Strong in Body, Peace in Mind

Have you ever had an itching urge to kick all bad habits, smoking, alcohol, bad food and lack of exercise in a desperate effort to cleanse yourself? It's a spring cleaning thing, I reckon. It happens to me every year around this time. 2010 was the Grape Diet year. For four days straight, I "cleansed" my body with this supposed anti-oxidant miracle remedy. I cut out alcohol and all things toxic a week after wards. I felt light on my feet, strong in my body and re-energised. 2009 was the year of the Master Cleanse. Terrifyingly difficult and torturous, I managed to pull through and I was rocket of energy for days on end. In 2011 however, I'm not so much in the mood to starve and torture myself. In 2011, it's all about feeling strong in body and having peace in mind without taking extreme measures and becoming an anti-social hermit because of it. 

Yeotown Main House

 Yeotown Suite

Being a bit of a yoga nut, I decided, last weekend, to drag my mother to a yoga retreat - one of the most respected yoga retreats in the country. Well, to be fair, I dragged her, but she treated me. Voted by Tatler as one of the top 10 spas of the world and Harper's Bazaar as one of the top detoxifying destinations in the country, Yeotown Devon truly is the ultimate place for a mind and body cleanse. 

 Yeotown Yoga Studio

Tree Pose  

Choose a yoga or a detox programme and get carried away by the amazing classes, food and natural beauty of the surroundings. It truly is one of the most peaceful places I've ever been to. And let me assure you, two hours of power yoga in the morning plus 2 hours of restorative yoga in the afternoon, a massage and walk in the woods, for 3 days straight, beat the hell out of a grape or master cleanse cure. No pain (not really), no starvation, no anti-social lock ins, you'll find yourself refreshed, empowered and addicted to a healthy lifestyle. 

"Artistic" shot of newly pedicured foot on basin of rose petals

Buddha sculpture in front of main house

So fine, if you're short on cash, need a quick and efficient cleanse and you're not afraid of low bouts of energy during work hours and missing out on the pub run with friends, the four day master cleanse is the right choice for you. And again short term gratification is the goal for this type of programme. If you're one to need a solid make-over, a long-term cleansing and empowering solution, then Yeotown is where you should be headed to next weekend.

They Make You Bake

It's like Colour Me Mine but for foodies or Paint By Numbers with edible ingredients. It's the latest form of microwave-oven dinners. And it's so good and so sinfully easy, you'll never go Dominos again. 

Here's the idea: you pick up your "nearly baked" pizza at The Pizza Makers. You glance over the wonderful menu of pizzas available and then, you select your favourite Margherita, Artichoke, Pepperoni or Prosciutto pizza recipe. You put in your order - and in the blink of an eye, your pizza is ready. Well, not quite. You let the pizzaiolos work their magic on the dough and the balanced distribution of ingredients on the beautiful blank canvas. It's the job of your home-oven to finish the masterpiece. And voila! It's DIY Pizza!

They make it, you bake it. Nowadays, who even makes their own pizza anyways? But then again, who enjoys biting into a take-pizza whose dough is half soggy and sticking to the back of your teeth from traveling for God knows how long in the back of a Dominos delivery vespa? That's right, zesties. Nobody. That's why, it's time for a revolution. 

Bite into that crispy, thin-crust, fresh and tasty - the one you nearly made from scratch - delicious pizza and enjoy! Okay, so there's a minus. It's in Chiswick. But hang on, I was there last month and compared to Shebu, it's not half bad! Jokes aside, it's an up and coming area full of yummy mummies and upscale boutiques, with a grungy flair. So now you've got yet another reason to visit the neighborhood. 

The Pizza Makers

85 Chiswick High Road(corner of Chiswick Lane)
W4 2EF
020 8994 8080

Water: Drink Responsibly

Are you one of those avid water drinkers? You never leave the house without clutching a water bottle. You always drink between meals and never during. It's two liters of waters per day, not one. Yeah, you know all the rules. You think you're the water expert. There's just one rule you're missing though. By buying and using new water bottles each day, you are going against the basic philosophy of recycling, a philosophy we humans preach but hardly ever exercise; polluting the earth and creating unnecessary waste around us. Yes, okay, I'm guilty, I like my occasional Evian bottle and enjoy the sporadic sip or two when I'm on the go. Sometimes, I even go out of my way to buy my fashionable and yes, delicious, Voss Water. My dear friend works for them in Asia and really believes in the water's nutritional values. I completely buy into it. At restaurants though, I've gotten into the habit of ordering tap water. It's not cool, but it makes me feel a little bit better about myself each time. 

Recently I've been introduced to the unbelievably sleek and clever Bobble Water Bottles. Bobble is a £10 portable reusable water bottle invented by world-renowned industrial designer Karim Rashid. Its clever design incorporates a filter, which equates to at least 300 water bottles, substantially reducing the waste otherwise generated by disposable water bottles. Change the filter approximately every two months and wash the bottle every so often. How easy is that?

Available in different colours online and in various Planet Organic Stores throughout London per location below:

Muswell Hill:

111/117 Muswell Hill Road
London
N10 3HS

Notting Hill:

42 Westbourne Grove
London
W2 5SH

Central London:

22 Torrington Place
London
WC1E 7HJ

Islington:

64 Essex Road
London
N1 8LR

Eliza Does A Lot

If you haven't yet heard Eliza Doolittle's gleeful, lovable, Spring-in-her-step album, no sweat, she is performing it live this Saturday, 9th of April at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (London) as part of her global  2011 tour. And if you can't make it to that, she's got a Gold album, 22 years of age and a whole lot of career ahead of her. 

 

Known for her juicy tunes "Skinny Genes" and "Pack Up", and her delicious golden summery voice, she is Britain's, better yet, Pop music's, next it thing and she has definitely won me over. Nevermind that she is Moschino's new mascot and muse, that she has killer legs and a great sense of fashion - London-style. She also has tunes that will blow a breezy wind through your hair on those hot summer days. So hurry up, Zesties, and book these tickets now for she will not be be kept a secret for long.

Eliza Doolittle

@ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

19:00 - ticket price £16.45

 

As Close As It Gets to the French Pharmacy

There is one really huge thing I miss about France these days, aside from, well okay, a lot of things. But lately, what with Springtime being nigh, the sunshine lending us its delicious rays and pollen allergies kicking in, I feel a dire need of a pharmacy run. I generally get my pharma-fix once a year, when visiting family and friends in Paris. I spend about 60 euros (who am I kidding, 100?) on Homeopathics, shampoos and conditionners, body oils, waxing strips, curing creams and gels, and last but not least, my beta-carotene sun capsules (from Oenobiol Solaire). I just find the pharmacy experience that much more pleasant over there. I guess I'm just a bit of a pharma-snob. And judge me all you want, but I'm just not that big of a Boots fan. There is no such thing as an enjoyable Boots run. It's get in and get out. So where to go where Lifestyle Guru Gwyneth shops for her fantastic pharmaceuticals? I found just the place today on my Covent Garden lunch run.

 

The Garden Pharmacy is as close as it gets to a good-old fashioned, vintage French apothecary and carries all of the essential go-to French products. Here are some of my body and healthcare products of choice:

 Oscillococcinum: the homeopathic cure-all for seasonal flus

 Caudalie Makeup Remover: gentle and strong at once; no need to use 2 cotton swabs, one is enough

 Biotherm Aquathermale Spa Body Scrub: exfoliator and scrub for the body

Avene Eau Thermale: perfect mist of clean, mineral water for irritated and dry skin

 

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse: For a smoothe and silky skin on those summer nights

 Klorane Shampoo and Conditionner: For all hair types; leaves your hair feeling rich and healthy

No need to plan your next Parisian trip around your cosmetics. Find all you'll ever need in terms of delicious cosmetics in the midst of busy Central London, but enjoy your pharmacy run too!

Muffins Are So Yesterday

#Forget about doughnuts, gelato and choc chip cookies
#Muffins are so yesterday
#At Wafflemeister I lost my heart
#OMG, just discovered WM and I'm in heaven

These are some of the tweets on Wafflemeister's Twitter. That's right, it's all about waffles these days (yes, and about Twitter too, as I've discovered for myself). And guess what? Waffles don't have to be rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol to be a tasty delight. At Wafflemeister, that's not what it's about. The all-natural Waffle dough recipe at the South Ken Waffle Bar is made from organic and fresh ingredients, and topped with all-natural chocolate, berries, nuts, whipped cream and coconut flakes! Have it for breakfast, dessert or for your 5pm snack. Have it as a midnight munch. The place is open til 00:00. You can go for the no-fuss dark or milk chocolate drizzle option or the banana, nuts and fudgetastic waffle spectaculaire. Hey, what other important decisions do you have to make this week?

Check out WM's new Notting Hill spot on Portobello Road.

Zesties. Go. Indulge.

Wafflemeister:

26 Cromwell Place

SW7 2DL 

020 7193 8649

&

137 Portobello Road

London W11 2DY

020 7221 1153

Oh and come follow me on Twitter!

An Ode to Something British: The Jacket Potato

It's the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich of the Albion. The Moules Frites of the Brits. The Kung Pao Chicken of Mother England. A carb/fat fest on crack. The good ol' traditional, sloppy, slimey and incredibly salty jacket potato is something I've only recently discovered - not because I wasn't aware of it, but simply because I wasn't ready for it. And quite frightened of it to be perfectly honest. That's right, to enjoy the Jacket Potato moment, you've gotta be ready, you've gotta be open to an indulgent, rich and somewhat surprising culinary experience. Well, it took me ages - two and half years to be exact - but I finally sunk my teeth into the JP with beans and cheese earlier this week. And I wolfed it down.

 

It's not that I don't see what you see. This looks positively gross. The orange colour from the bean sause looks awfully artificial and the runniness of the melted cheese could tie a stomach in knots for days. Call me crazy but I think that sounds like a recipe for a fabulous Monday work lunch. At the divey Franx cafe in Covent Garden, you couldn't find a cheaper, more delicious and absolutely fantastic JP with beans and cheese. Add a dollop of bacon and you're all set.

I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to the Jacket Potato in London. If you zesties have got any recommendations, I would love to hear them.

Enjoy the early Spring sunshine!