Fall Fashion - Apple Picking - Releasing the Inner Romantic

Certain things bring out the inner romantic in me. Actually, quite a lot of things do. In particular, beautiful old building and orchards - they make me just desperate to do something vaguely shakespeare-related. Because I'm cool like that. Essentially the dialogue in my head goes something like this: 'autumn...crunchy leaves...keats...apples...yay...RELEASE THE INNER ROMANTIC!"

But seriously. Today, it being Autumn (aka apple extravaganza season), I went apple picking. So this called for one of those oh-so-tricky outfit combinations that match practical with pretty: reasonable with romantic: you know that kind of dilemma.

In the end, I cracked out what I like to call my "poet" gear - essentially a cross between equestrian, 18th century romantic poet, and pirate:

Brown boots, black leggings and a white floaty shirt (I often accessories this with a huge floppy burgundy Chelsea Girl hat) strike just the right balance of practical, chic, romantic and individual. Just make sure the shirt is something more than a standard white button up: go for something with nice, billowing sleeves, ruffles somewhere, maybe a pussy bow or interesting buttons...basically, something slightly out of the ordinary, to take the outfit out of the ordinary. Everything else should be pretty basic in this combo - it's the shirt, and whichever accessories you choose, that will do the talking.

The No-Hangover Cocktail!!

This is one of those real-life oxymorons that just make me happy to be alive. To be fair, the afore-mentioned cocktail was the reason why I was not exactly in what one might call a "fit state to blog" last night. However, I'm hoping I call make that up to y'all by blogging about it today :)

So, let's cut to the important stuff here. The cocktail. A secret revealed to me by a super-healthy, juice-happy colleague, as a matter of fact.

Essentially, the principle involves combining your spirit of choice (vodka/gin/tequila, whatever floats your boat) with flavoured coconut water and some fresh fruit. Not only does it taste DELICIOUS (like coconut water but suspiciously better, if you know what I mean), but the fresh fruit works to counter the harm being done by the alcohol, whilst coconut water, packed with magnesium and electrolytes, works to re-hydrate you just as the alcohol de-hydrates you....so, in a nutshell, you get comfortably tipsy without the nasty hangover next morning!

So, in other words...happy Saturday night everyone :)

(Secret) Chocolate Protein Dream

Some days, you just need a great big creamy sugary chocolate milk shake. Unfortunately, those days also tend to be the days you need a health-kick up the proverbial.

That was me this morning.

Up at 6 in on this rainy October morning to do a muscle-melting bootcamp workout (more on which in a later post), I was just craving comfort food - BUT I didn't want to counteract all the good effects of my workout.

Enter Secret Chocolate Protein Dream. The one-and-only of my protein shake love-life. 

The best part (aka the 'secret' part), is that it doesn't even taste like a protein shake! It tastes like a milkshake: thick, creamy, indulgent and delicious. Almost too delicious to be as healthy as it is: but it IS! 

Plus it's just so simple and easy, AND you can vary it according to your needs.

The basic ingredients are:

This image (aka my appalling photography skills) does not do justice to the creamy loveliness of this shake - but you get the idea! By the by, this photo was taken in the truly awesome Carnaby Book Exchange (more on that in a soon-to-come post, so watch this space!)

1) Chocolate protein powder (1 scoop is all I need, but feel free to add extra)

2) 300ml water/milk

3) Ice

4) 1/2 Avocado

5) Honey (optional)

Now. Before you run away screaming. It does not taste like avocado. If I hadn't told you there was avocado in there, you wouldn't even know it. All that super-healthy little fella does is make the shake extra creamy and indulgent tasting! (you're welcome)

If you're watching your weight, just use water as the liquid base. If not, go for milk for an even creamier taste. Add honey to taste - personally I don't feel the need, as I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but most people love it. Plus, we all know the health benefits of honey, so what's to stop you twirling a little bit into the mix?

Essentially, just chuck all the ingredients together in a blender and...blend. Then drink, and feel smug :)

For those of you who are interested, I've even done some rough calorie counts for the different combinations (based on shakes with 1 scoop average chocolate protein powder):

1) Protein + water + avocado: 200kcals

2) Protein + water + avocado + honey (2tsp) : 250kcals

3) Protein + skimmed milk + avocado: 300kcals

4) Protein + skimmed milk + avocado + honey (2tsp) : 350kcals

So give it a go, and let me know what you think! And if you've got any other great protein recipes out there I'd love to hear them!

Why Not Wednesday - Ninja Shots

Today, meet the miracle cure...the cure for all things from the common cold to hangovers to 2-hours-sleep-zombie-ness...

Ginger.

I've been on the Ninja Shots for about a month now, along with most of my work colleagues. I say Ninja Shots. This name kind of evolved over time. They began life as 'ginger shots' (creative genius, I know), soon became known as 'ginger ninga shots' and, eventually, became simply 'Ninja Shots'. But, as a matter of fact, 'ninja' is exactly how these beauties make you feel.

If you're a general health nut, as I am, you'll probably be pretty well acquainted with the most well-known benefits of ginger. If you're not (or if you just want a little reminder, here's a handful:

The one on the right is a Ninja Shot - on the left is Wheatgrass (more on that in a later post, coming soon....)

1) Iffy digestion? IBS/stomach ache/indigestion/flatulence whatever the digestive problem, you name it, ginger will swat it.

2) Car sick? Sea sick? Airoplane-sick? Just saw someone you hate and now feel sick? Sick for no apparent reason? Ginger is a fail-safe way to squash nausea of any kind.

3) Hungover? Just have ginger. You'll see.

4) Cold? Sore throat? Blocked nose? Hit the ginger my friend.

Thing is, I dunno about you guys, but I'm always hearing about "natural miracle cures" for this, that and the other. And, most of the time, they don't make much of a noticeable difference.

I am happy to announce that ginger, on the other hand, does not disappoint. 

Before I started my Ninja Shots, I was the type of person to get run down pretty easily, and pretty dramatically - i.e. going at life helter-skelter for a while before reaching a dramatic immune system crash and burn. Post-Ninja-Shots, not a peek of illness. And this is during flu season: one by one I have watched my friends surrender to flu, colds, sore throats, headaches...whilst I myself have remained in tip-top condition. 

And here's the really cool thing.

Sure, once or twice I've felt the bugs coming on - you know that nasty tingly feeling you get in your throat, when you know you're gonna wake up the next morning with a raging sore throat, headache and the whole malarkey. So, in sheer panic, I rushed to my ginger hoard and began knocking the stuff back, about four or five shots a day. The sore throats never came. They faded away before they'd even kicked in. RESULT!

Unknown benefit No.5: forget coffee, ginger's your new wake up call. I haven't touched coffee for a month now, because I simply haven't felt the need. Ginger gets your digestive system going, your blood circulating, and your brain ticking INSTANTLY, and all without the post-caffeine crash you get from coffee. One shot on waking up and I'm buzzing all morning (and I tell you this as a former 3-coffee-a-day kind of girl).

So how to take your ginger? Some people like to nibble on raw root ginger. Some people like it powdered in their tea, or mixed into other drinks like juices.

After trying all different forms of ginger, however, I've found that the best way to do it, whilst feeling all the benefits instantly, is to juice it fresh. This is easily done, with the simplest juicer (see the above photo for a 'here's one I made earlier' type thing):

1) Juice a chunk of ginger - not too much, just enough to fill a shot glass. There's no need to peel it before hand as your juicer will eliminate the peel for you.

2) Make sure you have a strawberry on standby as a chaser (trust me, you'll need this - tequila eat your heart out, ginger is strong stuff!) 

3) Finally, just drink it as you would a tequila shot - knock it back and feel the buzz!

Voila: Ninja Shots :)

Seriously guys, give it a go - even the most sceptical skeptic won't turn back once they've started! So here's to Why Not Wednesday No. 1: Why not have a ginger shot?

How to...Indulge

I think it's only right to start with the really important stuff. You know what I mean. Chocolate.

Like most of us mere mortals, I'm in the "in-for-a-penny, in-for-a-pound" camp when it comes to chocolate - aka "now I've had one square, I might as well annihilate the entire 500g slab".......ladies and gentlemen, choco-cide. We've all been there. Sadly, this does not make for the greatest enjoyment of said chocolate, which is then tinged with a distinct aftertaste of guilt (which ranges in taste from unpleasant to downright rubbish).

So, of course, again like most of us, I have attempted the odd "de-chox": moments of angelic abstinence during which I renounce all chocolate, once even for up to a month. The problem being, of course, that chocolate then comes back to haunt me in all kinds of unexpected ways: suddenly every love song on the radio seems to be about chocolate (i.e. "you are the closest thing to heaven I have ever known"/"how wonderful life is now you're in the world" etc.); M&S food-porn adverts suddenly escalate to an alarming level, frequently involving melting-middle-chocolate-puddings. In the face of such pressure, what's a girl to do?

Then again, I find I have some issues with the whole "have one square of dark chocolate a night" theory - this, to me, does not count as an indulgence. This counts as Chinese chocolate torture - aka "now you know what it tastes like...you know there's an entire bar left in the cupboard...BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY *queue evil laugh*"...or something like that.

Which begs the question - how the hell does one enjoy chocolate whilst maintaining a healthy, happy relationship with one's jeans? Mmm. Tricky.

What I do love is the 80/20 rule. You probably know about this ever-increasingly-popular philosophy already; essentially, if you stick to a generally healthy diet most of the time, you can feel free to indulge every now and then. Lovely.

However.

The indulgence itself, in that case, has to be worth it. If I'm only allowed to really happily, gutlessly, gleefully indulge in a chocolate-fest 20% of the time, then this has gotta be a chocolate-fest I'm really going to savour.

Which rules out, for me, an average bar of Snickers. Now, don't get me wrong: Snickers might be your Holy Grail of chocolate. Which is great - everyone has a different chocolate paradise. I myself like to hunt out creative options - sure, sometimes all I want is a kitkat/jar of nutella + spoon/doorstep-sized wedge of chocolate fudge cake.

But, over time, I've come to find a few chocolate indulgences that really hit the spot in every way. That's to say, they taste insane AND...wait for it...they're good for you too.

No, that was not a cruel joke. Or a lie.

Now, I like to think that "healthier" indulgences like these allow me to stretch the 80/20 rule to something like a 70/30 rule...maybe even 60/40....maybe I'm wrong, and health experts all over the world are boiling over at that statement, but it seems to work for me. Anyway - I digress.

Here are a couple of my favourites, that I've discovered over time, here and there. They might be up your street, they might not. But they sure do give me a good way to enjoy chocolate without going overboard/feeling guilty/feeling the need to give it up altogether in post-gorge penance.

So let me know what you think - and also if you have any favourite indulgences of your own? Or indulgence "rules" to make the whole thing part of a healthy lifestyle?? Always love to learn more tips - I'm a bit of a lifestyle-tip-hoarder-squirrel-type-thing, actually....

Anyway, enjoy!

 

First up: Beyond Dark

With roughly 3x the antioxidants of other dark chocolates, 70% darl chocolate with only 189 calories a packet, coming in 3 equally delicious flavours (plain dark, orange and raspberry), it would be a sin NOT to give this a try. You can find these in pretty much any Holland & Barrett.

Eat Natural: Dark chocolate + Brazils + Apricots

My favourite of the Eat Natural bar range, and described as their 'most decadent', this bar deliciously combines 70% dark chocolate (yay antioxidants), brazil nuts (omega 3 and all that jazz), apricots (iron, vitamins etc.), cranberries, coconut and seeds for an all round flavour-texture-burst of heaven.

And at 200 calories a bar, this one has snack-time written all over it. Any decent supermarket should sell these - and if it doesn't, then cry. I would.

Newtree Noir Speculoos

I have to confess, this is probably one for those of you living in/with access to France/Spain/North America - I only chanced upon it during a frenzied chocolate hunt last time I was in Paris. But if you can get hold of it, then...well, just DO! 67% dark chocolate with a subtle cinnamon-biscuit flavour, as well as added flax seeds (for omega 3, fibre, and a tasty crunchy texture), and at 180 calories per serving, this bar is not only delicious but super good for you.

 

Happy Kitchen Brownies

Ahhh, brownies. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.... In other words, these are AH-MAZING. Containing only the healthiest organic ingredients (think cacao, natural fruit sugar, coconut oil etc.), these are both insanely tasty AND insanely healthy. I like to cut mine into kitkat-finger sized pieces (as in the central photo above) and spread them as little treats throughout the day, almost like healthy individual chocolates I guess. The mouth-watering variety of flavours is both a blessing and a curse - coming in original, pecan, raspberry and orange - as whilst these are all DELICIOUS, I did feel the need to consume several in one sitting "just to get an idea of what they all taste like".....

These little gems turn up in a lot of health food shops - I've found them in shops on Kings Road (Chelsea) and King Street (Hammersmith) among others.

Last but not least: Booja Booja

Oh. My. 

These are good.

I mean, really good. 

Chuck a few more "really"s in there and you'll have some idea of just HOW good these are.

Dairy free, gluten free, vegan, GMO free and (in the case of some flavours) raw and soya free too, you couldn't get more innocent than this - and yet, somehow, they also manage to taste like food of the gods. Literally. Ranging in flavour from dark equadorian to ginger to raspberry to champagne to banoffee to espresso and many more, Booja Booja is simply a treasure trove of healthy chocolates. And did I mention they also do ice cream? More of that one in a later post....

You'll find these in most health foods stores, and definitely Whole Foods, as well as Partridges on Kings Road.

Well, that's the round up for today. Obviously there are many more chunks of chocolate heaven out there - and as I discover them I'll be sure to let you know! Meanwhile, please do let me know yours! Enjoy your indulgences, guys - I, for one, want to get to the end of my life thinking I really let myself savour the nice things, and not thinking I spent my whole life feeling guilty and/or deprived...so long live, chocolate, I say - 20 percent of the time, of course.......