Blog

So many of my clients don’t drink enough water and find it hard when I ask them to drink between 1.5 and 2 litres per day so I thought perhaps today would be all about hydration.

Here are some signs of dehydration:

• Fatigue
• Muscle cramp
• Flushed skin
• Heat intolerance
• Dry mouth and eyes
• Dark and infrequent urine

Don’t forget that water makes up two thirds of your body weight and is essential for your bodily systems to function correctly. Just a few examples of what water helps to do in the body:

• Transports nutrients and oxygen
• Removes waste products
• Controls your temperature
• Lubricates your joints
• Maintains the strength and shape of your cells

But how do you drink that much? There are plenty of good bottles on the market now (but remember to look for glass or those without BPA) that can encourage you to drink – the one I have is a Black and Blum bottle with a charcoal filter in it. The charcoal helps to remove all the nasties in our water and replenishes it with essential minerals. It’s also a great idea to add fresh fruit or veg into your bottle to give it a flavour – just choose your favourites – I often add slices of cucumber, mint leaves and cut strawberries. My bottle is 800ml so I know that I need to drink a couple every day to get my hydration sorted. But remember that herbal teas also count and I do drink a few of those too every day. Good luck on keeping hydrated!!

I’m always telling clients to ‘eat the rainbow’ and it’s so easy! This little beauty took 5 minutes of chopping and was delicious. Red – tomatoes; green – lots of leaves, sugar snap peas, cucumber and celery; orange/yellow – baby sweet corn (I forgot the carrot!); white/brown – mushrooms; purple/blue – leaves. I added basil infused olive oil for healthy fats and some chopped chicken for protein. It was sprinkled with kombu seaweed for iodine and some nigella seeds for extra antioxidants and a fabulous flavour. Oh and a small amount of ground pink Himalayan salt and black pepper. Lovely!

So my batch cooking promise continues and we have benefitted from having healthy meals in the freezer. Last weekend’s batch consisted of broccoli, leek and spring onion soup; low GL chilli; cauliflower Dahl and some more jar salads. Sorry no food pictures – I need to go on a ‘how to take good food pictures’ course!! This weekend will be another soup but not sure what else….. As I’m on ‘puppy duty’ today I am spending some time skimming through recipe books (and keeping an eye on what she is chewing) to decide on a couple of dishes. So…. as the food pictures were crap, here’s one of the puppy instead!!! Oh – and I am wondering whether to add a recipe page to my website – what do you all think, good idea or not? Happy rainy Friday everyone

I am always advising my clients that batch cooking is the best way to eat healthily when you have a busy life. So on a very wet and dark Saturday afternoon, what better way than to spend 3 hours in my kitchen. And the end result – a sweet potato, chickpea and leek soup; a lentil stew; a chicken curry; some spinach and mushroom wheels (a bit weird yes but using stuff up!) and an Italian meatball and rainbow veg stir fry with a tomato and basil sauce!! Tomorrow morning the slow cooker goes on with chicken thighs and LOADS of veg and I will do some jar salads!! That should see us through the week.

It’s so lovely to see that the changes clients make to their food and lifestyle can have such an impact on their lives. Amy has worked hard on cleaning up her diet and learning how to combat the stresses in her life and I am delighted at what she has achieved.

“I came to Andrea after suffering for over four years with headaches along with fatigue, bloating and skin problems. I tried countless methods including physio, acupuncture and prescribed medication from the doctors to help the constant headaches but nothing helped. Andrea took the time to listen to me and understand my lifestyle and my individual needs. She gave me an incredibly detailed plan which was very easy to follow and allowed me to make small but effective changes. I find the regular meetings with her very important as this helps me to stay on track and keeps me motivated even if I have a bad week. I have been following Andrea’s plans for the last 4 months and I am amazed that my headaches are almost non-existent, I no longer suffer with bloating and my skin is starting to heal.

“Andrea is very professional, knowledgeable, patient, approachable and empathetic and I intend to continue with this lifestyle change as the difference has been amazing, thank you Andrea!”