Autumn

Autumn smoothie

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We’re a little obsessed with the Autumn colours at the moment which was the inspiration for this smoothie! Its a powerful one with tons of goodness in it. We’ve used the juicer AND the blender so a little washing up to do, but you could just take out the sweet potatoes and whizz up the rest in a powerful blender.

Juice the following :

  • 2 apples
  • 3 beetroots
  • 1 sweet potato
  • a handful of red grapes
  • a handful of cherry tomatoes

Put the juice into the blender and add the following :

  • a large handful of your favourite berries
  • 1 banana
  • a glass of almond milk
  • a sprinkling of bee pollen

Enjoy! x

Ready. Set. Craft.

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leaves

Autumn is in full swing and isn’t she beautiful!! The combination of sunny weather and gorgeous colours of the trees are getting us right in the mood for Autumn. And in preparation for our Urban Day retreat in Walthamstow, we’ve been  been getting our craft on and making some samples of the macrame plant holders, which we will be making on the day…which I have to say are looking amazing dotted around my house now!!  I guess this would be a good point to mention why we add a crafting element to our weekend and day retreats. We feel that adding something fun and crafty, that gets you using your mind and body in a creative way is not only incredibly satisfying and useful  we think, it plays an important role in the tuning out process. Its completely optional on our weekends retreats, but its great fun if you do. You learn a new skill and take something home that can be gifted or kept as a memory in your home of your time with us. You never know, perhaps you’ll find a new passion along the way…

Onto today’s post. Did we hear someone mention Christmas?? Its true, its just around the corner and it got us thinking…GIFTS! Nothing beats a homemade gift. If you’re short on time then there’s loads of options that don’t take so long (scrubs, flavoured booze, fudge) and most of these are really cheap to make too! Much quicker and easier than that mad dash around the shops buying stuff for your loved ones that they don’t even like! So here’s our round up of our favourite homemade gifts for this year. Click for the links for how to make and yes family/friends you can expect these in your stockings this year!

So our top 10 homemade gifts to get cracking on with are…

terrariums1. HOMEMADE TERRARIUM

IMG_61972. PLANT HOLDERS.

finishedscrub3. HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB.

tye-dyesocks4. TYE DYE SOCKS.

b1d5da0a46a7f691e66e6eb4b21f122a5. CHOCOLATE SLABS.

bathfizzes6. BATH FIZZES.

4c7da117cca52cf21ee2aac4e3c5d0e07. FLAVOURED BOOZE.

lemon_curd_68499_16x98. LEMON CURD.

woolyhat9. KNITTED WOOLY HATS.

candles10. HOMEMADE CANDLES.

IMG_5033(Squeezing in a last one..) 11. FUDGE, TRUFFLES and OTHER TREATS!

Our favourite nourishing soups for Autumn.

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The weather is treating us kindly this week so we’re making the most of the last rays of sunshine and getting out at every opportunity! But you can feel the cooler snap in the wind and its making us get ready for a little hibernation, roaring fires, crispy leaves and cosy homemade soups. We’re slightly obsessed with the Hemsley+Hemsley cook book at the moment, and we’re reminded how good a bone broth is for us. It really should be the basis of every soup you make and its surprisingly simple and cheap to make. Bone broth is so good for us as the bones are super rich in proteins and minerals. It supports detoxification and digestive health and is an all round winner when it comes to health and well being.

HOW TO MAKE BONE BROTH.

  • Reserve the carcass from your roast chicken (preferably organic) or ask your local butcher for a load of bones and carcasses.
  • Chuck in a pot with any leftover veg, use up your ends and unwanted parts or anything you’ve got lying around in the fridge. Onions, leeks, carrots, celery.
  • Add a  bunch of herbs plus a lemon cut in half.
  • Cover with water and cook for at least 6 hours for chicken and even up to 12.
  • Use in the below recipes in place of stock cubes or freeze in batches for use later.

OUR FAVOURITE NOURISHING SOUPS FOR AUTUMN.

redeeming-green-soup-with-lemon-and-cayenne-recipe-1

‘REDEEMING GREEN SOUP WITH LEMON AND CAYENNE’ from Cookie & Kate

Christina-Soup-02-681x1024

‘LENTIL, TOMATO AND SPINACH SOUP’ from Jamie Oliver

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‘RESTORATIVE CHICKEN SOUP’ from Hemsley + Hemsley

Autumn is coming…are you ready?

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warmsocks

Its true! Its on its way. How you feeling about that? Personally, we’re suckers for a season change, especially Autumn. Everyone comes back to their Pilates classes…yay, and we do love to get all organised in a back to school kind of way. But more seriously, the cold, wet and darker days can have a REAL impact on our health and well being. After all we are a part of nature ourselves and therefore we’re going to celebrate the turning of the seasons with a little tuneout guide to preparing for the Autumn.

Are you suffering from post summer burn out? Yep we’re feeling it too. Its great to enjoy the summer and lets face it, its pretty short lived in this country so we’ve got to make the most of it! But all those late summer nights, after work drinks and festivals can take their toll on our bodies leaving us needing a little pick me up. So here goes…

  • Be boring. In our ‘do it all‘ culture and constant updates on other peoples lives via our smart phones the pressure is always on to get more stuff done and be a better version of you. And that’s great, its always good to be inspired and strive to be your best but when taken to the extreme that can have the opposite effect on our health creating a bit of a multi tasking monster!!! So maybe for a little while could you try doing LESS stuff? It might just be a couple for days or even a week, until you feel less wired and more tuned in to YOU. Try eating simple, uncomplicated, clean foods, go out less, drink less, exercise slowly with some Yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi, finish work on time, turn your technology off, read and potter. And once doing so hopefully allowing some space not only in the body but mentally too for the start of a lovely new season…
  • Mix it up. Could you change your daily routine? We love doing this as its stimulates the brain, leaving us feeling revived and refreshed.

Could you…

  • Get to bed earlier. With the darker nights, we’re not going to feel bad about sneaking off to bed at 9:30pm. Nope. If you struggle with getting off to sleep you could try our recently posted ‘How to Tune Out…last thing at night’
  • If you’re getting to bed a little earlier, could you get up earlier in the morning? Try re-setting your alarm to allow for an extra 15 minutes, which might allow some time for the following – a 10 minute Headspace meditation. A morning stretch. A hot water and lemon. A mindful breakfast.
  • See sunlight. Whatever you’re day entails, try to get outside. In your lunch break or hopping off your commute a stop early and walking the rest of the way.
  • Make some plans. Sit down and think about who you’d like to see over the next few months, things you’d like to do and see. Life can move so fast sometimes we get caught up in the day to day and those special moments can pass us by. Catch up with some old friends, book a retreat (!) workshop or start a new project.
  • Bring your green inside. The garden might be on the turn but there’s still loads of homegrown veggies that you can plant up in your container garden just now. Or you could buy some indoor plants and help to detoxify the air with these species.
  • Mix up your midweek meals. Have you been eating the same things for a while? What about cooking some new recipes or checking out your local farmers market for some inspiration and the best fresh seasonal food.

hellosept