Cos I eats me spinach!

This is what I have been having for breakfast the past few days. A nutritional whack round the back of the head.

The glowing green smoothie!
It's a blend of green leaves and fruit and believe it or not it does not make you boke. In fact it tastes lovely. It was a recommendation by a friend who got it from Kimberley Snyder's Beauty detox. The recipe I have been using is,

1 bag of spinach or kale,
1 little gem lettuce
2 stalks of celery
I apple
1 pear
1 banana
juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon
1 glass of cold water
half a glass of fruit juice (just to add some more sweetness if it's too salady tasting)

Put it all in your blender, press start, job done. Put the water in first and add the stuff slowly if like me you haven't got a super duper blender.
This smoothie will give you loads of energy, make you slim and make you beautiful. If you don't believe me go to kimberly's website and see for yourself.

ee aye ee aye oh!

Old McDonald's Factory Farm

“Isn’t man an amazing animal?  He kills wildlife by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed.  Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them.  This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative–and fatal–health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer.  So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.  Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.  Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out cards praying for ‘Peace on Earth.’”
-by C. David Coates

not taken by damien hirst

Barbie brings in the new year

Here is something I wrote for Clydelife about sticking to new Year resolutions. It's a bit cheesy but that is the nature of the beast.

In the aftermath of the Great British Christmas binge we very often make rash new year resolutions as we gasp in horror in front of the mirror at our expanding waistlines. 

“Right, I’m giving up the bevvy, I will never drink again”

“That’s it, no more crisps for me. Ever!” 

“Total detox!”

But once the dust settles on our initial shock, slowly but surely (usually before the end of January...) the old habits start to creep back in.

“It’s Friday night, I’ll just have the one glass of wine”

“It’s Saturday night, I may as well finish that bottle I opened last night. It would be a bigger sin to waste it.”

Half an hour later there we are, rummaging through the cupboards throwing apples, bananas, mung beans and museli out of the way in the desperate search for an overlooked bag of kettle chips.

Okay maybe I have exaggerated  the situation but does this sound even a wee bit familiar? If the answer is yes, then why do we find it so blooming hard to stick to health and fitness resolutions?

Easy. Most resolutions we make are too far removed from our comfort zones. I will repeat that again louder. MOST RESOLUTIONS WE MAKE ARE TOO FAR REMOVED FROM OUR COMFORT ZONES.

Everybody has a level of comfort that needs to be maintained in order to preserve the status quo and feel safe. If you are a habitual couch potato it’s highly unlikely you will stick to an exercise regimen for any length of time and if you love your wine of an evening you have little chance of becoming clean and serene overnight.

In order to be truly successful and create the change we want we need to expand our comfort zones. The good news is that this is possible and doing it can be relatively painless if you have a plan and are prepared.

Use the replacement theory. Each month take one bad habit and replace it with one good habit.  For example;

 “As soon as I get in from work I pour myself a large glass of wine.”

 Why not pour yourself a large glass of water or juice instead. Changing this one behaviour is giving you two benefits. Your liver (god love it) instead of having to work to metabolize the alcohol is being treated to a hydrating flush of health giving H20 or juice.

“Every night I slump in front of the telly after dinner”

You don’t have to join a gym, simply put on your coat and go out for a twenty minute fast walk or if the weather is too hideous you could consider investing in a rebounder ( a mini trampoline) and having a twenty minute bounce. It’s only twenty minutes out your day and those minutes will strengthen your heart and lungs and raise your metabolism.

It is the little things that make the biggest differences. If every month of this year you made a resolution to take one bad habit and replace it with one good one that would be twenty four positive changes. Those twenty four small changes would equal one massive difference. Imagine how fit the person looking back at you from the mirror in January 2013 would be. 

I reigned it in and feel much better thanks

Vegan Bitch

I first became aware of the 'diet' book, Skinny Bitch when Victoria Beckham was photographed clutching a copy. Obviously I didn't read it (if it's endorsed by the grand dame of Essex ambition I am generally not interested-sorry 'posh').

Photo not taken during her vegan phase...

I came across it again recently when I was reading a blog post about juicing that happened to be by one of the authors, Rory Freedman. She explained that herself and her friend, Kim Barnouin had written 'Skinny Bitch' as a way of raising awareness on the benefits of adopting a vegan lifestyle while cleverly diguising it as a diet book.

I downloaded a copy and read it at the weekend. Very persuasive and hilarious. One chapter starts with "Suck on your mother's tits. Go on suck on your mother's tits" (yes, it's about why adults don't need to drink milk.) Possibly a little prohibitive for most but if you like a bit of swearing and hardcore brutal imagery with your nutrition choices then this is the book for you.

Since reading I've switched to soya milk and will never eat a farmed animal again. Thanks bitches!

Green, red, yellow, purple and orange stuff

My sister Louise gave me this book for Christmas (I gave her a second hand scarf and a box of porridge- she has kids, she doesn't care!) and I can't recommend it highly enough.
I flicked through the pages after I returned to bed at my mothers house on new Years day and just looking at the lovely pictures and reading Hugh's very seductive prose on veg made my hangover abate enough to give me the strength to join the family for dinner.
If you want to make vegetables a bigger part of your diet why not give it a go.
Last night I made the sweet potato gratin (gorgeous if I say so myself) and today I am making sweet potato curried soup (all coconutty and chilli).
It is half price on Amazon at the mo. Not so much a book but an investment in your health.

Running on Gratitude

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.” -Buddha


When I unveiled my great happiness plan my sometime yoga buddy, Patrick Costello (or the Karmic King of the Central Line, as I like to call him) suggested developing an 'attitude of gratitude'.


 I have tried briefly keeping a gratitude journal in the past. It was an iphone app recommended by the mighty Oprah (I just checked my phone for it there, but I now remember deleting it because what I had written made me cringe.) It never really resonated with me. Tapping letters onto a touch screen never helped me experience thankfulness. I'm never sure how well gadgetry and spirituality weld together, probably better with an old fashioned pen and paper.


Anyway I did some research on the topic and scientists have found that keeping a gratitude journal for 3 weeks on a whole made people 25% happier, drink less alcohol and exercise more. So this seems to fit perfectly with my happiness plan. you can read more about the benefits of gratitude here.

And if like me you have experienced a bit of trouble in actually understanding what it means to be grateful and why it is a good attitude to cultivate have a look at this.




So how I am going to fit this into my already bustling schedule? The key is in multi-tasking. Every time I run I will make it into a meditation in gratitude. I will give thanks for my feet and everything else I have in my life. (the bad as well as the good, be just as grateful for the bad shiz because that is when you will truly learn to be thankful)


If being happier is of interest to you I hope that you will visit the two pages I have put in as links (I have trawled through the not so good pages so you don't have to)


Thanks to Pat for the reminder and I thank you for reading this and wonder what you are grateful for today.

The pursuit of happiness

the lesser spotted

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.  ~James Openheim


It's January 3rd and Oh no! According to surveys it is the most depressing day of 2012 ( apparently we will all take stock on national debt, the bleak year ahead, personal debt, no future, worldwide debt blah blah blah) It was only two days ago we were all wishing each other a 'Happy" new year and already the media are telling us it's time to get miserable again (the swines!)
Which brings me to my point. Is it possible to make yourself happy even if you are feeling hopeless. Can one lure the bluebird of happiness down from it's perch and force it to sit on one's shoulder and sing it's cheery song even if circumstances are telling it to migrate.
This is my January challenge. The cultivation of happiness. Happiness that doesn't depend on any external event but homegrown happiness that comes from within. Happiness that doesn't relate to any material gain or ambition filled but a personal intangible asset. Emotional wealth is what I am after.

My plan is simple. 
It is a well known fact that endorphins make you feel better so every day I will work out (just took up running again after a 7 year hiatus)
Alcohol is a depressant so I will avoid drinking it (Just poured the last of the christmas bevvy down the sink!). 
Positive affirmations are said to improve mental health so I have downloaded a hypnotic happy app onto my iphone and intend to listen to it every day throughout January.
I will care for myself better with nutritionally sound food.
And thats it. No big deal. 
A small series of positive actions that will lead me towards a happier state of mind. Do it and eventually you will become it.
Happier new year? The choice is ours.