What's in my green smoothie and why you should be drinking it too!

Happy spring all you beautiful butterflies! How nice is this sunshine? I've been missing it since I came home from Costa Rica. I'm so happy the snow is finally gone and my skin is warm again. 

When I think of spring, like most people my first thought is outside. The trees, grass, flowers, baby animals and colour. 

Green is the colour of the season. When I'm outside in April or May my eyes gravitate towards anything and everything green. It's one of the most beautiful and richest colours I've ever seen. I constantly want to bring the beauty of spring into my home. That is where spring cleaning comes in.
Who wants to spend all their time cleaning? 
Not me!

 In my spare time I love to eat and watch some kind of show. During the winter my snacks are carbs and carbs with a side of carbs. In the spring I like to freshen up and eat things that are good for me. Well, I at least like to try because today I had wings for lunch and I'm making pizza tomorrow for dinner....Anyway. Haha. Spring time has always made me more aware of what I'm eating. Maybe because i get to ditch my jackets and sweaters, who knows. 

Like many people, I struggle with eating healthy day in and day out. I love to treat myself and eat heavy and hearty meals. Eating like that doesn't give me much drive or energy to eat my fruits and vegetables so I came up with a smoothie recipe thats is PACKED full of green leafy goodness and it actually tastes amazing. I can't wait to share this with you!!



🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿


Lets get in to this recipe!!!!!! 

So to start, I have a single serve blender. It's cover is also a lid which makes everything you make portable. No transferring into additional cups! Yay! 

1/2 cup of water
2 handfuls of spinach. Stems and all!
2 full length pieces of kale
1 large pinch of parsley 
1 large pinch of coriander/cilantro 
4 large slices of cucumber
1 kiwi
1 banana
1/2 lime
3 large slices of fresh ginger 
1 scoop of ItWorks GREENS 
1 tsp virgin coconut oil

I start with water and add in my spinach and kale. I pulse my blender a few times and then I add in the rest of my ingredients little by little until my smoothie becomes the consistency I like. For a thinner smoothie, add water. To thicken, add an additional banana or avocado.

Each ingredient is optional and this can be modified. I drink this smoothie everyday. And in just two weeks my eyes have been brighter, my skin is clear, it's fresh and it feels great. 

I have had stomach issues for about 2 years now. Pain after everything I eat and experiencing nausea daily. Since drinking this, My stomach has yet to hurt. This smoothie is jam packed with great vitamins and nutrients to get you through the day. You have to try this and tell me what you thought. 

I know green smoothies can be off putting and a little scary, but just try it. Taste as you create and make it your own!

Enjoy!! 

Xxoo - Katie 

My Top Five Favourite Bath Recipes!!

I love baths, It's a great way to relax, warm up and have a few minutes to yourself, Another great thing about baths is the endless list of ingredients you can add to your water to enhance your relaxation, and skin. So here's a list of the ones I love most. I hope you like them too! 

Milk and Honey

This bath is so soothing. There’s nothing quite like it. I love to dip into this bath on a lazy afternoon with the sun shining in through the window! This bath is so moisturising to your skin and leaves it lightly scented. I found that the best milk to use is 2% it makes my skin so much softer than when I use skim milk. The higher the percent, the better it gently exfoliates. The honey is such a wonderful addition to this bath, not only because honey is antibacterial and a natural anti-inflammatory but it also smells beautiful and simple. While I'm preparing this bath I like to start off with really hot water and I add in the honey. (I use raw honey because it’s better for you and your skin. So try to avoid the honey in a squeeze bottle if you can.) After adding a few scoops of honey into the hot water, I swish the water around with my hand to make sure the honey has completely melted. Then I turn on the cold water. I personally like this bath on the cooler side, unlike the other baths I’ll be talking about a little bit later. So once the bath is filled, I add the milk, about two cups worth. Swirl it around and hop right in! I also hear that Cleopatra used to take her baths like this, and I believe it. My skin is always glowing after this bath and she had amazing skin! This is such a great bath. If you try it out, let me know how you liked it in the comments below!

Oatmeal

Okay. I love the simplicity of this bath and I know you’re going to love it too! So to start just run yourself a bath. Next get yourself some oatmeal. Not the instant stuff. Real Oatmeal! Now all you have to do is take a cups worth and pour it into either nylon sock or regular sock. Tie the top and pop that thing right in the bath. Squeeze the sock every now and then to release the goodness =D Oatmeal is so good to restore moisture in any skin type. So give this bath a try and let me know what you thought!

Red Wine and Honey

I found this one online a few months ago and was kind of sceptical about the wine. I also didn't want to waste it on a bath. But it was well worth it. So, same thing goes with the honey, I use the raw honey and add it into the hot water, and help it melt by swishing the water around. Next is the wine. I added two glasses to my bath. I think it was more than enough. But you can judge accordingly. Wine is made from fruits which are full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are so great for your skin. Red wine also contains tartaric acid which acts as an exfoliate to the skin. It takes away all the dead skin cells and leaves you with perfectly soft skin! A little trick to this bath I learned is to pour a third glass of wine, sit it on the edge of the tub and have a few sips every now and then! Haha =D

Tea Bags

That’s right, I wrote tea bags. Seriously along with wine, tea is jam packed with antioxidants, which means great things! Tea is also really soothing and relaxing so this bath is perfect for those stressful days at school or work. For this bath I dropped about 5 to 7 tea bags into my bath. I chose an assortment of teas, like peppermint, chamomile, green tea, and rooibos. I try to always choose teas that will smell nice together. It’s usually a hit and miss until you find the right combination but always worth it. So if you need to relax, and desensitize, this bath is for you

Epsom Salts

Well there’s not much that Epsom salts can’t do. It helps reduce inflammation, flushes toxins, eases migraines and headaches, and can even clear body acne. You can even purchase Epsom salts that are scented which is really nice. Purchasing Epsom salts without any scent is a good option too because you can always add your favorite essential to it and create your own scent. I’ve done this with some oils from the body shop. I Like the Vanilla and Strawberry oils. But I tend to buy the eucalyptus scented one since I no longer live near a body shop. I especially like the eucalyptus scent one when I have a headache, cramps or a cold. For this bath I like to add a generous cup of the salts into my bath while the water is running. If you’re sick or need to relax. Try out Epsom salts!

I Hope you all enjoyed this blog post. Remember to subscribe to my blog to be notified when I add a new post. I’ll also be posting announcements about my blog on my twitter account @KatieLauren18 so go over, follow and send me tweets about what you thought of the blog and give me some suggestions on new posts! 

                                                                Xxoo-Katie