Soooo excited about this product! I have to shout about it :)

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I posted ... apologies.

This is completely off the subject of jewellery making and crafts but I am soooo excited I have to shout about it.

If you are serious about losing weight, want to improve the nutritional content of what you eat or have food intolerances such as gluten, wheat, dairy ... then this is especially important for you.

Like me, you are fed up with so many products being promoted as "healthy" such as cereal bars for instance ... but they are actually full of added sugar, sweetners and often many things I can't even pronounce! Plus they don't keep you satisfied for very long so keep reaching for another one to eat!!!

Check out www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk.

Or supermarkets such as Tescos, Waitrose & Sainsburys have started stocking them too:

I know in Tescos you can find the Nakd 68g bars in Apple Pie, Berry Cheeky and Cocoa Loco & now Nakd Gluten free bars in Cashew Cookie & Cocoa Orange stocked in the free from and wholefoods sections.

In Waitrose you can get the Nakd Nibbles 30g bars in Berry Cheeky & Coco Loco in 4 packs by the Ryvita/Rice Cakes/biscuits etc.

Just a bit from the company themselves ... they are also a British company so lets support our own I say!:

“What’s so special about your bars?”Our bars are fundamentally different from 99% of the bars out there.

They are 100% natural, 100% vegan, with nothing artifical whatsoever, with no added sugar, made raw with raw fruit and nuts, high in protein, fibre, phyto-nurtients and antioxidants low in fat , sweet, moist, delicious and literally packed with natural goodness. They taste kinda like a sweet, rich, homemade cookie or flapjack - nearly everyone loves em and they’ve won loads of taste tests.

“What do you mean by raw?”We mean natural, not cooked or exposed to high temperatures. Exposing some foods to excessive heat can reduce their health value. That’s why your mum always wanted you to eat fresh fruit and veg. In making our bars, we use a 100% raw process, which is a fancy way of saying they are just natural stuff mooshed together, never cooked like most bars. That means they are bursting with goodness, just like nature intended. Additionally, we start with raw ingredients wherever we can (i.e. ones that haven’t been cooked somewhere along the line before we get them). All the fruit and nuts in our bars come to us raw. Some ingredients like oats and soya bits, have been exposed to heat before we get them to make them safe to eat...which we think is a good thing. Basically, we tried to make the most all-around nutritious, natural and tasty bar we could. That means using only natural wholefoods and not messing with nature.

Do you use raw oats in your bars?For health and safety reasons all rolled oats are flash steamed to prevent rancidity and make them safely digestible. This is part of the standard oat-making process and happens long before we ever get the oats. The bag of regular oats you find in the store, which most people consider to be raw, have in fact been steamed. Truly raw oats are a bit like hard, dry rice - very difficult and unpleasant to eat with a tendency to absorb the moisture in your stomach and swell. To avoid this, some people grind up raw oats and then soak them and then eat them. This makes them more edible, but doesn’t solve the rancidity risk and so isn’t really an option for us. Nearly everyone agrees oats are packed with good stuff and we firmly believe our bars would not be as healthy without them.

“How do your bars compare with ‘Eat Natural’ Bars?”We love this question...Their bars use lots of glucose syrup (added sugar), are cooked at high tempuratures and quite high in fat and calories (as a point of reference, an average eat natural bar has about as much fat and calories as a cadbury double decker bar). Our bars are simply natural ingredients smooshed up together, with no added sugar and are all around 90% fat free or better...and we’ve won loads of taste tests...which must bug ‘em.

“What is so bad about glucose syrup and refined sugar?”Most other bars use Glucose syrup and refined sugars which are like the rocket-fuels of sugar. They hit your bloodstream very quickly. This means they contribute to a quick burst of energy and an equally quick crash, which leads to sluggishness and increased appetite and cravings - not good for most people. Check the backs of most other bars, even the “healthy” ones, chances are you‘ll find some kind of added syrup or sugar. Most companies use it because it is sweet and cheap. Additionally, glucose syrup is sticky, so it holds their superheated bars together when they cook them. We never use syrups or added sugars of any kind in our bars. The sweetness in our bars comes naturally from the fruit, which since is raw, remains moist.

Natural Balance Foods - Bits & Bobs
1.NAKD is the UK’s fastest growing new natural snack and healthy confectionary brand.
2.TREK is the UK’s fastest growing new natural energy bar.
3.Unlike most bars, NAKD & TREK are made raw with raw fruit and nuts– that means the nutrients remain in their most powerful form.
4.NAKD & TREK have no-added-sugar.
5.NAKD & TREK are all natural.
6.NAKD & TREK are made in North Wales.


ENJOY!!! xxxxx

Make Jewellery Magazine - Issue 6

Innocence Jewellery Design has been featured in issue 6 of Make Jewellery Magazine.

Catch me on page 31 talking about my new chandelier earrings range with some lovely pics too. Excuse the mug shot though! :)

Make Jewellery Magazine, issue 6 on sale now in all good supermarkets (Tesco/Asda to name a few) - www.makejewellerymagazine.com

A Blog Award ...

Wow thank you soooo much to The Sock Garden (http://thesockgarden.wordpress.com) and Hats & More (http://slouchiehats.blogspot.com) for choosing my blog for a blog award.

I'm speechless (for a change), I'm not sure what to say, did I need a speech, do I need to thank any one else ... well rather then bore you all, here is my list of fav blogs out there at the mo, enjoy! (in no particular order)

(RULES AT THE END)

1. Citrus Tree Designs - http://citrustreedesigns.blogspot.com
2. Dichro Findings - http://dichro-findings.blogspot.com
3. DZ Fantasy - http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com
4. Hats and More - http://slouchiehats.blogspot.com
5. The Sock Garden - http://thesockgarden.wordpress.com
6. Paper Leaf Studio - http://paperleafstudio.co.uk/blog
7. Eclettica - www.ecletticaonline.blogspot.com
8. Aleximo Croissant - http://aleximo.tumblr.com
9. Glue & Glitter - http://drawglueglittermake.blogspot.com
10. Lauren Ceramics - http://laurenceramics.blogspot.com
11. UK Handmade - http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com
12. The Other Mousie - http://theothermousie.blogspot.com
13. Wollies Design - http://wollies-design.blogspot.com
14. What's Jam Ball Up To - http://whatsjamballupto.blogspot.com
15. Here Pretty Kitty - http://hereprettykitty.blogspot.com


Here are the Rules:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Check this out ... Issue 1

Check out http://issuu.com/seethewoods/docs/go_handmade_issue_1 for a fab article on handmade ideas and crafters x

Written by a fellow Folksy seller, username See The Woods.

Take a look its fab!

The Meaning of Purple ...

Purple is the color of good judgment. It is the color of people seeking spiritual fulfillment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind. Purple is a good color to use in meditation. Purple has been used to symbolize magic and mystery, as well as royalty.

Check out some of the fantastic purple items from some of my favourite Etsy sellers:

  

DragoninKnots - http://www.dragoninknots.etsy.com/

MilesofTextiles - http://www.milesoftextiles.etsy.com/

KilnGoddess - http://www.kilngoddess.etsy.com/

OceansideCreations - http://www.oceansidecreations.etsy.com/

Shrimpsaladcircus - http://www.shrimpsaladcircus.etsy.com/

Sandrandan - http://www.sandrandan.etsy.com/

Livingglassart - http://www.livingglassart.etsy.com/

Royalty and Spirituality - Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.

Nature of Purple - Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties.

Culture of Purple - The color of mourning for widows in Thailand, purple was the favorite color of Egypt's Cleopatra. It has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank.

Put some purple/violet in your life when you want:
* to use your imagination to its fullest
* to re-balance your life
* to remove obstacles
* to calm overactivity or to energize from depression

References:

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/purple.htm

http://www.crystal-cure.com/purple.html

Spotify ... A World Of Music

Do you like music? Well I love my music and thought I would let you all know about a fab little website that my father found. The website is called Spotify where you can listen to streamed music over the web. The service is FREE, yes FREE and completely legal.

You just register and search for the music you want to listen to and away you go. The streaming is really good quality and doesn't stop and start like many steaming sites these days. You do get the occasional advert to listen to but they are short and infrequent so are not annoying. You can pay a fee to listen without the adverts but to be honest the free option is just as good.

If you want to check it out the web address is: http://www.spotify.com

Congratulations ... Recommend A friend Results

Congratulations to Becky Smith & Becki Clarke for winning the Recommend a Friend Competition. Your choosen bracelets are on their way.

Thank you to all those who entered. Keep an eye on my Facebook Page & Blog for more exciting competitions and giveaways.

Innocence xxx