Fuel Yourself First Thing: It’s all about the breakfast

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Fuel first thing with a good breakfast

 

During the Christmas season we tend to eat more and because of this many of us decide that it would be a great idea therefore not to eat much in the morning so that when we eat later in the day we won’t feel as bad. Is this a good idea? No. It’s a terrible idea. You are setting yourself up for a fall. When you don’t eat in the morning you don’t even give your metabolism a chance – it will slow right down as you become more hungry throughout the day as it is worried about where it’s next meal will come from.

Start the day with a hot water to flush out all the toxins that your body has been busy working to get rid of over-night. Then have a good healthy and fuelling breakfast. A recent study done by the clever people at University of Alabama at Birmingham showed that mice who consumed a high-fat morning meal burned more fat throughout the day than those who ate a carb-rich dish. There are such things as healthy fats like nuts and avocado. So top your porridge with some delicious nuts or slice up an avocado with your egg. Not only will you feel fuller for longer, your blood sugar levels will be more stable, your metabolism will be happier (helping you to burn more throughout the day) but you will be less likely to snack on sugary Christmas foods that will no doubt be an arm’s length away.

If you really don’t want to sit down to a big meal first thing try our fig, lime, poppyseed and cashew smoothie. Just click here for the recipe.

 

 

 

Hip & Healthy Guide to Paris

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We bring you a Healthy Guide to Paris by top Nutritionist, Madeleine Shaw (www.madeleineshaw.com)

Until recently I was living in the wonderful city of Paris. When I first got the job, I was daunted to be living in the land of bread, cheese, and cream. However, I was amazed to discover the incredible emergence of real healthy living in this beautiful city once famed for it’s rich food and fine wine.

Cafes/Restaurants

Au Grain de Folie
A vegetarian and vegan hub. This cheery place has a menu that’s pretty much macrobiotic, with lots of different types of veggies cooked and presented in many mouthwatering ways. One of their meals does contain fish (it’s delicious), and they also have amazing juices to compliment your meal. 24, rue de Vieuville, 75018. Tel. 01 42 58 15 57. Open Tuesday – Sunday, 1:00pm -2:30, and 7:30-10:30.

Phyto Bar
This innovative spot hosts delicious organic meat, wild fish, organic veggies, as well as beautiful organic wine and champagne! 47, Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005. Tel: 01 44 07 36 99. Open daily from 12pm – 12am.

La Chandelle Verte
This place has the elegance and scrumptiousness of a typical French Bistro, but is bursting with nourishing, organic goodness. 40 rue d’Enghien, 75010. Tél. 01 47 70 25 44. Open Monday to Friday, for lunch only, from noon until 2pm.

Bob’s Kitchen
This place had the coolest energy! Drop in here for freshly pulped bespoke juices. They have great, comforting vegetarian food too. 74 rue de Gravilliers; 75003. Open Mon-Fri 08-3pm. Sat-Sun 10-4pm.

Ralph’s
American-style restaurant where you can get a great organic piece of steak. All their meat is organic and hormone-free. There’s outdoor seating, and wonderful opulent interiors. Heavenly setting for a hearty meal. 173 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Tel. 75006. +33 1 44 77 76 00

Supermarkets

Naturalia, La Vie Bio, Bio Génération, BioCoop are scattered all over Paris. They contain the usual things you hope to find at health food stores: fresh produce, healthy snacks, chemical-free toiletries and yummy smoothies.

The mecca for organic shopping can be found just outside of Paris at Les Nouveaux Robinsons; this houses everything organic you could dream up and much, much more. I think it’s what every supermarket should be like! Address: Place de la Republique, 93100 Montreuil-sous-Bois. Open Mon – Sat. 10am-8pm. 

Markets

Raspail Market Boulevard Raspail, Entre la rue du Cherche-Midi et la rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris. Open Sundays: 9am – 2pm.
This is the most amazing market I have ever experienced; it’s loaded with magnificent fruits, vegetables, organic meat, dairy and nuts from local gardens, and all over the world. Nearly forty vendors are on site, with some of the finest biological products.

Marché Biologique Batignolles Boulevard des Batignolles, 75017 Paris. Open Saturdays: 9am – 2pm.
Another organic paradise. This place has more food than the eyes or stomach can handle. Highlights are amazing stalls serving hot healthy crepes, as well as delicious organic goat’s yogurt.

Fitness

Rasa Yoga 21 Rue Saint-Jacques  75005, Tel. 01 43 54 14 59.
The most incredible sanctuary that offers yoga and pilates classes, running around the clock. Some of the classes are taught in English, however do give a French class a go, as it’s quite an adventure. They also have a wonderful store full of beautiful mats, books, and clothing. Its tranquil energy will leave you ohmming!

Cross Fit Gym 51 Rue Etienne Marcel 75001 Tel. +33 6 20 62 77 40.
This the coolest place to work up a sweat. There are classes running all day. This gym is not for the faint-hearted, however there is always a modified version. Check out my post on Cross Fit  for full details.

Walking
The Parisians are a healthy nation as they walk everywhere. It’s the most amazing city to wander around. On every corner, there’s a treat for the eyes, from beautiful churches, to meandering cobbled streets or lovers kissing… Get strolling!

Eight Ways to Burn 200 Calories

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Eight Ways to Burn 200 Calories

Burning calories isn’t limited to the treadmill or gym, you can actually get slim doing what you love the most, taking up a new hobby or even just doing daily chores. Here are a few ideas:

Go on Strike…
90 Minutes of bowling will soon burn up 200 calories. Get your friends to join you and enjoy some (sugar/alcohol-free) drinks and get striking.

Don a bike with basket…
Need to go to the shops? Ride there. 23 minutes of pedalling will soon have you warm and free of 200 calories!

Pose
Vinyasa yoga (the type of yoga that has you move fluidly from one pose to another) is believed to burn 7 calories per minute. You’ll soon clock up 200 calories – in the first 29 minutes in fact.

Workin’ at the Car Wash
Heard of the phrase “work up a sweat”? Well, that is exactly what you’ll do at the car wash. Spend 31 minutes hosing down the car and 31 minutes drying and waxing the car to burn up those calories. Simples.

Plunge in
Scuba diving is not only exciting and fun, it’s also a burner. In just 27 minutes of scuba diving you will burn 200 calories. Plus you get to do it in some of the most beautiful oceans! Need we say more?

Dance
Dance for around half an hour. This is a great one as you can do it almost anywhere – in a club, at home, with friends, on your own. Just 29 minutes and you’ll have burnt around 200 calories.

Re-arrange the house
Always wanted to re-decorate but don’t have the cash? Try moving bits of your furniture around to change the look and feel of the room. Plus you’ll expend about 200 calories for every half an hour you work!

Run
It is the easiest way to burn calories. Just run for 25 minutes on a treadmill – you can burn more outdoors – and you’ll soon reach your 200 target.

It’s Never Too Late to get Hip and Healthy

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It’s Never Too Late to get Hip and Healthy

 

I know, I know… It’s winter, it’s cold, freezing in fact, it’s dark, it’s nearly Christmas. Whilst all these may be true it is never to late to jump on board the Hip and Healthy train. We believe in living a life that’s 80/20. That is 80% angelic and 20% not so angelic. You can adopt this attitude any time in your life. There is no right or wrong time. And although 80/20 is a great balance to aim for – it is by no means the rule. With that in mind we want to remind you that you can still have lots of lovely indulgent Christmassy things like hot chocolates, mince pies and candy canes – actually maybe not candy canes they don’t even taste that great and they have NO nutritional value – let’s say Christmas pudding instead. You can still have all these lovely things and to make them taste even more wonderful why not start the day off with a run, have a healthy breakfast, snack on a delicious raw juice and have a delicious and nutritious lunch. Just because it is Christmas does not give you excuse to throw your health compass out the window – in fact, if anything, it is the perfect time to embrace the challenge of staying healthy, remaining cool, calm and collected and keeping fit. You know you will feel better for it. Let us know how you get on on our Facebook page.

Here are some Christmas challenges that we turn into triumphs… we try and lead the way in all things hip and healthy so hopefully this will give you a few ideas…

The Challenge: A Night Out

Temptation everywhere – we hear you! Try sticking to clear spirits such as Vodka as they contain less calories and won’t give you such a headache in the morning so you won’t feel as inclined to skip your morning workout. Mix them with tonic water and fresh lemon. If you must have a sweeter mixer choose cranberry juice that has at least some nutritional value.

The Challenge: Exercising in the Cold

Running in the cold is actually even better for you in many ways than running in warm weather. Because your body temperature will be lower you will actually burn more calories as your body tries to warm you up. The key to running outdoors in winter is layers. Wear a base layer, a mid-layer (this will act to trap the air) and a shell – something that is waterproof and windproof.

The Challenge: Christmas Treats 

As we said above, Christmas treats are definitely allowed – it would be a miserable season without them! Like summer but without the sun. All you have to do here is allow yourself them but in moderation. I know – harder than it sounds. If you are anything like me you can scoff an entire packet of salty sugary nuts in the same amount of time that Usain Bolt runs 100 metres. So, set yourself some boundaries. Never by the super-seized version of whatever your buying. Only allow yourself your treat at a certain time of day or limit yourself to the amount you are allowed. Then right it down and remind yourself of it! You just need a bit of willpower.

BEE Beautiful: Is honey the solution to achieving glowing skin?

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It’s winter, the party season is upon us and our skin is looking more grey than a dreary afternoon in London. It’s the season of giving, so if you need to bypass your facial this month to buy gifts for your nearest and dearest, here’s a quick, cheap and natural solution to your dull skin woes. Man’s oldest sweetener has been revered for its medicinal and nutritional qualities for centuries, used by the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, to cure almost anything from burns to allergies. It is often applauded for it’s nutritional content but you don’t have to eat it to benefit from its superfood status, honey can work wonders from the outside in.

Honey is packed full of Vitamin B, iron, copper, potassium, calcium, is full of anti-ageing properties and anti-oxidants. It contains mild alpha hydroxy acid and gluconic acid to brighten the complexion and plump out weary skin, perfect as a pick-me-up for the late nights of the party season. As a humectant, honey is one of nature’s greatest moisturisers drawing and retaining moisture into the skin. With a pH level of 4.5 it’s ideal to use on sensitive skin and can soften skin, especially when mixed with milk, Cleopatra was certainly onto something with her milk and honey baths.

You may have heard a lot on the grape vine at the moment about different types of honey, especially manuka. So what is so special about this honey produced in New Zealand by bees that pollinate the native Manuka bush?  Methylglyoxal is a compound found in most types of honey but usually only in small quantities. Manuka honey has a high quantity of it from the conversion of another compound dihydroxyacetone – found in the nectar of manuka flowers. The higher the concentration of methylglyoxal, the stronger the antibacterial effect, making it the ideal solution for banishing blemishes. Manuka honey will pack a 100% natural and organic punch against any post- or pre-Christmas party breakouts, will give your skin a glowing appearance and can even soothe skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea.

Raw, unprocessed honey, manuka or otherwise, can be applied directly to the skin, but if you don’t fancy getting into a sticky situation there are some wonderful products on the market blended with other natural ingredients your skin will love you for:

Dr Organic Manuka Honey Rescue Cream, £8.69
Dr Organic have an entire range of Manuka honey packed products, including a magnificently rich and hypoallergenic rescue cream perfect for use on dry chapped skin and a softening hair conditioner containing organic Manuka Honey, Aloe Vera, Shea butter, Hydrolyzed milk protein, Panthenol, Sunflower oil and Vitamin E.

Neal’s Yard Remedies Bee Lovely Body Lotion, £21.00
Delightfully scented and bee-utifully softening, this luxurious natural body lotion is infused with moisturising organic honey and fragrant, uplifting organic essential oils of orange and mandarin, to subtly scent while softening the skin.

Wild Ferns Manuka Honey Gentle Facial Cleanser £1o.75
Providing a deep cleansing treatment this light emulsion effectively removes impurities and make up from within the pores without eradicating the skin of its natural oils.

words by Lily Gregory

Elf for Health: Day 6 of the H&H Advent Calendar

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Elf for Health: Day 6 of the H&H Advent Calendar

25 days of a Hip and Healthy Christmas: Tips to make this the best holiday season yet

 

On the 6th day of Christmas… we reveal the benefit’s of cinnamon

We all know that one of Christmas’s favourite spices, cinnamon, has a host of health benefits – but what exactly are they. Read on to find out.

  • It stabilises blood sugar levels.
  • It reduces bad cholesterol.
  • It can help heal arthritis.
  • The scent of cinnamon has been known to help relive headaches.
  • It contains anti-inflammatory properties.
  • It is an excellent source of maganese, iron and calcium.

Chocolate and Coconut Bliss Balls

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Chocolate and Coconut Bliss Balls

Rebecca Kane, author of the cookbook “New Raw and Living Foods Recipe Book Launched: Shine Inside and Out” is a bit of a star in the healthy eating department. This recipe of hers is perfect when you are in need of some delicious chocolate gooeyness! We love it as a delicious alternative to sugar-laden Christmas treats that leave you feeling low and empty! For more check out her website: www.shineonraw.com

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of walnuts
8 pitted medjool dates
1/3 cup of cacao or carob powder
½ tsp of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

2 tsp of water
Desiccated coconut to roll the balls in

Equipment
Food processor

Directions
Place the walnuts and salt in the food processor and process until finely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture becomes sticky. Add the cacao or carob and vanilla and process. Add the water if needed. Mould into round balls and roll in the coconut. Store in the fridge until required.

Top Tip
If you don’t have any dates, you can replace with 1 cup of raisins

DETOXING THE RAW WAY: DEMI MOORE, GWYNETH PALTROW AND MADONNA ARE ALL FANS, FIND OUT WHY

Elf for Health: Day 5 of the H&H Advent Calendar

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Elf for Health: Day 5 of the H&H Advent Calendar

25 days of a Hip and Healthy Christmas: Tips to make this the best holiday season yet

On the fifth day of Christmas… we reveal five ways with Coconut Oil
From soothing skin to encouraging weight-loss, coconut oil has been getting a lot of positive press recently. And for good reason. Here are four ways in which you can use this wonder nut to it’s best:

Make like Miranda Kerr and put it in your green tea
A study reported in the Journal of Nutrition that coconut oil can actually boost metabolism, which in turn can help you burn more fat. The research revealed that those who consumed two tablespoons of coconut oil per day burned more kilojoules than those who didn’t. Buy adding it to your green tea – your body get’s hit double whammy as green tea is also well-known for its metabolism boosting ways as well.

Apply it as a moisturiser
Coconut oil is packed full of skin loving Vitamin E making it an ideal moisturiser. Vitamin E works to reduce pigmentation, scars and heal the skin and the smell of coconut oil is an added bonus (does it remind anyone else of holidays?). You don’t even have to spend a lot of money – in fact – Waitrose sells pure coconut oil in the baby aisle and it costs no more than £2.89 and lasts forever! Apply after a shower all over the body.

Cook with it
Despite what many say about coconut oil being high in saturated fat, it is actually one of the safest forms of oil to cook with as it is a medium-chain saturated fatty acid. This gives it a higher smoking temperature than polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils (olive oil) which oxidise at high temperatures which in turn creates free-radicals (horrible things!). As for the saturated fat content – it is the healthiest form of saturated fat compared to trans fat. The two are metabolised in an entirely different way – coconut oil is converted into energy rather than stored as fat.

Bake with it
Use it instead of butter in cakes, pastries, and other baked goods. It’s a great healthy alternative and perfect for those of us who are dairy-free or lactose-intolerant. Although it may take a bit of experimenting to get the quantities right, the general rule is to use about 25% less than water the recipe says use in butter. We would love to hear how your recipes turn out so do get in touch via out facebook page or twitter feed!

Start your day with it
Add it to your porridge to give your metabolism a boost first thing. It also gives the porridge a wonderful nutty flavour. It has also been known to help curb sugar craving. This is because the quality of good fats is so high that it will help you to feel less hungary.

 

 

Three of the Best (and healthiest – of course!) Snacks

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words by Charlotte Newnham

Charlotte spent the first fifteen years of her working life in the advertising industry working across various brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Tesco and John Lewis. After having two children, she has now turned her attention to the world of nutrition which has long been a passion of hers. She will qualify as a nutritionist in 2015 so for now, if she’s not studying the intricacies of short chain fatty acids, she can be found on the kitchen floor playing fire engines with her young boys. Here is what she has been snacking on this month…

Clif Energy Bars

Choosing chocolate buttons for a snack seems rather passé these days as snacking becomes less about a quick fix and more about sustaining energy levels. My latest find, Clif energy bars pride themselves on just this by offering up a densely packed slab of power food, bursting with protein and fibre. The enticing flavours such as ‘chocolate almond fudge’ draw you in but the real pull is how much energy it provides. Given it’s aimed at endurance athletes, I feel pretty confident that one bar should keep me going for an afternoon in front of the lap top.

Nature’s Store Corn Cakes made with Flax Seeds

I have become slightly obsessed with these over the last few weeks and I blame the fact they taste like popcorn. Shaped like the traditional rice cake, these are made with corn and flax seeds.  I began my craze by eating them – in copious quantities – by themselves but after some very high brow experimentation in the kitchen, I can confidently recommend them topped with avocado hoummous (for healthy days) and nutella (for the less healthy ones) The challenge is stopping after a few.

Almonds

There’s nothing new or glitzy about the humble almond but this nut is truly versatile and an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals and essential fats. Whether you opt for a handful of unsalted almonds as a snack or almond butter on toast in the morning, there’s plenty of ways to include them in your diet. I like adding ground almonds (with grated nutmeg) to porridge or soaking whole ones overnight in water and adding them to muesli. Soaking them not only hugely improves the nutritional benefits but also gives them an unusually soft crunch.

 

Elf for Health: Day 4 of the H&H Advent Calendar

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Elf for Health: Day 4 of the H&H Advent Calendar

25 days of a Hip and Healthy Christmas: Tips to make this the best holiday season yet

 

On the fourth day of Christmas… Stock up on Top Beauty Prods at 10% off

Hip and Healthy has teamed up with Works of Beauty, an online one-stop beauty shop, to give our readers 10% off some of their favourite products. Unlike other online stores Works of Beauty provide you with the very best, and some of the most advanced beauty products that are not available on the high street and are well-known for being brilliant at delivering results. Sourcing innovative brands from all over the world, Works of Beauty brings you the very best in advanced skincare products. Go to their online store and enter the discount code: HIPANDHEALTHY at the checkout! www.worksofbeauty.com

Three of our Favourite Christmas SuperFoods

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Elf for Health: Day 3 of the H&H Advent Calendar

25 days of a Hip and Healthy Christmas: Tips to make this the best holiday season yet

On the third day of Christmas… We bring you three of our favourite Christmas SuperFoods

Christmas is a pretty decadent time of year but what if I told you you could that some of the best Christmas foods are actually very good for us? Read on for our favourite three foods that you can eat guilt-free till your heart is content:

Cranberries
Cranberries, when eaten fresh, are low in calories with just 46 calories in a cup of raw cranberries. They are an excellent source if Vitamin C, which is great for warding off winter colds, and they are packed with both insoluble and soluble fibre making sure that our digestive system get’s off to a good start. At this time of year we all enjoy a tipple or two but some people who over-load their system with alcohol can find that it causes them cystitis. Why the sudden tangent? Cranberries are well-known for preventing urinary tract infections so consuming these little red pockets of power can help in this department too. And they are also understood to help prevent kidney stones as well as being packed full of antioxidants! There is little these little red friends can’t do. But a word of warning – when cooked within an inch of their lives and covered in sugar to make a sauce their antioxidant potency is somewhat deflated!

Turkey
Turkey is in fact increasing in popularity beyond the winter holidays as many Hip and Healthies look to leaner sources of protein – it provides 65% of the recommended daily value in one 4-ounce portion. It is also a good source of selenium (great for the brain) and vitamin B6, Zinc and B12. It is also the perfect food for those who get stressed or unhappy around Christmas time since it is high in the amino acid, tryptophan, a building block of the brain compound serotonin. Serotonin is not only the ‘happy’ hormone, it also encourages sleep and better quality of sleep at that. Now we know why we always need a nap after the Christmas meal!

Dark Chocolate (must be at least 70%)
Health benefits of chocolate centre around its flavanoid content, which are especially important in protecting against damage to ‘good’ cholesterol and the lining of the arteries. In fact, cocoa powder can contain as much as 10 percent flavonoids on a dry-weight basis. According to a recent study by the National Institute of Public Health and Environment of the Netherlands, dark chocolate also contains up to four times the antioxidants found in tea and has also been found to contain the same amount of antioxidants as those found in red wine. Best excuse ever to drink red wine and eat chocolate? We think so…

 

Elf for Health: Day 2 of the H&H Advent Calendar

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Elf for Health: Day 2 of the H&H Advent Calendar

25 days of a Hip and Healthy Christmas: Tips to make this the best holiday season yet

 

On the second day of Christmas… set the scene with candles

One of the quickest and easiest ways to feel all Christmassy is by lighting a beautifully scented candle. Not only does the scent have a therapeutic effect helping you to feel calmer and happier, but if you choose the right one your whole home will be bursting with holiday cheer. These are some of our Hip and Healthy favourites:

Neom’s Christmas Wish Home Candle £42 (http://www.neomorganics.com)
This really is a total fave. The lighting of it signifies that the holiday season has truly started in our home. Made only using vegetable wax and essential oils, Neom candles don’t release any toxic chemicals into the atmostphere. And the scent is divine; mandarin, cinnamon, and tonka bean all combine to fill your home with an unrivaled scent of Christmas. Plus For each candle sold they donate £1 to Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting magical wishes to children & young people fighting life-threatening illnesses.

Diptyque’s Oranger Candle £38 (www.diptyqueparis.co.uk)
Not one from their Christmas collection but none-the-less this has the most seasonal scent to it which is why we love it so much. I have been known to burn this candle at other times of the year as well but it still always reminds me of Christmas. If however you want one that looks just as pretty as it smells then do venture into their limited edition seasonal range as the candles come in beautiful and rich colours from purple to red.

Jo Malone’s Pine and Eucalyptus Candle £260 for 2.5Kg (www.jomalone.co.uk)
If you love the smell of Christmas tress than this is the one for you. Fresh yet evocative this candle from Jo Malone will fill your home with the heady aromas of pine trees. The eucalyptus also works well to keep unwanted seasonal colds at bay! It is expensive but worth every penny.