,.

If you like the taste of fruit flavoured water then you will more than likely enjoy cactus water.

Cactus water is also less than half the calories of coconut water so if you are you an avid fan of coconut water and wanting an effortless way to cut some calories cactus water may be the way to go.

Cactus water seems to have a little bit of everything in it with 250ml containing 15% of your RDA of vitamins C and A.

16% of your calcium.

20% of your RDA if manganese and 13% of your magnesium.

A splash of your of all your B vitamins apart from B12.

7% of your iron and 5% of your zinc and 1.9g of fibre.

Cactus water does also have potassium but no where near as much as coconut water.

Cactus water also helps lower blood sugar, blood pressure and is anti inflammatory.

If you are near a Waitrose then pop in and treat yourself to some delicious True Napal Cactus Water!

Chop'd Salad Bar

A couple of weeks ago Chop'd Salad Bar launched at Central Square, Leeds and to celebrate they were giving away, well you probably guessed it, salads!

Before all of you salad dodgers stop reading here let me just say that there is much more to Chop'd than just boring old rabbit food!
 Their salads are fully customisable and are a sight to be hold, you won't be left feeling hungry after chomping down on one.

I hope Chop'd will forgive the comparison but the ordering system is similar to Fatsos, where you line up and select what you would like in your salad or wrap.

Choose up to three bases of pasta, rice, cous cous, house leaf or deli leaf.
Three veg options from a choice of 19.
 One deli from a choice of 16 including vegan options such as tofu, falafal and humus, I just need Chop'd to get some Tyne Chease on the menu!
You also get what appears to be unlimited amount of the 16 dressings or 12 garnishes that are on offer.

Too much pressure or too lazy to construct your own lunch?
Then you can pick one of the Chop'd's pre prepared salads, all of which sound amazing!

Salad not your thing? Well fear not!

Chop'd also do an exciting range of stews and soups  catering for those colder days when you need something hot in your belly.

Now the soups were not exactly what is was expecting, what I got was even better!

Soup and Mango + Coconut dessert

I was foolishly expecting something a kin to Heinz soup but no, Chop'd do a much better job than that with you using a pot of the soup base you would like and have the staff at the counter add the broth you would like from a choice of chicken, beef or vegetable for a fresher tasting soup.

If you are short on time you can also use their click and collect service, giving you the opportunity to take your time deciding without an angry mob forming behind you.

For Chop'd's full menu and their click and collect service then please click here

I was a greedy beast on the launch day and not only had myself a delicious Baked Chicken Katsu Curry but also a soup and a mango and coconut dessert which also just happens to be vegan!

Delicious Stew

The quality of the ingredients were all high and possibly the best chicken I have eaten in the whole of Leeds!

Chop's also do a breakfast menu serving steamed eggs with a choice of topping from gammon, cheese, salmon or avacodo.

They also sell avocado toast, porridge and sour dough or rye with a choice of spreads to go on it.

Seriously get down to Central Square in Leeds and check Chop'd out, I can't rate them highly enough, if you are not in Leeds then hopefully you are in London or Manchester where you can also find Chop'd.

Tyne Chease, Vegan Cheese!

If you were  thinking of making the seemly massive lifestyle change and going vegan then there may well be one thing you just can't be without.

The culprit is usually a big slab of cheese!
Luckily that's where Tyne Chease work their magic and they sent me a wheel to try for myself!

Don't worry, there is a reason for your cheese addiction.

 When you eat cheese the opioid receptors in your brain fire off.
"But what do your opioid receptors do?" I hear you whine!

Well my whiny friend opioid receptors are responsible for addiction, pain and reward.
I don't know about you but I certainly feel no pain when I destroy a big cheesy pizza so that leaves you with the addiction and reward response.

Dairy products contain Casein, yes the same slow release protein found in many workout supplements, including those in Decembers Muscle Crate, had to slide that link in there, sorry ( not sorry)

Casein is found in all dairy products but what makes that glorious cheddar hard to put down is the sheer amount you get per serving.

 But enough about that, you came here for some delicious vegan cheese to help break your serious  addiction and I am happy to give it to you.

Tyne Chease make their cheases from cashew nuts.

Yeah I know, who would of thought to make cheese from cashews?
The people at Tyne Cheases did!

Their chease is absolutely amazing!
It has a strong cheese taste which stays with you long after you have polished off a wheel.

I tried it on it's own, on toast and in pasta

 I was a little hard to spread it, unlike my ex's legs after a few cheeky wines, but once I got it on it tasted exactly like grilled cheese  without having to faff about grilling anything.

The chease doesn't melt like cheese does so I end up with nuggets of chease hidden among my pasta, which to be honest I prefer,

 I absolutely kid you not, it taste 100% authentic.

Tyne Chease's are available in wheels or in handy spreads in 11 different flavours with more planned for this year.

I love the branding, the packaging, the product and that in all the cities in the country for it to be made in it was made in Newcastle.

Personally I am waiting to try the first Tyne Chease Parmo.

Even if you are not vegan get your mouth piece round some of this delicious chease and give those poor cows the day off.

If you want to know the benefits of going dairy free then please click here

Once I get my hands on some more I will be attempting to make a Chease Cake so make sure to follow my twitter, instagram or blog lovin to keep updated!

Vegan Brownies

   Vegan Brownies.

Just like normal brownies but without the breast milk of a cow, the unfertilised eggs of a hen or any of the cruelty that goes into the dairy or egg industries, what could be better?

If you are interested click here for the original recipe I used but I adapted it slightly.

Ingredients:

170g of self raising flour.

170g of caster sugar.

2tbsp of cocoa powder.

5 tbsp of olive oil plus some for greasing your trusty tin of choice.

230ml of chocolate soy milk.

2 tsps of vanilla flavouring.

Method:

Pre heat your oven to 180c

Grease your tin.

Sift together your flour, sugar and cocoa powder.

Add your oil, sugar, soy milk and vanilla and mix until together, I used a manual whisk.

Pour into your tin and cook for about 25 minutes, your brownies should spring back up when you touch them gently when they are cooked.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Boom! Done!

That was pretty painless and you don't need to worry about getting salmonella from eating the uncooked brownie mix.

I am not going to say there were the best brownies I have ever made but they did the job and filled a hole!

On a side note the best brownies I have ever tasted are sold in a shop called Out of this World in Leeds, near the Corn Exchange and they are completely vegan.

Give this simple little recipe a go, it's cheap and easy just like me!

Benefits of Oil Pulling

You might not of heard of oil pulling but since you are clearly the curious sort I will fill you in on this great alternative to harsh mouth washes.

I had heard about it in passing but I got really interested oil pulling when I went to the Vegan Life Live event and heard the people from Vita Coco talk about it's benefits.

I am a fiend for a free sample

Oil pulling gets it name because you pull all the bacteria from between your teeth and gyms with the oil so if you were feeling delicate from that monster gym session last night you can breathe a sight of relief.

All you need to do is swill a tea spoon of oil around your mouth for about 5 minutes then spit it out into a bin.

You need to do this as soon as you wake up for the best results, before having anything to drink or even brushing your nashers.

The reason for this is because apparently your body detoxifies while you sleep and some of these toxins end up in your mouth, hence why you wake up feeling like you had been snacking on kitty litter during the night.

Now the second you have a drink you swallow all those toxins and undo a full nights worth of your bodies hard work.

Oil pulling takes away the fat soluble toxins!

Originally sunflower or sesame oil was used but I like to use coconut oil, which is a little harder to swill but has anti bacterial and anti viral properties while also apparently whitening your teeth and anti ageing because of it's vitamin E content.

Although I have not tried it yet, you can make a  tooth paste from coconut oil and baking powder.
I imagine you could add some spearmint or peppermint oil to it if you are after a minty taste.

These are  home made alternatives to fluoride enriched products which depending on what you read and believe can have negative effects on your body.

 From what I have read most sources are in favour of fluoride but there are some that say that after it accumulates in your body it can actually cause dental decay and even cause your bones to become brittle.

With fluoride being more toxic than lead, so much so it's used to help control pests like rats and cockroaches, there may be some weight to these claims.

I myself have never had any problems with my teeth but maybe I am just storing up problems for the future?

Who knows!
I am will be looking into fluoride free products in the future so I can see how effective I feel they are.

Back onto the oil pulling!

To recap, you can oil pull at any time of the day but it's most effective as soon as you wake up.

Use a teaspoon or two of oil.

Most sources say to oil pull for 20 minutes but I tend to go for 5 minutes, usually in the shower.

Spit it out into a bin afterwards to avoid blocking your drains and rinse your mouth with water.

Then marvel at how much better your mouth feels afterwards.

There only appears to be one major negative of oil pulling and that is their is a risk of the oil being swallowed and ending up in your lungs, which you can probably imagine is not great so be careful!

Let me know if you are a convert if you give it a whirl.

Soy Mince

Since it's Veganuary I have been dabbling with more vegan foods, alternatives and substitutes and thankfully all the major super markets seemed to of jumped onto the band waggon as well.

In the hallowed halls of my local Asda I came across a packet of Soy Mince for £1 so I snapped it up!

Unbelievably all you do is empty the sachet into a bowl, shlomp in some boiling water then wait a minute. 

That's it. Done!

I would say the taste and texture would be like meaty cous cous with a hint of oats.

If you are worried about getting your protein quota fulfilled then worry not, soy mince has 14.9 grams of protein pre 100g of mince. 

I used some to make bolognese and will be looking to make a vegan lasagne and vegan cottage pie at some point, I am sure you will all be on the edge of your seats waiting for the pictures of those.

My bolognese turned out alright, I would say the soy mince is most similar to the meat in keema.

I would be hard pressed to guess that there was no meat and found it very filling and wasn't greasy like when I cook with meat mince.

I am a convert to be honest, not only is it not massively dissimilar to meat but because it's dehydrated soy and will last for months and months in my cupboard and costs a third of what meat mince would do.

Don't be shy, give soy mince a try!

Grove Cafe, Vegan Take Away

You don't always feel like cooking everything from scratch and if you are like me, you don't have a tidy little bae to come home to who'll pop on a pinny and rustle up some delicious  and healthy grub.

Luckily Grove Cafe in Hyde Park, Leeds, will make you vegan pizzas, vegan burgers, vegan chocolate cakes and if you are willing to pay an extra £1 bring it straight to your door!

In the spirit of research I of course order a pizza, burger, cake and destroyed them all in one sitting on my own because that's what real men do!

First up was the pizza.

I ordered a Noon which has vegan cheese, garlic, spinach, peppers and aubergine.

I really enjoyed the pizza.

 The vegan cheese tasted exactly like mozzarella and the pizza had possibly the best base I have ever tried.

Next came the vegan cheese burger and chips.

Not as good as the pizza but still enjoyable. I was disappointed that the vegan cheese was melted on the burger, as a result the burger was a touch cold. The chips were great.

Now the most important course, the vegan chocolate cake!

This was my first time trying a vegan cake and I was not disappointed in the least!

The cake was incredibly rich and moist and I would of had no idea that it was vegan.

Sadly this review does have some negative points, the main one being that Grove Cafe not only sells meat along side it's vegan and vegetarian option but the meat is Halal.

Now before I am accused of Islamaphobia  my issue with Halal meat is that, although there is no kind way to murder an animal, the way meat is made halal is one of the worst ways that animals are slaughtered, religious beliefs don't come in to it for me.

Although I do eat meat I do avoid Halal as much as I can.

Maybe it's hypocritical of me but for me personally Halal isn't something I want to indulge in the same can be said with Veal or Foie Gras.

Whether this will impact your decision to order from there is down to you but I feel if I am writing a review you should have all the information.
 I will continue ordering their delicious vegan options and avoid any Halal.

Now that awkward point is out of way let's talk about the price.

Your money is not going to go as far at Grove Cafe.
 Not only are the prices slighter higher but the portion sizes are smaller than what I am used to for the same price.

I don't think that is a bad thing though.

Take aways should be a treat, vegan or not and a smaller portion size isn't going to kill anyone and if it's a product or company I really like I am happy to pay a bit more.

I really like Grove Cafe and they have a regular customer in me.

January 2017 Progress!

Well this will be a fairly short post!

Not a lot of progress was made physique or diet wise since my last post, this post is 22 days late as it is so no big well done to me.

The back end of 2016 had quite a bit of upheaval for me, a big shake up at work, strengthening friendships and removing toxic influences from my life.

All for the better but it does take a toll on you at the time.

 You can't put a price on how much your life is enriched when you identify the aspects of  you want to grow and nurture and the parts you want to lop off and burn.

Gym wise I think I went once in the last 4 months and my blog posts came down to a snails pace.

Don't get me wrong my fitness and my blog are parts of my life I want to keep going but I had to prioritise other areas last year so both took a massive back step.

That all being sad 2017 is looking to be my best year yet!

 I am feeling the happiest I have ever been!

 I have got myself down to that London and hit the Vegan Life Live Expo, got loads of exciting brands to work with and generally more energised.

 Now if only I can start hitting the gym three times a week like i was a couple of years back!

Vegan Life Live

I was kindly told about the Vegan Life Live event in London by @FreshNaturals.

 Fresh Naturals are a Leeds based company who specialise in organic, cruelty free, vegan, SLS and paraffin free products.
You should of course remember them from my Fitmas Gift Guide and the review on their  vegan soaps that I am sure you loved reading.

Not only did Fresh Naturals tell me about it, she also wrangled me two free tickets to go and check it out in that London!

"Why am I writing about veganism?" I hear you cry.

Well admittedly I am not a vegan but it is one of the healthiest lifestyles you can have.

Plus nothing has to die to make your meal so I will include vegan content in this blog so anyone who reads this will know that their are plenty of alternatives out their to eating animals or their byproducts as well as writing about all the cruelty products we all love!

"But why cosmetics, soaps etc?" You demand.

Well what you put onto your skin doesn't just sit there.
If you are putting harsh chemicals onto your skin they are also being absorbed and could potentially doing you harm.

Now that that's over with let's crack on!
 But not crack on using an egg, the vegans wouldn't approve.

I ended up blasting a  round trip to London from Leeds in a day but I am so glad I did.

Not only did I get the chance to hang out with @perfectlypolished, the woman behind me starting this blog and a successful beauty and fashion blogger ( if you fancy a gander at her blog then click here) but the Vegan Life Live event was amazing!

There were so many interesting products from vegan soaps and cosmetics to custom vegan trainers, vegan pet food, vegan oral care, the list goes on.

The big focus of the event was definitely food with a big focus on chocolate with too many stands to count!

The big ones for me were Clive's Pies, who sold out after a couple of hours.

Loving Earth Chocolate was by far the best chocolate I have ever tasted.
With no milk used how do they get their chocolate so rich and creamy?
My money is on witch craft!

Optiat, a caffeine scrub that feels, smells and does amazing for your skin and even source their coffee grounds from coffee shops around London.

Kokoa  a company that sells African Black Soap and Shea Butter and Coconut based products. The girl on the stall was also an absolute delight!

True Nopal Cactus water is fantastic, I hope it gets as big as coconut water so I can pick it up in more places than just Waitrose!

Bamboo Pillows sound like a miracle pillow.
 I did give one a squeeze and laid my head on one and have to say they are  super comfortable and with  claims of curing snoring, insomnia, asthma, migraines, lock jaw and also self cooling I had to snap one up for myself.

At the event they were being sold for about £40 but I am a slave to my bank account so hit up amazon and snapped one up for £13.

Mr Organic make the most delicious mayonnaise I have ever come across, it some how tastes more eggy than a mayo made with eggs!

I wanted some so badly I ordered a jar from Holland and Barrets.
Upon getting my jar on the ingredients list it does actually contain a non organic ingredient but with it having 30% less fat than regular mayo and no eggs I will let the  misleading name slide.

T Plus are a range of fruit and vitamin infused tea and give 10p for every box sold to Vitamin Angels, a charity that help  children and  mothers who are at risk of malnutrition.

If you buy just two boxes of tea that will give a child a years supply of vitamin A and you get to keep two boxes of delicious tea!

Tyne Chease, a vegan cheese company, cheese made from cashew nuts, who would of thought it would be possible!?

If you are seriously thinking about going vegan you might drop the line
"cheese though"

With studies comparing cheese addiction to cocaine it's hardly surprising that might be a concern but with Tyne Chease you needn't worry your pretty, cheese filled head about it.

If you are feeling curious about how I found going dairy free for my two challenge then click here and for how dairy impacts your health click here.


I am sorry to the companies that I have not mentioned, there were so many great products featured I had to limit myself to the ones that really stood out to me.

If you get the chance to attend a Vegan Life Live event then grab it with both hands, it will hopefully surprise you with the alternatives that are out there.

December 2016 Muscle Crate

My Muscle Crate came! 

If you haven't heard about Muscle Crate it is a superscription service in the same vein as Graze boxes, Loot Crate, Secret Scents but this time with supplements!

 From now on for £15 a month and can have a bevvy of supplement samples delivered to my door and I can give them a whirl without having to shell out £60 on a tub of magic powder that may not live                                                                                      up to it's promises.

In this months crate I received four pre workouts:

A sachet of Shadow X , Lemon Zero flavour

With it's description declaring that it's for hard core users makes me question  if I should be heading to rehab or the gym!

 I'm a bit nervous and excited to be giving it a whirl, on a side note the face on the package upsets me greatly.

A Sachet of CNP Pro Pump, Cherryade flavour.

 There were no details on the pack to tell me what it actually does.

 Is it a fitness supplement or a sex aid for those who can't raise to the occasion?

 Time to get Mr Google involved!

It turns out that it's a pre workout and is stimulate free so no caffeine, this could be a game changer for those that are effected badly by caffeine so I have high hopes.

A Venom Power Gas Mark 10  Bubblegum flavour sachet.

I do love the blurb the on product description letting me know that I will be kicking leg day in the face.

This has over 100 less mg of caffeine than Shadow X so I might give this a blast before taking that bad lad.

A sachet of API Hustle 

I thought it sounded quite tame until I read that it will create skin tearing muscle pumps!

Now I like my skin in one prefect piece thank you very much but I have paid my money for this so I am going to risk it.

Three different protein powders:

Two sachets of Pes Science Select Protein, Blondie flavour.

What makes this stand out is because it's a blend of whey protein and casein which is great because it whey is fast acting where as casein will release slower over time.

Select also has Leucine which is one of the amino acids found in BCAAs and has the biggest impact on protein synthesis than any other amino acid.

A sachet of API Whey Elite, Hot Fudge Brownie flavour.

If casein and whey together made the last sample stand out well Whey Elite blows them out of the water!

Not only is it a whey/ casein blend but also contains BCAA and promises a milkshake quality drink, now if only it could make a start on my ironing pile!

A sachet of Performix Pro Whey +, Chocolate Flavour.

Performix, at first glance, is another whey and BCAA supplement but it has a unique "Terra" technology which is essentially beads that are in the mix which as far as I can tell will break down and release the BCAAs slower so you can fuel your protein synthesis for longer.

Two different BCAAs.

For those not in the know, BCAA stands for Branched Chained Amino Acids which tend to be Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA

Ths BCAA has added vitamin C, which will boost your immune system, Magnesium to help support your muscle function and they will both also reduce fatigue and tiredness.

It also says it has a unique formula containing Rhodiola rosea, Wellmune and a blend of electrolytes.

 Before you start with your ooos and aaaas at all that Rhodiola rosea goodness thrown in do you actually know what is does because I haven't the foggiest idea!

After a quick google search it sounds like a wonder root with promises to boost your energy, brain, stamina, helps in fat burning and generally helps your body adapt better to the stresses it comes under.

Wellmune will further boost your immune system and electrolytes will help you with muscle contractions.

Dedicated BCAA Sensation, Exotic Fruit Flavour

This BCCA contains your standard three amino acids but it also throws in a cheeky little helping of Taurine, Citrulline Malate, EPO-DRO, Super Grape, Phosphates and Astragin.

I would go into why all these ingredients are present and what they do but this post is already the longest and most time consuming post I have written so click the link for their website which gives you an in depth explanation about what everything does and why.

The website doesn't seem to mention that it also uses Rhodiola rosea, and we all know how amazing that stuff is!

A solitary fat burner.

Lipo 6 Black Ultra Concentrated

It has extreme caution on the pack, is the strongest that Nutrex have ever made and says to never take more than one at a time, twice a day.

 So who knows?
Once I go Lipo 6 Black I may never go back!

If you managed to get through all that then why not torture yourself a little more and check out the video I made on my youtube channel of me opening the crate?

Sounds fun right? So just click here

If you just want your very own Muscle Crate then click here or follow then on twitter for teases about their upcoming crates and promo codes @musclecrate