Eating more honey in winter can make you smile - more than your taste buds smile. For centuries the healing properties of honey have been utilised by manufacturers of cold and flu medications. However more than just a sweet throat soother, honey contains compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin.

But it can be added to other things other than your tea and porridge in the morning.

The ancient Romans used it to cure skin disorders, the Egyptians used it to preserve the Pharaohs (including Tutankhamun) whilst Cleopatra took milk and honey baths to maintain a youthful complexion. Honey is used in beauty products like hair treatments, soap, perfume, face scrubs and body balms for much the same reason Cleopatra added it to her bath - the minerals and vitamins in it help to soothe and calm the skin.

Honey is naturally produced by our buzzing friends the bees. Working bees who ingest the nectar of flower pollen and change the structure of it by reducing the water content and adding a waxy protective coating, only live for about six weeks. Given the integral part they play in the process of creating our honey, as well as their involvement in helping fruit trees to reproduce, it's a sad fact that the UK bee population is currently under massive threat. Bees are prone to a number of diseases so pesticides and antibiotics need to be used to keep the colonies alive.

The best thing we can do to keep the golden nectar flowing and our bees happy is to support organic honey and plant high pollen producing flowers in our gardens.

I recently stumbled upon an educational talk called Technomadic Lifestyle Workshop. Quite apt considering I’m undertaking a 7 month journey down the Americas, working and writing as I go I am - without realizing it until it was given a name in this workshop – technomad. What is it? Essentially it’s a person traveling or living on the road whilst continuing to work in the ‘real’ world (of business) and all it entails including the technological aspects (which are unavoidable and extremely handy).

The workshop started with a couple describing their journey, Chris and Cherie. Both happen to work in IT and actually met on the road (it so happens before they officially turned to the nomad life). Carrie was a freelancer and her work involved a lot of travel anyway so it was fairly easy to sell her house, adopt a campervan and still keep her clients happy. In fact she didn’t tell them she had ‘moved’ for 6 months – there was no need, she could still meet with them as she’d invoice travelling expenses as she always had.

As a technomad you can easily work full time, especially if you’re hooked up to the internet. The most comfortable and cheapest was to live is in your own campervan; though the initial outlay of buying the portable home will pay off when you’re parked up on a spectacular coastline, sipping iced tea whilst answering your emails.

WIFI and Cellular internet are fairly easy to hook up. Many of the technomads at the workshop also used a system called BGAN which you can use as a satphone (it provides satellite coverage worldwide, better than most traditional cellular networks). It’s a bit like skype, plus you can leave the line open to use instant messenger and communicate with your clients.

From an eco perspective Troy and Carrie say the best way to be a ‘green’ technomad is to build (or adjust) your own vehicle. For example you buy energy efficient appliances (i.e. a top opening fridge is more efficient than a side opening one) and you can install solar panels on your ‘moving home’ to create your own electricity. Some technomads vans run off vegetable oil.

A truly sustainable life is one that not only balances work and play but combines them. The cheaper sustainable life seems also to be paying just to travel – it’s far cheaper than keeping a home and traveling. Naturally, you tend to consume less as everything you buy you must ask ‘does this really matter to me’. As Chris says: ‘you’re not encouraged to collect anymore’ as you just don’t have the space.

If you’d like to learn more about the technomadic solar powered RV lifestyle visit Chris and Cherie’s website.

Essential Oils are the concentrated essence of a plant - be it from flowers, seeds, leaves, fruit, roots, bark or wood. As a natural therapy, aroma and energy forces of these oils can be used to benefit us on a physical, mental and spiritual level.

There is much scientific and anecdotal evidence to support the seemingly magical healing properties of essential oils. For example, tea tree oil has been extensively tested and proven as an effective treatment against herpes, the wart virus and Candida. As a matter fact all essential oils are anti-bacterial, they simply fight different pathogens.

Essential oils are so highly concentrated that you only need a very small amount for a positive result (two thousand roses are required to produce a small bottle of rose oil). Applied during massage, an essential oil will enter the bloodstream having effect on internal organs like the stomach and kidneys.

Most Essential oils can be added to baths, room sprays, and candle burners; used as steam inhalations, perfumes, beauty products and cosmetics and even to flavour meals and drinks (1-2 drops of fennel essential oil in mayonnaise or a drop of orange oil in homemade chocolates are a treat).

If you're looking to calm the mind at the end of a long day you might want to dabble a few drops of ylang ylang onto a silk scarf to ease tensions, and feel the effect of a natural aphrodisiac. Mandarin and neroli can be used during pregnancy to moisturise the skin and prevent stretch marks. Also, juniper and marjoram help to ease discomfort for expecting mothers. Be careful which oils you choose when you're pregnant though as it is not advisable to use some oils during this time.

A final note: essential oils deteriorate when exposed to light, heat and oxygen so try to minimise contact with these.

We now have one hero in either sphere - Angelina: UN ambassador, human activist saving the poor and war torn; Brad: eco friendly, saving the planet. Perfect... seemingly a little like the couple. It's a lot easier to pursue eco dreams when your partner is on a similar spin. No making fun, this is serious stuff.

And here's why...

I spotted the cover of Architectural Digest recently. I don't usually read the magazine but it had a picture of Brad Pitt on it, and what triggered me to take a second look was the interesting structure behind him. The building, it turns out is an eco home. One of many in a project that Pitt has helped to design to rebuild New Orleans after the destruction Hurricane Katrina caused. He founded Make It Right NOLA to build 150 sustainable and eco-friendly homes in the climate-ragged city. The homes have solar panels to cut back electricity bills by 75%. All meet platinum LEED certification, which is the highest rating in the US a structure can get. Six families moved in at the end of last year, two homes are under construction and fourteen more homes will be underway come the New Year.

Pitt's been passionate about architecture for... well all the years I've been reading Harpers Bazaar. This has evolved into an especially keen interest in green design. He has also worked with Global Green, sponsoring an architectural competition where innovative ideas on how to build sustainably were at the heart of the quest.

We just need to sway him off those private jet outings now!

Now that the season of indulgence has slipped away (not so quietly - it's left me with a pud belly) it is time to re-boost and cleanse our bodies. If you spent beyond your budget last month, given we're amidst a credit crunch it's understandable if you're hesitating in the market over whether to buy organic or not organic. If you're an organic-ite at heart, but are finding it hard to see the wood for the trees for monetary reasons, here are a few reminders of why we should keep faith in the organic cause and support the farmers and producers that bring us organic food and products.

Better for us. A £12m, four-year study undertaken by Newcastle University found that there are more antioxidants and less fatty acids in organically grown plants than conventionally grown plants. That means more beneficial ingredients in everything from the organic beauty products to the organic baby wipes, and more nutritional organic food produce.

Better for the earth. Conventional farming methods have more of an impact on wild life and natural ecosystems through the pesticides they spray and the intensive methods they use. Organic and biodynamic farming creates less pollution and less waste. Organic farming is kinder on soil, employing more sustainable practices that include crop rotation, ooh, and fewer chemicals!

Better for the animals. Strict animal welfare standards apply in the organic industry. Compassion in World Farming found organic farms met between 11 and 14 of a 15 criteria study for animal welfare, whilst conventional farms scored between 4 and 7.