Hello everyone,
Caroline Oldham
I hope you are all enjoying this weather, I hope it holds out, finally it feels like summer is coming. So I have just got back from Italy which was absolutely wonderful, like the UK the weather wasn't great apart from the last day when we had to leave at midday, typical. However, I can't complain because I am currently on my way to Thailand to the island of Koh Samui so I am sure I will get my fair share of sun whilst I am there. However, when I am away I really cover myself, I am naturally fairly pale anyway and I have always tried to protect my skin, something that my mum has made really clear from when I was younger.
I remember I used to be one of those children covered in white cream of factor 50 running around the beach, I hated it then but I thank my mum now as I am lucky to have good skin and fairly undamaged since I lived in the Middle East for 5 years. I thought I would share some essentials with you for going away this summer, I always use factor 50 on my face and favour Lancaster sun delicate soothing cream, for my body I do love Lancaster but because I am pale and my boyfriend is half Middle Eastern we find that this sun cream for all skin types from Space NK works a treat, it is called Institut Esthederm.
I also take a hair mask with me and this time, I tried a vegan one which I really liked called Maria Nila Luminous colour hair masque, I tend to have a shower before I enter the pool wet my hair and then put this on for the day to protect it. I think it is really important to protect yourself in every way possible when you are in the sun so I hope my tips will help you.
Our hotel in Italy was wonderful, it is called Lefay and is located 1,800ft up the Lake Garda mountains, the views are stunning and so is the hotel. We have been three times in a row and every time we go we see small improvements which is lovely. At breakfast, you can make your own juice from fresh fruit and vegetables and they have a gluten free section, new to this year was a sugar-free section.
I was a little upset that it wasn't gluten free as well but you can't have everything. There is herbal, detox teas and water located all around the hotel that you can drink and fresh apples dotted around too. So on the healthy detox chat, I am going to share with you one of my new favourite superfood smoothies for the summer:
http://blog.biteappy.com/blog/strawberry-flaxseed-almond-milk-smoothie/
This week I wanted to shared a wonderful food product with you called Primal Pantry, these were the Uk's first paleo style bars and are gluten free dairy free and also suitable for vegans and vegetarians, mainly focusing on the fruit and nut family, these bars are excellent for many occasions such as pre or post gym, if you are doing activities such as hiking or skiing and need to pack a quick snack and just as a general breakfast or mid day snack bar.
Founded by Nutritionist Suzie Walker, The Primal Pantry evolved out of her vision to make the paleo and primal lifestyle easier and more accessible for everyone. Their mission is to make great tasting paleo and primal foods, with the best real food ingredients and free of any junk.
I have been lucky enough to try all the flavours this week, the first thing that struck me was the really nice packaging, it is clean and professional with a pop of colour and I really like the sophisticated look of them. The bars have no added sugars and preservatives which is wonderful, I have a very sweet tooth so I am always looking for new ways of satisfying my sugar cravings and the use of dried fruits in these bars helps me do that.
The flavours of the bars are made up of the following, Apple and Pecan, Brazil Nut and Cherry, Hazelnut and Cocoa, Almond and Cashew, and Coconut and Macadamia, between us in the office we all had a favourite and it was different across the team as everyone's palate is naturally very different. It was really interesting watching everyone try them out and I have to say there were no negative comments, even the vegan liked them and he is hard to impress.
I personally, am a huge fan of apples so one of my favourites was the apple and pecan but I also love cherries and coconut and just all of the bars they are wonderful.
Tagged in Caroline Oldham