SOAP NUTS – A NATURAL DETERGENT

Published on by simplycarinaxo13 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

Today I thought I would tackle the next change on my plant based eco journey, namely switching to a low impact laundry detergent. As with many household items we are just so used to seeing them stacked in single use containers along the supermarket aisles that we don’t stop to consider the impact they have anymore or what less harmful & low impact alternatives might be out there. Most laundry detergents are packaged in plastic, tested on animals and of course contain many chemicals which especially for sensitive skins aren’t often great. However there are some great alternatives out there (for example my cousin washes her clothes with walnuts which contain a natural soap element – who knew!?!) all you need to do is set aside a little time to have a browse to see what works best for you. Now I can’t speak for all alternatives as I’ve personally only tried one so far, but I am so happy with the results of this swap that I had to share it with you.

I have swapped form the usual detergent culprits such as Persil to using Soapnuts – a natural, organic, biodegradable, vegan, ethical & sustainable laundry detergent (now you can’t get more eco-friendly than that can you!?!).

Soapnuts or Soapberries are dried fruit shells which contain real natural soap and are 100% completely natural. They are a vegan friendly, non-polluting, compostable, alternative to conventional laundry detergents and synthetic soaps. No fillers, foaming agents, bleach, phthalates, phosphates or parabens. The Soapberries contain a natural soap called saponin, which is released when they come into contact with water and thus they wash your laundry as good as any other conventional detergent.

There are a couple of ways to use the soap nuts; you can soak them in water to release the detergent and then pour the liquid into your washing machine as you would other laundry detergents, or you can pop a couple of soapnuts into the muslin bag provided and then pop that into the washing machine with your laundry. I use the latter method.

In our day and age we are so used to freshly washed clothes smelling “clean” because of all the chemical scents added to detergents. Soapnuts don’t really release a scent, so you won’t get that “clean” smell; however you can add a scent to your laundry by using an essential oil. One of my favourite oils to use is lavender; I put about 10 drops onto the muslin bag containing the soapnuts and then pop it into the wash – and voila out come your clothes with a fresh scent of lavender – the results are great!

I really cannot recommend this natural vegan biodegradable laundry detergent enough and urge you all to try it! They sell starter packs (a great way to give soapnuts a trial) which contain soapnuts, a stain remover bar, soda crystals and an essential oil. The small starter pack costs £14.70 which admittedly you might first think sounds expensive, but let me assure you, the sopanuts go a long way – one filled muslin bag can be used for about 3 washes until all the soap has been released.

(the starter pack pictured in my photos is a large)

The Living Naturally Soapnut Company also not only sell laundry detergent but have haircare and skincare products on offer too. I have yet to try these but if the laundry detergent is anything to go by, I know I’ll love these products too.

So I hope I have given you something to think about. Again, I can’t recommend these highly enough and would love to know – do you think this is a change/a swap you would be willing to try?! I’d love to hear some of you giving soapnuts a go! If you’d like to inform yourselves more on the products available and further benefits of soapnuts go have a look on their website here.

Until next time lovelies ❤

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MY LOOSE LEAF TEA COLLECTION

Published on by simplycarinaxo15 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

As most of you probably already know I’m on a mission to become more eco-friendly and my latest venture is ditching the tea bags! If you don’t already know, most tea bags contain plastic which make them non-biodegradable. So in order to avoid this Jessica and I ordered a load of loose leaf teas and bought two tea strainers as well.

I bought all the teas from the same company. Gaiwan who I found on Amazon are a German tea company and the range of loose teas they have on offer it amazing! I had over £100 worth of tea in my shopping basket before I had to narrow my choices down! We managed to narrow it down to 8 different teas: Cherry & Almond (black tea) – Peppermint – Green Magic (green tea) – Fresh Orange (green tea) – Winter Warmth (rooibos) – Orange & Mint (rooibos) – Children’s Herbs (herbal mix) – Evening Enjoyment (herbal mix). I haven’t tried all of them yet but the ones I have are really nice, mostly quite mild and if left steeping too long, not bitter (as can often be the case with a green tea).

Once the teas arrived we put them into the 1L Kilner jars we’d specifically bought for tea storage. Seeing all the identical labelled jars with pretty loose leaf teas in them makes my OCD me very happy! You may also have noticed that there’s actually 9 jars of tea; The 9th jar a Gingerbread Rooibos tea (as you might be able to tell, Jessica and I love Rooibos tea). I bought this one when I was in York from a loose leaf tea company called Hebden Tea (which you should check out if you’re ever in York – so many flavours to choose from!) The last loose leaf tea I have is a fruit tea which I’ve kept in the little Christmas tea tin, because I kinda like the tin, it’s cute and as it’s a good base for a mulled wine or Christmasy punch it fits the tin.

I also decided to have my favourite mugs on display next to the teas! I’m obsessed with pretty mugs and love how each one fit’s certain drinks or moods better. If I didn’t rein myself in when shopping I’d have a hoard of mugs right now (I already have too many) but I mean pretty mugs – the struggle is real! I might have to do a My Mug Collection post sometime haha!

Anyway, if you’re a big tea drinker I would really encourage you to invest in a loose leaf tea and a strainer or biodegradable tea bags!!! Also they look so pretty on display in glass jars ❤

Love Carina xo

MY FAVOURITE FRESH JUICE

Published on by simplycarinaxo11 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

I hope you had a great weekend! I must apologise for not posting last night, I had a busy weekend and was busy socializing both evenings and thus didn’t get around to finishing a post. So I thought I’d recycle a post this morning as it’s an easy peasy recipe for a fresh yummy start to a new week.

Here goes, this is my absolute favourite fresh juice of all time. Sadly making fresh juice can be quite expensive sometimes, so this is a treat, however occasionally you can find reduced fruit so keep your eyes open and look in local fruit and veg shops too!

Orange and Grapefruit Juice No.1

The drink – it’s nothing special, just freshly squeezed oranges, grapefruits and lime with a sprig of mint, but the combination is kinda amazing!

Orange and Grapefruit Juice No. 2

I would usually squeeze 3 oranges, 1 red grapefruit, 1 lime and garnish with a sprig of mint. I would also recommend popping the freshly squeezed juice in the fridge to chill before drinking or adding and ice cube or two – it is the most tasty and refreshing when cool!

Orange and Grapefruit Juice No. 3

Well I really hope you all make this because I’m obsessed with this juice aha. Do let me know if you try & enjoy it too!

VEGAN MERINGUES

Published on by simplycarinaxo21 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

If you follow me on Instagram (@simplycarinaxo) you will already know that I made vegan meringues the other day!!

If you’re a meringue fan but are like myself a vegan and can’t eat eggs or are allergic to eggs or even just fancy trying something new, then this recipe is for you.

I’ll warn you in advance, although easy it takes almost 3hs to make these meringues, but they are super tasty and so it’s totally worth it!

Now you might be wondering how on earth you can make vegan meringues when one of the main ingredients is egg white. Well I’d heard ages ago that chickpea brine could apparently be used as an egg white replacement and so when I stumbled across this recipe I was eager to test it.

I was a bit skeptic at first but apart from turning out somewhat hollow and crisp rather than chewy, they were very tasty!!

If you’re not drooling already at the thought of a meringue dessert then here’s the recipe for you to test yourself :

Makes 6-8 meringues

  • 400 g can of chickpeas which should yield
  • 100g of aquafaba (brine)
  • 110g of caster sugar
  • Vanilla seeds

Whisk the aquafaba at high speed until stiff white peaks are formed; this will take about 15-20 minutes.

Mix the vanilla seeds into the sugar before adding the mixture to the aquafaba a couple of spoonfuls at a time, making sure the sugar is whisked in properly before adding the next few spoonfuls.

When all the sugar is mixed in and the meringue is thick and glossy, it is ready.

Preheat the oven at 130 degrees centigrade and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.

Spoon the mixture (I’d say a large heaped tbsp) onto the baking tray well apart as the will grow quite a bit.

Now bake for 1 3/4 – 2 hours until the meringues are fairly firm unto and on the base. Take out of oven and leave to cool completely.

Once cool, you can enjoy this delicious treat however you like. I suggest some vegan vanilla ice cream and a fruit compote or fresh berries!

Now enjoy!

If you give these a go do let me know how they turn out!!

MY FAVOURITE LOW SUGAR COCKTAIL

Published on by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

Now that the weather finally seems to be improving I’ve been feeling the cocktail vibes more and more and am ditching the red wines. However as summer and bikini season are approaching I thought I’d share with you my favourite low sugar cocktail so that you can still enjoy a drink without worrying about your waistline too much.

I’m not sure what to call it yet, maybe Bitter Breeze or something…

Well here it goes. You will need:

  • A lime
  • Gin
  • Diet bitterlemon
  • Fresh mint
  • Ice cubes

First pop your ice cubes into your glass – next add to your strength liking gin and bitterlemon (for this glass I used 2 shots of Bombay Dry Gin with ca. 300ml of bitterlemon) – squeeze in half a lime – decorate with another slice of lime and fresh mint.

Et voila – one Bitter Breeze at the ready – now sit back, relax and enjoy!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Published on by simplycarinaxo6 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” ― Gaylord Nelson

As it’s Earth Day today I wanted to draw your attention to the unsustainable lives we are living. Through our modern lifestyles we are destroying & hurting our earth, all it’s earthlings and our ecosystem – something needs to change!!!

I would love you all to take a moment and reflect on the lifestyle choices you make and how you might be able to adjust things to live greener more environmentally friendly lives. I urge you all to take part and make a conscious effort to make some little changes so that we may create a happier, healthier planet for ourselves and generations to come!

No change is to small – every little helps and it’s important we all play our part and look after the earth!!!

Here are just few ideas to get you started:

  • Recycle!!! Everything that can be recycled please don’t just dump it into general waste!
  • Invest in some stainless steel straws for home use. Refuse straws when out and about or get into the habit of bringing your own straw with you (yes I am one of those people who carries a stainless steel straw in her backpack)
  • Start buying loose fruit and vegetables and bring your own mesh bags to put them in.
  • Or why not invest in a local organic veg bag subscription!
  • Bring your own bag to the supermarket instead of buying plastic ones!
  • If you are a tea drinker buy loose leaf teas and use a tea strainer (most tea bags are still made with plastic)
  • Use roll on deodorants instead of aerosols
  • Try and avoid aerosol products in general. You can swap most things eg. use good old fashioned talcum powder instead of dry shampoo, buy reed diffusers instead of air fresheners…
  • Invest in a reusable takeaway coffee/tea mug
  • Buy biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes, plastic ones fill our landfills and take over 400 years to decompose!!!
  • Ladies – buy yourself a menstrual cup – not only are you saving yourself money but your helping the environment and your body as they are far less dangerous!
  • Have a go at going vegan (or at least making some swaps and cutting down your animal product consumption) – don’t diss veganism straight away beautiful souls – animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation system combined!
  • Use reusable cleansing pads instead of throwaway cleansing wipes (reusable bamboo breast pads area great option)
  • Use natural shampoo & soap bars instead of going through bottles of shampoo and conditioner (lush gave some really nice ones)
  • Invest in an electric razor/shaver rather than using one use plastic razors.
  • Install the Ecosia web browser which plants trees as you do your online browsing – I mean what’s not to like – this is such an easy change to make!!

The list is endless, I could go on forever. Please have a look into making some changes ❤ This really isn’t an issue we can ignore!!!

I’ll leave you with another quote:

“It’s going to take all of us, gathering our voices and acting together. Saying, “Not on our watch” to create a future for humans, animals and the environment.” ― Eileen Anglin

P.s. If you already are making some changes I’d love to know what you are doing!

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DAY TRIPPING TO YORK

Published on by simplycarinaxo13 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

Yesterday I spent a lovely day in York with one of my best friends from uni. I hadn’t seen Chloe since autumn last year and so it was lovely to catch up again.

I hopped on the train at around 9.55 and arrived in York at 10.40 ish. We started our day with our umbrellas pitched against the pouring rain and fighting a battle with the wind as they kept blowing inside out. Because it was so miserable we decided to do a spot of shopping and went into Primark where I tried some nice pieces on but didn’t buy as sadly non looked good on, but I did come out with some basics that needed stocking up, more socks and simple tank tops and the like.

After having a browse around Topshop and a couple of other stores we sat down in Pret for a bite of lunch and I enjoyed a yummy avocado, olive and sun-dried tomato baguette.

The rain had finally stopped by the time we finished lunch and so we did a bit more window shopping discovering some really beautiful stores (I love a good window display) including a fragrance shop where I had to really resist spending my money. We also crossed paths with a cute tea shop where I bought a loose leaf gingerbread rooibush tea which I am excited to try as it smells amazing.

We then visited the three Harry Potter shops that can now be found in the Shambles and although I didn’t buy anything it made me want to go to the Harry Potter studios even more!

As it started getting colder we went for a pint and a nice long chat before walking along the wall a bit and then going for a cocktail. I tried an Amaretto in da ghetto aha which was super tasty!

Towards the end of the day we treated ourselves to dinner at the Botanist which was really tasty. I had olives for starters and then a delicious aubergine stake with giant Moroccan couscous for mains. I was happy with the Vegan options available, a good selection and lots I wanted try; I shall have to go back another time.

At around 7.30pm we sadly has to say goodbye and I made my way to the station to catch my train home.

It was such a nice day despite the rain. I love York, it’s such a beautiful place and it’s always nice to catch up with friends you don’t see often.

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BEETROOT BROWNIES

Published on by simplycarinaxo19 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

It’s time for me to share one of my favourite recipes with you – I hope you are excited!!!

This recipe is from the beautiful vegan cookbook Peace & Parsnips. I love this book and everything I have tried so far has been super tasty, so I can’t wait to try more recipes in the future!

I’ve made this beetroot brownie recipe a couple of times now; the brownies are super easy to make, perfectly moist and of course taste amazing! So no excuse not to try this recipe for yourselves!

I have altered the original recipe a little, but it is quite flexible so don’t worry about experimenting. Anyway, let’s jump right into it!

Ingredients:

  • 300g dark chocolate
  • 150ml vegetable oil
  • 125g Flour
  • 100g Prunes
  • 100g Nuts
  • 200g Silken tofu
  • 125g Beetroot, finely grated
  • 150g Unrefined brown sugar

(I also added some dried apricots and a little rosewater – although apparently not enough of the latter as I couldn’t taste the rose flavour – I need to experiment more with this I future)

Method:

Firstly, melt the dark chocolate carefully in the microwave on a low heat/defrost setting making sure you don’t burn it. Once melted stir in oil. Leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 190 degree.

Whisk tofu and sugar together in a bowl before stirring in the cooled down molten chocolate. Next add the beetroot, Prunes, and nuts (as well as apricots or whatever else you want to add) then slowly fold in the flour until all is combined.

Pour the mixture into a ca. 27×17 cm tin lined with banking paper and level out.

Pop in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes on the middle shelf.

Leave to cool in tray then lift out onto wire wrack and cut into squares. The brownies should be nice and moist with a slight crust on the outer edges.

Best served warm with vegan vanilla ice cream or fruit compote.

And there you have it! Brew yourself a nice cup of coffee, sit down, pick up your favourite book and enjoy this yummy treat!!

Please let me know if you try these as I’d love to see what you think!

LIEBSTER AWARD

Published on by simplycarinaxo13 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

A couple of weeks ago I was nominated for the Liebster award by the lovely m4gical.com; if you don’t follow her already please go check her out she writes a lovely blog from makeup reviews to her wonderful ‘If we were having coffee’ chat posts – go show her some love!

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The rules are:
1. Make a blog post saying you’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award
2. Include the picture in your post
3. Answer the questions I ask below
4. Nominate new upcoming bloggers
5. Set them your own questions

Here’s the questions I have been asked to answer:

  • If you had to rename your blog, what would you change it to?

Ok this is really difficult, I really have no idea, I struggled with the name part of my log the most having had previous blogs before I felt like I was running out of ideas aha, so no idea what I’d choose now if I had to rename my blog! Sorry!

  • What made you start a blog?

I started my first ever blog when I was about 13 and it was a book review blog hehe. Since then I have had different blogs on and off. I love writing and connecting with people. A blog is the best platform for me to share my passions with others and hopefully inspire and bring joy to other people too!

  • If you could choose anywhere to live where would it be?

I want to say somewhere warm, but then I don’t actually do well with the heat aha! But I mean Bali and so many other places look amazing! I would want to live in a place with ocean views and white sandy beaches as well as beautiful mountains for walks through stunning scenery close by. A place with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. A place with like minded people close by…

  • What’s your favourite colour and why?

Can I say black?! Ok I don’t have a favourite colour, but so much of my wardrobe is filled with dark colours haha. I’d say the autumnal colour schemes are definitely my favourite!

  • Do you like cake and what is your favourite kind?

Who doesn’t like cake?!? But again favourite?! I’m sorry peeps haha, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know I’m not good with favourites! I have been vegan since January though and haven’t tried too many vegan cakes yet, I’m looking forward to baking and trying more in the future though! Before I went vegan one of my favourite cakes was a chilled strawberry cheesecake my dad would make for his cafe – it was the absolute bomb! ❤

I nominate:

https://elsielmc.wordpress.com

https://kittyp0p.wordpress.com

https://hunidasblog.com

https://justhannahhere.wordpress.com

https://ameliainhull.wordpress.com

And here are the questions I would like you to answer:

  1. What made you start a blog?!
  2. What would your dream vacation include?!
  3. Do you have a favourite cocktail and if so what is it?!
  4. Last series you binge watched on Neflix?!
  5. Do you have a middle name? If so what is it?!
  6. Favourite ice cream flavour?!
  7. What was the last song you listened to?!

Thanks again for the nomination from m4gical.com, I enjoyed writing this post and look forward to reading your answers too nominees! ❤

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ANOTHER BOOK HAUL

Published on by simplycarinaxo10 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

I feel like this is becoming a habit, buying books from The Works! I don’t have the time to read them all but I’m excited to try haha. Here’s some more books I recently added to my ever expanding collection.

Happy and L’art de la Simplicité

I picked up these two beauties in the Works. I’m really looking forward to reading these. I mean it’s always good to learn more and be inspired about how to be happy and live a more simplistic life. I’m still in the very long process of wanting to declutter and live more minimal so I think these books will be great!

the sun and her flowers

Having recently finished milk and honey and really enjoyed it, I decided to get rupi kaur’s other book. I’ve not read much poetry since my English Lit A-level and it’s nice to read some modern poetry which is very relatable.

Have any of you read these books?! I’d love to know what you think if you have!