We make these balls all the time here at The Zest Life and serve them on our retreats for our afternoon snack. They go down a storm. They make the perfect healthy, nutritious snack and are so easy to make. They are small but mighty, you only need one to give you that energy boost. (more…)
Ramsons other wise known as Wild Garlic make the most quirky flavoured pesto. We started created this recipe last year after learning more and more about foraging and eating from the wild. The leaves start to appear around mid March and the flowers a few weeks following. Make sure you are confident at identifying the plant, (mind you the smell is so strong you can’t miss them), then once you’ve located a patch get harvesting and cooking.
Spring is in the air and its time to draw upon the foods and recipes that help cleanse our bodies at this time of year. A great friend and fellow yogi Tara Copp Barton shared this great recipe with us. This pea and mint soup, is spring and vitality all wrapped up in one easy and delicious meal. We serve it as a light lunch on our spring sensation retreats, it always goes down a treat.
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Yoganosis. Why bring yoga and hypnotherapy together?
Well, firstly they are the greatest tools that I have in my kit bag for life. They have seen me through the many trials and tribulations that life has thrown at me. They have been with me for over ten years now and I can safely say that I don’t think I would be here today with out them. I had my first hypnotherapy aged 21 at my peak of “shitness”. Post aneroxia and in the depths of bulimia and depression. Unable to get out of bed, let alone be social, hold down a job, or do any of the crazy things 21 year olds are supposed to do.
Putting yoga and hypnotherpay together, I know what physical yoga postures we need to do to get to an openhearted, free place, but it got me thinking as to what it truly means to feel open hearted on an emotional level. (more…)
This is my favourite dessert in the world. It is so refreshing and cool and compliments any main meal. It is a real palate cleanser but hits the sweet spot too. I first experienced this pie whilst out in Bali last year on a yoga teacher training programme. Throughout the training we had fabulous raw food, keeping us fit and healthy. There was so much interest in the food that they decided to host a raw food cooking day, to share the knowledge. It was led by a wonderful local lady who had her own raw food cafe in the cultural town of Ubud. I have two recipes for this pie, one for when you are in Bali and you have fresh ingredients and coconuts available and one for back in the UK when we have to settle for supermarket supplies. Either way its all raw and amazing. There is no wheat, dairy, gluten or eggs in this. This recipe shows us that just because we are choosing to eat healthily doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice taste and flavour. Can’t wait to share with you, here goes. (more…)
I first experienced Babaganoush, this smokey Aubergine dip whilst on a yoga holiday to Dahab in Egypt many years ago. We had packed up a land rover and headed out into the desert for a couple of days with local Bedouin guides. We slept under the stars and practised yoga at sunset, it was truly magical. Every meal I was amazed at the array of local wholesome food our guides created over a simple camp fire. Babaganoush was one of them and ever since then I have been a fan. Humous will always be the winner but Babaganoush comes in a close second! Making this dip is a bite like making Humous, in the fact that it can go so wrong, when the proportions of Tahini are not right. But this is a great recipe, it’s so simple and very delicious. Enjoy. (more…)
Laura’s Learnings
Things I have learnt this year navigating my way through the fields of life.
1. Too much of a good thing is wonderful. So much of the time we are thinking. We think too much, we judge, analyze, dither and ponder. Yoga teaches us to get out of our thinking heads and encourages us to get into our feeling hearts. Often we don’t pursue life experiences and relationships, even though they are great, for fear of what might happen, pain and failure. It’s the negative chitta chatta that prevents us from really grabbing life and living fully. But my experience is, if we simply get out of our crazy thinking heads and get into our bodies, we stand a much better chance of flowing with the greatness of life. When things feel good, we are then able to run with them. Stop dithering and analyzing and simply go with all the good things that come your way.
This recipe has a little story… it was given to me by my friend’s sister. Her family home was always a joy to visit. She had two young children and the kitchen was a constant hive of activity. Glueing and sticking craft sessions going on one minute, to baking cakes the next, before turning everything around to create lunches that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Breakfast was no different. An array of delights would be laid out, from yoghurts, to fruit, criossant and toasts. This granola in all its glory, full of apricots, coconut, nuts and seeds, was always present. (more…)
I happened upon this recipe last year when I got a bit carried away with the old blackberry picking and after making endless jars of jam and numerous pies I still had a glut of berries left over. This recipe is from the Good Food website and the squares make a perfect afternoon snack or as a dessert served with cream. You can use this recipe in the summer by substituting the blackberries for strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. (more…)
These chocolate balls are pure indulgence when you need that chocolate fix. They also make perfect gifts, or as an after dinner sweetness. What is great is that there is no junk in them, all the ingredients are so good for you and they are so simple to make. Over the years of making these chocolate balls, I have adapted the basic recipe, experimenting with different flavours to the basic mix. I like to keep the flavours seasonal and love adding a tablespoon of mince meat for a christmas twist. (more…)
