A Guide To Perfect Health – Julie Montagu

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Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet alongside regular exercise is, of course, a good way to promote optimal health. When you do so you are filling your body with goodness, as well as working to burn fat and build strength and stamina. However, if you are neglecting other areas of your life then you may be damaging both your physical and mental health.

 

So what else should you be doing in order to be the healthiest version of yourself? The following activities can be practiced every day in order to promote relaxation, eradicate stress and bring a sense of balance into your life. All of these things contribute towards your optimal health and will perfectly accompany a healthy diet and a regular exercise regime. Although none of these things require any physical exertion, the results for your over-all health are not to be ignored!

 

Breathing
Paying attention to your breathing and practicing mindful breathing is a great way to focus your mind and create a place of calm during a hectic day. We are all breathing all of the time, but how many of us actually pay attention to this act? Taking a moment to yourself at regular intervals throughout the day to breathe deeply can quickly force stressful thoughts out of your mind. Not only will this refresh your focus but it can also help you to avoid damaging cyclic thought processes. When you are having a busy day full of challenges, your mind can often go into over-drive which leads to stress, anxiety and a low-mood. Regular breathing exercises help to break this cycle and keep your positivity on track.

 

Meditation
Regularly meditating is a great way to make sense of your thoughts and balance your mind. Even just taking a few minutes a day to clear your mind in this way can do wonders for your attitude and outlook on life. Meditation is an effective tool for finding clarity in situations that you might find conflicting as well as helping you to overcome ongoing negative thoughts about an incident or relationship. As well as reducing stress and encouraging better sleep, mediation can actually help to lower your blood pressure which is something that many of us could benefit from! Meditation can also mean the body learns to produce lower levels of certain stress hormones that can be responsible for heightened levels of anxiety.

 

Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are, in my opinion, one of the best ways to eradicate negativity from your mind and from your life. There is no quicker fix to overcoming a negative thought or feeling than by replacing it with a positive one. For instance, when you suddenly find yourself feeling low or having a damaging thought about yourself or your life, thinking or saying a chosen positive affirmation will quickly divert this train of thought. Having a list of positive affirmations to choose from, that are applicable to a range of things that you often struggle with, is useful for making the most of this concept. For example, if you are aware that you have many confidence issues, then write a list of positive affirmations that relate to this. Then you will never fail to summon one to mind when you need it.

 

Expecting perfect health from exercise and your diet alone will likely lead to unsatisfying results which can leave you feeling frustrated. Your mental health needs to align with your physical health if you are to avoid a range of ill-health issues. You can accomplish this by combining regular exercise and a healthy diet with the three activities I have mentioned. When you do so, you will soon notice that your happiness, health and well-being all increase. This is not only great for you but can also inspire those around you to live happier, more well-balanced lives too.

words by Julie Montagu. Discover her latest book, Eat Real Food here!

Shop the outfit in the image here!

A Peak Inside Julie Montagu’s Pantry!

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Having the forethought to stock your pantry with nutritious foods is one of the best things things that you can do to aid your healthy eating efforts. It goes without saying that if you do not have junk food in the house that you will be unable to consume it! So throw out the foods that you know are causing you harm and fill your cupboards with delicious plant-based alternatives instead!

The key here is variety as monotony with your eating habits can soon lead to you reverting to old, unhealthy habits. To help inspire you to bring goodness into your pantry, and therefore into your body, I am going to show you what’s in my pantry!

 

Legumes

My favourite legumes to stock are chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, kidney beans and pinto beans.

Legumes are all generally great sources of protein, fibre, calcium, zinc and iron. They also contain a range of additional nutrients that are known to be beneficial to your health.

 

Whole Grains

My favourite whole grains to stock are brown rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat and oats.

Eating whole grains instead of refined grains provides your body with much greater health benefits because whole grains have a much more complete nutritional profile. Whole grains can help to lower your risk of developing many chronic diseases as well as reducing inflammation and helping to regulate blood pressure. They are also useful when it comes to weight management and tackling obesity.

 

Flours

My favourite flours to stock are buckwheat flour, coconut flour and quinoa flour.

Buckwheat flour is high in fibre and protein as well as many essential vitamins and minerals. Coconut flour is also high in fibre and protein as well as a type of healthy fats known as medium-chain triglycerides. This type of fat is easily digestible and provides instant energy. Quinoa flour has an exceptionally healthy nutritional profile. It is a great source of many essential vitamins and nutrients as well as also being high in fibre and protein.

All of these flours are suitable for people seeking gluten free alternatives to normal flour.

 

Oils

My favourite oils to stock are extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil.

Extra-virgin olive oil is bursting with antioxidants that are especially useful for preserving the health of your heart. You should always choose this type of olive oil over other varieties because it is manufactured using natural methods instead of chemical extraction. Coconut oil is a must-have and is great for using topically on your body as well as for cooking your food. Avocado oil allows you to enjoy all the health benefits of avocados in oil form. Avocado oil is similar in taste and texture to olive oil and should be used in the same way.

 

Nuts

My favourite nuts to stock are almonds, pine nuts, cashew nuts, brazil nuts and walnuts.

Raw, unsalted nuts are packed full of heart healthy fats as well protein, vitamins and minerals. Keep a variety in your pantry that you can snack on in moderate amounts throughout the day.

 

Seeds

My favourite seeds to stock are sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds and chia seeds.

Seeds are fantastic because they are powerhouses of nutrition that you can sprinkle on practically any dish. Do not underestimate their many health benefits because of their small size!

 

Natural Sweeteners

My favourite natural sweeteners to stock are maple syrup and raw honey.

Maple syrup is a great source of manganese and zinc, which are essential for energy production and the function of the immune system respectively. Raw honey is incredibly rich in a wide variety of vitamins and minerals as well as being a great natural defence against allergies.

 

Berries / Dried Fruit

My favourite berries and dried fruits to stock are goji berries, dried cranberries, raisins and dates.

Berries and dried fruits are great for adding to your breakfast cereal, including in baking or just snacking on throughout the day.

 

Other Superfoods

My other favourite foods to stock in my pantry are cacao, spirulina, bee pollen, almond butter and tinned coconut milk.

words by Julie Montagu

Julie Montagu’s Flaxseed Pancakes!

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Flaxseed Pancakes

Getting omega-3 into you diet by eating oils couldn’t be easier with this super yummy pancake recipe. Light, fluffy, and utterly delicious!

 

Serves 2

½ cup/5oz/150g whole wheat (all-purpose) flour

2 tbsp flaxseed oil plus extra for cooking

1 tsp baking powder (bicarbonate of soda)

¼ tsp baking soda

½ cup/4fl oz/125ml dairy-free milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

 

Method

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture forms a smooth batter.

Drizzle a little flaxseed oil into a small skillet (frying or pancake pan) set on a medium heat.

When the oil is hot, pour about 2–3 tablespoons of the batter into the skillet so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.

Turn the pancake after approximately 4 minutes and cook the other side. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Drizzle with a little more maple syrup and top with your favourite berries or slices of banana. Serve immediately!

Recipe taken from Eat Real Food by Julie Montagu (Hay House UK, £10.99)

Guest Editor, Julie Montagu – Fitspiration!

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Avid yoga bunny, author advocator of a plant based diet; Julie Montagu is a yoga and nutrition teacher at London’s top studios and recently named one of the Top 10 holistic health icons in the world. She runs The Flexi Food Academy, an online nutrition course, author of best-selling cookbook Superfoods, and is a mom of 4. We caught up with her to discuss her new book Eat Real Food: Rules For Health, happiness and Unstoppable Energy!

 

We are so exited to read your new book Eat Real Food, Happiness and Unstoppable Energy! Tell us all how it came about?  

I received an email almost 2 years ago from Amy Kiberbd, commissioning editor at Hay House Publishing, who wanted to set up a meeting. At first I was like, Um – I already have a cookbook published and she said, ‘yes, we know that but we still want to meet with you about another book’ and well, we met and that’s where the ball really started rolling because this book is about much more than food and/or recipes. Yes, of course, it has those in there as well, but I wanted to really go into detail about why certain food groups were so good for you and what they did for the body AND the mind. And then there is the other ‘food’ – the yoga, meditation, breathing and affirmations that have pretty much saved my life and I wanted to bring those ‘foods’ into the book as well.

 

What benefits do you hope your book can bring to its readers?

I really hope it shows readers that yes, it’s super important to eat well with the foods we can find at our supermarkets for the body but that it’s just as important in my view to eat well for the mind with foods that we can find in our yoga, breath, stilling the mind, being present and affirming a positive mindset.

 

You mention your love for superfoods in your book – which are your favourites and how will they benefit our bodies?

My view is this: Get one dark green leafy veg in a day (kale, spinach, cabbage etc.) to help clean the blood, eat one whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, millet etc.) to help with energy levels, get one healthy fat (avocado, nuts, seeds) and one superfood (goji berries, bee pollen, cacao) – so if you pick one food from each of these food groups a day, well, your body will love you.

 

What do you mean by having a ‘simple’ food philosophy? 

I am a firm believer of 80% eating super well for you and your body and then 20% NOT stressing at all about what you eat.  Because most of the time the stress from worrying is worse for our bodies than eating something bad. And I talk about the effect of stress on the body in my book as well.  So, what I’m saying is this:  Have those french fries with mayo when you want rather than stressing about should you shouldn’t you and if you do, you get mad at yourself afterwards. Just enjoy and let it go.

 

What would your three top tips for maintaining a healthy diet be?

I’m going to give you five!  Stop buying and eating processed and packaged foods, follow my ‘Flexi Five a Day’ (it’s easy!), Meditate 2 minutes a day (it actually can help with weight loss and reduce stress), breathe consciously for 5 minutes a day (this will help calm the body but increase the mind) and try to get in 10 minutes of movement a day (this will kick start the endorphins and put you in a good mood!)

 

Could you describe your typical day?

Life has become a bit easier this year as my youngest was old enough to take the school bus. So, not having to do the school run for the first time in nearly 14 years was sort of shocking!!! (but I’m not complaining!)  So, once I get all 4 kids out of the house around 7:45am – my day begins!  Emails, cycling to teach yoga, followed by meetings usually, a quick and healthy lunch at one of my favourite spots in London, somedays I’ll be blogging or public speaking and recipe creating in the afternoons, other days it’s editing my next book and then it’s always back home by 5pm when all 4 return from school.  Supper is made, homework is done and on 2 nights of the week, I head out to teach an evening yoga class.  So my days are jam packed but I love being busy doing what I love.

 

What does happiness mean to you and how do you maintain it? 

For me, it’s all about doing at least one thing good a day for you and your body.  So wake up in the morning, and tell yourself you’re going to do one good thing – whether that’s having a home-cooked meal, a green juice, 5 minutes of meditation or simply repeating a positive affirmation.  And then once you start incorporating one thing in each day, your pile of ‘good stuff’ will start to grow and so will your happiness. I truly believe that happiness starts with ourselves. If we love ourselves, then it’s much easier to love our life and when we love our life, we are happy.

 

What is your typical morning routine?

Legs up the wall pose (well, against my bed!) and do some breath work for a total of 2 minutes – I time it on my iPhone!  Followed by a quick round of Sun Salutations and a big mug of my favourite green tea!!!

 

We all have bad days from time to time – how do you cope with these times and keep on top of things?  

One word:  BREATHE.  I will stop what I’m doing, put myself into a forward fold, close my eyes and breathe for the body anywhere from 2 – 10 minutes. I’ve been doing this for years and trust me, it works!

 

We know you adore yoga – what does your weekly exercise routine look like?

I honestly don’t think I could live without yoga. Seriously. When I step onto my mat, I expose my strengths and weakness to myself which allows me to look at them deeper not only in my practice but in my life! And within the course of development, you often find the greatest accomplishments. Yoga is so much more than the poses because within each pose there lies the ability in yourself to bring about healing and awareness. And so this may surprise a lot of people but I do one Dharma yoga class a week, two vinyasa flow classes, one Kundalini and one restorative.  I need them all!

Get your copy of Julie’s book, Eat Real Food here!

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!

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The wonderful Madeleine Shaw has teamed up with the equally wonderful team at Ombar to create this delicious, mouth-watering chocolate chip cookie recipe! Now you really can have a cosy movie night with cookies and (Almond?) milk completely guilt free!

Ingredients

150g coconut oil

175g coconut sugar

1 egg, beaten

200g rice or buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

150g good quality dark chocolate, broken into

chunks (I love Ombar – www.ombar.co.uk)

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3 and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.

Cream the coconut oil and sugar in a food processor, then add the egg and vanilla and process again. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt and process until fully combined.

Throw the chocolate chunks into the dough and process for 30 seconds so the chunks break down a little and are mixed into the dough.

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and place on a baking tray about 5cm apart. Bake for 12–14 minutes until golden around the outside, then remove from the oven and leave on the trays to cool and harden.

Put them on a beautiful serving plate and enjoy with your family and friends!

 

Our Top Stress-Busting Tips!

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Can you remember the last time you had a good night’s sleep? Or when your thoughts didn’t race at a million miles an hour? Or a time when you didn’t worry about every little thing or overthink scenarios, so much so that every minute detail plays constantly on a loop in your head? Or the last holiday you took where you were actually able to switch off and ‘be on holiday’ without thinking about work or checking your emails?

Trust us you’re not alone in this bubble of overwhelming stress that we’ve all come to accept as daily life. Welcome to the culture of now where being stressed is a given, some might say even a badge of honour. Insomnia, anxiety, a sense of panic and negativity are common feelings attributed to stress and being under too much mental, emotional pressure that we can’t cope. We all react to stress differently – a situation that is stressful to some may be motivating to others. But at some time or another we’ve all been victim to it and increasingly it appears we are now experiencing stress on a far more extreme and accepted scale. Why are we all so obsessed with being stressed?!

The term ‘superwoman syndrome’ has certainly earned a name for itself in recent years for the growing trend amongst women to want to ‘have it all’ which requires them to be ‘on’ all the time. In a survey undertaken by Cosmopolitan which was published in its January 2016 issue it was revealed that out of the 750 women taking part a scary 81% felt negative about life, 71% had experienced anxiety or a panic attack and 40% had sought medical advice due to stress. According to Dr Judith Mohring, one of London’s leading psychologist’s the sad fact is that, “Women have so many arenas in which they can compete: how we look, the quality of our friendships, and, of course, the work we produce. Sometimes it can feel that there are just too many ways to fail. And that’s when self-doubt, low self-esteem and self-criticism can come to the fore.”

And it’s not just women suffering from this stress overload. This year it was reported that 10 million working days a year are lost to stress. Work days are now extending to longer hours and greater expectations to deliver. Our digital saturation also means that work and emails follow us home and a lot of the time to bed. Social media provides a continuous update on beautiful people living their seemingly perfect, successful, busy lives thereby creating a set of ideals that we feel we need to live up to. No wonder our self-esteem takes a hit with the lines between what is real and what is not becoming increasingly blurred.

But strangely in this modern, frantic world it is precisely this sense of stress, pressure and busyness that gives us a sense of worth and importance. Do days off and time spent simply ‘relaxing’ leave you feeling unproductive and lazy even? Again, you are not alone. Many of us are guilty of holding ourselves to unrealistically high standards, which only fuels this sense of stress and negativity. And now with recent reports suggesting that at its worst, stress can be a major contributor to coronary heart disease and cancer, concern and stress are inevitable reactions to the state of our times. So how can we break this vicious stress cycle?

There are many strategies we can put in place to manage and control our stress. And at Hip & Healthy we want to help you be the best, hip and healthy version of you so take a look at our top stress-busting tips how you can take back control and break the cycle:

Meditate daily

Just taking 10 minutes out a day when you wake up and when you go to bed over a consistent period of time will really help you to learn how to switch off properly from your day. Practice makes perfect – with all things, some of us find switching off a lot harder than others and so the more you practice it over time it will become easier. Check out the Headspace app for a great, free 10 minute meditation.

Keep a stress diary

By recording a diary of how you feel you can map your moods to help recognise your stress triggers.

Have a digital detox

Most of us spend our working hours crouched over a computer screen and our phones. We relax at home by watching TV and then its back for a final flick through social media and emails before going to bed. Having a digital detox helps us to entirely ‘switch-off’ and engage in activities that calm the mind.

Cut down on alcohol

Believe us when we say life’s about balance and enjoying things in moderation. However, cutting back on the booze will dramatically help with your positive thinking as well as the quality of your sleep.

Get active and choose the right exercise for YOU

Exercise is a great way to take your mind of the worries of work, giving you time to yourself to clear your head. But it is important to remember to do something that works both for your body and mind. We all love a good old HIIT (high intensity interval training) session, quick and effective it gets the job done. But if you’re feeling stressed this may not be the best thing for you – it will actually put more stress on the body, loading stress on top of stress. Alternatives like yoga, Pilates, swimming or simply going for a long walk offer great exercise choices to calm the mind and put less strain on the body whilst strengthening, lengthening and toning. Win, win.

Reduce your do to list

Reduce your to do list to one or two priorities – this provides a manageable task load and therefore there will be a great likelihood you will complete it. Don’t let yourself get stressed out by creating a to-do list that goes on and on, its simply not realistic nor are you likely to be as productive as if you put your mind to completing your two primary tasks.

Concentrate on helping others

Helping out other people is a great way to distract yourself from your own stresses. It puts things into perspective and provides a really rewarding feel-good result after you’ve done your good deed.

Don’t punish yourself

Give yourself a break. None of us are perfect and in the times when we have set ourselves a challenge or task and not been able to complete it, remember that you are only human and that in the grand schemes of things – will it really make all the difference? We all make mistakes and that’s ok. Remember your body and mind are amazing things and we should respect and love what they enable us to do!

words by Sophie Heywood – Twitter @Sheywoods, Instagram @Sheywood90s

How Supermarkets Are Making Us Healthier!

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Are you shopping around for the healthiest, most sustainable and ethical supermarket in the UK? You might have more to choose from than you think!

The UK has a wide variety of supermarkets, leading to plenty of competition not only for the lowest prices, but also the most environmentally friendly or socially aware brand.

Whether these stores are introducing wonky vegetables or taking sugary drinks off the shelves, the following changes certainly make it easier to lead an IQS-inspired lifestyle (as well as lining the stores’ pockets, of course!).

Actually selling imperfect veg (instead of throwing it out)

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s program, Hugh’s War on Waste, outraged viewers when they were showed 20 tons of parsnips chucked from a single farm… each week. Cue ranges of misshapen produce from Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Most recently, Asda began trialling the Wonky Veg Box (with enough fresh veg to feed a family of four for a week) as a response to a challenge by Jamie Oliver. Look at these TV chefs changing the world!

Taking sugary lunch box drinks off the shelves

Twitter erupted last year when Tesco stopped selling Ribena. A single lunch box carton contains more than seven teaspoons of sugar, so we were pretty chuffed… until we found out that Tesco would still sell their own brand of sugary drinks marketed at children. Nice sales ploy, guys. We only hope this gets the ball rolling elsewhere.

Removing lollies from checkouts

Thousands of beleaguered parents everywhere breathed a collective sigh in relief, as Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, The Cooperative, Asda, Lidl and Morrisons pulled confectionery from checkouts. Even M&S moved old Percy Pig to a more unobtrusive position. See ya, Perce.

Even pharmacies have got in on the action, with Boots promising to ditch sweets at checkouts by April. Psst… Australian supermarkets, are you listening?

Providing better welfare for dairy cows

It’s crazy that basic care for dairy cows is not the considered the benchmark, but Waitrose’s new pledge to not use factory-farmed cows seriously highlights the issue. They now require that their cows graze outdoors for at least 100 days of the year. Meanwhile, Waitrose will sell farmers winter coats for their calves at cost price. Baby steps.

Choosing “green” renewable energy

We have to tip our hats to Sainsbury’s. The supermarket has a policy of zero operational waste to landfill, either giving it to charity, animal feed or an anaerobic digestion facility which turns it into electricity. They even formed a new “green gas” partnership this year which reduce store carbon emissions by 24,000 tonnes per annum.

Supporting a sugar tax

The UK Government may be taking its sweet time (pun intended) deciding on the sugar tax, but UK supermarkets have at least taken a stance. The British Retail Consortium (which represents Tesco and Sainsbury’s) said its members would accept a sugar tax to fight childhood obesity… ahem, Government?

Selling mini avocados (yes, yes please!)

Did you know that supermarkets throw away avocados which are deemed too small for sale? Oh, it breaks our hearts to think about it. Thankfully, M&S is taking a stand and selling the little rejects at £2 ($4 AUD) a bag. And they’re just the right size for avo on toast.

Article taken from I Quit Sugar. 

London’s New Healthy Kitchens We’re Loving!

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We’re always on the look out for new cafe openings and exciting places to brunch with friends! We just love a good natter over delicious, healthy food! We’ve rounded up London’s new healthy kitchens that we haven’t been able to resist!

HEMSELY & HEMSLEY CAFE, Selfridges, Bond Street

These power sisters can do no wrong! We were excited to hear that Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley opened their very first café in the new Body Studio at Selfridges! After the success of their two (mighty delicious) cookbooks, we think it’s such an amazing idea to give everyone the opportunity to experience some of their most loved recipes without having to step foot in your kitchen! From their famous bone broth to scrummy buckwheat coconut porridge, there will be something on the menu that everyone will enjoy after a tiring day of shopping Selfridges famous handbag section!

 

RAW PRESS, 3 Ellis Street, Chelsea

Just a three minute walk from Sloane Square tube station, the second Raw Press Juice Cafe has opened. Meat, dairy, sugar and gluten free, we are simply in love with the abundance of healthy and delicious goodies on offer! They even stock brownies from The Hardihood (if you don’t know who these guys are check them out on insta here!), an incredible range of cold pressed juices, choccie nut milks, acai bowls and our all time fave – healthy peanut butter cups! We love the ultra simple decor in the care itself; think marble counters and pale wood, ideal for us Instagram obsessives to get snapping away! There are even toasters on the table tops, so we can have our artisan breads toasted to perfection, before smothering it in lashings of nut butter. The bright, airy and modern space is perfect for meetings, working or catching up with friends.

 

SHOT, 23/23A Bride Lane, St Pauls

Simple, healthy, organic, tasty food. Set up by London DJ, Mr Asad Naqvi founded SHOT because he found it was hard to find somewhere offering the nutrition he needed after a night behind the decks…

His menu is based on foods that will nourish you and provide you with sustained energy throughout your working day. SHOT offers a variety of clean food dishes, including a thai green fish curry, baked falafel wraps and beef and sweet potato chilli. SHOT has a wall dedicated to their dishes, with nutritionist backed information cards displaying their ingredients, micronutrients, health benefits, as well as calories, protein and lots more to help customers make an informative decision before choosing on what to eat or takeaway.

 

ROOTS JUICERY, 1 Charlotte Place, Fitzrovia

A delicious selection of organic cold pressed juices, nut milks, superfood smoothie bowls, as well as healthy food dishes and great quality coffee. Got a sweet tooth?  Fear not – their raw caramel slice, quinoa cookies, raw cacao oreos and brownies will tick all your boxes! These are made fresh on site daily, and all produce is organic, as well as being sourced as close to the juicery as possible. We love the cute little glass bottles that the juices are served in; ROOTS will even give you 20p off your next drink if you bring your bottle back!

 

THE DETOX KITCHEN, Mortimer Street

Because one Detox Kitchen was never enough, Lily Simpson, (the brain-child behind this amazing company) decided to open another! Situated on the bustling Mortimer Street, they serve fresh, vibrant and delicious dishes that are free from dairy, wheat and refined sugar, and aim to celebrate good quality, seasonal and whole ingredients. The menu boasts the most dreamy selection of salads; think miso aubergine, kale and apricot with a tahini and coriander dressing, or courgetti with basil and cashew pesto …(yum!). There are also plenty of yummy brekkie options, such as porridge, with endless toppings like honeyed pecans, toasted pumpkins seeds…we are just drooling over the menu!

 

CORE KITCHEN, cafe at Core Collective

The epic new gym, Core Collective on High street Kensington has recently opened up a lovely new cafe, Core Kitchen. The menu sounds just up our street! Pop by for brekkie and get your fix of buckwheat waffles, served with coconut cream, blueberries, cinnamon and salted coconut caramel! We also love the sound of Turkish poached eggs, with harissa, yoghurt, herbs and toasty soldiers. Lunch menu packs a protein punch; fill up on glazed salmon fillet or seared steak fillets post workout to rebuild those muscles. Sides include baked sweet potatoes, green fritters and roasted aubergine. How good does that sound?

words by Flora Crichton

The Fitness Trackers That Actually Work!

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Here at Hip & Healthy, we have to put our hands on our hearts and say that we’re fitness tracker junkies – we’re the girls that can tell you how many miles (to the yard) we ran during marathon training and which pair of Nikes took the most slog!

So after Nike’s Fuelband gave up the ghost, we decided it was time to get ourselves a new piece of arm candy. It seems that whatever sport is your poison, there’s a fitness tracker to suit you. From the everyday Fitbit enthusiasts to the more specific Triathlon watches from TomTom and the like, we take a look at which one works best for you.

 

Fitbit

Tracking everything from weight to calories (accurately based on your heart rate) and sleep, the Fitbit range is a dream for any fitness enthusiast. Link it up to My Fitness Pal and let it work out what exercise you’re doing – although sadly there’s no Barry’s Bootcamp setting. Choose the Charge or Charge HR for everyday fitness and step tracking, or go hard with the new Blaze (made to rival the Apple Watch but with a much longer battery) for added music control, GPS and on screen workouts. And if that’s not enough for your competitive streak, get one for your friend and challenge them to beat you at a work week hustle or a weekend warrior step off – just make sure you’ve got the step count to win…

 

TomTom

For anyone running a Marathon or prepping for a Triathlon, the new TomTom Spark is a godsend. With a built in heart rate monitor, this watch doesn’t just track your daily activity. The multisport mode allows you to track runs and cycles with GPS as well as your swims – yep, you got it: this bad boy is waterproof! With capacity to store over 500 songs too, you won’t even need to carry your phone when exercising. And if you really want to give your body that extra push, you can choose to train in a specific heart rate zone like fat burning or cardio endurance to make sure you’re getting the most out of your workout. Perfect to help you push for that sub-four-hour marathon then…

 

Apple Watch

The obviously flashy choice, the Apple Watch is definitely a jack-of-all-trades. Featuring all-day activity tracking and notifications that sync with your iPhone, this is a piece that Apple aficionados will love. It’s full of the company’s beautiful design elements, with the daily progress goal coming in the form of an activity ring, but you can also track your heart rate, steps and calories (through My Fitness Pal again). If there’s a negative though, the notorious battery life of Apple products means that you’ll probably spend all night charging it rather than tracking your sleep time, but it is definitely an impressive piece of kit.

 

Jawbone

Remember the original UP? Well, one of the first ever fitness trackers is now into its third iteration with the aptly named UP3. This bracelet not only tracks your sleep, but also pinpoints the best time to wake you up in your sleep cycle (as if there is such a thing?!). Oh, and if you’re idle for too long, it will quite literally give you a buzz, With an impressive array of designs and colours, the UP3 is less chunky than some of its competitors too, making it perfect for slimmer wrists.

 

Misfit Shine

When the original Misfit Shine launched a few years ago, it was the first fitness tracker that looked more like a piece of jewellery than a piece of hardware. And as an added bonus this is one of the only trackers not to need charging – simply replace the battery every 6 months or so. Because the Speedo edition is waterproof too, you can track your whole fitness life on one piece of kit – everything from a leisurely stroll to swims, cycling and running. Thanks to an impressive array of accessories, you can wear the Shine as a necklace or bracelet – or even clip it onto your clothing if discretion is more your thing

So whether you’re looking for something to track your sleep or want to beat your friends, there’s a fitness tracker made just for you.

 

words by Jemma Crow

Top 5 Energy Boosters For Busy Mums On The Go!

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Life as a new mum, super-mum, working mum or simply-trying-to-keep-it-together mum can be a challenge, but we know you embrace it and carry on living your life to the fullest – and that is what makes you so amazing! That said, there will inevitably be times when you’ve forgotten to brush your hair on your way out of the door, let alone sit and treat yourself to a homemade smoothie and side of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon! But a hungry, energy-depleted mama really isn’t good for anyone!

We know time doesn’t always permit the insta-perfect breakfast (lunch or dinner for that matter!), which is why we want to share with you our top tips for staying healthy and energized on the go!

 

Make sure you have breakfast! If nothing else, prioritise starting your day right. And for the time-poor, why not try making jars of chia seed pudding or overnight oat pots in the evenings, so that even if you’re rushing out, you’ve got a nutritious, homemade breakfast ready to pop in your handbag! Try this recipe here!

 

Keep properly hydrated – and coffee doesn’t count I’m afraid! We all know we should drink lots of water, and yet it is often forgotten. Make sure you drink water when you wake up to rehydrate yourself after your sleep, but also continue to sip on water throughout the day!

 

Always have a packet of nuts and seeds in your hand bag! By this we mean the unsalted, unsweetened, unrefined sort of course – but these are a great way of getting a quick energy hit if hunger pangs hit and you’re out and about with no health food shop in sight!

 

Treat yourself to a matcha latte! Matcha has incredible energy producing properties and is an amazing natural source of caffeine. It tastes indulgent and yet, is totally guilt free so don’t let this gem pass you by!

 

Make sure you’re always well stocked on healthy and quick foodie essentials! To name but a few, we think you should always have avocados, houmous, oatcakes, dates, peanut butter (allergies permitting!) and bananas at the ready!

 

You probably don’t think about yourself first anymore, which is wonderful but still totally necessary, and so that’s what we’re here for! Don’t forget to nourish yourself properly and maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially now that you have a little one that depends on you to be fit and well! Keep well hydrated and fuelled so you can be the best mum to your babe!

words by Cecilia Clarke – Founder of Nurture With Nature