The work-eat balance
Q. I find it hard to keep to a healthy eating regime at work, especially as my job involves eating out a lot. A. These are the tips that Mercedes Ngoh Sieff, co-founder of the award-winning Yeotown detox and wellbeing retreat in Devon (www.yeotown.com), gives her busy clients.
● Always eat breakfast – eggs, fish, porridge or granola – to keep blood-sugar levels steady and avoid cravings. Don’t fall for a muffin or fruit yoghurt on the way to work: Pret à Manger offers two hard-boiled eggs and spinach in a pot.
● Have an a.m./p.m. snack, eg, hummus and crudités, a few nuts and piece of fruit eaten together (the nuts slow down the release of fruit sugar), or sip a fresh green or beetroot juice.
● If you are peckish in a restaurant, ask for olives rather than bread.
● For a takeaway lunch, choose soup or salad with protein, e.g. avocado, cheese or organic meat or fish.
● In restaurants, opt for one course of grilled or baked fish with different coloured vegetables (not roots).
● Start with water and a squeeze of lime and save wine to drink with food.
● Instead of pudding, choose a herbal tea with a hint of sweetness, such as Clipper Organic White Tea With Vanilla. If your sweet tooth is aching, have one petit four, a teaspoonful of someone’ pud or a small portion of cheese (goat’s or sheep’s milk) with celery.
A FULL CREAM SMOOTHIE
A friend undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer recommends MooGoo Skin Milk Udder Cream, £8 for 120 g, to help with the side effects on skin. MooGoo’s Australian founder Craig Jones adapted a cream used for keeping cows’ udders in optimal condition to help his mother’s severe skin problem. Udder Cream is now recommended by oncologists and hospitals in Australia after both radio- and chemotherapy. The MooGoo range includes more than 30 products for face, scalp and body problems, such as eczema, psoriasis and acne, or baby skin problems. Brimming with skin repair ingredients including zinc, elderberry, sweet almond oil and marshmallow, this passionately natural range is free from SLS, petroleum and parabens. Find them at www.moogooskincare.co.uk
HAY FEVER IS ON ITS WAY!
Spring round the corner means hay fever for many of us, with the usual sore runny eyes, itchy nose and throat, and sneezing. Homoeopathy works well for me, so I am ordering remedies from Helios Homoeopathy: Mixed Pollen & Grasses 30c, to take before I go out walking or riding, plus a combination remedy called Euph/All.c/Sabad (euphrasia/allium cepa/sabadilla) in case I get symptoms. For more information and advice, call Helios on 01892-537254 or visit www.helios.co.uk.
COME AND CELEBRATE OUR BOOK LAUNCH!
The publication of our latest book The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible this spring is hugely exciting for my co-author Jo Fairley and me. There are new award-winning products, lots of tips and information, plus recipes for natural cosmetics. And we are thrilled that Fenwick of Bond Street, our favourite London store, is launching the book during its Spring Beauty Event. The 14-day event starts on Monday 17 March (finishing Sunday 30 March) and we hope you will celebrate with us. The beauty hall will offer such delights as complimentary mini skin-brightening facials, a new Foundation Bar, plus free eye-make-up makeovers.
To help you solve any beauty and/or wellbeing dilemmas, Jo and I will be there for one-on-one consultations (ten minutes each) on Monday 17 March, from 10am to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. You need to book these, either by phoning 020-7409 9840 or e-mailing UNBBbondst@fenwick.co.uk.
• Fenwick of Bond Street will be offering 10 per cent off beauty in-store all day.
• PS If you would like to pre-order a copy of The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible, price £14.95, visit www.victoriahealth.com.