These are a few of my favourite things…

With Christmas just around the corner I am really getting into the Christmas spirit with lots of baking and making in the kitchen. This recipe just came together with things I had in my cupboards – but as it turned out, it makes a lovely Christmas salad with beautiful festive red from the beetroot plus white from the coconut and green from the mint.

Christmas Beetroot, Apple and Coconut Salad

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE

My favourite new food blog to follow
I do follow a lot of foodie blogs that keep me inspired in the kitchen and in choosing products for the Nourishing Hub. I recently fell in love with Wholehearted Eats – a wonderful blog full of healthy whole-food recipes that a very inspiring. My toddler and I tried out the healthy gingerbread recipe – made mostly from fruit and nuts and can be eaten raw and cooked (we did both!)

My favourite Words of Wisdom this week
My plans for a somewhat productive Monday ended up with a baby that didn’t sleep all day, a supermarket meltdown, cleaning up poo and vomit from various rooms in the house and then a few toddler tantrums were thrown in there just for good measure.

My expectations were well beyond my means, resulting in frustration (I thought I’d learnt this lesson!). Instead of just going with the flow I was battling my own agenda. In the midst of the madness, I received a text from my lovely friend, who is also a maternity coach – helping women adjust to motherhood and/or returning to work and the juggle that entails. She said ‘surrender to the flow – be a net not a wall’. Ah, that resonated with me immediately – I was standing in my own way and battling away the day.

The following day I made a concerted effort to be a net – to go with the flow and let things run their course. I was more present, accepting, happier and surprisingly somewhat productive. Of course, there will be more wall days to come but it gave me something to think about.

My favourite health tip this week
Some sage words from Claudette Wadsworth (who has been the Nourishing Hub’s Practitioner of the Month previously). This week Claudette shares that children with asthma and eczema are more sensitive to sulphite preservatives (220 – 228), found mainly in dried fruit, sausages, deli meats, mustards, cordials and jams – food for thought!

My favourite Christmas pressies on the site
Those who follow us on Facebook know I am just loving the new range of certified organic Vanessa Megan products that have just arrived at the Nourishing Hub. The products are beautifully packaged and made of only natural non-toxic, certified organic ingredients. They make wonderful Christmas gifts. 

My favourite new product on the site
For those hot chocolate lovers out there, you are going to love TRU RA Raw Cacao Drinking Chocolate, it is sweetened with low GI coconut sugar and is just delicious! The TRU RA Nectar Sweetened Cacao Nibs are very tasty too – sweetened with coconut nectar mmm!

My favourite new baby range
OK I’m not going to say a lot about this range as their will be an interview with lovely Danielle from DnA Elements in the New Year but I will say this is a gorgeous range of 100% organic baby products formulated on DnA Element’s ‘holistic approach philosophy’. All ingredients represent pure botanical elements that are the ultimate in purity, mildness and nourishment for little babies skin.

Writing this piece I realise I have so many favourite things – I had better rein myself in and save some 2014 🙂

If you missed our December Newsletter and don’t forget to try our Christmas Coconut Lime and Goji Balls Recipe.

Health and Happiness,

Simone @ the Nourishing Hub X