Night Time Routine For Good Sleep

Having entered one of the most stressful years academically that I’ve had in a long time, it’s become vital that I get a good night’s sleep to ensure that I’m able to perform to my best abilities in everything that I do.  Working part time alongside my studies, I often find myself either up super early or working till late at night, meaning that my sleeping pattern can be all over the place, making it that little bit harder to get up for uni or to study.  Over the last three months I’ve been on a mission to help myself get a better night’s sleep, and whilst doing so I’ve come across a few handy tools that have aided the process along the way!

Deep Sleep Spray

Now this had been a staple product of mine ever since I treated myself to the sample packs back in October.  At Christmas my parents gifted me a large bottle of the stuff, and so I was so delighted that my good night’s sleep would long continue!  What I really like about the stuff is just how subtle it is, yet how it manages to work above and beyond what is expected.  I like to use around three sprays on my pillow before bed, and like I said in my November Favourites post, although it doesn’t send you straight to sleep right away, it does send you into a beautifully deep slumber when sleep does approach.  Having been using this for months now, I can truthfully say that I always get a better night’s sleep when this is on the go.

Sleepy Lotion

Although this has vanished from the Lush stores until the Christmas range is upon us once again, their sleepy lotion is another product that really does help me get a better nights sleep.   I was gifted one of these in a Christmas gift set, which was perfect timing as mine had just run out!  Although not a particularly large tub, I only use a little bit each night, and so I’m sure this supply will last me well and truly until the kitchen decide to make a batch – we hope!  Sleepy lotion smells of lavender and gingerbread, which might sound like an odd combination, but trust me, it really works.  I like to rub about a fingertips worth into my temples and pulse points, and I just find that it’s just a really soothing smell to fall asleep with.  It’s totally not necessary, but definitely one of my comforts now!

Clipper Sleep Easy Tea

During the colder months I have become a total sucker for herbal teas, and have completely fallen in love with this one.  Packed with cinnamon, lavender and chamomile, this gorgeous blend really does help me unwind and fall into a deep slumber as best time approaches – especially on those days were I’ve been super busy or have had a super stressful day.  It’s both a sweet yet subtle tea, and really does taste delicious… It’s the cinnamon that does it for me!

These are the three staple products that I find helps me get a really good night’s sleep – and with dissertation hand in approaching faster with each and every day, I think that these will be the products that really help me pull through!

What's your trick for a good night's sleep?

Until the next one,

November Favourites

Can you believe that December is here already?!  I’ve been longing for this since summer, and now that it’s here it’s all going too fast - I’m two doors into my Yankee Candle advent calendar, let’s stop for a minute people!   

It’s been a while since I did a favourites post, so here is what I’ve been loving this month.

I treated myself to the Zoella Gingerbread and Vanilla Fragrance set back in October after watching loads of Vlogs online about how amazing it smelt, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since it arrived.  The body cream smells absolutely amazing, like good enough to eat!  I like to apply this throughout the day for a spicy little pick me up, especially now that the colder weather is upon us.  The fragrance spray smells so amazing too, it’s like Christmas in a bottle and it’s perfect!  I’ve been using it most days to get me into the festive mood, and now that December is finally here, I have a funny feeling that I’m going to bleed the bottle dry before the 25^th!

I think that my absolute favourite product right now had got to be the This Works Deep Sleep Spray.  I never thought that a sleep spray would actually ever do anything… but this one?  I think it is the absolute BEST thing that I have ever come across.  Again, I treated myself to a sample bottle of this and the Stress Less roll on oil back in October, and I’ve been using them both ever since.  It works great for those days when I’ve had a super busy day at work or a horrible day at uni – I simply use a few pumps on my pillow and jump into bed.  Now I’m not saying that the stuff puts me straight to sleep, because that is not the case at all.  What I am saying though is that I have the best nights sleep when I use it – I sleep the whole night with little to no disturbances, and I feel so refreshed in the morning when it’s time to get up.  I’ve put this on my Santa list because I’m obsessed, so obsessed in fact that I picked up not one, but two copies of last months Marie Claire magazine – simply because you got a sample bottle with each mag! 

At the start of November I started to feel really stressed out with all of the uni work that I’ve got going on.  I had read online that essential oils are meant to be great for calming you down, so I ordered a peppermint roll on oil and ylang ylang roll on for a couple of quid off of Amazon, just to carry around on me whenever I’m at work or in class.  Although I’ve not been using the ylang and ylang one much, the peppermint oil has been life changing!  First of all it’s so refreshing to use throughout the day as a nice little pick me up.  I love minty smells, and so it’s really nice when you get a whiff of it as you’re going about your day.  Secondly, I think that it works really well for me whenever I’m feeling super stressed or a little anxious. I apply it to my pulse points, then I like to sit with the lid off of the bottle for a little bit, just so that I can inhale the minty goodness.  I like to concentrate on my breathing when I’m doing this, and normally this works really well for calming my nerves.  Finally, I love using this when I’ve got a headache.  Again, I just find the smell really soothing and I enjoy the tingly feeling that it gives my temples. 

And there we have it, these are the products that I’ve been swearing by this month!  They’re all kind of feel good products, which is actually quite nice for a change – as it’s important to take some time out sometimes and just look after yourself!

What have you been loving over the last couple of months?

Until the next one,

Hippy Paste, Earth Conscious

I first came across this brand way back at the beginning of summer, when one of the bloggers that I was following at the time posted a really positive review about these natural deodorants.  I was trying out the T’eo solid deodorant from Lush at the time, and kind of forgot about the brand for a while.  I’ve been using the Native Unearthed naturaldeodorant that I reviewed a few weeks back – and I’ve been loving it!  I have however been keen to find one that it easy to use on the go, as you tend to get a funny look when you’re standing in the toilets at uni and work applying a wet stick to your under arms!  This is where Hippy Paste comes in, or should I say Earth Conscious Natural Deodorant, as they have now reverted back to their original name.

This is unlike any other natural deodorant that I’ve used before – it’s a paste that you apply directly to your under arms with your fingers for a full days protection from bad odours – and it’s amazing!  The paste melts into the skin when you rub it in, there is no reason to wait for it to dry, and even better yet, it won’t leave any marks on your clothes either.  What I love the most about it is the smell – I opted for the Citrus deodorants because I love fruity smells.  It’s really a gorgeous lemon fragrance that reminds me an awful lot of the pink and white Mr Kipling cakes.  It smells so sweet and yummy, it’s the best smelling deodorant that I’ve used to date.  I also really love that I know it’s giving me full protection all day long.  Even when I can feel a little dampness under my arms – I know there is no smell and nothing to worry about.  It’s a really great feeling knowing that you’re not going to be a smelly mess by the end of the day.  The Earth Conscious Natural Deodorant also comes in a handy sized tin that is the perfect size for chucking in my handbag pouch.

Finally, the price is something that cannot be argued with – these fab little tins cost just £5 for around 3 months deodorant.  Bargain, right?  Much better than the £2 odd you’d be spending every other week on aerosol versions, and even better yet, there is less packaging to have to worry about disposing of in the long run too.  The tins are the perfect size for storing little bits and bobs from around the house in them too when it’s empty – so jump on that re-use bandwagon and get creative. 

The Earth Conscious deodorants will absolutely be a repurchased item, and I can’t wait to get my hands on their new mint fragranced one too!

Have you tried out any natural deodorants recently?

Until the next one,

Simply Cook

Back in August I received an email from Simply Cook tempting me back to them with a half price box.  I had ordered myself a cook box back in April, however by the time it had arrived I had already received my results from my food intolerance test.  Each and every single recipe that was sent to me contained either garlic, chilli, ginger or meat stock – none of which I was able to use!  I gifted the box to a friend, and had accepted the fact that it just wasn’t meant to be.  Now that I’ve started introducing garlic and chilli back into my diet (I tried yeast, and it’s definitely a no go) I am now able to try out all of the lovely recipes that I had been sent out previously. 

Simply cook send you out a variety of different recipes, flavourings and spices every week, fortnight or monthly depending on your preference.  Each box costs just £8.95, which makes each meal pack just £2.23 (excluding anything you might need to pick up at the shop like veggies, chicken or pasta).  They normally do special offers on their boxes from time to time, however they offer a friend scheme for customers who are already signed up.  You can get your first box for £1 by using my name – lauren mcghee – in the promo code box, or clicking the link here https://simplycook.mention-me.com/m/ol/avm-lauren-mcghee-2

In my box I was sent a spicy vegetable stew, a Thai green curry, a spicy rice dish and a chorizo pasta dish.  Seeing as I’m vegetarian, I gifted the chorizo pasta dish to my dad, who cooked up a storm with it and told me it was amazing!  So good in fact, that mum decided to follow the same recipe guide – however adapted it completely to make it vegan.  She even made her own home made pepperoni for it!

So far I’ve made the spicy vegetable stew and the Thai green curry – both of which have been amazing!  The recipe cards come with a short and sweet shopping list for the extra bits that you’ll need to buy for each dish, you simply tear it off and take it with you to the supermarket, it’s really easy.  I made the Thai green curry dish for me and my boyfriend, and so had to prepare and cook them separately as he eats meat.  Despite this, the prep and cooking time was not hindered in the slightest, all it meant was two pans and splitting the flavourings.  Even though both dishes had half the spices it should have done, they were so strong and powerful that everything tasted simply delicious – it was really, really good!  The  whole meal only took about 30 minutes to prepare and cook, which was really surprising to me seeing as I don’t normally cook from scratch and following recipes normally means that I have to add an extra 20 minutes if not longer. 

I’m so super impressed the simplicity, easiness and taste of the simply cook dishes that I will definitely be ordering again!  The one thing I will tell you to look out for is the ingredients list, unfortunately you can only filter out the fish dishes and not all the meat ones, so if there is a dish you really like the look of double check that it is one you can actually eat.

What's your favourite dish to cook from scratch?

 Until the next one, 

A Nutritional Update

Some of you might remember that back in April I went to see a nutritionist in regards to my eczema.  My skin was particularly bad at the time, however certainly not as bad as it was here.  As we are approaching August, and I’m now onto my fourth month of my new diet, I thought I’d share with you my progress and how I’ve been getting on!

Yeast, gluten, dairy, chilli, ginger and garlic were all eliminated from my diet for a minimum of six weeks – you can read more about it here – in order to give my skin and body a chance to detox from the bacteria’s causing my problems.  I won’t lie, it was really tough for the first week, I ate around 30 eggs over breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!  After that though, I found a lot of new things to try, and got myself into a pretty consistent routine.  Breakfast was a nutrigrain style Weetabix with plant based milk or a gluten free granola with Alpro yoghurt.  Lunch was either an omelette/hard boiled eggs with baked beans or a bowl of gluten free pasta.  Then for tea it tended to vary from an omelette, pasta or a tortilla pizza!  Hard boiled eggs were often a snack of choice as they are super easy and quick to prepare, as well as being rather filling and healthy! 

For a while I found it really hard to find things to snack on between meals, as I used to be the type of person who would reach for a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate – no matter what time of day it was.  Now however I know I can go for foods that are not only tasty, but pretty heathy and filling too.  Nakd bars, Pulsin brownies and Kettle Chips have been my snacks of choice as of late due to their convenience and special offers!  I felt really restricted when I first started my diet, as I went from being able to eat whatever I wanted whenever to being very much limited on a day to day basis.  I now know that there is just as much that I can eat and enjoy as there is that I cannot! 

Since having switched up my diet, I have seen a huge improvement in my overall health, not just my skin.  My eczema has improved tremendously, and although it has flared up a little on my hands right now – this normally happens when the weather goes from one extreme to another.  When my diet was mostly rubbish based, I would often take a nap during the day as I would get quite tired around 3pm.  I can now function like a normal person from 6am – 11pm without a nap, which is a massive improvement as I can actually do things after work and with my evenings!

I no longer need a nap before my evening walk with Hulk!

Finally, the results that I have been most pleased with is my stomach.  I no longer feel bloated on a day to day basis.  I no longer need to eat and eat and eat to feel full, and I’ve lost around about a stone – solely from switch around my diet, which no extra exercise, which is amazing!

Of course this is all still a work in progress, however I’m absolutely delighted with all of my results.  I feel a whole lot healthy on the inside and out - and would very much recommend a visit to a nutritionist if you feel that your diet could be improved, but you don’t know how to go about it.  If you stay in or around Aberdeenshire, I would highly recommend using Nourishing Insights, as Beverly has been great helping not only me but also my brother and boyfriend too!  You can read all about the work they do here.

What’s the best thing you’ve done for yourself that has changed your life completely?

Until the next one,