Everything pregnancy-related is going well and I am really enjoying it. I have been drinking a tonne of cold milk (and splurging on the delicious organic kind from the market) every night as well as hot raspberry leaf tea with honey to help "tone" my uterus in preparation for labour. The tea is also good for digestion, which is a side effect I enjoy as well- makes my stomach feel warm, comfortable and settled. I have been absolutely ravenous since the third trimester began, and have to make sure that I always have a snack within arm's reach. My ribs and back have been aching a bit but other than that, no real complaints.
My skin has been a lot better this week; it is much less red and inflamed, which makes me feel much less self-conscious about it. I think it fares better in the cooler weather, plus I have evolved my skincare routine to washing my face in the shower with liquid African Black soap (see some info about it here), splashing on some diluted apple cider vinegar and rinsing with water, then drying myself and gently massaging in some pure aloe vera gel. This combination seems to be good. My Mum and I went shopping yesterday and both treated ourselves to a jar of Burt's Bees eye cream which seems to be helping soothe the dryness around my eyes (plus I feel so fancy applying eye cream- I guess I am twenty-five now, so it might be time to start looking after that area!). I also made a face mask yesterday afternoon using some warmed-up honey and some mashed banana and it was totally amazing! My skin was smooth and it really calmed down any inflammation I had.
You become a bit skin-obsessed when you get pregnancy dermatitis because it is just so frustrating!
Now I am munching on my favourite massaged kale salad for dinner and waiting to watch "My Kitchen Rules." Massaging the kale for this salad makes it more palatable and easier to digest as it breaks down the fibrous leaves before you even chew it.
Jane's Massaged Kale Salad
5 big leaves of curly kale
1/2 apple
Handful walnuts
Handful dried cranberries
Olive oil
Orange juice
Sprinkle of salad seeds (optional)
Strip kale off the stem into bite-sized pieces, wash and dry. Place kale into a bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together and get massaging! Press and squeeze kale between your hands until it softens and turns a brighter green. Once kale is done, chop apple into bite-sized pieces and add to salad. Toss with walnuts and dried cranberries, drizzle some orange juice over the salad and top with some salad seeds.
| Yum! The perfect autumn salad |
| Any combo of toasted seeds will do |
No comments:
Post a Comment