Yummy Smoothies!

So part of my new years resolutions this year was to eat healthier and I thought a good change to my diet would be smoothies instead of snacking on crisps and biscuits instead. 

So me and a flatmate scoured through the January sales to find a blender we could use at university. We found this one just for £14.99, the Duronic BL3. It comes with the body that doesn't need cleaning every time you use it , and two cups.

So I thought I would give an example of a smoothie I've been making a lot recently.

Firstly what you'll need is:

Yeo Valley Natural Yoghurt

Small punnet of strawberries

Mango chunks

Frozen raspberries (they're cheaper)

1 banana

and some milk and ice.

This is the body

I poured about half of the tub of yoghurt in the bottom of one of the cups.

I then cut my banana into pieces and cut my strawberries into halves and put them in the cup.

Then I added a few chunks of mango.

And a handful of frozen raspberries.

Then I added some milk to make it thinner.

And some ice.

Then I put the lid on the cup with the blades on and secured it tightly.

You then twist the bottle into the base and hold it whilst it starts to blend. You can then decide whether you want it thicker or thinner and keep blending until it's all done.

And there you have a finished healthy smoothie.

These taste so good and because you make it yourself it's easy to swap and change any of the ingredients to suit yourself. I'm really excited to try loads of different tastes and smoothies.

Hope you enjoy, hopefully I'll post more like this in the future.

Stay Happy

Sarah

Take the Pledge!

So this is the fifth and final post about The Natural High Project. I've met some great people and learnt some interesting things.

Join me and pledge to live naturally high, just like me! Don't let the pressure of drugs and alcohol effect your dreams and life.

Taking the pledge is easy. Go to naturalhigh.org and click on Pledge to live drug free and fill out the form, it's that simple. This could change your life for the better!

I've had a great few days and hope at the very least I changed one persons mind on artificial highs.

I want to thank the amazing bloggers I've joined in with these past few days! Check out their blogs by clicking on their names.

Courtney, Mallory and Christopher!

As always join us at Natural High or keep up to date with our social media sites by using the tag #TheNaturalHighProject.

And remember to Stay Happy

Sarah

Finding your Natural High

Today's theme is finding your natural high. 

I think this is quite easy but does need a lot of motivation. 

All it takes to find your natural high is simply to do something that you love. If you love playing music then go and rock out in your room or if you love playing football then go and play with your mates and have a laugh. All of these could give you a natural euphoric feeling. 

Or if you don't have something you love to do, don't stop looking. Go out and try new things everyday because you will find something you enjoy, everyone loves doing something. 

I think this is the most effective part, is to seek your own natural high. Sometimes they'll just happen with things you might never expected it to or sometimes you might seek it in different places. So go and meet new people, travel to different places, try different hobbies and just enjoy yourself. This isn't supposed to be stressful so don't let it. Take your time and be yourself and you'll find what you're looking for! 

Don't forget to follow the hashtag #thenaturalhighproject on all social media to keep up to date. 

And as always Stay Happy

Sarah

My Natural Highs

Hey guys!

So before I discuss my own natural highs I want to tell people what a natural high even is.

Urban dictionary describes them as 'A state of being in an extraordinarily happy mood or being 'high' without drugs or alcohol.' It's the fact that doing things you enjoy releases natural feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine, which regulates movement, emotion, motivation and pleasure.

Basically it's feeling good without drugs or alcohol and it's easier than you think.

Reasons that natural highs are better than artificial ones;

-There are no side effects- there are no harmful consequences like there is with artificial highs, making you and your body feel better. In fact natural highs actually give a positive effect on your mental health in the long term too!

- Natural highs last longer- As I said in my previous post, whats the point of a few hours of feeling good using artificial highs, when you spend the next day feeling like you're at deaths door? Natural highs last as long as you want them too and you can also replicate this again as many times as you want. Whereas with alcohol and drugs replication to feel good can lead to severe addiction. So natural highs can be reproduced easily without addiction.

- Chemicals in drugs and alcohol drop functions in the brain and body meaning you're not in control anymore. It also loses mental control which in the long term damages you both emotionally and physically.

So now onto my Natural Highs. I did a lot of thinking about this and realised I have more than I thought.

The first one is very broad and it's simply creativity. I've always been really creative and it's something that I still love doing. Whether it's through drawing and DIY or through my photography and making my YouTube videos, I still get the same feelings. When you are proud of something that you've created you get a warm fuzzy feeling, a euphoric feeling and there's nothing better. It gets even nicer when you get compliments on something that you made, making a natural high.

The second one is music. It's such a simple one yet so important to me. I don't think I go a day without listening to music and I have such a varied taste in music because if I hear a song where I like the music or the lyrics I'll keep on listening to it no matter what the style. It goes from pop music, dance music, punk music, old music, and all in between. When you are down and listen to that one song that lifts your spirits, it's amazing how great it can make you feel. I don't know how it happens but it just makes you feel good. When I went to V-Festival I experienced a natural high myself. I was on top of my friends shoulders, above a crowd of thousands of people, listening to my favourite music being sung. My friends were laughing and singing around me and even though it was freezing, it was one of the best feelings of my life.

Obviously one of the easiest natural highs is hanging around with the people that make you smile, whether that's friends or family. There's no better feeling than when you're laughing with the people you care about and it can cheer you up so easily when you're down. I know being around people when you're in a bad mood doesn't appeal to people but it really does make you feel better. Or the warm feeling of have a deep connection with someone, you just can't beat it.

And lastly is quite a strange one that I haven't really seen before but it's visiting beautiful places. I've stood in front of a view before that's so mind blowing I just stand there with my mouth open. And somehow it makes me feel good inside. Taking in your surroundings and visiting new places is so important when finding your natural high and I guess just looking at a beautiful creation makes me feel this way.

The remarkable part of natural highs is that they come from inside. You are the originator of your own personal exhilaration and you are the sole one who can experience this high.

I hope this gave you a better insight into natural highs, and how they can actually effect you for the better.

As always join us at Natural High or keep up to date with our social media sites by using the tag #TheNaturalHighProject. Also tweet me 0SarahHelene0 for a chance to be featured in my next blog post!

Stay Happy

Sarah

Saying No || Natural High Project

Today's theme is Saying No.

Peer pressure is so common now a days because it's the social norm for teenagers to drink or do drugs. But I'm one of the few individuals that says no to both.

Peer pressure started for me when I was about 15/16. My brother is two years older so I just knew that going out and getting drunk was quite a regular thing. The pressure came from my year group at parties and gatherings where everyone thought they were cool because they drank and they were underage. That's when I first felt it because I did used to drink then. I never got drunk but I made sure I had a bottle in my hand and occasionally drank from it to make it seem like I did. I guess I just wanted to fit in and not for anyone to ask me any questions about why I didn't drink.

But then I realised that I didn't like the effect it had on my body. It makes my head feel weird and some people might feel good that way but I most certainly didn't. 

But as I turned 16 I realised that what's the point in even pretending, it doesn't do me any good, in fact it ruined my night because it made me feel worse and sick so really I was having bad times just to please the people around me. So I stopped. And when people asked I just said, 'I don't drink.' And at first of course I got people calling me or asking me why not but I just kept repeating myself. And growing up doing that, you realise that it does get easier and easier to say no to peer pressure and not care what people think of you when you say that. I had one comment where they said, 'how can you not drink? I'm really boring when I haven't had a few.' And I just looked him in the eye and said, 'That just shows what your personality is like.' 

Because not drinking will never stop me from going out. I'm out every single time my friends are and I always have a great night. I'm always the first and the last one dancing and I don't need any alcohol to make me be this way. I sometimes get people telling me I'm drunk and when I tell them I'm completely sober they don't believe me, so I just leave them to it because if they want to think that then let them. I know now that I don't need to give excuses as to why I don't drink. 

I'm not against people who actually do drink, I won't give someone a hard time unless it ruins their night, because I know they brought it on themselves. For myself I've realised that there's more important things in life than getting so drunk I don't remember the amazing night I had. 

Luckily now the people I actually care about know that I don't drink so they have the respect to not pressure me and the people I don't care about just get a polite decline. That's all from just saying no, eventually they just gave up trying so if you are going through peer pressure then just know as long as you keep just saying no, it does get easier.

I didn't get properly introduced to drugs until recently in university. Drugs like weed, cocaine and MDMA are popular, but just like alcohol, drugs just didn't interest me. I recently saw a guy nearly overdose on many different drugs and he was throwing up everywhere and not able to stand up. I just don't understand why you would want to be like that. What's the point of a few hours feeling great when you spend the next day feeling the worst? It is really worth it? It's the same with alcohol, it only lasts a night and I love waking up in a morning feeling fresh whilst all my friends around me have hangovers. 

What I'm saying is that it gets easier. Take a deep breath, politely say 'No thanks,' and move on. If they carry on just keep replying with the same thing. And if they become forceful I think you really need to reconsider the people you hang out with.

And as you get older it does get a lot easier, people care less what you do and leave you to yourself. Trust me.

As always join us at Natural High or keep up to date with our social media sites by using the tag #TheNaturalHighProject. Also tweet me 0SarahHelene0 for a chance to be featured in my next blog post!

Stay Happy you beautiful people,

Sarah

The Natural High Project

Hello guys and Happy New Year!! 

Today I wanted to talk to you about this amazing campaign I'm involved in, along with many other bloggers, teens and even celebrities. 

So what is The Natural High Project you might ask?

Natural High is a substance abuse prevention organisation that inspires young people to find their natural highs (rush of adrenaline, something that makes you smile) through living their dreams and aspirations without the use of drugs or alcohol. So I've teamed up with The Natural High, along with some other awesome bloggers, to show you how to find your own love for something.

The other bloggers include:

Mallory from Chromo Beauty

Christopher from Christopher's Fashion

Courtney from Courtney's Voice

Over the next 5 days me and the team will be coming to you with a series of different themes about finding your own natural high and the benefits from a life without drug and alcohol abuse. We're all teenagers ourselves and so we feel that it's better to come from our mouths than those of adults who don't understand us as much.

We want to help you find an alternative way to keep a smile on your face, having fun and staying safe.

Join us at Natural High or keep up to date with our social media sites by using the tag #TheNaturalHighProject. Also tweet and share this picture on other social media sites to join in on all the fun!

and most importantly don't forget to stay happy!

Sarah