**Disclaimer – Chanene, from Tonic and Tiaras received a gift card to purchase any item on her wish list from Wellness Warehouse. The views and opinions expressed are Chanene’s own. Photo credit go to Chanene, all images supplied by her 🙂 **

I decided to feature a series of Wellness posts to find out how other moms #LiveLifeWell The purpose of this series is to enlighten readers and show you how small changes can yield big results for you and your family too.

Part 6 – LiveLifeWell with Wellness Warehouse & Tonic and Tiaras

Chanene, aka Ms Chanaynay and her girls

1. The woman behind Tonic and Tiaras – meet Chanene Ablett

My name is Chanene I am a mom of two who blogs over at Tonic and Tiaras. I love puns and in general love life. Whilst I do not always get it right I try hard. Whilst my family and some friends do not think I am that funny I think I am hilarious. J My coping mechanism is humour and I hope to be able to make to just one person smile a day.

My journey began when I realised that the term ‘wellness’ encompasses so many things. Wellness had never really been a priority of mine, but that all changed after I had children. Shortly after my girls came along, I had a health scare.

It was after the health scare when I first became interested in the Wellness arena. I had this need to find the perfect recipe of vitamins and food for myself, my children and my husband. Four different individuals but one solution. One that was hopefully not going to cost a fortune either.

There I was searching for answers, online of course. However, this, in fact, just gave me more questions, and the need for more answers.

2. Why you choose to #livelifewell

My Wellness quest begins with Wellness Warehouse.

In my wellness quest, the topics that I have researched on numerous occasions are food and vitamins. I believe that we need to supplement our nutrients as we cannot always go the organic and grass-fed vegetable route. My pitch to Wellness Warehouse was that I would use the voucher to sample some current trends in the health and wellness sector that could help my whole family simultaneously.

3. Share with us what you bought at Wellness Warehouse

Vitamin Nay-sayers

I would take my mission seriously as I did not want to pay for an expensive wee, as some people will eye roll when it comes to the subject of vitamins.

As my girls have grown older, they are not with me every second so the control of all things sweet and decadent is really in their 5 and 7 year-old hands. I struggle as a grown up when it comes to making the right choices so after some intense discussion with my lovely Wellness Warehouse representative, I chose the following products in my pursuit of what is new on the shelves and how it can help me and my family on our wellness journey.

Stop, deliberate and listen

After much deliberation, I went with the Collagen Complex from Nutrilife. Collagen was on my radar for a while and after reading FitLikeMummy’s post on her experience and then confirming with the Store manager, yip it’s still going strong. It’s still on top of the purchase list for most people entering their store. I chose the powder so that I can incorporate it into smoothies and cereals. From chatting around with others seeking wellness, one of the biggest success stories was shared with me by a fellow parent. She used it on her husband’s Rheumatoid Arthritis and has never looked back.

Snacks that are in store

With the rest of my spending I looked at what was currently trending on the snack food front for children and what was newish in store:

I opted for the Organic Corn Chips. This one was a no brainer cos I love me some nachos and if it’s organic I feel like what a mom win.

Frozen Organic Ice pockets. I am quite sad that I didn’t get myself one to taste test because there was no sharing with my girls.

We tried the Red Lentils Snack too. This is the puffed lentil chip. Whilst Miss K was not a fan, Miss T enjoyed them but in small quantities which for me helps as it also stops over-snacking.

Coconut chips were next. Did my girls and I enjoy them? Keep a lookout for my social media. The same to be said for the vegan biltong. Yes – that’s a real thing!

As for the sleep aid, I am still reviewing this. My oldest struggles a little and I want to try it out for myself before I give it to her.

The best find, and it really was a selfish one, was the Irene’s Gourmet Eastern Delight and the raw Kimchi. Due to struggling with my gut health I am always on the lookout in this department. With Kimchi popping up constantly in my research I was not letting this one get away. I love pickles and all things fermented so was this a winner! Yes, yes it was me for me.

Some extra trends I have embraced:

When I initially pitched, another trend was turmeric and green tea capsules. I currently take those two and haven’t stopped hence the reason for me not purchasing them on this trip.

I have been down the Kefir route and during this time I failed in getting my girls to drink it however I have many friends who have perfected the Kefir shot for themselves and their family. If Kefir is on your radar to try, they do stock it. One to the best hacks I was given on the kefir maintenance was to put it in a muslin cloth and then it’s a matter of just popping it into the next jar of fresh milk, instead of the constant cleaning and thinking.

Where to find Chanene:

Facebook: @TonicAndTiaras

Twitter: @mschanaynay

Instagram: @tonic_and_tiaras

Blog – www.tonicandtiaras.co.za