Simple Kind To Skin Rich Moisturiser

11.04 in bites, butter, date, delicious, healthy, kind, moisturiser, Paid, peanut, rich, simple, skin, snack, to

As we are now transitioning into the colder months and harsher weather, our skin usually changes too. For me I tend to get dry flaky patches, mostly between my eyebrows and on and around my nose. But of course its not just as simple as that, as I also continue to get oily throughout the day - luckily not as much as in summer. 

I have the annoying combination type skin, I have an oily t-zone, which also gets very dry but then to top it off I have normal cheeks. Finding skincare products that work well for me is difficult! I cant really buy products that sway for oily skin, otherwise my skin dries out and begins to flake and on the other hand I cant go for products aimed at dry skin or Im like a grease ball. Products aimed at combination and normal skin are usually my best bet, but they dont always work. So it means that when I find a product that truly works I just dont budge from it! 

Simples rich moisturiser is by far one of the best products Ive come across that caters for my skin perfectly. Although it states its a rich moisturiser and youd expect that to mean that those who suffer with oily skin are going to look greasy pretty fast, Ive never experienced that - which is great! It definitely does what it claims Like a desert needs the rain and a digestive needs to be dunked,this gives drier skin the moisture it craves, with none of the slippery after effects.

I actually discovered this product towards the end of 2012 when I picked up a travel size for going skiing, as the conditions on the mountains would dry most peoples skin up like crazy. Since then Ive never bought or even tried another moisturiser! Seeing as Ive just picked up another bottle I decided its probably a good time to write a review on it. 

I use it both morning and night right after cleansing my face. Its really easy to apply, its smooth and soaks into the skin pretty fast - which is great in the morning when youre wanting to apply make-up straight after. 

Usually, if I have flaky patches arising Ill just apply a little more in that area and that does the trick. This moisturiser does not feel heavy or greasy at all! At only £3.99 a bottle from Superdrug whats not to love.Also, as an added bonus, the bottle lasts me ages!

Id definitely recommend you try this product out if you have similar skin to me, or even if you just want to try something new - its a keeper.

In a nutshell

+ Inexpensive

+ Does what it claims

+ Not greasy

+ Great for both day and night

+ Great all year round

I have no faults with it!

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Get outside Watch the sunrise Watch the sunset

22.35 in butter, cookies, get, healthy, outside, Paid, peanut, sunrise, sunset, the, watch

So I managed to cross off another thing from my summer bucket list, well at least half of one because Ive yet got to find the will power to wake up before sunrise, as well as waiting for a forecast of clear skies (well just use that as the excuse for now). Just my luck that when I changed in my pyjamas the other evening, the weather cleared up after a day a cloudiness and rain, which was rather annoying as Id been out all day. But I couldnt pass up the opportunity so made a spontaneous decision to just head up onto the moors. I quickly changed first, of course.

My brothers came and tagged along and the picture above is the result of saying to them that you need to power walk because the sun was quickly disappearing - they ran ahead. But they kindly waited for me - sibling love (it doesnt happen often). 

Oh, the feeling I got when I reached this point and was so close to the top. I was completely and utterly out of breath, but the sun was almost gone so we were determined to carry on.

Whilst having a quick snack once wed reached the top, we watched the sun light up the horizon as the moon rose behind us. 

It was that clear that evening that we where able to see Blackpool tower and the sea, which isnt often as its usually too cloudy - baring in mind we live around 33 miles away.

It was a bit of a rushed decision but Im happy I did it and my brothers enjoyed it too and I have some great pictures to show that. But I left them of this blog post because they are utterly embarrassing - we are pulling very attractive faces in all of them. 

Hopefully there will be a sunrise blog post coming some time soon.

Get outside. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset. How does it make you feel? Does it make you feel big or tiny? Because theres something good about feeling both. - Amy Grant 

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Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

11.51 in butter, cookies, healthy, memories, Paid, peanut

Recently, the glorious weather us Brits have experienced has disappeared behind rain clouds (typical), so to take advantage of the stay indoors weather, I spent some time in the kitchen. Not being stocked up with many baking ingredients, very little flour and sugar and no vanilla essence, but still wanting to making something simple and delicious, I opted for my 6 ingredients peanut butter cookies. 

Personally, I dont like peanut butter cookies to be overly sweet and thats a great thing about this recipe - it has a nice subtle hint of sweetness that is very satisfying. And because of the peanut butter and oats they are a great, filling snack - so you wont be needing to reach for another. 

Usually, I add in a handful of chocolate chips and when I had the image in my head of these freshly baked, creamy cookies with chunks of dark chocolate melting in my mouth *licks lips* well I darted into the kitchen to get started. However, as I reached for the special dark chocolate we had picked up the other week, I discovered an empty packet thanks to my brothers. So I had to skip on them this time. But I still grabbed one once they had slightly cooled and it was just as good. 

These soft, chewy cookies have become a favourite of the family. They are easy enough to quickly whip up a batch for any occasion and simple enough to make for fun with kids. 

Ingredients 

• 3/4 cup oats (65g)
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (150g)
• 1 egg
• 2tbsp honey
• 50ml unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice, a sweetened milk will slightly change how sweet the cookies are)
• 1/2tsp baking powder

*Optional - chocolate chips, raisins 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C  (356°F) and lightly grease a baking tray(s) then set aside

2. Whisk together the peanut butter, honey and egg.Then gradually pour in your milk of choice and whisk until it reaches a smooth consistency.

3. In a separate bowl combine the oats and baking powder.

4. Gradually fold the oats mixture into the peanut butter mixture, then if you are adding any extras fold them into the mixture too.

5. Place on your baking tray and gently flatten. Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes or until a golden brown. Once baked set aside to cool and then enjoy!

Click here to print your own recipe card

Baking cookies is comforting, and cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food. They are bite-sized and personal. - Sandra Lee

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Peanut Butter Date Bites Healthy Delicious Snack

20.33 in autumn, bites, butter, date, delicious, healthy, Paid, peanut, snack, wishlist

Ive been super busy recently, with not only returning to college (and forgetting the amount of work I constantly have) but attending university open days practically every weekend - Ill hopefully write a blog post on this topic in the near future. 

With all the rushing around and trying to work hard from the beginning of the year, I have found myself hungrier than usual and snacking more frequently. So I needed something I could turn to that would satisfy me in-between meals. This is definitely the thing!

I cannot even begin to express how amazing these taste! Now, I can sometimes find dates a bit sickly sweet, but paired with the peanut butter, it balances out the sweetness perfectly. Surprisingly, just 1 or 2 of these bites is enough to fill you up! The best thing about them, as they are baked, is that you can pop them in a food bag and take them on the go with you. 

However, you can pop them in the fridge and enjoy them as a fudge like snack, so maybe split your batch when you first make them and see what your preference is. 

Soft, chewy cake like goodness with the added extra crunch from the walnuts and seeds, these bites are by far my new favourite snack (and hopefully yours too).

Ingredients

Yields around 19 small bites

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of pitted dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup walnuts (crushed)
• 1/8 cup of pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds etc
• 1-2 tbsp of non-dairy milk (to help loosen the dates if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Place your dates in a bowl and cover with hot water, leave to soften for 20-30 minutes.

3. Drain the water and place the dates into a blender or food processor and blitz until they become a smooth consistency, if needed add a drop of milk to help loosen and soften the dates.

4. Next, transfer the date mixture into a bowl and mix in the peanut butter.

5. Then fold in your walnuts and seed(s) of choice.

6. Gradually pour in your oats and combine thoroughly.

7. With your hands, roll the mixture into balls of your preferred size (I make mine around the size of a tsp) and place them onto the baking tray. If you are deciding to split the batch and refrigerate some, follow the same steps and place the bites onto a separate baking tray, also lined with greaseproof paper and pop them in the fridge. They are best when left for over 4 hours. 

8. Finally, pop the bites for baking in the oven for around 7-10 minutes or until firm to touch (leave them for another few minutes if you make them slightly bigger). Once baked, leave to cool then enjoy!

Printable recipe card

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