The other day I had the pleasure of going to a free John Lewis wellbeing evening at the Oxo tower for London bloggers, where I got to do pilates, make a delicious smoothie, and learn about nutrition from one of London’s most sought after nutrition coaches.
My evening in photos
Heading to the Oxo Tower along London’s beautiful Southbank.
Inside the Oxo tower. I want to pretend this is my yoga studio.
Hayley Pedrick from the Nutrition Coach talks about nutrition and how to make nutritious smoothies. See end of this post for smoothie making tips and facts.
Hayley leads us through a fun smoothie making workshop. For once I stuck (almost) to a recipe.
Let the smoothie making begin.
Ingredients in bowls make me feel like I’m on cooking programme 🙂
Delicious ‘Red ambulance recovery shake’. See end of the article for the ingredients.
With Christine – fellow London blogger and yoga teacher from Yogaberry. Love that our glasses had our names and websites on.
Just trying out my new pilates moves by the window, after a great class led by pilates instructor Lottie Murphy. Still feeling it in my abbs!
Post pilates London bloggers group shot.
Thanks John Lewis for a wonderful, fun and informative evening, and new yoga mat bag. Very much appreciated.
How to make the red ambulance recovery shake
Teaming up with Christine from Yogaberry, we made the Red Ambulance recovery shake with the addition of pineapple. In case you fancy making it too, here’s what went into it.
Ingredients list
- Coconut milk
- Coconut water (or just plain water)
- Banana
- Whey protein
- Frozen berries
- Cos or romaine lettuce leaves
- Manuka honey
- Turmeric (it’s a powerful anti-inflammatory and despite putting two teaspoons in, thankfully it didn’t taste at all like curry!)
- Pineapple (we added this as an extra)
Smoothies vs juices
Here’s some info from the John Lewis wellbeing event handout. You can also view the various juicers and blenders on the John Lewis website here.
Nutritious smoothie making tips and facts
Admittedly, I didn’t scribble everything down during the nutrition talk, but I did pick up a few tips that you might also find useful, and I now know how to make much healthier smoothies.
- Drink smoothies within 24 hours as the nutrients decrease after this period and methanol levels start to rise.
- When you drink your fruit and veg, the body absorbs up to four times more nutrients and digests them up to twenty times faster.
- For protein, add whey protein powder to your smoothies — great if you’re vegetarian or vegan.
- Make your smoothies with two thirds veg to one third fruit to keep sugar levels down.
- Include essential fatty acids in your diet and smoothies to help improve the levels of growth hormone while you’re asleep. Foods such as avocados and coconut milk are really high in essential fatty acids.
Enjoy and happy smoothie making 🙂 x
