Is your Health Hitting the Sweet Spot?

Writing this just before heading off to the beautiful northeast for a week of chilling and mellowness with the lovely man and the loopy doggo, so this is my first experience of using LinkedIn’s scheduling facilities. Let’s see how it goes for the ultimate technophobe… ??

Good things to tell you about that are wins for all sorts of reasons:

?? Dr Ayan Panja ’s book, The Health Fix. ?

It’s a great read: shortish, very easy to digest, unlike some books on health, with lots of quick and easy takeaways, and just enough medical science for clarity. Like his buddy Dr Chatterjee, Dr Panja just wants us all to understand that our health is in our own hands.

It’s not a substitute for a visit to the doctor if you’re symptomatic and worried, but it is, for sure, a really great overview of how to do health and get yourself a bigger helping of it if you’re feeling the need.

Best for: the bullet-pointed chapter summaries at the end of each chapter, and the IDEAL ‘how to’ framework so you can be your own health coach. Win.

??? Fiona Beckett ’s book, How to Drink Without Drinking.

Because I’m on the wagon these days, but the neuro-spicy brain says no to water and the rest of me says no to shedloads of sugar or additives. What’s a gal going to do? She’s going to get some zero-alcohol flavour in her glass, of course!

Lots of lovely pictures, some helpful recommendations for alcohol-free drinks from the Guardian’s wine columnist, so you can trust that you’re not going to be drinking something revolting, and for the foodie fermenter in me, a great section on ferments including kombucha and the extremely interesting sounding Kvass, from Eastern Europe, made from rye sourdough. Watch this space: I’ll report back... ??

Best for: glorious, lush styling and a great bunch of resources at the back of the book, so you can enjoy being alcohol-free without being flavour-free.

?? Arman Liew ’s book, Clean Sweets.

A random gift from the lovely man, because he knows me well, this little book is from a food blogger (find him at https://thebigmansworld.com) and author of two books, this one, and Clean Snacks.

It’s by the Aussie who can’t not have pudding – but wants to do so on his own terms, which are basically to have a protein boost in any given pud, with as little sugar as he can. It’s a great book for a foodie, or anyone with a sweet tooth, or who needs their food to be gluten-free, and it can work in the right way for YOU: he gives alternatives for sugar types, flour types, dairy, and protein powders, and he totally gets the need for speed, hence his recipe for a flourless blueberry muffin that needs a mere 60-90 seconds in the microwave… Not all recipes require protein powders, either, so please don’t be put off by that. (I was, a little, as I operate on the basis that if it's got 5+ ingredients, or ingredients I haven't got in my food cupboard, I'll think twice about making it, so protein powders are not a thing for me, but I'm going to look into them.)

Best for: the eye-opener into a totally different way of cooking – for me, at any rate – because who knew you could make ice cream with sweet potato???

Right, shed-loads to do as I haven’t started packing yet and Mr Organised will be here with the loopy one before I know it.

Enjoy some sweetness with your sunshine and look out for the elderflower in bloom; get your noses into it and snort up something delightful as the herald of summertime has finally arrived!

Want to do something wellness-wise for your business or for yourself? I can help. DM me here, and let’s make your slice of the wellness pie* a bigger one!

See you next time,

Lois

p.s. I actually HAD a green straw exactly like this when I was little. I had forgotten. Thanks, Bitmoji, for reminding me. ??

p.p.s. *Wellness pie is DELICIOUS. Low sugar, rich in colour and flavour and often served with homemade ice cream here in South Wales…