Best Gluten Free / Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

Today I'm sharing my favourite gluten free, dairy free, vegan banana bread recipe. It may not be the most attractive cake but it's so tasty!!

You will need:

3 ripe bananas,

4 dates,

1 cup of rice flour,

1 cup of ground almonds,

1 tablespoon cinnamon,

1 tsp nutmeg,

1/3 cup coconut oil,

1/4 sultanas/mixed fruit of your choice.

In a bowl you need to mash the banana and dates. If the dates are too hard soak them in warm water for a few minutes. Then you need to melt your coconut oil then combine it with the wet ingredients, add all the dry ingredients and you will end up with a very thick batter. Add this to a loaf tin and cook for around 30 minutes! Super tasty! Super yummy! Super healthy! 

Hope you love it as much as I do,

Paige xx

Three Holy Grail Mascaras!

Hello my lovelies,

Now as you ladies well may know, there are A LOT of different mascaras out there and we are always on a mission to find the perfect one that makes us look like we are wearing flash lashes. In reality most just clump and leave you in a black smudgy mess? Am I right? Well after a few years of searching I have finally settled on three mascaras that really do work for me and have taken my eyelash game to a whole new level!

1. My favourite holy grail mascara has got to be the 'Maybelline New York Lash Sensational'. Now there is a lot of hype about this, you may have seen many youtubers and bloggers talk about it but that is just because its so good. It's a strong 10/10 for me. It stays in place all day, doesn't smudge or melt and I honestly don't have a bad word to say about it. For £7.99 I think its a steal!

2. Now going on to a high end mascara I didn't have high expectations when I bought the mini of this but I was more than pleasantly surprised. My second favourite is 'MAC False Lashes Extreme Black'. I got a free sample of this when I re purchased my foundation and I love it. It's not as good as the Maybelline one but it gives a soft natural look, it doesn't clump and I love the brush. Can't wait to purchase the full size. £19.00

3. Now I like to try products both high street and high end, mainly to see if they are worth the money. In my local Debenhams I visited the Benefit stand to purchase my beloved erase paste when I suddenly got distracted by my nemesis, mascara. Now I absolutely hated the 'They're Real' mascara I thought the brush was horrible and it was really drying but I decided to pick up the 'Benefit BADgal lash Mascara' and for £17.50 I had high hopes. It doesn't really meet my expectations that highly but its still a nice mascara. It doesn't wow me like the Maybelline mascara but it is good. I feel as though it isn't worth the price. It doesn't dry or clump which are two signs of a good mascara. 

All in all I would highly highly recommend the 'Maybelline New York Lash Sensational' I can't sing its praises enough! Comment below some of your holy grail mascaras as I love trying and testing new products!

Paige xx

New Zoella Beauty Range!

Todays post is all about Zoella's (Zoe Sugg) new Tutti Fruitti beauty range. I was a huge fan of the last range and still religiously use those products to this day. I was extremely excited to find out she had a new range being released as I love trying and testing new products. On the day of release I went to my nearest superdrug but they didn't have the new products stocked. That's what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere! Always the last to get everything! So I rushed home and bought them online instead.

I decided to treat my Mum as well as well as myself with the new products. My favourite product from the last release was the body mist and I have to say this release is the same. The body mist wins hands down for me. I love love love it! For only £8 you couldn't ask for anything better!

Now I'm always skeptical about trying high street body lotions and shower gels etc as I suffer with extremely bad eczema and I tend to react extremely easily. I was pleasantly surprised when my skin felt soft and well nourished when using the body lotion and sugar scrub. My skin feels rejuvenated!
I hate nothing more than a body cream/lotion that will not dry and absorb into the skin but this one is fast drying and its amazing! It's not sticky and it smells gorgeous. The body scrub is made with sugar instead of salt so it is so much more gentle on the skin and I can't get enough of them! I'm definitely going to have to work these into my daily skincare routines. 

I am a complete Lush addict. I have bath bombs and bubble bars everywhere but this fizz bar is a new favourite! It may not be bright colours and have glitter or popping candy in it but it smells and feels gorgeous. It is gentle on the skin and has a sweet yet fresh smell and is a great way to relax after a long day. 

You can see how much work has gone into these products. As someone with a skin condition it makes me feel so happy knowing I can use such lovely products from a high street store with no nasty reactions! They are extremely affordable and if you are looking for something new to add to your summer skincare regime or to even pamper yourself I think these products could be for you!!

My Favourite Healthy Breakfast Recipes

I have never been someone that looks forward to breakfast in the mornings, I always dread the thought of toast, cereal and even porridge. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I know I need to eat breakfast I just never would. This caused my metabolism to slow down hugely. I was getting tired during the day and always felt so hungry at nighttime. Eating breakfast again has made me feel more alert and I'm not starving at the end of the day. So I'm going to share my favourite breakfast recipes.

1. Quick and easy chocolate banana ice cream!
Now this has to be my favourite, it feels so indulgent and naughty first thing in the morning but its healthy which is great! All you need is:

2 frozen bananas
A dash of milk of your choice (I either use Almond Milk or Cashew Milk)
1 tsp Cacao powder (or cocoa powder if you prefer)


And some toppings of your choice. I like to add seeds and dried fruit to mine.

Simply blend the banana, milk and cacao powder until thick and creamy. Add your toppings and you are good to go! Yummy, healthy and so indulgent.




2. Eggy Avocado on Toast!
I have a spare twenty minutes in this morning I love to make this. You will need:

1/2 ripe avocado,
1 egg,
1 slice of bread of your choice.

Simply cut open the avocado. Scoop half out and mush with the back of a fork. Boil some water and drop in the egg, I take it out after about a minute because I love a runny yolk! Then put some bread in the toaster. Just spread the mashed avocado onto the toast, place your egg on top and add some salt and pepper to taste! Perfect!

3. Guilt free 'Chocolate' Smoothie

For all of you with a sweet tooth you will love this! You will need,

1 banana,
1 cup of milk of your choice (I use coconut milk in this one! Makes it more creamy)
1 1/2 tsp cacao powder (or again cocoa powder if you wish)
2 tsps chia seeds

Then blend it!

4. Healthy Green Smoothie

Now I love nothing more than a green smoothie in the morning, if you aren't in too much of a sweet food mood or you just want breakfast on the go this is great! You need:

1 large handful Spinach
1 banana
2 sticks of celery
A few chunk of pineapple
Water
2 tsps chia seeds.

This smoothie is incredibly smooth and creamy but isn't too sweet!


I hope you liked someone of my favourite healthy breakfast recipes! Leave your favourite breakfast ideas below and I will be sure to give them a go!

Speak to you soon,

Paige xx

Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter Book Review.

Todays post is a review about 'Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter' review. I have been watching Sprinkle of Glitter (aka Louise Pentland) on youtube for many years now and I was more than excited when I found out she was releasing a book.

She is now a Times No. 1 best selling author! I can't believe how much love and support there is between youtubers and their viewers and it makes me feel all mushy inside! Anyway lets move onto the book.

As soon as I had read the first page I was glued to it. It opens with:

'I lead a happy life because I choose to. I choose to fill my days and my mind with good people, kind thoughts and positive experiences. Naturally, just like every other soul out there, I have days that are dark and dreary and I encounter experiences that I wouldn't want to treasure forever, but I choose to deal with them in such a way that they do not put a dent in my joy. I choose my life.'

This really got me thinking. I suffer a lot with anxiety and let the bad things get me down, reading that has changed my perspective already. This book is not an autobiography and about the ins and outs of her life but she has poured her own experiences into this book to inspire and enthuse others. I think this is a big thing. 

Reading this book has changed my thinking, as a twenty year old I have gone through the bullying and high school problems and I think for the younger boys and girls reading this, this will help them hugely. I wish I could have had someone to help me change my ways of thinking. Knowing that it does get better and you can pull yourself out of an dark place. Love who and what you are. 

People spend too much time these days trying to be someone else because they aren't happy with who or what we all because we all have this weird vision of what beauty is. When it comes down to it, beauty is within us all. Size is only a measurement or figure. Whether you think you are too big or too small as long as you are happy and healthy there is no issue. 

They layout and design of this book is beautiful. There is something different to look at on every page and theres always something eye catching. I can really appreciate the amount of hard work that must have gone into this book. This book has given me a more positive outlook on life its and given me tips and recipes that I can't wait to try. 

I could ramble on about how much I love this book for days but I won't bore you. If you haven't read it I urge you to. Louise really is a fantastic role model and she should be extremely proud for what she has achieved within the past few years. We need more people like her in the world. I think we should all have a life with just a little sprinkle of glitter. 

Paige xxx

Relationships.

In my twenty years on this planet I have been in quite a few relationships. I sometimes sit and think about the things I could have done differently or what I did right or wrong, but the thing is every person and relationship is different.

My last relationship lasted a few years and its fair to say it had its ups and downs. I spent a long time blaming myself for the breakup when we had just drifted apart. You can't blame yourself for growing up or finding a different path. I haven't really been in a relationship since then because I wanted to just be me for a while and do things alone and learn to be independent again.

As someone who suffers with anxiety I find it hard to make conversation with new people as my brain is going ten to the dozen. Now I always thought I new what love was. But I really didn't. I don't think you know what love is until you really find it. With no disrespect to my ex I don't think I loved him in the sense that I didn't see a future with him and I didn't want that with him anymore. There are so many things that happened between us that changed that, I won't going into that information but all I can say is, if theres no trust, there is no relationship.

Anyway I often sit and think about one question in general and many of my friends think about this too. 'Do you believe in love at first sight?'. Now I can't bring myself to say yes or no. My heart wants to say yes but my head says no. A while back after my previous relationship ended I got close to someone else. Things moved so quickly but I was so happy. Happy. I hadn't been happy in a long time. When I was spending time with him I felt so lucky and nobody had ever made me feel that way before but when I was alone with my own thoughts I would over think it all.

In my past relationship I hadn't felt the love that I deserved, it felt forced to me, but because I was used to feeling down and unwanted I convinced myself that it was normal and thats what love was. So when I had someone treating me like a princess, spending time with me, making an effort and making me feel good I freaked out. I ran. I didn't feel like I deserved to feel that way. I could kick myself over and over for doing it but you could say I learnt a good lesson.

Never let someone treat you like you aren't worth something. You shouldn't force feelings. I believe that there is someone out there for everyone. Just because this relationship hasn't worked out doesn't mean the next one won't.

For me, well I'm fine with being single for now. I've been single for nearly two years and as much as I miss being close to someone I don't want to be with someone if it doesn't feel right.
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that the person that was treating my the right way was good for me and that I deserved to be happy and feel that way. Honestly I still like that guy. I don't know if its just because of how he treated me and made me feel but I was smitten. I wish I could explain to him what happened and tell him how I feel but I just can't. I'm always so scared that if I open up and confess my feelings, they will just throw them right in my face. So for now its just little old me. Spending my weekends cuddled up with my dog watching Disney films but thats ok.

I wish I could say love and relationships were easy. They aren't. Every relationship will be different. Don't go looking for love. Love with eventually find you. We have the rest of our lives to figure these things out so just live in the moment, in the here and now.

So that was my little ramble about love and relationships! I'm sorry if it bored you its just something thats been on my mind tonight. Feel free to leave a comment about any bad/embarrassing dates you've had I'd love to hear some!

Thats all for now,

Paige xxx

Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Hello everyone,

Todays post is going to be about anxiety and panic attacks which is something that is effecting me more and more in my adult life. I am twenty (twenty-one in a few months) and I have found myself struggling with anxiety more than ever before.

As a child I was always shy and reserved when it came to new people. I never liked crowds because I was always scared of getting lost or losing my friends or a member of my family but other than that I never had any problems. As a young teenager I was again shy meeting new people and found it difficult to make new friends just because I was scared that they would think I was weird.

I have always had a very vivid imagination. I used to sit in the garden in a beach tent making up story after story. I would walk around with a cat collar tied to a shoe lace pretending it was my imaginary dog. I would always play 'let pretend' games and even now I lay in bed putting myself in hundreds of different scenarios. My mind can wonder for hours on end. I feel like this is why I have anxiety.

I seem to worry or ask questions in my head at ten to the dozen in different situations. I could just be waiting for the bus but in my head its 'What if I've missed it?' 'What if it doesn't come?' 'Do I have enough money?' 'What if there aren't any seats left?' and I seem to psych myself up.
A few weeks back both my Mum and I went for a day shopping in Birmingham for the day, we left around 8am, got the train had coffee and went shopping and it was a great day. Then all of sudden everything went downhill. We were getting the train at rush hour and I started freaking out. The crowds of people starting getting bigger and bigger and my hearing started going weird and I felt like I couldn't breath.
There was a little girl stood next to me crying and it was making me feel sick. The train pulled up and the doors opened and suddenly everyone was pushing each other to get onto the train. Someone shoved more backwards and pushed my Mum onto the train. I was already panicking but because I couldn't see her I started freaking out. I felt like I was suffocating and wanted to get some fresh air but someone kindly let me on the train and I found my Mum.

All I really wanted was to get off and get some fresh air but the train started moving and I was more panicky than ever. I wanted to cry because I felt so strange but I managed to try and calm down a bit. But for hours after I felt like I couldn't breathe and I kept replaying the whole situation in my head.

When I talk about anxiety to a lot of people they just roll their eyes or tell me to go to the doctors mainly because they don't understand it so I keep it to myself.
I would love to hear about your anxiety experiences and how you over come the panicky feelings. How you try and keep your anxiety at a low level.

Please leave a comment about things you do to help your anxiety or it may even be a friend or member of family! Thank you for reading.

Speak to you soon,

Paige xx