Triyoga Rooftop Yoga Event at Selfridges.

The rooftop restaurant at Selfridges

Beautiful flowers to enhance the experience.

A Picture- Perfect morning, what a heavenly sight!

Post class cold pressed fresh juices served in the sunshine - pick your colour :)

A chance to soak in the sun after class with a carrot juice and my new triyoga tote bag.

Hello All :)

So this morning I ventured into central London for the first of Triyoga's rooftop yoga classes held in the Q Rooftop restaurant on the roof of Selfridges. The weather was perfect, the sun blazed down on us and not a cloud in the sky, we could not have dreamt up better conditions! 

I took the express lift in Selfridges that takes you straight up to the roof, once out of the lift I walked down a corridor filled with different paintings and photographs before emerging into the restaurant. 

This restaurant is like a little slice of cool& calm in the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street (I will definitely be going back to sample some food, especially as I spied a gluten and dairy free cake!)

The outside garden area had been cleared and all our mats lay out in the sunshine, I was early as always so I picked a mat near the front and sat stretching watching all of my fellow yogis turn up one by one dressed ever so fashionably in a mix of Lulu Lemon and Sweaty Betty, everyone amazed by the view, snapping pictures and chatting away - the atmosphere was electric yet calming and friendly enhanced with the beautiful flowers that surrounded us, it was a sea of tranquility in our far too busy modern lives.

The class itself, although shorter than most yoga classes triyoga offer (it was an hour class) was brilliant, a vinyasa flow class that was tailored to any level you needed....beginners poses if thats what you need but also a balancing crow pose, binding and one legged toe grip side planks just to make sure we got the most out of our flowing practise we even managed to try a one legged and one armed downward dog- I know it sounds crazy but it works your core like mad and I even managed to hold it even if it was all of a few seconds!

After the class I was feeling like I could float around for a week, I was so relaxed and felt happier and healthier than I have for such a long time. We were greeted with a post class juice with a choice of green, beetroot or my choice which was carrot and tumeric, it was delicious and the perfect end to an amazing morning.

If any of you are around in London this summer I would urge you to go and try this out. You will not regret it, I promise.  It is being held every Tuesday morning until September (in case of rain it will be cancelled but you will get a full refund) You can find all details about the class and how to book here

I am definitely going to be going again so maybe I will see some of you there!

Have a great week :)

Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower pizza served with homemade slaw

Hello :)

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I wanted to share with you all my cauliflower pizza recipe, there are a lot of different recipes for this out there but I have adapted it to the simplest and yummiest possible, so here you are....

Coconut flour, Chia Seed, Cauliflower and Eggs.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius.

Grate 2-3 cauliflower florettes.

Mix with 2tbsp of coconut flour and 2 tbsp of chia seed.

Add in 2 eggs and knead the mixture together until you get a dough like mixture,

(You may need to add some water if the mixture needs some more moisture)

The cauliflower base dough

Line a baking tray with baking paper and flatten the mixture onto it leaving it about 1/2 cm thick.

Place in the oven and bake until it is a golden brown- should take about 30 minutes.

Lift it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

I also turn the base over so that it doesn't stick to the baking paper.

The cooked base ready for toppings.

Now top the base with anything you like, I always start with some tomato puree and passata.

Some of my favourite toppings are onions, mushrooms, goats cheese and duck or chicken, with lots of different vegetables as well but feel free to top with whatever you like :)

Place it back in the oven and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Take out and enjoy!!

The final result!

I hope some of you try this recipe and I really hope you enjoy it, I love it and its been approved by my family as well who are slowly being converted to the clean way of life.

Have a great Sunday.

Super Simple Cheesecake - The Healthier Alternative

I have been experimenting in the kitchen over the past few weeks and one of the desserts I have been trying is a cheesecake alternative so here is my gluten free recipe :) (Makes 2 mini pots)

For the Base:  Crush up a handful of almonds, alternatively you can buy already crushed almonds, mix in with 2 tbsp of agave nectar and 2 tbsp organic peanut butter, then mix in enough oats to soak up most of the mixture (should be about 1/2 cup)

Once it is all mixed together press it into the bottom of the pots and leave in the fridge to chill.

For the Cream: Whisk together 2 tbsp organic cream cheese, 2 tbsp coconut yogurt (you can use full fat greek yogurt as well) 1 egg white,  3tbsp agave nectar and the zest&juice of 1/2 lemon until the mixture is slightly firm. Pour on top of the bases and again leave to set in the fridge.

To serve top with berries of your choice and enjoy.

If you try this recipe let me know how it goes and if you enjoyed it!!

Gluten Free Banana Bread

More experimenting in the kitchen today led to this yummy little recipe for a gluten& guilt free banana bread and it is just as nice if not better than some that are laiden with butter, sugar and flour. I have taken a few different recipes and adapted and changed some things to make it as simple as possible :)

Ingredients

2 bananas mashed

3 eggs

2-3 tsp cinnamon

5-6 dates chopped

3 tbsp raw honey

100g chia seed

150ml almond milk

250g coconut flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp organic peanut butter (alternatively coconut butter)

Method:

-Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.

-Mix the bananas, eggs, cinnamon, dates, honey and peanut butter in a blender.

-Add the chia, almond milk, flour and baking soda.

-Make sure all the ingredients are properly mixed.

-Grease a baking tin and then scoop the mixture in,

-Bake for 45 mins to an hour, until brown (stick a skewer in the middle to check if it's cooked through)

-Lift out of the baking tin and leave to cool, then enjoy!!

Homemade Beauty- Honey Coconut Face Mask

Hello Beautiful People

Do you want glowing skin? As well as drinking lots of water and eating the right food sometimes you need to take a little extra time on your skin. I don't use many products on my skin as I like to keep my regime as simple and natural as possible my favourite product for my skin is coconut oil I did a review here. Every so often I like to make a homemade face mask from organic produce in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

 2tbsp Coconut Yogurt

1/4 cup Coconut or Almond Milk

1 Mashed Banana

1 tbsp Honey

1 cup Oats.

For the best results I mix these together and then leave in the fridge overnight before using. 

Leave the mask on for 10-15 minutes and then wash off with warm water.

Tips for a Healthy, Happy Life :)

Hello All!

I'm sorry I have not posted for a while but as some of you know I went to Thailand a little while back and I managed to pick up a stomach parasite which has made me very ill lately. As I have been ordered to have lots and lots of rest I thought what better time to share with you all my non negotiable rules to leading a healthier and happier life.

1. Drink Water-   2 litres a day on average. There are so many reasons why drinking water is so beneficial to you (apart from keeping you alive!) it helps improve your skin, it's great for healthy kidneys, also most of the time when you feel hungry you are actually dehydrated…so drink up!

2. Take a Probiotic daily-  Probiotics put the good bacteria into our systems to help fight germs and diseases, I could go on all day about these but they are so important for optimum gut health. Other good supplements to take are Omega3 and a Multivitamin that is high in the B vitamins.

3. Exercise-  Most of us do not need to do 2+ hours a day of intense exercise, in fact for most of us this will just start to burn us out and exhaust our bodies - this can actually have the reverse effect from what we are trying to achieve as our bodies in exhaustion can start to hold on to fat cells meaning they are harder to shift. For most people leading an active lifestyle 4-5 days exercising 45minutes-1 hour and varying your workouts between cardiovascular, weight training and pilates/conditioning is enough!

4. Rest-  This is also very important for our bodies as well as our mind, taking 1-2 days off from exercise each week helps re-boot our systems and stops fatigue and over exhaustion. 1/2 hour of meditation a day is ideal for optimum health, if you don't fancy giving meditation a try why not just take 1/2 hour each day to yourself that means no phones, no checking emails it's just a time to sit and relax.

5. No Technology after 9pm- Ok so this is the one I struggle with the most, many of us go to bed with our phones and are on them or a computer/tablet pretty much  until the moment we go to sleep. I have been suffering from insomnia the past few months and I have found this no technology ban I have given myself the past few days has helped an incredible amount. It really helps you to wind down in an evening and chill out before going to sleep.

6. Sleep -  Again there are SO many reasons to get your 8 hours sleep a night, it improves your mood, your skin, but best of all getting enough sleep regulates your appetite hormone so people who get enough sleep tend to eat less than those that don't get that precious shut eye time.

7. Sunshine-  So many people have a Vitamin D deficiency and the best way to top up your Vitamin D? Get outside in the sun! (obviously we aren't blessed with sunny weather all the time so you can also take Vitamin D supplements or get this from your diet) Research shows just 1/2 hour in the Sun can help with weight loss as low Vitamin D is linked to weight problems - handy tip for you: exposing your stomach to the sun is the best way to do this! Vitamin D also helps the body absorb calcium.

8. Clean Diet-  Eating the right food and the right way is one of the most important things to keeping ourselves healthy as well as happy. I always start the morning with a hot water with lemon and cayenne pepper concoction to help my digestive system wake up and cleanse itself. I also try to eat as "clean" as possible, in short that means trying to avoid processed foods, reducing intake of sugar, dairy and gluten, eating organic food wherever possible -especially meat ( I also try and do one day a week with no meat) and increasing intake of dark green leafy vegetables.

I could go on and on all day about these subjects but I will do some separate posts in more detail on anything you guys find interesting or want to know about, so please let me know!

Have a great weekend.

Friday Favourites

Hey All! 

I hope you have all had a great week....it is finally Friday so here are my Friday Favourites - what I have been LOVING this week.

Fitness Fashion:  These amazing run/workout leggings from Sweaty Betty....I need these in my life/ workout wardrobe!!

Favourite Beauty Product: The Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser is A-mazing, you just massage it onto your face and wipe off with a muslin cloth soaked in warm water = perfect summer skin, you can buy yours here.

Favourite Health/Beauty Idea: Surround yourself with flowers, they work wonders in boosting your mood and they always make me feel happier, this week we went and spent a fortune in the local garden centre and our garden is now covered in beautiful bright flowers :)

Favourite Food: I have gone vegan for a couple of weeks (more on that later) so I have been trying out lots of new food ideas, my new favourite breakfast is this scrummy yummy chocolate superfood bowl- find the recipe on my instagram!

Fitness Favourite: Practise makes perfect! This is so true.....I have been practising all week to be able to do this yogi arm balance and although it still needs perfecting I managed to do it and balance there yesterday.....I'm pretty pleased with myself :D

Favourite Quote: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.