#MAY5ADAY – think you’re up to the fruit & veg challenge?

I’m passionate about a lot of things when it comes to healthy lifestyles – the benefits of drinking water, the importance of eating clean and real food, going back to basics and avoiding packaged junk, the effect that strength and flexibility can have on your overall mental and physical state… those are just a few. But perhaps one of my biggest passions is helping people to reach (and hopefully exceed) their recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. The benefits of eating more of the plant-stuff are REAL, I promise you – just ask the peeps on my Spring Clean programme!

The UK’s recommendation is that you eat 2 portions of fruit and 3 portions of vegetables a day – that ratio is because fruit is higher in sugar than vegetables, and veggies tend to have a broader range of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals which can help protect us from diseases. In Australia, the recommendation is 2 portions of fruit and 5 of veg a day. And despite originally starting with the World Health Organisation’s recommendations of 5 a day, countries like Denmark (6 a day), France (10 a day) and Japan (a whopping 13 a day – 4 from fruit and 13 from veg) have upped their recommendations over the last few years. So our piddly 5 a day seems like child’s play in comparison! Surely we’re cool enough to play with the grown ups?

The scary thing is, so many people aren’t even reaching our small recommendation. I think that’s probably for a number of reasons:

Are you getting your 5 a day?

• I think there’s a lot of confusion about what a ‘portion’ actually is. “Hurrah!”, you think, “I’ve scoffed a satsuma – that’s one of my portions!”… Erm, no. Sorry. That’s half a portion. Check out the box opposite for what a portion looks like
• “Jacket potato in my gob, that’s a portion of veg!” – nope, I’m afraid not! While potatoes are definitely vegetables, they don’t actually count towards your 5 a day because they’re a starchy carbohydrate. So unless you’re loading your spud with salad or beans, you need to rethink that one!
• Squishing the juice of out fruit only counts as one portion, no matter how much not-from-concentrate, no-added-sugar goodness you think you’re drinking! See, when you squelch out the juices, you leave behind the pulp that contains all the nutrients and leave yourself with the liquid sugar. And, even more of a shame, this ‘one portion of juice’ rule doesn’t apply to wine. Oh how we wish it did.
• Sadly, I think some people find fruit and veg boring, or they have a phobia about the textures, tastes and other things. Okay, so school dinner cabbage (which I strangely loved as a kid and used to swap my ice cream for people’s cabbage), might be to blame for that – but there’s such a HUGE variety of different fruit and veg out there, and a gazillion ways to cook them and incorporate them into our diets – you’ll surely be able to find a way that you like to eat things. It’s sometimes just a matter of trying something new.

Tag your fruit & veg pics!

So I want to set a little challenge for you all in May – #MAY5ADAY – and a bit of a challenge for me too!

Every Monday in May I will share a recipe that helps you up your intake of fruit and veg. Your part of the bargain is to make a conscious effort to reach your target – and get involved by tagging me in your photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and use the #MAY5ADAY.

Of course, the easiest way for you to kick this challenge into touch would be to sign up for my May Spring Clean intake. You’ll be given meal plans and recipes that will help keep you on the 5 a day path – and you’ll get a whole heap of other benefits from the healthy food too. You can find out more HERE.

What say you? You in?

7 tips to have a happy and HEALTHY Easter holiday

It really does feel like we’ve just gotten over Christmas (just me?) and yet here’s Easter already, come to tempt us with its family holiday treats and goodies! Easter food in my family was always mainly about gorgeously warm hot crossed buns (one a-penny, two a-penny) with butter sinking into them and about the hearty family roast dinner. But I do know that the Easter bunny likes to deposit loads of chocolate eggs – and the supermarket shelves seem to heave with a ridiculous number of choices – and have you seen the SIZE of some of them?!

So chances are, the Easter bunny is going to be ‘forcing’ you to eat a bit more than your fair share of chocolate and other waistline-expanding goodies this long weekend… not to mention the extra tipple or four that is mandatory for celebrating a Bank Holiday! So how can you still enjoy all these vices but still make sure that you’re not straying too far into ‘the land of chubs’? I’ve got a few little tips to help!

1. Don’t buy a heap of chocolate. I know that there are often deals that entice us into spending a small fortune on a mountain of sugary goodness. Sounds simple enough, but if you don’t buy huge amounts, it won’t be in the house and you’re less likely to be sneaking into the kitchen to raid the choc-supply at strange hours.
2. Opt for the healthier kids on the block. Dark chocolate is a tasty treat and, in small quantities, it’s even good for you! Make sure that you’re opting for the 70% plus cocoa content to reap the benefits though. You can also choose cacao chocolate bars from places like The Raw Chocolate Company – cacao is basically the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa and is often mixed with natural sweeteners to make sin-free chocolate goodies! Another one of the new healthier types of chocolate doing the rounds at the moment is the tummy-loving Oh So chocolate – it’s Belgian chocolate with probiotics which are the good bacteria that look after and nurture your gut.
3. Make your own hot cross buns. I’m definitely going to be trying out a recipe for my own healthier homemade hot cross buns… I’m not much of a baker, but I’ve been eyeing out the shop bought versions since they came out (in, like, February??). I’ve spotted this recipe which uses wholemeal spelt flour and oats to pack the buns with fibre, and cuts out refined sugar… sounds right up my street! I’ll keep you posted on progress!
4. Make sure you’re keeping active. Brave the elements and drag everyone out the house! Go for a walk or a hike, organise a football/touch rugby match with your mates, dance til dawn, or get sweaty at the gym… Make sure you EARN those extra calories. And if you have little ones, why not set up an obstacle Easter egg hunt… kind of like Tough Mudder, but with eggs involved – Tough Egger?!
5. Stock up on healthy goods. Ironically, real Easter bunnies tend to prefer carrots, lettuce and foods that are waaaay healthier than chocolate! Make sure that you have lots of fruit out on display, ready for people to snack on. And if you’re cooking a Sunday roast, make sure that you pile your plate with the healthy, colourful vegetables rather than the beige spuds and Yorkshire puds…
6. Don’t beat yourself up. This is all part of family life and you’re allowed to enjoy it! Decide in advance what ‘treat’ you’re going to have and then draw the line at that. Don’t let the guilt send you into a spiral of indulgence. Make your choices and be proud of yourself for sticking to them!
7. Book in for my 4 week Spring Clean programme. Starting just after Easter, on 13 April, I’m running a 4 week Get Lean Spring Clean programme to shed off the layers of winter and help you feel better and brighter – more energy, less sludge and a perfect way to avoid that overindulgence spiral! Find out more info and book your place HERE. Go on, get booking!!

I’d love to hear about your Easter adventures – why not share in the comments box below, or swing by my Facebook page to tell your stories!

Did you know that I’ve also just started a newsletter? You can subscribe to receive the odd healthy morsel from me here.

4 steps to setting healthy goals that actually stick

The festive season is OVER! Hands up those of you who are secretly glad to get back to some kind of routine and a clean slate that a change in date seems to give us? Have you done the whole ‘new year’s resolution’ malarkey? Lemme guess… This year I will get fit and healthy, stop smoking, eat less, blah blah blah? I changed my tune about resolutions last year (read about my 2014 non-resolution here) and I have walked in 2015 feeling decidedly smug about all the things I achieved. So I’ll definitely be adopting a similar approach this year – let me know if you want to hear more about it (if you know me, you’ll know I’m prone to over-sharing!).

Whatever your approach to the new year is, if you’re looking to feel healthier all round, it pays big time to plan it properly and to really understand WHY you want to make changes. So go on, embrace your inner geek and spend an afternoon working through the questions below to make sure that you’re setting goals that you’re more likely to stick to. I find a pretty notebook helps…

1. What are the health problems that you’re worried about? Don’t just leap into the standard ‘I want to lose/gain 20kgs’ or whatever it might be. Think about the little (or large) things that niggle away at you… It could be that you haven’t had enough energy to play with your kids for ages. Or that you’re wheezing like a right wheezy thing after climbing the stairs. That your skin is as rough as a badger’s bum (why do I always pick on the badgers?!) and that you’re spottier than your teenage self. How do you really feel? Work your way down through your body from your head/scalp to your toes – and try not too be your own worst critic! We’re not looking to pick holes in our body confidence here, just to identify where you don’t FEEL good. Work out what worries you most right now.

2. What can you do about it? Once you’ve identified your main area of focus, spend some time thinking about what the way forward looks like. This is where working with a nutritional coach can really help (*ahem* coooey, over here!) 😉 … So if you want to feel bouncy and full of energy, what do you actually need to do? You’ll probably need to reassess your diet, exercise levels and hydration… Set yourself some SMART goals – something like ‘I’m going to drink at least 2 litres of water every day for the next year’ and specify HOW you’re going to do it… ‘by setting reminders on my phone, carrying a bottle of water with me, drinking 500ml before every meal/snack, etc etc’.

3. What can you do right now to take the first step? More often than not, if you have to wait a little while to start something, it’s harder to begin. We’re great procrastinators, us humans. So make sure you know what you can do the minute you’ve closed your pretty notebook and know what you’re working towards. It might be that you head straight to the shop to buy a water bottle that you’ll fill up every day and carry with you. Or you’ll immediately drink 500ml or set up the reminders on your phone. Whatever it is, take that step as soon as you can.

4. How will you know if you’re reaching your goals? If you’ve been fairly thorough with your SMART goal setting, then you’ll have worked through how you’ll measure success. A wall chart, or tick in a diary will help you measure whether you’ve stuck to the goal of drinking 2 litres of water a day. But think about the broader benefits too – the bigger picture. How will you expect to feel if you’re fully hydrated? What differences will you notice? Check in with yourself on a regular basis to see whether you’re noticing a change. If you consciously acknowledge the benefits of your hard work, then you’re more likely to stick to it.

If you’ve been struggling with setting yourself some goals for this fresh new year, hopefully this will kick start the thinking process for you. If you want to find out whether an appointment with me will help, just give me a shout – I can have a quick chat with you to help you decide whether it’s worth your while getting a helping hand!

Happy New Year lovely people! xx

My top 10 Christmas gifts for foodies

I promise I’m not just using this post as a subtle hint to anyone who might want to buy me a little pressie this Christmas… honest! With only a week to go until Christmas day, there’s not long left to get your pressies bought, wrapped and under the tree. If you have someone in your life who is a food lover, a master-chef in the making, or a wanna-be connoisseur of gourmet delights, then this might help inspire a few last-minute gift ideas. Hopefully you’ll find something that suits a range of different types of people and budgets – I’d love to know if you have any particular favourites to add to the list!

1. I am seriously hoping Father Christmas pops a spiralizer into my Xmas stocking this year (and no, that’s not a metaphor!)… I love veg, and this nifty little gadget turns most veg into noodles – great as a spaghetti substitute, or for jazzing up salads. And they don’t have to be expensive either – Amazon do an awesome selection, ranging from £3 to £50.
2. For folks who have landed with both feet firmly on the juicing/smoothie bandwagon, super cute mason jars make nice little stocking fillers. I like these ones from Etsy – they’re eco-friendly, spill-proof and can be personalised. Bottom’s up!
3. My healthy cookbook wishlist is ridiculously long – but I’m longing to try River Cottage Veg Everyday for top tasty vegetarian tips and tricks that everyone can incorporate into their lives.
4. I bought this grow your own Mushroom Kit for my dad and he LOVED it. If you have an agriculturally-curious foodie who doesn’t have a huge amount of space, this little box can bring a world of pleasure… and the produce is super tasty too!
5. I love the personalised gifts that you can get these days – and for a nice gift for the home chef, this gorgeous quality collection of chopping boards from The Rustic Dish are awesome. I’m a particular fan of the Banksy ones, although I love the plain olive wood boards too.
6. If someone you know has been hooked by the Great British Bake Off then chances are some lovely bakeware will be the icing on the cake for them this Christmas. I love these Love Bird measuring cups and Emma Bridgewater’s gorgeous cake tins. Super cute.
7. For someone who likes their kitchen appliances to be a little different – a trendsetter or futurist… this sleek Vision Toaster might do the trick – better than watching paint dry, you can now watch toast burn!
8. An indulgent afternoon tea with a twist – Afternoon Tea Bus Tours sound like the perfect way to do sight seeing in London! Big Ben and a cuppa on a bus? Mmmm… lovely, thanks.
9. I love the variety of choice you get for healthy food and gift hampers from Planet Organic. They cater for gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, inner cavemen (yes, really), organic wine lovers and more.
10. And for the younger generation, the aspiring foodies of tomorrow, I love this Kid’s Kit cheese-making set for curious and experimental children and adults alike. I love the idea of teaching future generations where food comes from (not that the kit includes any live animals, sadly… but at least it’s not pre-packaged cheese on a supermarket shelf!)

This list might have added a few bits to your last-minute wishlist too! Don’t forget, you can always ask for a NutriBelle consultation to help you get off to a healthy start in 2015 – committing yourself to a healthier future is one of the best gifts you can give yourself! Email me at bella@nutri-belle.co.uk to find out more.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM NUTRIBELLE 🙂 xxxx

The brilliance of bums, boobs and other bodily parts!

I was luckily to be taken away on a lovely long weekend in Spain a couple of weeks ago, for nutritional purposes, obviously – essential for topping up my vitamin D levels (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!). Walking through the sea of bodies soaking up the late summer rays on the beach, I was intrigued and fascinated by the different shapes and sizes, different levels of health, tone and vibrancy. My other half was fascinated too, but mainly cos a group of gals had decided to go topless *rolls eyes*…

Now obviously a tan helps people’s bodily confidence. But my beach meander highlighted to me the importance of feeling comfortable with your body. How many of us are truly happy enough to wear nothing more than a few triangles of clothing and a smile?

I think we spend so much time beating ourselves up for not having the ‘body beautiful’ that we forget to appreciate the great work that our bodies actually do. Yes, it’s probably true that each of us has room for improvement and a few things that we could do make us feel better. But have you actually considered what you inadvertently ask your body to do for you on a daily basis? Can you give it the credit it’s due?

Just as the wrinkles that we gain as we get a little older can be kindly attributed to ‘laughter lines’, a reminder of the happy times we’ve had, so the extra jiggle or stretch mark might be a gentle reminder… Your body might have made another human being, or you were so enveloped in the comfort and love of a new relationship that you didn’t notice the ‘love handles’ slipping onboard for the ride. Even the extra weight you gained during a particularly difficult patch in your life… All of them are a reminder that you’ve created, loved, battled and LIVED. And that’s a damn fine thing to be proud of.

But having said that, there’s a fine line between accepting our bodies for what they are, being grateful for what they’ve got us through and treating our bodies badly. Don’t get complacent and mistake acceptance for down right laziness. Fuel your body right, give it the nutrients it longs for. Stop feeding it crap. We genuinely are what we eat. So if you can’t read or recognise the ingredients on a label, you probably don’t want to be putting it in your mouth. Respect yourself enough to treat yourself right. Cos that body of yours deserves it. HELL YEAH!

###################################################################

On a slightly different note, I’m thrilled and excited to announce that NutriBelle, my nutritional coaching business, will be up and running in the next month! If you’d like to work with me in December or the new year, please drop me a note at

bella@nutri-belle.co.uk

xxx

Why you (and your inner diva) NEED to eat breakfast

My mum used to find it highly amusing that, as a toddler or grumpy teen, I always had the same morning ritual. Haul my ass out of bed (usually under great duress) and head straight for the breakfast table in a zombie-like coma. Must. Eat. Food. And slowly, but surely, with each mouthful of whatever it was, the human(ish) Bella would emerge and I’d leave the table a brighter and sunnier person (or so I’d like to believe!).

Turns out, I was setting myself up for an awesome habit that does me a power of good now that I’m a proper grown up (again, so I’d like to believe!). While I know that there are several of you out there who will argue that you can operate fine without breakfast, science backs up the fact that to get your body working properly throughout the day (not just at the beginning of it) then you need to start it right. And that means you need to break the fast and EAT! Preferably something healthy and filled with the good stuff. Don’t believe me? Here are 4 reasons why you need to find a way of starting the day right:

1. Manage your blood sugar levels. While you’re sleeping, your body is working away digesting all the food that you’ve eaten the night before. So when you wake up, there’s very little trace left of the nutrients in your blood stream and just the *ahem* remains waiting to be pooped out. And your blood sugar levels will be low enough to make you comparable with a grouchy grizzly. By gently raising your blood sugar levels first thing, you’re helping to manage your hunger levels throughout the day – leave it too late and chances are you’ll be reaching for a high calorie, high sugar ass-kicker snack mid morning because I’M-STARVING-AND-IF-I-DON’T-EAT-I-WILL-DIE (yep, low blood sugar may result in you turning into a melodramatic diva.) So give your metabolism a wake up call, get some stability in your blood sugar levels, and start the day as you mean to go on. And leave the diva at the door.

2. Wake up your brain. After a night’s sleep your brain cells will be running on empty – they need energy from the food you eat (that’s the glucose from complex carbohydrates) to refuel. Without that refueling, your brain will struggle to operate on all cylinders, which means that processing information or managing complex challenges (so things like forming and retrieving memories) are all a little bit too tricky. But by giving your brain the boost that it needs through food, it’s all set to be bright and alert and all those other things that you’d probably find life easier with!

3. Get your vitamin fix. Grabbing some fruit, yoghurt, and wholegrains for breakfast is a sure fire way to make sure that you’re getting a swift vitamin shot. It’ll pump you full of vitamin B for maximum energy and keep your immune system healthy with vitamins A, C and zinc. And that diva that you left at the door? She’ll be replaced by the happier version thanks to a lift in your seratonin levels. Happy shiny people!

4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I’ve waffled on about the importance of drinking enough water before and breakfast is a great place to start. I like to down a glass of the good stuff first thing to help make sure that my body has the fluid it needs. And don’t forget that pile of digested poop waiting for you to wake up… water will help with that too! But you can eat your water too – fruit is packed full of it! Don’t get too attached to strong caffienated drinks though – that diva might make a re-appearance.

UGH FINE… But I don’t have TIME.
Just because you need to kick start your system doesn’t mean you need to labour over a mammoth feast, or get up a gazzilion hours earlier to create some exquisitely complex sensation for your taste buds. When it comes to my top 3 breakfasts, taste and simplicity are key. I tend to eat mine either at my desk or before I leave the house. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to hang about faffing over the preparation. Sometimes, that means getting things prepped the night before. Trust me, that little bit of effort can make morning life a whole load more peaceful!

Fruity yoghurt-to-go: This is a night-before-er. Half-fill a Tuppaware with frozen berries (I prefer the mixed ones). Chuck 20-40g of oats on top, spoon in some Greek yoghurt and sprinkle with a tablespoon of milled seeds/nuts. Takes you 3 mins to make. Then all you need to do in the morning is remember to take it with you! And there you have a vitamin-packed breakfast, super tasty, with all the nutrients.

Smashed eggs on toast: Sounds like a palava, really isn’t. Stick your toast (wholegrain, or sprouted if you can!) on while you’re heating a pan with a tsp of coconut oil. When the pan is hot, crack in 2 eggs and smash them up (it’s a less-hassle scrambled egg!) and season. Plop them (as elegantly as you can for first thing in the morning!) onto your toast. To get the full nutritional brownie points from this, whack in a handful of spinach at the same time as the egg and smash it all up together. Or just serve with some avocado or tomatoes. That’ll do too.

Chia and cinnamon oat pot: Might be flashing a few ‘health freak’ warning bells to some of you, but you can get chia seeds from pretty much anywhere these days! They’re packed full of omega 3 and are hailed as a superfood of the moment. I like to chuck a tablespoon into my trusty Tuppaware pot along with a tbsp of desicated coconut, milled flax seed, 40g oats and a tsp of cinnamon. Cover the mix with milk of your choice (I like this one with almond milk) and mix it up, ready to soak in the fridge overnight. Chia seeds start to soak up the liquid and make it go gooey… which is perfect for you to take out in the morning, top with greek yoghurt, blueberries and a drizzle of honey if it’s not sweet enough for you.

I have loads more breakfast ideas – from smoothies and pancakes to sweet bakes and savoury delights! Why not share some of yours below? Are you a breakfast lover?

How to work out what a ‘healthy diet’ means for you

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

If you’re anything like me and you have a slight interest in keeping healthy, you would have done your fair share of reading things about how to adopt a healthy lifestyle. You may even have made some changes to your diet as a result of this… Carbs are the devil sound familiar to anyone?

I’ve spent a lot of time (and in some cases money) following trends, fads, lifestyles in the past… and yes, I’ve seen results. Me and my inner cave girl loved the lean feeling from the Paleo diet for example – you cut out all grains, dairy, starches and legumes, and basically live off the natural protein and vegetables that cavemen would have (the argument being that this type of nutritional approach appeals to our natural genetic makeup). It’s fairly similar to the Harcombe diet which says that sugar is the absolute spawn of Satan and that (good) fat is the way forward (so again, basically, just eat meat and veg). And there are hundreds of other ‘ways of life’ (as in ‘oh hell no, this ain’t another diet, this is a way of life man!’) that undoubtedly have the right kind of reactions and suit an awful lot of people. But not me.

My problem with these different lifestyles is that I just couldn’t make them stick – the extremist in me just couldn’t make it work. So I’d follow the rules religiously for a few months, lose weight and feel good…. but then it would all come crashing down around my feet (my arse that is), as I couldn’t sustain it. There are a number of reasons why, and they all sound like excuses:

• I didn’t have the time or desire to bake my own healthy paleo snacks that didn’t really taste like the things I was actually longing for
• I was doing it on my own with little support except for the online community I’d found
• There were RULES man, RULES. And lots of them. Who wants to follow rules?!
• PMS vs paleo…. PMS wins. Hands down.

I could go on, but you get my drift. And for everyone of my friends who have had some amazing success with other ways of life, man like WeightWatchers, Slimming World and all that jazz, there are other friends who have given up all hope in a point-counting whirlpool of frustration. So I’m guessing I’m not alone.

When I started this nutrition course, I was faced with the Eatwell Plate. The actual nemesis of someone like Dr Zoe Harcombe. It says we should EAT CARBS *GASP*! And, not only that, it makes allowances for foods high in FAT and SUGAR *DOUBLE GASP*!!!! I can’t tell you how this screwed with my mind… I was genuinely torn. I’d just committed to doing a course that went against everything I’ve spent the last few years of my life believing.

But then as I carried on with the course, I think I got it. You only need to watch programmes on TV like Secret Eaters to realise that the majority of the population are incredibly naive when it comes to understanding the basics of healthy eating. And who can blame them, with there being 1,001 uber confusing messages out there. To me, the Eatwell Plate is a classic representation of everything in moderation… it’s a guide. Something to help people understand what moderation looks like, to get people thinking about what ‘healthy’ might mean for them. It’s not asking you to give up entire chunks of your diet. It’s letting you know how much of those chunks is a good/bad thing. For people who can and are able to commit to a more intensive way of life, then that’s great – if it’s working for you and you can stick to it, that’s awesome. But for others who find it difficult to wade through the sea of conflicting messages, moderation is healthier than doing nothing.