Love Your Guts
Smoothie Face.
The face we pull when we drink smoothies. I like to think of it as a perfectly balanced mixed emotion between ‘my god how can this be healthy?!’ & ‘this is heaven!’.
This week’s Smoothie Face is by Alexandra Nickoll
Easy Peazy.
Love this tip from Meg Thompson of My Wholefood Romance. All you need to do is blend some watermelon, strawberries & mint together, pour them into moulds & freeze.
We’ve tried and tested, and they are good!
We loved having Miss Lola Berry in the Proteini house Tuesday night for the launch of her new book: Lola Berry’s Little Book of Smoothies & Juices.
Congrats Lola!
Will My Bananas Ripen? (This is not a metaphor)
If you’re like me, you’ve been known to ponder, squeeze, try to understand and pray that you’re hard looking fruit will magically ripen and become luscious a few days after purchase, but how do you know? This week I came across these handy tips by Goop about which fruits continue to ripen after they’re picked and which just don’t. Click the image to read more
Mango - Yes! Mangoes ripen and get sweeter after they’re picked.
Watermelon - No! Avoid bruising, soft spots or cracks. Look for the yellow ‘field spot’ (the spot where the watermelon was sitting on the ground). If the field spot is white or non-existent it will probably be underripe.
Bananas - Yes! Bananas will ripen a great deal and can be picked green.
Peaches - Yes! They get softer & juicer, but not sweeter.
Rockmelon / Cantaloupe (depending on where you’re from) - Yes! They get softer and juicer, but not sweeter.
Pears - Yes! Pears get softer and sweeter.
Avocado - Yes! Avocados only ripen off the vine. Avoid bruising, soft spots and cracks.
Raspberries - No! Look for a uniform deep red colour. Avoid mushy, mouldy to leaking berries.
Pineapple - No! Pineapples can be green in colour but its best to look for a yellow colour at the base or all the way up the fruit. The leaves at the top should be green and the skin firm.
Strawberries - No! Look for strawberries that are red in colour. They stay light green when picked too early.
Apples - Yes! Apples get softer and sweeter.
Blueberries - Yes! They get softer and juicer, but not sweeter
Grapes - No! Look for plump, firm grapes that are strongly attached to fresh looking stems. Avoid bruising and brown spots.
Take a dip this week (it’s good for you).
Find out why swimming is the bee’s knees of exercise.
Did you know swimming has been called the ‘perfect exercise’. With all the benefits of an aerobic workout without the damaging impact on your joints we can see why. But just incase you aren’t convinced here’s a few other benefits to swimming a few laps.
- Swimming improves muscle definition and strength in the entire body (while runners build muscle in their legs, swimmers use more muscle groups to move through the water).
- Swimming keeps you bendy. It requires you to reach, stretch and twist as you pull yourself through the water, over time improving flexibility
- Swimming burns calories, lots of them. We all know swimming burns calories, after all you’re moving, but most don’t realise it can be just as efficient as running on the treadmill. Depending on your stroke and intensity, swimming can burn equal or greater calories than running.
- Swimming can improve exercise-induced Asthma. Unlike working out in dry gym air or seasonal pollen environments, swimming allows you to breathe moist air while you train. Not only does swimming help alleviate asthma symptoms it can also improve the overall condition of your lungs over time.
- Swimming can reduce stress and depression. Natural endorphins, yes please! We’ve heard people talk about a runner’s high but swimming can also bring out these feel good emotions. In addition to happy feels, swimming can also achieve a calming, meditative experience - a relaxation response similar to yoga.
- Salt water swimming for the skin. Swimming in salt water can be a great beauty treatment for your skin, moistening and detoxing to promote new cell growth.
Research sourced via Life Hack
