FAIL TO PREPARE, PREPARE TO FAIL....

I am thinking back to Sunday morning..... It was one of "those" mornings, I was rushing around like a crazy person trying to get ready and out the door as I was attending a workshop in London. Whilst getting my smoothie and lunch sorted like a whirling dervish I managed to smash a glass all over the kitchen and living room floor then proceeded to pour my smoothie into my thermal cup so vigorously that it overflowed everywhere....Cleared up and out the door...Made the train.....Got to lunch time......Doh! Where's my lunch.....By the front door. Yep, one of those days.
I am big on prepping so that we can enjoy a healthy, delicious, cheap lunch/snacks/dinner etc when we are out and about. It saves us from the temptation of fast foods and if you have any particular allergies or food preferences eg raw, wheat free, vegan, macrobiotic etc then it saves you from getting very hungry and ratty!

Here are my top 5 tips on planning yummy food   

1.Get your fruit and veg chopped and in the fridge the night before ready for your green smoothie in the morning. No faffing just whizz and go!

2.Cook a big batch of brown rice, millet or quinoa and a load of roasted veg then you have a healthy base for lunch or dinners just keep in the fridge and mix with some fresh herbs n veggies, seeds, dressing and sprouts for an extra raw enzyme boost!

3.Cook up a cauldron of your favourite veggie/lentil/bean soup and freeze in portions. Just get it out in the morn if you think you are going to need a quick, nutritious lunch or dinner. Remember to label!

4.It may sound dull but just try it for a couple of weeks...Decide what you are going to have for lunches and dinners throughout the week and shop accordingly. It will save you money too. It doesn't have to be boring as it means that you can actually try out new recipes and have all the right ingredients! I was completely caught short this week as I decided to take part in the Green Smoothie Challenge but had not shopped for it. This meant that although I did take part my smoothies were rather "samey", still delicious though ;-)

5. Make up enough little snack pots or baggies to see you through the week. You can do mixtures of dried fruit and coconut, nuts, seeds, kale chips, oatcakes, raw cookies, energy balls, packets of miso....Get creative! Then just grab one and chuck in your handbag before you leave the house, that way you will never be caught hankering after a manky looking pasty or packet of biscuits in the petrol station!

I would love to hear what you do to stay on top of your healthy lifestyle when all else around you is going crazy (or eating junk!)!!  Keep me posted and have a great Easter weekend....XXX

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge!

Evening peeps, I have embarked upon this fun challenge along with many other bloggers inspired by www.keepinghealthygettingstylish.com. I have really been enjoying my green smoothies a lot more since my detox and am looking forward to trying different ones. I am just making it up as I go along but will definitely be trying some of Laura's recipes once I get to the shops! So here are my first 2 days...

Monday: Kale, half banana, half pink grapefruit, hemp seeds and cashews, ice, flaxoil, phospholec lecithin granules, milk thistle and a spoon of Green Magic powder. 

This was tangy, delicious and kept me going through my hour and half yoga sesh and I took the rest with me in my thermal cup and finished the rest off after, kept me happy till a late lunch. I often make a large amount and have half for brekkie and take the rest with me to work in flask or thermal cup to have around 4ish when I need something to keep me going until dinner.

Tuesday: Broccoli, spinach, frozen berries,half a banana, water, Pulsin' pea protein powder ( as I was going for a run), macca, flax oil, phospholec lecithin  granules, milk thistle and a spoon of Green Magic powder.

As you can see this one didn't turn out green, mine often don't! But it had a lot of green in it :-) Green smoothies are such a fantastic start to the day packing in a variety of healthy vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre. They are a wonderful way to get your "superfoods", extra supplements or herbs, EFA's and a bit of added protein if needed. They are a brilliant way to get some healthy greens into your kids or anyone who isn't generally a fan!

I will continue throughout the week and update you next week.  I would love to hear from any of you who are enjoying their green smoothies at the moment and any fave recipes....

Till next time...Enjoy the sunshine :-)

HAPPY SPRING EQUINOX!!

Spring has sprung, fantastic and what a beautiful day for it too!!

I am enjoying a Spring cleanse and am going to share some more tips on how to help your body rid itself of excess toxicity so that you can truly spring into action and forge ahead with all those well made plans, ideas, dreams and goals....

• The food we have more or less covered in my last post so what I will say is keep it fresh, keep it as organic as possible and introduce lots of delicious soups, smoothies and juices.....Loadsa Veg!! The greener the more cleansing but beware....When the body cleanses it has to get out so make sure you are very regular in the "poo department" before you start going crazy on green juices and smoothies.

• Make sure you are drinking your 2 litres a day of clean, filtered water to keep everything moving and help the liver cleanse.

•  Body brushing is brilliant for helping to boost circulation and get lymph moving . This will help expel toxins and get rid of dead skin cells allowing the skin to breathe. Always brush upwards towards the heart and on dry skin.

• Hot and cold showering. Basically have your lovely warm shower then turn to cold, scream for 30 secs then back to hot/warm. Do this 3 times ending on cold. Gets the circulation and lymph rushing around your body, is very invigorating and gives anybody living with you a good giggle.

• Soaked linseeds. Soak a tablespoon of linseeds overnight in a little water and knock them back first thing. Do this morning and evening. They turn into a mucilaginous gloop and act as a broom through your bowels helping to keep you regular and flush out any rubbish that may have been dislodged through cleansing. Be sure to drink plenty of water straight after and throughout the day.

• Massage can help to stimulate the detoxification process and get lymph moving. It is of course also very relaxing :-) It is very important to drink plenty of water afterwards to help flush out the toxicity that has been moved and help prevent detox headaches.

• Yoga, stretching, walking in the woods or somewhere of natural beauty. Again gets the lymph moving and helps us to create endorphins, the feel good hormones. Deep breathing is a great way to help shift toxicity and calm the mind whether  in the woods or on your yoga mat.

• Meditation, time out, relaxation....This is so important when detoxing as the body is working extra hard to shift all the old rubbish along with the usual daily onslaught. Take some time to your self to rejuvenate. Make plans and get excited about them. Soak in a huge bubble bath (using natural bath products of course!), Read a book you have been coveting....Just be sure to nurture yourself and do something you enjoy.....

There are many other techniques that can be used to help the body cleanse such as herbs, castor oil packing and enemas but I just wanted to give you something you can do easily, straight away and enjoy....Happy Spring!!

SPRING CLEAN......

Hello lovely people I hope you have been outside enjoying some of the Spring sunshine.

I am writing about detoxing today as it is Spring Equinox on Tuesday 20^th March and this sees us heading into Spring properly. With lighter evenings, buds on the trees, flowers popping up and new births this really is a time of great energy, growth and renewal. What better time for a Spring Clean!

Cleansing, fasting, detoxing…..This is not a new concept and is something that has always been used to promote healing and bring clarity of mind. In today’s world it is something that can be of use to us all as even though our bodies have a wonderful cleansing mechanism it can become overwhelmed as we were never really designed to deal with today’s toxicity. The food we eat has been grown in nutrient depleted soil, sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, sometimes irradiated and often flown half way round the world before it gets to us. Chemicals we use to clean our homes and our bodies. Electronic smog. Additives, preservatives, flavourings, colourings and sweeteners in our food and drink….The list goes on and on….. This however is not all doom and gloom but empowering as with this in mind we can decide how to help our body get rid of the extra toxicity.

I am not talking going cold turkey and fasting completely on air. I am talking lets just give our liver some lovin’ and help it deal with this extra load.

So cutting down (or out) caffeine, sugar, salt, artificial and processed foods/drinks, alcohol, smoking, wheat, meat, dairy will really help lighten the load for your liver. Do this gradually and be aware of some detox symptoms such as headaches rashes, irritability or tiredness. Try not to take any medicines though as the body is cleansing and you do not want to push the toxicity (rubbish, acidity, crap) back in. Obviously If symptoms persist and you feel very poorly then see your doctor.

Increase fresh, filtered water consumption, fruits, veggies, sprouts, nuts, seeds and pulses. This will nourish your body and help it to cleanse.

There are many more things that can help and I will be writing more over the week as I partake in a lovely Spring Cleanse myself.

Now chuck that crappy, dead processed food away and get to the shops......Give it a go....Just for a week......I would love to know how you get on so please keep me posted :-)

27/02/12 MY TOP 5 FAVOURITE THINGS ABOUT MY WEEKEND...

It can be soooo easy to think about the crappy things in life and not really give enough notice to the good stuff so here I am basking in the glow of how great life can be sometimes... Something for me to read back over when I am having one of "those" days :-)

1. Friday night dinner with family and friends….A delicious feast of vegan curries and raw chocolate cheesecake (recipe will be on new website...coming soon!). Yum.

2. A beautiful run in the woods and sunshine, hard work but worth it!

3. My Saturday night dinner of chips and a beer with a girly film and my moggy for company…. (husby at a party)

4. My lie in bed on Sunday morn working on my laptop with window open and sun shining through….Oh yeah baby…

5. A big walk across Sarratts rolling hills in the afternoon sunshine with my beautiful friend Bex and a cheeky half a Guinness at the pub after whilst putting the world to rights.

These are just a few of my favourite things along with a great yoga session, snuggling up in front of the fire Sunday eve with husby watching a trashy movie and my wonderful drive through the lanes with The Doors blasting out but my top 8 things doesn’t sound so great! 

What were your favourite things about your weekend?? Try making a list just to give yourself a smile :-)

What a gorgeous weekend, loving that sunshine, spurring me on to Spring when I do my Detox workshop – 14th March. 19.30 – 21.30….More info to follow…. for all those interested contact me!

 

16/02/12 RUNNIN' ROLLIN' YOGA

I am lovin today!!

 I have been for a wonderful run in the woods which was easier and far more enjoyable than I thought after a break due to sore leg, snow and ice (and maybe a touch of laziness!!). Did 25 mins of yoga for runners which was hard but I am sure very good for me ;-) after discovering a place I can download free or paid for yoga workouts www.yogadownload.com, brilliant! And I have just finished a delicious sushi style wrap....see photo and recipe for those looking for something, quick, easy, delicious and very nutritious!!

So chop up your veg that you would like in your sushi/nori roll...I chose red pepper, cucumber, red chili, little gem and spring onion. Mix together some cooked brown rice and  chickpeas - I actually warmed this through in some coconut oil, garlic, tamari, chili and lemon juice...Yum. 

Place your nori sheet shiny side down and layer your ingredients across widthwise. Drizzle with tahini and spread tahini along the edge so that it will stick when rolled up. Roll and squish as you go. I do not offer fantastic details on how to make the perfect nori roll here so you may want to Google or just look at the back of the Sushi Nori packet (which you can buy in all good health food shops and sometimes Waitrose!).

I say get stuck in, experiment and enjoy!! This is a wonderfully nutritious lunch/snack/dinner as the tahini, chickpeas and nori will provide calcium, magnesium and iron along with healthy protein. The fresh veg...Well, we all know how good that is for us so get rolling!!

20/01/12 MY SECRET LOVE AFFAIR.....WITH LINSEED TEA!

Happy Merry New Year Everyone!!!

So the last couple of weeks have been very stressful for me, sometimes that's life, but I have a renewed love for linseed tea. It has seen me through the last couple of weeks keeping me calm when I could have lost the plot and keeping me hydrated when I could have shrivelled up due to stress being so dehydrating!

                     

Linseed tea is made in 2 different ways, the long and the short...

Long way.... 2 tablespoons of organic linseeds ( also known as flaxseeds) in a pan of filtered water, bring to the boil, turn off and leave to stand over night (or 8-12 hours). Bring back to the boil and simmer for an hour, sieve the seeds (if you want) and the remaining gloopy mixture can be kept in the fridge for upto 3 days. When you fancy a comforting warm drink put some of the mixture in a mug and add boiled water to your desired consistency.

Short way....Add 2 tablespoons of linseeds to a flask and add boiled water. Lid on and leave for aprox 12 hours. So do this at bedtime and you have a flask of wonderfully hydrating tea to carry around with you the next day. I sometimes drink it seeds and all, great for keeping bowels regular! Add ginger, honey or lemon if you want more flavour.

Linseed tea brings hydration as it has a mucilaginous (gloopy!) quality which helps it cling to the sides of the bowel bringing the message of hydration and helping water to be absorbed more easily. Linseeds are also packed full of Essential Fatty Acids omega 3 and 6. We need more omega 3 in our diet and although linseed tea does not contain it in large amounts it is a good way of introducing it to the body.

So, next time you know you have a stressful day looming get the linseeds out as stress causes dehydration and dehydration causes stress! Enjoy!