Why stop your summer detox now ?
- gdouvall
- Sep 14, 2017
- 5 min read
Hello lovely reader,
Summer is over and it is time to get back into the swing of things, so we might be getting back to school, work, internship or another holliday. As we get caught up into our routine, we might not give ourselves the proper time and care we deserve. Some of us spent all summer being extra healthy because we were constantly outside, hiking, traveling, doing yoga, pilates, running on the beach (options are limitless); there is no better way to keep going with our adventures by the beach or in a new city than a refreshing smoothie, acai bowl, protein full omelet, Kombucha drinks on the go. A lot of us who believe in a healthy balanced lifestyle choose organic products such as Douvall in order to further portray how a healthy gut is equal to healthy skin. Both go hand in hand. What is the point of working so hard at the gym, if your diet is poor a can lead to a leaky gut or inflammation, which the impacts will be seen on your skin?
That is why we want to motivate you to make the end of 2017 and the start of 2018 your healthiest year yet. There are so many options out there in order for you to find what works for you and what makes you happy. We follow a strict vegan diet, however there are many other routes one can take to be healthy without going to extremes. It’s all about balance and not pushing too hard, or you will crash and burn.
It took us a while to find what activities could remain fun, challenging and motivating for a whole year. We found that mixing up yoga, tennis, boxing, running, balance and strength workouts made us feel more active and pushed us to live a healthy lifestyle because we loved the rush of endorphins and happy hormones. Sometimes it is hard to fit in a workout in your day, sut you can always find a way. You don’t need to join a gym, or the best yoga studio in order to keep moving. If you can afford it then go for it, but if your wallet restricts you from doing so, then go to a park with a friend or on your own. We decided to splurge on hot yoga at the HotPod Yoga Studio in London, but the rest we managed to find free or inexpensive ways to do them. For Boxing, check out the All Star Boxing Gym ( https://www.allstars-gym.co.uk/#) right past Notting Hill. They have saturday classes for two hours for 5 pounds only. You can sacrifice going out more for a meal or a drink, in order to afford yoga for example. Life is made of choices and you have to choose what the best ones are for your body soul and energy.
We are going to share with you a few of our favourite summer recipes to keep you going all year. You can obviously adapt with fruits and veggies of the season.
BREAKFAST
Acai Bowl
1 pack frozen organic acai berry pulp
2 cups Organic Spinach
1 medium frozen banana
1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 tbsp CHIA SEED
1 teaspoon of Agave
1 tbsp Goji Berry
1/4 peach
1. Soak chia seeds for at least 20 minutes in some of the coconut milk.
2. Simply add all ingredients into your Vitamix or high speed blender until thick and creamy.
3. The texture should be very thick, if too thick then add more almond or coconut milk.
4. If you stick a spoon into the mixture the mixture should be able to be thick enough to stay on the spoon, if not add ice or more frozen bananas.
5. Eat after making. Add ice as needed to desired thickness.
6. TOPPING OPTIONS: Unsweetened shredded coconut, goji berries, raw cocoa powder, homemade granola, Nourishing Muesli, banana chips, raw nuts/seeds, fresh fruit, avocado, dark chocolate chips, etc. MID MORNING SNACK Hummus with carrot sticks
1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
16 oz Chick Peas/garbanzos
1/8 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Water
1/6 cup Tahini
1/2 tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Cumin Seed
3 cloves Garlic Clove Whiz everything in a food processor until smooth. Add the water last, through the opening, until it’s the consistency you want it to be. LUNCH Quinoa Tabouleh
2 cups Quinoa (cooked)
2 cups Parsley
99 g Fresh Mint
4 tbsp Lemon Peel
250 g Lemon Juice Raw
1 1/2 cups Fire Roasted Red Peppers
1/4 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes In Oil
3 Raw Clove
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt*
Finely chop parsley and mint and add to cooked quinoa
Using salt as an abrasive and the back of a knife, mash and scrape the garlic into a paste
3Finely chop sundried tomatoes and roasted red peppers
4Combine all ingredients
MID AFTERNOON SNACK
No bake Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
2 1/2 cups Oats, Rolled
1/3 cup Peanut Butter, Creamy
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips, Dark
In a bowl, combine the rolled oats, natural peanut butter, honey and dark chocolate chips.
Mix thoroughly until fairly consistent.
Use a muffin tin as the mold to form the cookies.
Place them in the fridge for an hour or so to allow them to harden and then eat immediately.
DINNER
PESTO PASTA
1 lb. gluten free spaghetti
2 ears corn, shucked
1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2″-thick slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2″-thick slices
1 small bell pepper, seeded and cut into sixths
4 green onions, trimmed
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lemon
1/2 c. store-bought refrigerated pesto
1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c. packed fresh parsley, chopped
Heat grill on medium-high. Cook spaghetti as label directs. Rinse, drain well and let cool completely.
In large bowl, toss corn, squash, zucchini, bell pepper and onions with oil and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper until well coated. Grill corn, turning, 10 minutes or until charred in spots. Grill squash, zucchini and bell pepper 4 to 6 minutes or until tender and grill marks appear, turning once. Grill onions 2 minutes or until tender and slightly charred, turning occasionally.
Into large bowl, from lemon, grate 1/2 teaspoon zest and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. Whisk in pesto and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Chop squash, zucchini, pepper and onions; add to bowl with pesto. Cut kernels from cobs; add to bowl along with tomatoes, parsley and cooked pasta. Toss to combine. Serve at room temperature. A lot of people do not like cooking as it takes time, but you will thank yourself later for putting in the effort. Additionally, you will learn to find cooking to be a relaxing calming activity, that will definitely help you forget your worries from work, at least for a little while. Enjoy a nice cup of tea with a a piece of organic dark chocolate after dinner in front of a movie and make sure you get your 8 hours of sleep in. With Love Alicia Douvall
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