December Detox

I was recently contacted by two companies offering me some free samples of their products which fitted really well with the pre-Christmas detox I've undertaken for the last 5 years. My birthday is mid November and once that's out of the way I always try and eat really well for the next four weeks. This means lots of fruit and veg, more raw meals and limiting the amount of sugary treats. It's not about weight gain/loss but more about keeping my energy levels up and fighting off colds. First off was Amazing Grass who sent me some sachets of their Green Superfood blend. 

I'm quite a fan of these type of blends and have used Prime Directive on and off for years. I can be prone to acid reflux attacks even from healthy foods, for example my body cannot tolerate cucumber or iceberg lettuce at all! When I have flare ups I do find these type of probiotic powders help calm things down.

You can mix the powder with water and drink as a shot or add it to juice or a smoothie. Here's my green smoothie made with banana, mango, spinach, water and a sachet of the Amazing Grass Green Superfood. The powders are strong tasting and I have to admit my favourite way to have them is in a smoothie where the sweet fruit covers some of the 'grassiness' of the flavours. As well as the tummy calming digestive enzymes the powder is also packed with anti-oxidents and even a little caffiene boost from the inclusion of green tea in the blend. A green smoothie with these little extras is definitely a great way to kick start winter mornings!

I'm a big fan of loose tea herbal teas and was excited to get one of these ultra cool Alessi tea diffusers for my birthday. I've been getting more and more interested in the health properties of herbal blends since successfully using tea blends from Neal's Yard and Viridian to help clear up acne I developed at the age of 42! I also suffer with post nasal drip and have found recently that chamomile tea really helps lessen the symptoms.

I was therefore very interested in the second company Teatonics who are based in Dorset. They sent me some samples of the two blends they sell and I must say that the packaging has a real wow factor. It costs £12 for the box which contains two weeks worth of each tea blend and they would make a lovely present. In fact I've already asked my sister to order me some for Christmas. There are various tea packages you can order and you can even take out a monthly subscription.

The idea is to have one cup of each blend every day. The morning blend is the Mind Awakening Yerba Mate which also contains Yerba mate, grapefruit, peppermint, citrus peel and rosehips. I never, ever eat grapefruit but I loved the lift it gave to the Yerba mate blend. The evening blend is called Laid Back Botanicals and is made up of green rooibos, lavender, chamomile, hops and elderflower. I'm a fan of all these elements and really enjoyed a cup of this as a soothing bedtime drink. They're more pricey than some of the herbal teas you can pick up in supermarkets but a big selling point of these teas is that you know the blends are made in small batches with fresh botanicals which therefore means that the health benefits will be high.