I’m so excited about all of the amazing fruit that is in season. We’re going to try to have something like this every night after dinner. Yum!
Category Archives: Health and Fitness
Divine Australian Skin Care
I’ve recently moved to a new skin care range and I love is so much I want to tell you all about it. I was first introduced to Aesop just a few months ago when I was in Melbourne. One of the lovely ladies I met at the conference I spoke at offered her Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm to me to try. I was converted. It was amazing. Mandarin, Rosemary and Cedar Wood. Gorgeous. The next day…at one of the wineries we visited…they were selling this very product in the gift shop. Of course I bought a tube.
Then, when I was back in Brisbane I looked at their range of skin care. The shop assistant kindly provided lots of samples for me to take home and try out. My favourite was the Parsley Seed range. Of course I went back and bought a full set. It is just gorgeous and I can’t recommend it enough. So if you are looking for a new range of skin care, and there is an Aesop store near you, drop in and see if you can get some samples, then you can see if it works for you too.
Purple Carrot, Apple & Ginger Juice
I’ve already spoken of my latest love affair with purple carrots. The kids love them, I love them, and when juiced they are simply amazing!
This….
turns into this…
A New Shade of Vegetable
As you may well know, the secret to healthy eating is to eat a good variety of colours across your fresh fruit and vegetables. I’m not the healthiest of eaters but I try to encourage my boys to be. They are quite good at eating vegetables albeit a somewhat limited variety – broccoli, carrot, potato, peas, corn, and a few others if well disguised. So we’re talking green, orange, white and yellow!
So today when I was shopping and saw purple carrots in Coles I was over the moon. The boys were very excited so we stocked up, and tonight the boys added a new colour to their plate of vegetables. Purple!
Yoga on the Go
I’ve taken up yoga (after a break of many, many years) and I love it. I’ve only attended two classes so far but I feel fantastic. I love that I finish the class having stretched, strengthened and relaxed. I feel totally energised in the most amazingly calm way.
I’ve signed up for a block of lessons but I’m going to miss at least one session while I travel overseas for work so I’ve found an app that allows me to take my yoga class with me.
The app offers a range of different classes to suit your needs, from beginner to advance, from short (30 minutes) to long (90 minutes). Plus, you can create your own class by selecting a series of Asana (exercises) using a simple drag and drop approach. This means you could even do a very short 10 to 15 minute session.
The app provides a video for you to follow, as well as a verbal explanation provided by Prahlada, apparently one of the most respected Sivananda-style yoga instructors today.
It’s not a cheap app, at A$12.95, but it is oh-so portable, and just perfect for the traveller. The only small criticism I have is that I would really like to have some relaxing background music playing alongside the instructors voice. Perhaps there is a way to turn this on that I haven’t yet discovered.
So, what’s your favourite app?
My FP100
I’m continuing with my commitment to Weigh it Up and today made an FP100. This is simply a fruit platter that is in the fridge 100% of the time. It’s there cut up ready to eat and topped up every day so that there is always fresh fruit for everyone to snack on. It’s such a simple idea and a key way for me to eat more fruit.
The version I’ve made today is more of a fruit salad with mango, pink lady apples, oranges, nectarine, watermelon and rockmelon. It is delicious!
As I mentioned last week I’m not following the Weigh it Up program beyond adopting some key (but very important) principles – mainly because I’m not trying to lose weight and I’m not the best with a rigid plan. The recipes do look delicious, however, so this week I am planning to use them for a few of our dinners. Can’t wait for the sticky chicken and rice with asian greens!
My next focus is the exercise plan. I’ve printed out the exercises and stretches and I’m working towards achieving the four x 25 minute walk/movement sessions per week. Of course – I’ll probably be sticking with a workout on the Wii, I know that works for me!
So – has anyone else signed up for Weigh it Up?
Weigh it Up
As I’ve mentioned before I really don’t eat enough fruit. I love to cook delicious food; I keep busy moving around and running here and there; I am rarely sick and have lots of energy; I am fortunate to keep quite slim…but I worry that I’m not doing what I need to do to live a long and healthy life.
Grilled Fish
So, I was very interested to read about the new Weigh it Up program. Whilst it is focussing on weight loss my interest is solely on strengthening my immune system and reducing the risk of contracting cancer.
The program offers a menu plan and an exercise program via it’s website. Some of the meals look quite delicious.
I’m not going to be following the menu plan to a ‘t’ but I am going to cook meals from the recipes, exercise for 25 minutes four days per week and adopt two of the principles Dr John Tickell recommends:
- FRUIT PLATTER 100
A fruit platter that lives in your fridge 100% of the time. You cut up 7 or 8 different fruits into ‘bite-sized’ chunks. The more varieties of fruit the better. Kids love the colours of different fruits in bit-sized pieces, so it’s a great thing for the whole family.
I know this is something my sister does…and I’m going to get on board too! - RULE 15
Dr John is absolutely convinced that if you wish to reduce your risk of the western cancers such as breast, bowel and prostate cancer by up to 75%, then you should aim to eat/nibble 15 different varieties, different colours – small portions of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and seeds every day.
This sounds like a lot, but I guess it’s just a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Who’s on board? Are you going to Weigh it Up?
Cure for a Sore Throat
For over a week now my children have been complaining of a sore throat. I realised yesterday that I probably wasn’t showing enough sympathy to their complaints when I came down with one as well.
So – I’m on the look out for a sore throat cure.
My 7 year old son has told me that eating a banana definitely worked for him. I gave it a go but it didn’t work for me.
My dear friend Siobhan recommended a warm honey and lemon drink. This was very soothing to my throat but didn’t reduce the hurt when I swallowed.
Then I found quite a number of posts, including one on earthclinic, talking about gargling cayenne pepper in water. What did I have to lose? I gave it a go and my throat really did feel better afterwards. They recommend repeating this every 15 minutes.
What’s your secret for curing a sore throat?
Please note: these are all home remedies so if you are feeling very unwell the doctor is the best person to provide a fix.
The Quest to Eat More Fruit
As I previously posted, I am on a mission this week to eat three pieces of fruit and drink 2 litres of water each day. I am finding this oh so hard! I am not a person who eats a lot generally so trying to fit in three pieces of fruit is rather tricky. For some reason I do find eating fruit a bit of a chore. So, I’ve come up with a list of ways to make this challenge a little more appealing.
- Make a fruit platter.
Instead of serving cake to my friends I served up a fruit platter taking care of at least one of my serves of fruit for the day.
- Buy special fruit
As it starts to warm up the really delicious fruit is coming into season. Today I went a little crazy at the fruit store and ended up with a trolley full of gorgeous fresh fruit & vegetables, including mangos, passionfruit, pineapple, pears, kiwi fruit, oranges, apples and bananas. My fruit bowl is looking much more tempting today.
- Make a fruit salad
It’s somehow so much easier to eat fruit and feels so much more like a meal when it’s mixed together into a delicious fruit salad. My kids are able to clarify this point: ‘Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy’. And – does it real hurt if there’s a little scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream on the side? - Have a bowl of fruit on your office desk
If it’s right there in front of me I find it much easier to grab a piece of fruit and keep working. It’s no longer ‘out of sight, out of mind’. - Use fruit in meals
Whether it’s apricot chicken, watermelon salad, chicken with peach salsa, or blueberry pancakes - it’s no longer just a fruit it’s an actual meal. We tried the Four Ingredient’s blueberry pancakes on the weekend and they were sooooo delicious and sooooo simple. 1 cup s-r flour, 1 cup milk, 1 egg and 1/2 cup of berries. Mine don’t look quite as nice as the ones in the link but they tasted great.
- Grab an apple on the way out the door
For some reason if I’m heading somewhere I find it quite easy to eat an apple on the way. Am I just bored by eating fruit and need to be doing something else at the same time? - Make a smoothie
Yum – I love frozen yoghurt, banana, honey and wheat germ blended up into a delicious smoothie – and at the end of it that’s one more piece of fruit I’ve eaten! - Add fruit on your breakfast
Again – maybe it’s the distraction but a banana or strawberries on my weet-bix is quite delicious and means I don’t mind skipping the spoon full of sugar. - Mix fruit through some yoghurt
I managed to find the most delicious passionfruits today so I’m planning to stir one through a bowl of yoghurt tonight. I don’t normally have dessert but it’s the price I have to pay to achieve this mission. - Make a fruit based dessert
Again – it’s the price I have to pay to achieve this challenge – but I might just have to make a peach melba or berry sorbet to reach my goal by the end of the week.
Wish me luck and send your tips through to help me achieve my goal!
A Week of Goodness
Well – I did it. A full week of fresh juice and daily exercise. Both were enjoyable but I’m glad the week is over.
I’ve juiced carrots, beetroot, apples, celery, ginger and oranges in various combinations.
I’ve marched in a parade, jogged, ridden a bike around an island, juggled whilst balancing on a ball, popped big balls with my hips, completed a number of obstacle courses, flapped my arms to fly to a boat, hula hooped, boxed, skated, played tennis and had several snowball fights without leaving home! Turns out my greatest challenge when it comes to exercising for 30 minutes a day is what to do with the children. In the past I have taken them to the park with me and we’ve all run around together but I’m keeping Hamish and his broken arm still at the moment so I pulled out the Wii Fit and had a ball.
So from here I’m going to try to use the Wii Fit a couple of times a week and squeeze in a walk and some fresh juice on the weekends. Plus – I’m going to challenge myself for the next week to eat three pieces of fruit and drink 2 litres of water every day.
So – what do you do to stay fit and healthy? How do you fit it in to your busy life?
