Yogahound blog

Truth is, recently I have hardly had the chance to cook properly and eat as healthily as I’d like to. Over the past year I have made some pretty big, sometimes traumatic, other times exciting changes. My health has definitely suffered for the lack of routine and time. So when I read about a health food or supplement that is quick, easy and versatile to add to my diet I get very excited.   

 I was aware that bone broth is excellent for health, thanks to the Mark’s Daily Apple website, but I simply don’t have the time currently to make bone broth. What I did not realise however is that you get tremendous health benefits by simply taking in gelatin. It seems people are adding gelatin to their breakfast yogurts, smoothies and even coffee. Below I have answered some questions about gelatin, and why it’s a great addition to a diet – even if you don’t have time to make your own bone broth.

 What are the benefits of gelatin?

 Gelatin can help soothe the digestive tract, it acts as an anti-inflammatory, stimulates the immune system, regulates hormones and improves nail, hair and joint conditions. Also the glycine in gelatin apparently has a calming effect on the body, making it ideal to take before bed time for those with sleep disorders.

 Why is gelatin good for health?

Gelatin is basically the collagen found in animal hair, skin, bone and hoofs. Collagen is often sold as an anti-ageing product and that is because taking in collagen actually stimulates the body to produce more of its own collagen. Collagen is essential to protein synthesis in the body which helps to rejuvenate new cells.

Gelatin contains Argenine and Glycine. In a nutshell –  argenine helps regulate metabolism and glycine converts glucose to energy instead of fat and has a calming effect on the body.*

Is all gelatin equal?

 Nope, as always with animal products it’s best to go for products derived from grass-fed animals. Failing that organic is better than non-organic. Also note that most supermarket gelatin is derived from the pork industry which does not always have the best welfare standards. It’s better to go for beef gelatin where possible, and at best go for grass-fed non-hydrolyzed if you can find it. I have found beef gelatin on Amazon here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beef-Gelatin-Unflavoured-Powder-454/dp/B000MGR302/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384962192&sr=8-1&keywords=beef+gelatin

 But if you can afford it, this brand is supposedly the best and can be found from a variety of online sites…

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Lakes-Gelatin-Regular-Unflavoured/dp/B001LV6I8K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384962192&sr=8-3&keywords=beef+gelatin

 How can you add gelatin to your diet?

 You can easily simply add granules to yogurt, smoothies, hot drinks, vegetable soups etc. If you’d like the traditional gelatin route then why not try Sophistimom’s recipe for fruit studded gelatin or make some paleo marshmallows … oooh!

Lastly, for my veggie friends out there – the Zen to fitness blog suggests Seaweed derived gelatin – not quite the same benefits, but worth a look into.

Well, I’m off to try adding gelatin to my diet and will let you know how I get on.

 Do you use gelatin as part of your diet? Let me know if you have seen the benefits? Let me know please.

Hanri x

I’m so happy be to be able to offer one of my European readers (sorry rest of the World!) the chance to win my favourite kitchen gadget… the Lurch Spiralo. This giveaway is thanks to the healthy lifestyle product company (and my fave kitchen gadget website) UK Juicers. Basically, I contacted UK Juicers telling them how much I love my Spiralo, and how often I use it on my blog and that I’d love to be able to offer one to one of my blog readers… and they agreed!

So what is the Lurch Spiralo?

It’s a kitchen gadget that allows you turn vegetables into spaghetti/pasta spirals. This is an amazing thing to do for people who avoid grains or eat gluten-free, raw, paleo or low-carb… especially if you miss eating pasta. My favourite use for it by far is using the fine spaghetti blade with courgettes which I then fry, and add pesto to. Simple and quick!

If you haven’t seen me post about it before, here are some of my favourite recipes:

Sardine Puttanesca

Apple Pie Breakfast

In the photos below you can see i have use the ribbon blade for the warm courgette salad, and the thin spaghetti blade for sweet potatoes, which I then fried in some coconut oil with sea salt and a sprinkle of tapioca flour for a filling side dish. I have also made a cucumber salad with the madium spaghetti blade, to which I added peppers, tomatoes, baby spinach leaves and dressed it with olive oil, lime and poppy seeds. Amazing!

Other healthy ideas to use the Spiralo for:

• Using it on veg to turn into fritters/add to frittata
• Make curly fries with sweet potatoes
• Use the ribbon blade on carrots for stir-fries
• Parboil spaghettied root veg and add a homemade pasta sauce
• Use for layering veg for a vegetable bake
• Fancy up a salad with curley veg/fruit
• Slice apples & pears for breakfast or dessert

All you have to do to stand a chance to get your own Spiralo, is visit the UK Juicers website and then comment on my blog to let me know which of their other products you’d use the most if you had the chance. For example “I’d use one of the Walder Biotech Grain mill if I had one because I’d love to make my own almond flour”.

And for those of you on Facebook, you get an extra entry for ‘liking’ this post on Facebook.

The winner will be selected at random, and your Spiralo will be posted anywhere within europe by UK Juicers. Entries close Friday the 30th of August at 12:00 (GMT + 1), so get your entries in!

Good luck.

Hanri x

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Penny D! Penny was selected randomly by the Giveaway plugin. Comments for this post is now closed. Thanks for entering everyone!

This post is especially for my students who came to my mini yoga-event at the Woodstock community Centre last week. I haven’t had a chance to photograph these, so all I have for you is a camera phone snap. But, I didn’t dare wait any longer to post the recipe because I keep getting requests for it.

This recipe is from the book Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, a firm favourite of mine that I just can’t stop using. Yatam Ottolenghi is not a health food specialist cook per-se, but his recipes have so much colour to them tha they are just packed full of goodness. This recipe is probably not one of the healthiest (it has quite a bit of icing sugar), but it is gluten-free an dmade from ground almonds full of good fats. The original recipe calls for sour cherries, but I used dried blueberries and loved the result!

The youngest of all the students last Wednesday was a lovely girl called Anna. Anna helped me hand around the biscuits, and she had lots of good things to say about these little crunchy yet soft creations. Compliments from children from children are sincere and high praise indeed, so this recipe was created by Yatam Ottolengi and approved by Anna – a winner of a recipe. Here it is:

Blueberry Amaretti Biscuits

• 60g dried blueberries (or cranberries)

• 120g caster sugar

• 180g ground almonds

• 1/2tsp almond essence

• zest one lemon

• pinch salt

• 2 tsp honey

• 2 egg whites

• icing sugar, for serious dusting

Heat oven to 170degrees. Mix together the almonds, sugar, lemon zest, almond essence and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and honey into soft peaks. Fold the egg white mixture along with the blueberries gently into the other ingredients to form a soft paste. Scattering icing sugar on a plate scoop  walnut size balls of the mixture onto the plate and roll roughly into balls making 20 biscuits.  Place on a greaseproof-covered baking tray. Bake for 12 mins, until slightly coloured but still soft inside. Leave to cool and enjoy!

This weekend I’m off to the Wilderness festival for some music and yoga (I of course had to choose a festival with lots of yoga on offer). so watch this space for some photos and a write-up of the festival.

Have a great weekend yogis.

Hanri x

I love how my blog has given me the opportunity to get in touch with all sorts of people. So I am delighted to introduce you all to an illustrator and a yoga teacher who got in touch with me regarding a really beautiful yoga art print that they created, entitled “Yoga Godesses”.

 I was so taken with the beautiful silk screen print that I just had to know more, not to mention buy my very own print… it was simply too delightful not to have. Lucky for me, Laurie Hastings the illustrator & Rebecca the  founder of Yoga Will Save the World (and a yoga teacher too) took some time out for an interview with me…

YH: Laurie, how did you and Rebecca come up with the idea to do this print?

Laurie: Rebs was in the process of setting up her Yoga Will Save the World gift shop, and asked if I’d like to create a screenprint for her start up collection of gifts. I was excited at the thought of drawing super-yogis, and quickly had lots of ideas for how it could look. 

 YH: How do you two know each other?

Laurie: We go way back to the mid-90s, where we met at secondary school in Hong Kong and became best buddies.

 YH: Yoga is such a visually beautiful practice and lends itself well to art. What is the concept behind this particular print?

Laurie: Rebs suggested I create something that had a repeat pattern so we could potentially use it on other products too, so that influenced the basic composition. I liked the idea of framing each yoga goddess with organic shapes, showing a connection with nature and also so that each had a unique personality but they were all part of one group.

 YH: Rebecca, I see that you are both a yoga teacher and an illustrator? What first inspired you to do yoga doodles?

Rebecca: It was when I was doing my yoga teacher training in Byron Bay, we had to note down poses and sequences really quickly. I used to do art at school and for a year after and it just made sense to draw the poses rather than write the long sanskrit names. Then I started getting commissions from students to draw them yogi folk, I think that’s when YWSTW started.

 YH: I enjoyed reading about how you started “Yoga will save the World” and completely relate to you saying how you tried to smuggle coffees into your room at the ashram. Your illustrations are very playful, do you incorporate this playfulness into your classes?

Rebecca: I do hope my classes are playful. Adults can lose their sense of adventure and also have a fear around what their bodies are capable of. I love it when I help a beginner into their first handstand. They really don’t believe they can do it and suddenly they’re upside down and loving it. I still love coffee and wine. I don’t think denial should be part of life, just some moderation and the occasional indulgence.  

 YH: I personally think the US is still way ahead with popularity of yoga, but London seems to be catching up. How do you both find the the yoga vibe in London?

Rebecca: The yoga vibe in London is definitely growing like is everywhere. There are some brilliant teachers. I am practicing a lot with Stewart Gilchrist and my practice has become so much stronger. He’s a great teacher and features in some of my designs. There are so many others too I think are so inspirational. Gingi Lee and Kath Roberts too. Too many teachers, too little time.

 YH: What do you both love most about yoga?

Rebecca: I love the peace it brings to my often crazy mind. It’s a physical practice but the more you practice develops the more you realise it’s so much more than that. I love that I can do it anywhere and need nothing but your body and two bare feet. 

Laurie: Although Rebs has tried to loosen my hamstrings with yoga, I am more of team sports type of girl, so you will more often catch me playing tag rugby or running around my local park!

 YH: And finally, are you two planning on doing any more yoga prints in the future?

Laurie: We don’t have any immediate plans, but we are always conjuring up new ideas for us to work together, so watch this space!

Rebecca: Laurie and I are always plotting. I’d love to get this print made on wallpaper and someone on YWSTW’s facebook page suggested fabric which would be so beautiful. Like Laurie says, just stay tuned to Laurie Hastings Illustration (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurie-Hastings-Illustration/171689529586627) and YWSTW (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yoga-Will-Save-the-World/136800263020454) and you’ll be the first to hear.

YH: Thank you ladies, what a joy to get to know more about your stories!  I am so delighted with my print, I can’t wait to frame it!

With only 40 prints made, if you too would like a beautiful limited edition silk screen print, you can buy it here on the Yoga Will Save the World website. At £40, it’s a steal and the perfect gift for yogi friends or yoga teachers!

So many beautiful things, so little time.

Enjoy yogis x

This Sardine Puttanesca recipe is thanks to my colleague and friend Claire who sits next to me in the office. I needed an idea for dinner one night and Claire told me that this recipe was super quick but full of flavour. My twist however is that I add spinach to the sauce and serve the Puttanesca with courgette strips instead of traditional pasta – that way I know I’m getting my greens in too. Since then this has become my go-to recipe when I’m in the mood for pasta but without the grains. 

Hint: This recipe is much quicker if you have a spirallo or a mandolin slicer for the courgettes.

2 tins of sardines in oil

• 1 can of tinned tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup of olives diced
• handfull of spinach
• sea salt to taste
• 2 large courgettes sliced into thin strips or turned into spaghetti strips with a spiralo
• 1 teaspoon of coconut or olive oil

Glazed carrots re-ignites warm memories for me. My mum use to make amazing glazed baby carrots and serve them with meat dishes on Sundays when we sat around the big round dining table. Although my version of glazed carrots are a bit more rustic and zingy, these are a treat to eat and a great way for children to enjoy carrots.

 Use local honey where possible. I was lucky that one of my yoga students is a bee keeper and the honey from her is a pale slightly floral honey which has crystalised a bit – perfect! And for goodness sake, unless you’re dairy intolerant, don’t forego the butter… just don’t.

Here’s how to glaze the carrots:

• 1 bunch of carrots peeled and cut into shorter halves
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1/4 inch slidce of ginger cut into fine pieces

Boil or steam your carrots until they soften. Remove from the water.

Melt the butter over a medium heat and add the honey, lemon & ginger to the pan. Stir until mixed. Add the carrots to the pan and keep stirring so that the carrots are coated in the glaze and cook for 5 minutes.

I think these go best with a hearty meat dish, like duck leg. Ooh.

Enjoy yogis!

I decided the other day that I just couldn’t get myself to bin the lovely green foilage of a bunch of carrots I bought from the local market, and I was sure it must be good for something. So after a bit of research to find carrot top recipes I decided to try and make the carrot top pesto… and it was surprisingly tasty! It has a slight parsley-like taste. Plus, it was like having free food and perfect for the summer.

It turns out carrot tops are high in Vitamin C, potassium, calcium and even better they are a great source of vitamin K – not present in the carrot itself.

A word of warning however, stick to organic carrots, carrot tops are not produced for consumption, so would be sprayed with more pesticides if non-organic.

Here’s the recipe I followed:

• 1 bunch of organic carrot tops, washed well and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or other nuts such as blanched almonds

I was very excited to hear from designer, yogi and surfer, Helen in Cornwall about her ethical clothing brand Earth Kind Originals – EKO.  I’m always on the look out for yoga clothes that are comfortable, breathable, and ideally ethical and organic. In this case, I’m happy to report that I have finally found an ethical clothing brand with very fair prices, and the clothes are simple, stunning and beautiful quality.

Helen and her team sent me a couple of items to try out. I received the Spa wrap top and a pair of black Crop Organic leggings, and tested both during my yoga classes. The wrap top is perfect at the end of class as we cool down, and can quickly be put on and knotted at the waist or buttoned at the back for poses where you don’t want any knots in the way (actually I’m wearing it now as I type too). The leggings have a roll top waist band (my favourite type), are super soft and very importantly not see-through like some leggings from the highstreet – yes, I have seen a few bottoms shining through leggings in my time.

Designed by Helen in Cornwall, the clothing items I have received have both been ethically created, from the soil up, in Turkey… but read on because I interviewed Helen about the EKO brand, her love of yoga, surfing and more about the process of creating her gorgeous, kind clothing range.

I set up EKO after wanting to relocate back to the Cornwall where I grew up, from London where I had established my fashion career. This was a fantastic experience but not an environment I could see myself working in forever. I always imagined myself working and designing by the sea. My Father and Grandfather had their own businesses and I always felt that I wanted to do the same, I think its was in my blood to do my own thing. So I took a leap of faith four years ago and ventured into the unknown and moved back to Cornwall to start EKO, and wow it’s been a real adventure!

We use Turkish organic cotton which has a fully traceable supply chain, it is GOTS approved by the Soil Association and can be tracked back the farmers and fields, this is very important to us. Our organic cotton is grown, spun, knitted and garments are produced all in the same area of Turkey which makes the supply chain efficient and lowering the environmental impact. We also use Tencel, which is made from eucalyptus fibre from European suppliers Lenzing in Austria, again we can track back to source. We work closely with fibre, fabric and garment manufacturers to understand exactly where and how our clothes are made from ground to garment. 

Iyengar is my practice and my switch off at the end of the day.  I have been practising for seven years now. After a fast paced job in London, travelling and working long hours in the clothing industry, yoga gave me sanity from the stresses and strains of everyday life. I moved to Cornwall (4 years ago now) and found a great iyengar teacher that I still go today.  It helps me develop my practice and also helps my surfing and general well being. What I love about yoga is that you never stop learning and developing your practice, so for me it fits and I wouldn’t be without it.  Together with surfing, my surfboard and yoga mat are my sanctuary.

And surfing? 

It is great to pop the board in the car and head to the beach after a day in the studio and switch off. I started surfing after relocating back to Cornwall and starting a fitness class called beach fit where I met some like minded girlfriends who loved being by the sea and in the water. There is something about being in the water that is so calming and my favourite time of year is now…being in the water as the sun goes down is just great!

I guess yoga and surfing both give me the space to think and come up with new ideas and designs. Surfing gives you great perspective of the Cornish coast, from the beautiful blues of the rough seas, to the hazey lavender of the armeria found along our cliffs. Yoga is a great place to research the practicalities of new designs, from breathability of fabrics, to the ease of movement. We have a selection yoga teachers that trial new styles for us to we can develop a truly functional collection that is simple, stylish and multi functional.

My favourite pieces are the Emily Jane Dress and the Savasana Wrap. Our E J Dress is a signature look that we created when we first started and has all the elements of EKO, simple, sculptural, practical and looks great on all body shapes dressed up or down. The Savasana Wrap was created after chatting to yoga teachers, spa therapists, new mums and travelers, who loved the quality of our fabric and wanted something simple that could be used as a breast feeding cover-up, shrug and scarf….just a good all rounder that fold up into your bag. 

In a nutshell : It all starts with a sketchbook of ideas, from sculptural shapes, catwalk tear sheets and colour baords to market research and fabric swatches. We usually attent Premier Vision in Paris to select new season fabrics and go and see our suppliers to talk over new ranges and go through production schedules. Then I create seasonal boards including a range plan, colour board and fabric board, that is then broken down style by style to design sheets (CADS of each style) and specification packs that include design measurements, colours and etchnical details of seam finishes etc. We then receive fit samples of our range followed by salesman samples that are used to shoot our look book and handed to our agents to hit the road and see buyers. Our production is then approved and then we start the entire process all over again a few months later. Although we do have a base collection that is non seasonal and rolls through all seasons – just plain, simple and organic base layers that feel great in timeless shapes. But every production run is reviewed and we always want better based on feedback we get.

Yes, we create true and transparent prices that are not hugely inflated as it fits with our ethical business structure. We believe organic and ethical clothing should not cost the earth, and used to create positive change.

We want to bring manufacture back to Cornwall and will be launching a limited line next year made along these Cornish shores. We are a little brand with a big personality and constantly looking to grow sustainably, do things better and enjoy the journey…combining our love for Cornwall and wellbeing to create something unique and special. We hope you like the collection as much as we do!

I certainly do!  Take a look at the EKO website here. And even better… EKO have given me a discount code to pass on to my lovely readers. All you have to do is type in the code hound in the promo box at check out – and this will offer 15% off until end of July.

Enjoy yogis! I’m off to go buy myself the Lucy Savasana Wrap.

Happy are the days we can buy beautiful things that we know are kind to the planet and the people there on.

Hanri x

PS: A big thank you to my housemate Emily for taking over my camera to snap me in my lovely EKO gear.