Do you go through different phases of breakfast choice?  I go months having the same thing for breakfast then move onto something new!  Past favourites have included overnight oats, granola or muesli and natural yoghurt or egg based like poached egg and crushed avocado on toast.  But one that I keep coming back to is a healthy smoothie.  I can pack in so many good ingredients and extra supplements, it is quick and easy and surprisingly satisfying and a healthy smoothie is good at keeping me full until lunchtime.

Here are a few of my favourite healthy smoothie ingredients to really make your morning smoothie pack a nutritious punch!

This is such a beautiful and inspirational brand offering the softest organic cotton underwear, it is difficult to know where to start with telling you about Y.O.U Underwear!  Their founder Sarah was volunteering in Uganda and was shocked to find that women and children were lacking something we all take for granted - underwear.  So she started a business, Y.O.U Underwear was created and her mission is to change the world, one pair of pants at a time!  They operate a 'buy-one-give-two' model and support menstrual hygiene projects as well as helping to increase access to education and employment for vulnerable women and girls.

That's the simple story but there is so much more to their sustainable credentials that you need to dig deeper. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Y.O.U Underwear are supporting breast cancer charity FUTURE DREAMS as well as championing the importance of regular breast self-examination.  I'd love you to read on and find out more ...

This is a gifted blog post.

I went to Boots Hearingcare recently for a free hearing test, I have been meaning to have one for ages, well since I turned 50 probably, but when Boots Hearingcare asked if I would consider sharing details of their free hearing test service on my blog, I decided it was an ideal opportunity to get one done myself!  For quite a number of years I have suffered with painful ears, recurring ear infections, excess wax and temporary poor hearing which also caused me to feel dizzy and unsteady - gosh I sound like I am falling apart!  I was under a private ENT Consultant originally and I had regular appointments to get my condition under control, this included microsuction and antibiotics.  Eventually I was able to transfer to the ENT Nurse at my local NHS Hospital - until Covid arrived! 

For the last 18 months I have had to either pay for private microsuction ear wax removal or go without.  And although I have increased the time between appointments, it is clear I still need this service.  The longer I go without seeing the ENT Nurse, the deafer I get, I am fairly sure it is related to my excess ear wax and ear eczema but I still knew that it was important to get my hearing checked and especially as I am over 50.

This blog post uses affiliate links.

Did you know that urinary infections are very common and affect most women at least once in their lifetime, and that menopause is often a time when UTIs become even more frequent?  Up to one in five women will have repeated urinary infections, they can happen at any time but are most likely in women who are sexually active, pregnant or post menopausal.  UTIs are always uncomfortable and often debilitating with symptoms including:

A need to frequently pass urine, an inability to hold urine and needing to go urgently, burning, stinging or pain and sometimes cloudy, smelly urine possibly stained with blood.

So not only are frequent urinary infections uncomfortable, painful and annoying, they often need repeated treatment with antibiotics.  And we know that taking too many antibiotics isn't a good idea, especially for our gut health and general wellbeing.

On my blog, I am keen to open up more conversations about things that are considered 'embarrassing' my hope is that by talking more honestly and openly we can find solutions, support each other and make our lives easier and healthier!

My blog post about urinary infections is to give you some background on why they become more common in menopause, to share lifestyle tips that can help in preventing bladder infections as well as introduce you to a fabulous new herbal supplement called Uralix that is hugely successful at prevention of UTI's inthe first place!
​
This is a sponsored blog post.