Beautiful Cupcake Gallery - Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! I've been very busy lately and haven't had a chance to do some cupcake searching, but I couldn't let Halloween pass by without a exhibit in my Beautiful Cupcake Gallery...

Pretty girly gothic cupcakes by Mama Doreen's Cupcake in Yorkshire

Cute monsters from Yummy Cakes By Lynn

Cupcake Graveyard from It's My Treat By Janice

Haunting but stunning! Via Blush Paperie

Frankenweenie Cake Pops - so sweet! Via Flickr - Bakerella

I love these decorative Boo Frame Cupcakes by Petit Cali Cupcakes

Now for some Halloween recipes - great to do with the kids ...

Great idea - Pull Apart Graveyard Cupcakes via Food Network

Simple but very effective ghosts -jumbo and mini cupcakes, held together by marshmallows and cloaked with fondant, by Martha Stewart

Great twist - Broomstick Ghost cupcake via First For Women

From the Sunshines Kitchen.com - how cute are the picket fence cases?! If you can read Bulgarian you can even make them yourself!

Bubble bubble toil and trouble. Cute cauldron via Good To Know

Now this isn't made out of cakes or sugar paste, but it's so cute and so clever I had to include it!

Halloween Candy Scene by the very clever Mamas Minis

Have a great Halloween hope you get lots of treats xx

Autumn - it's here!

With a huge gust of wind and heavy rain!

Here are some lovely Autumnal images to remind us why Autumn is such a gorgeous season, I truly love it; even though we've had naf all summer!

So true. Image via The Inspired Room

One year I must experience Fall in New England. Image via Bon-voyage.co.uk

Until then we'll be spending lots of time exploring our many stunning National Trust locations. Especially Cragside...

 Image via This Is Northumberland

Cragside Estate, image via Wikipedia

I love to snuggle up with my little one and this perfect autumn read...

Such a wonderful story and has the most gorgeous illustrations...

Images via Amazon

Mmmm Mince and Dumplings - the ultimate comfort food in our family.
The Paupers Kitchen Mince and Dumplings - my lil sister's recipe - yummy yummy on my tummy! 

And of course there are plenty celebrations to be had with family and friends...

Stunning Halloween garden. Image via Country Living

Oooo aahhh. Image via Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service

A perfect bonfire treat via My Life Write

None of these would be complete without Jamie Oliver's Epic Hot Chocolate recipe - OMG who could resist?!

OOOO absolute heaven - I can assure you I'll be doing plenty of this!

Image via Favim.com

I could go on and on, however I'm craving a hot chocolate, my slippers and Kindle! 

Look out for some great Autumn skincare tips coming soon...

Bye for now, have a fabulous Autumn xx

Homemade Beauty Rituals - Natural Hayfever Remedies

The weather may be misbehaving, but the Hay Fever season is looming. So what better time to pass on some of my tried and tested natural Hay Fever home remedies?

Image via The Telegraph

So What is Hay Fever, What Causes It and What Are the Symptoms?

Hay Fever (allergic rhinitis), is an allergic response to airborne substances such as pollen and the time of year you get it is dependent upon which of these substances you are allergic to. 

Hay Fever happens when your immune system thinks a harmless airborne substance is a threat and produces the antibody 'immunoglobulin E' to beat the living daylights out of it! Your body release a chemical called 'histamine' which causes your symptoms. 

Image via Pollen Allergies Symptoms

Some causes are:

Tree pollen - tends to affect people in the spring.

Grass pollen - tends to affect people later on in the spring and in the summer.

Weed pollen - tends to affect people common in the autumn.

Fungi and mould spores - more common when the weather is warm.

The common symptoms are: sneezing, watery eyes, itchy throat, itchy nose and blocked/runny nose.

The more extreme symptoms are: sweats, headaches, loss of smell and taste, facial pain caused by blocked sinuses or itchiness spreading from the throat, to the nose and ears. 

Helpful Healing Honey
Taking a tip of a teaspoons worth of local honey daily, really has worked wonders for my Hay Fever. This was recommend by our family Acupuncturist. I take it all year round. I buy the smallest pot I can get so the honey contains pollen from this season.

My delicious local honey. Image via Pride Of Northumbria

By 'Local' honey I mean honey made by bees kept near to where you live or work. The reason being you may be allergic to specific pollen, from plants growing in your area. If the honey contains minute quantities of that pollen, then eating the honey little and often may help to desensitise you.

Soothe Your Sore Eyes

I like to keep my Eve Taylor Eye Gel in the fridge and pop around my eyes. It contains Aloe Vera and Seaweed to soothe and cool my sore and itchy eyes.

Milk Eye Pads are fantastic for sore eyes, just pop some on a cotton pad lay them on your eyes and relax. Milk has antibacterial and other amazing healing powers. Obviously not one to go for if you are allergic to dairy!

Image via Science Daily

Cool Chamomile Tea bags are great for the eyes as Chamomile is anti inflammatory and soothing. Make a cup of tea, pop the tea bags in the fridge until cool and pop on your eyes for a nice relaxing treatment. Drinking the tea will help the body calm from the inside. Great for kids too.

Image via Fashion Addict

Drink Nettle Tea
Nettles contain chemicals with antihistamine and has anti-inflammatory properties, these are thought to help suppress the allergic response of Hay Fever. I like to mix mine with Chamomile Tea and honey to get a triple whammy!

Nettle Tea - image via Natural Health and Home Business

DIY Pollen Barrier Balm
This balm helps reduce the allergens from entering the body. The Chamomile is anti inflammatory and soothing.

1. Take a little pot and add 2 tsp of Non Petroleum Jelly (see recipe below) and 4 drops of Roman Chamomile and mix thoroughly with something thin like a cocktail stock.
2. Pop a small amount in the lining and base of your nose.
3. Re-apply regularly and after sneezing or blowing nose.

Why Make Non Petroleum Jelly?
For those of you who have read my Are You Using the Right Lip Balm? article, you will know why I don't rate using Vaseline and other Petroleum Jellies and prefer Beeswax.

Here is a quick recap:
Mineral oil or Paraffin (cheap by-products of petroleum) draws moisture away from the lips and skin. It is known to clog pores and block the skin’s ability to moisturise itself. So here is my recipe to make a safer and more effective version.

Image via From Nature With Love

Non Petroleum Jelly Recipe (makes approx 200ml)
You can then use this as a base for other products such as lip balm, antiseptic balm, vapour rub, muscle rub. I'll be adding recipes for these over time, so keep your eyes peeled!

You will need
1¼ oz. beeswax pellets
3/4 cup (175ml) sweet almond oil (or organic coconut or olive oil)

1. Put the ingredients in a heat proof bowl on top if a pan of simmering water (just like when melting chocolate). Ensuring the water doesn't touch the bowl.

2. Melt ingredients together.

3. Remove from heat and pour into a suitable container. I like to put mine in recycled sterilised beauty potion pots. I keep all my beauty potion glass jars and lip balm jars and sterilise them in the dishwasher.

(You can buy the beeswax pellets and the oils from Phyto Essential Oils)

Image via A Delightful Home

Thickness of Your Jelly
For a softer consistency use 1 oz. of beeswax.
For a firmer consistency use 1½ oz. of beeswax
For a very soft consistency - like an ointment use ½ oz of beeswax

I would love to know how these remedies work for you and any of your own.

Homemade Beauty Rituals - Avocados; don't just eat them!

Avocado is actually a fruit as it has a seed. It is one of the best beautifying ingredients Mother Nature has given us; feeding the skin from inside and out. It has unbelievable benefits containing everything we need to keep our skin cells healthy and smooth and helps the skin cells regenerate. It is jam packed with Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), B Vitamins (maintains healthy skin), Vitamin E (antioxidant), Beta Carotene (anti-ageing), Potassium (helps the growth of new skin cells) and the pulp nearest to the skin holds the most vitamins.

Image via http://www.garnier.ca

It contains rich oil which penetrates deeply into the epidermis. It is one of the best oils for soothing dry or dehydrated skins - look for darker oils as they have gone through the least processing. Studies have shown avocado oil increases collagen in the skin significantly, helping our skin stay younger for longer - I'm hooked!

Here's an interesting fact via http://www.takeourword.com

The word avocado comes from the Spanish word aguacate, which in turn is derived from the Aztec word ahuacatl which meant "testicle"... Nice!

Image via http://www.el3mentsofwellness.com

It is also fantastic for relieving the dryness and itching of psoriasis, eczema and is great for nourishing and softening mature, dry, dehydrated or sun damaged skin. All that in a big green testicle - who'd have thought it hey?!

Here are some ideas for including Avocado in your beauty rituals at home:

Amazing and Cheap Body Exfoliator 
Rub the inside of the avocado skin all over your body to remove the dead skin cells. Do this just before you take a shower, otherwise you'll look like The Incredible Hulk! Your body will be left feeling super smooth!

Image via http://hairtreatment2011.com

Nourishing and Smoothing Avocado and Honey Face Mask
1. Mash up half an avocado
2. Add 2 teaspoons of honey*, mix well.
3. Spread over your face, neck and decollate (chest area).
4. Lie back, relax and leave for 15-20 minutes.
5. Why not pop a couple of slices from the other half under your eyes - great for reducing puffiness (lie still mind!)
6. Result - a face as smooth as a baby's bot!
*Honey is soothing and also a mild antiseptic so pesky bacterium can't survive in it!
If you are allergic to honey, just leave it out.

Arghh childhood nightmares coming back!!

Image via http://scifimafia.com 

Here are some great tips from Super Food Profiles on the benefits of Avocado Oil for Eczema and Psoriasis sufferers: Treating Eczema With Avocado Oil and Psoriasis, Avocado Oil and Fish Oil – A Topical Treatment.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Would love to know what you think and if you try any of the recipes xxx

Delicious, Healthy & Tooth Friendly Carrot Cake - Yes Really!

This yummy Carrot Cake has become a firm favourite with my family, especially my son who has a very sweet tooth (he gets it from his mummy!) We are real foodies in our house and our young son has always been a fantastic eater, willing to try anything and everything. One of his early favourites were olives and salami. We are great believers in building a healthy relationship with food and are always keen to find healthy alternatives to treats, but don't want to compromise on taste. So when we discovered this recipe we were over the moon!

I know regular Carrot Cake isn't one the real baddies but still it contains sugar, however this one is super good for your teeth as it is made with Xylitol. I often pop a piece in my son's school lunch box, reassured his teeth are being looked after all day.

Xylitol is a natural sugar alternative made from birch bark. It has 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates - bonus! Xylitol is recommended by dentists as it's tooth kind, having a "cariostatic effect, that actively inhibitis tooth decay". It has a low GI, is ideal for Diabetics and also helps fight the nasty Candida bug as discourages growth of yeast - fantastic and even better news it won't bring your skin out in pimples!

Carrot Cake – by Sue Simkins from “Cakes from the Tooth Fairy” book - with some little extras from me!

Ingredients
110g (4oz) butter – softened
110g (4oz) Xylitol*
150g (5oz) grated carrot (grated weight) – fresh carrots give maximum flavour and goodness
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
110g (4oz) wholemeal flour
50g (2oz) plain flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
50g (2oz) ground almonds
2 fresh eggs

Topping
250g tub mascarpone
1-2 tsp  Xylitol*
4 drops of good quality vanilla extract or paste

18cm (7in) greased, loose bottom cake tin or silicone cake tin

Optional extras from me! – dried fruit, chopped nuts i.e. almonds or walnuts – if doing this add a little milk as the dried fruit will absorb some of the liquid.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan oven) or equivalent
2. Whizz the butter and Xylitol in a food processor.
3. Add the grated carrot and orange zest and whizz again.
4. Add the flour, raising agents, cinnamon, ground almonds and eggs and whizz until combined.
5. Add dried fruit and mixed nuts (optional).
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
7. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. Leave the cake in the tin for a few moments, then loosen the sides and bottom with a palette knife, remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
9. When cool make topping
10. Stir the vanilla extract, mascarpone and Xylitol
11. Apply with a palette knife
12. Dust over with cinnamon or coca or both.
13. Pop some chopped nuts on top too

You can also use the mixture to make 12 muffins or a tray bake (20cm/8in square lined brownie tin) – cook these for 20 minutes at 160C or until skewer comes out clean - enjoy!

* You get better results if you give the Xylitol a few turns in a coffee grinder, blender or pestle and mortar to create finer texture of caster sugar.

Sue Simpkin's - Cakes From The Tooth Fairy  is a wonderfully fun, beautifully written baking book. With gorgeous little fairy illustrations and interesting tips from the "Tooth Fairy" herself! It has loads of gorgeous treats to make with Xylitol, even some unusual ones like "Scented Geranium Cakes" and "Lavender Scones".

You can get Xylitol Total Sweet online or from health food shops or click this link to find a local supplier and read more on this lovely product. Gary Rhodes has written the forward for the book so it's well endorsed!

You can buy it from Amazon: Cakes From The Tooth Fairy

Note on Xylitol Total Sweet

The body treats Total Sweet differently from sugar and artificial sweeteners and some users find it can have a laxative effect. If this occurs reduce the amount you are using until your body gets use to it. To help avoid this effect we suggest no one uses more than 50g a day.

Images from http://www.totalsweet.co.uk/ & http://www.mrssimkins.co.uk/