I ordered my first box of Ancient and Brave – Cacao and Collagen powder during Lent. Absolutely, a large part of the reason why was because I’d given up sugar for Lent again and I thought it would be a nice nightly treat.
The reviews seemed promising, of course some of them said the flavour wasn’t great as there is more than a hint of cinnamon going on. But, buoyed by Divina’s endorsement I thought I’d give it a whirl. It was during those first couple of weeks when giving up sugar is horrendous.
If you haven’t tried it before trust me on that, but by week 3 it is much less painful. I nearly said easier but that’s perhaps an exaggeration too far.
My first thoughts on Ancient and Brave – Cacao and Collagen Powder
As with anything like this they are encouraging you to take out a subscription to save money. As long as you know that then I don’t find it annoying. It’s actually a good thing in some ways, I’m terrible at not getting round to ordering something I want if it isn’t easy. And then being frustrated I’ve run out. Yes, I know, all my own fault but subscriptions help with that.
I did take out the subscription, you remember me saying I was eager (desperate) for chocolate and a treat don’t you. I was missing the biscuits a fair amount by then. It was super easy to set up. And subsequently I’ve wanted to change the delivery date for my 3rd box, because we went away – and I started eating chocolate again over Easter. So I didn’t get through my second box as quickly as the first. In fact I was very worried I’d got it wrong with the first box and heaped the scoop on occasion and would run out before it arrived. Luckily it arrived when I only had one serving left so crisis averted!
You may have guessed by now that I liked Ancient and Brave – Cacao and Collagen because I was anxiously expecting my second box. Yes, you can taste cinnamon but I quite like that. It’s by no means a cinnamon sticky bun but that’s not the goal here. Some people said they added sugar or honey to sweeten it but I didn’t find it necessary after not being able to at the start anyway.
How I made my Ancient and Brave – Cacao and Collagen Powder
I used semi-skimmed or skimmed milk and heated in microwave for 1.5 minutes then just stirred in a scoop of the powder. I do just need to take a minute to appreciate the golden scoop. They send it as a free gift if you subscribe, well they did when I ordered anyway. It is a thing of beauty. It’s weighty and adds a perfect dome of powder that floats on top of your milk before you mix it. It could do with being slightly shorter to get back in the tub for storage but it just about works if you angle it.
You occasionally get lumps if you don’t mix it enough. Some use their Velvetiser or a battery operated whisk but I haven’t felt the need to get mine out to get rid of them myself.
That’s it, heat milk, use beatiful scoop, and stir (quite a lot). I tend to keep my spoon handy in case I didn’t do a good enough job of mixing because I was impatient to get my cocoa fix. Honestly, that’s how it felt sometimes when I’d knocked sugar on the head.
I’d like to just add that I’m not really religious but I’ve only successfully given up sugar during Lent so I stick with it each year because it give me the kick up the bum I need. Perhaps give it a try if there’s something you’ve been struggling to cut down on yourself.
Does it work?
Do you know something? I actually think it does work and I’ll tell you why.
My nails seemed to grow out far more when I did them than they usually would but also my hair! Now this isn’t necessarily a good thing and it is a ‘careful what you wish for’ kind of point…My greys didn’t half appear to come through fast. I usually go to the hairdressers every 6 weeks and I’ve reduced it to 5! This collagen powder could work out expensive if it carries on like that!
But in all seriousness I believe it does work. It has side effects for me of needing to go to the hairdressers more often but I can live with that. I have said you’ll get the real me but I don’t mean my real hair colour, I’m not ready to go grey yet. My mum was a hairdresser so I’ve always had it dyed. I’m looking for a better solution from a toxicology point of view so watch this space. If you already have the solution please reach out though.
Me with my latest delivery of Ancient and Brave Cacao and Collagen. You’ll notice as you delve more on Love Life More I show the real me. Chipped nail varnish and all. I wouldn’t be practicing what I preach if I was too busy preening to be loving life after all. That particular nail powder knocked my socks off. It was for my brother’s wedding and latest over 2 weeks before chipping. They were growing out well before they chipped but then perhaps that’s due to the collagen.
I’ll share the nail powder soon, as you can do it at home really easily and I’m not a natural nail painter, or painter you may have seen in my blog – Simple Ways to Be Happier – Small Changes with Big Impact
Link to Ancient + Brave’s website
Have you tried collagen powder before? Did you notice any changes to your hair or nails? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!