Yoga

I'll tell you more about my yoga holiday soon, but before that you can enjoy this video (without thinking I'm anywhere near that kind of a level).

<3

Emma

Bananas About Pancakes

Something I have been almost overdosing on here in Australia is bananas. They are cheap, super good, and tend to keep you full longer than any other fruit. Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 and also contain some vitamin C, manganese and potassium. I think not a day has gone by so far that I haven't had at least one banana. When you eat them this much, you really want to change things up every once in a while. Now, as it happens, I was in Indonesia last year for a month, and had banana pancakes for breakfast quite a lot during that time. Nowadays, when I don't really want to have anything to do with wheat, and try to avoid a lot of other cereals as well, I haven't had any banana pancakes in a long time. That is, until I discovered how to make a cereal-free version. Oh happy day! 

So what you need for about 2 pancakes is as follows:

1 banana

4 eggs (two with yolk, and two without)

cinnamon

salt

olive oil

Simply mash the banana, add the eggs, cinnamon and salt, blend, and fry them all up, using the olive oil (or any other vegetable oil you might prefer)
Remember to use 100% organic cruelty free eggs!

A simple yet delicious breakfast for lazy mornings!

-Anna

Sunshine preparations

I told you before that I would talk more about sun exposure, so here it goes! On Monday I am off to Thailand and for about 3 weeks I've been preparing myself for a month in the sun without sun screen. The thing is, we don't really need sun screen, and we're actually much better off without it. Here's why. Firstly, sun screens block the sun's UVB rays, which are essential for our bodies' production of vitamin D. So even if we spend 12 hours a day in the sun, we still don't get any vitamin D if we use sun screen as a block. Secondly, sun lotions are packed with nasty ingredients, and it has even been shown that they increase the risk of skin cancer, which is the complete opposite to what they're claiming to do. Many of these lotions contain substances which, when exposed to the sun, become highly carcinogenic and thus cancer-producing. Plus of course all the other toxic ingredients found in any non-organic skincare.

Read this article for more information:
http://www.naturalnews.com/032996_sunscreen_cancer_risk.html


To prevent our skin from burning in the sun, there are various natural methods we can use. Many natural fats make excellent sun lotions. Today I made my own sun lotion, which is nothing less than superfood for the skin. Here's what I put in it:

Organic Jojoba oil

Organic virgin coconut oil

Organic cacao butter

Organic shea butter (with honey & black seed oil for a lovely smell)

I'm not sure about the amounts, but this is the order (highest amount first):

1. Coconut oil
2. Cacao butter
3. Shea butter
4. Jojoba oil

In addition to a good sun lotion, which is applied externally, there are a few ways to internally prepare our bodies for the sun. The best way is by eating antioxidants because they counteract the activities of free radicals, which are the cause of sun damage. I told you about my juicing in the previous post. Carrots are especially good because they contain the antioxidant betacarotene, which prevents the skin from being burnt by the sun. Celery is also great because it promotes the production of collagen in our bodies, and thus quickens skin renewal. In addition to food, there are some supplements we can take in order to minimise the risk of getting burnt by the sun. Astaxanthine is basically the red colour found in algae and some fish, and taken as a supplement is one of the most effective ways to prevent us form sun damage. Lycopene is another antioxidant which can be taken as a supplement and is also red in colour. It is found in some red vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, papaya and watermelon. Lycopene has been proven to have anti-cancer properties and is very powerful in fighting the oxygen produced on the skin during sun exposure (free radicals).

That's it for my part, hope you find these tips useful. Remember that carrots should be eaten for at least 2 moths before sun exposure, and astaxanthine and lycopene should also be taken from a few weeks before going to the tropics, and the use should be continued throughout the trip. Basically, eating all this throughout the year is not a bad idea :)

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my trip. I'm going for a 1 month yoga holiday, with yoga practice twice a day, 6 days a week. I can't wait! I'm taking my laptop with me so you'll probably get some news from over there at some point, probably yoga-related news ;)


Lots of love and happiness,

Emma

Aussie Observations

Hello all, I have been absent for a while, my apologies. I am now in Australia, and have been here for a month today actually. I will update every once in a while about what I see and eat here.

What people seem to eat most of here would be junk food, in all forms. Chips, crisps, hamburgers, fried chicken, meat in all possible ways, chocolate, ice cream... The list is never-ending. One thing that I find extremely annoying is that they don't really seem to have understood that you can actually make smoothies without dairy or sugar. I tried asking for one made with soy milk (which is definitely not ideal, but still) and what I got was a yellow sugary mass I had to struggle really hard to finish. I'm really missing my favorite smoothie bar in Finland at the moment. I have to admit, I have definitely not been good about my eating here, but I'm improving every day. The one thing that is huge here is juices, you can get freshly squeezed juices pretty much anywhere, so that's a definite plus. Superfoods are definitely not as visible here as they are in Finland, but there are some awesome places for that too, I will be back with reviews at a later point. Everything is pretty expensive here, I thought Finland was expensive, but this does seem to be a bit worse. What I'm struggling with most is to find something healthy and cheap to have for breakfast. At the moment I start my days with muesli, some fruit and almond milk with a cup or two of green tea. I would like to get rid of the muesli, I will see what I come up with. I'm gonna try a banana pancake recipe soon, will get back with details on how it went!

Below is a pic of my very first meal in Australia, buckwheat blueberry pancakes with berries, mango and organic mashed apples.

love,

anna