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One of my favourite things to do is to get a whole stack of health & fitness magazines and spend the evening poring through them, making notes on ideas for Wellness WA articles. Wellness nerd!

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A super kind card from my friend Haley from Peachy Clean Organic Beauty Boutique when I was feeling stressed! You get one of these cuties every time you make an order and I’m slowly adding to my collection, hopefully one day I’ll have them all!

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After hearing many raves about the Artisana products from American health bloggers, I was thrilled to see this at the Subiaco Farmers Market a few weeks ago. It’s very sweet and a lot different to pure coconut oil, it has the coconut flesh mixed in too. Very yummy and decadent – a sometimes treat!

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Another farmers market find! A 6 day old baby lamb (it looks so much like a goat!). This poor babe had been abandoned by it’s mama and adopted by human parents. What a sweet heart!

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A really easy and yummy salad I threw together, chopped spinach, avocado, cherry tomatoes, quinoa & sesame seeds. I probably put a drizzle of olive on too. YUM! + fresh orange for dessert.

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Hooray for Amazon orders! I picked up (L-R):

♥ Tamal Dodge’s Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners (2 classes, 1 easier, 1 stronger): I really like this class and instructor, he has a very soothing voice. I finish the classes feeling great and stretched out. Slightly challenging but not too hard!

♥ Crunch Candelight Yoga with Sara Ivanhoe – this is my favourite of the three! It’s suitable for all beginners and is a very gentle and restorative practice with variations for different skill levels. There’s also a bonus 15 minute energising routine included Highly recommended, and it’s only $6.36 on Amazon!

♥ Yoga for Stress Relief – this DVD has over 20 sequences to choose from. It is very heavily focused on calming breathing and slow movements. If you have injuries, are very stressed out or are not looking for any kind of workout from your yoga, then this will be a good one for you.

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Here’s a healthy crumble I whipped up in a jiffy. A large tin of pears (preferably in juice, not syrup), half a cup of frozen mixed berries, some steel cut oats, crushed walnuts, cinnamon, wheatgerm & flaxseed meal. Baked for about 20 minutes at 180 (or til the top starts to look golden). Serve with greek yoghurt & some extra cinnamon if desired. So quick, easy, tasty & healthy

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My final crush for this week is this outstanding vegetarian gnocchi with semi sun dried tomatoes, rocket & parmesan from The Trustee on St Georges Terrace. Absolutely divine. At about $32 for the above size, it’s not your everyday lunch meal, but for a treat I can highly recommend it. I’m dreaming of going back now!

Let me know what your week of wellness consisted of in the comments below! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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Having been on the smoothie wagon for a bit, I decided to jump back to juicing today for a pure shot of easily digestible nutrients that my body was craving. I recently bought this set of 4 glass jars (approx $25) so that I can make bulk juice/smoothies and refrigerate for later use – win!

I’m also currently doing a little experiment with another exciting use for them, which I’ll tell you about later!

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Due to the number of carrots I put in, the juice turned an orangey-brown colour. It was still delicious and energising though, even the whale thinks so

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Inspired by the meditation workshop with David Michie at The Inspiration Factory, I packed a bottle of water, this book and jumped on my bike to head down to the beautiful lake that I am very lucky to live so close to. It was a perfect Sunday and baby birds & teenage ducklings were out in full force. The sun shone down and my cells revelled in it. I spent some time reading, and then meditated for 6 minutes (it’s best to start out with small amounts, and build up) – a feeling of bliss began to emerge as hoped!

I’m probably going to be talking about meditation a bit more than usual, as I’m really fired up about it after this workshop. I have high hopes for the effect it is said to have on productivity, stress reduction & going through life with ease.

It goes without saying that I HIGHLY recommend Hurry Up and Meditate for anyone who is even considering finding out a little more about meditation and whether it might be for them.

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There’s not much I enjoy more than baby animals, and baby ducks have to be up there with the cutest of the lot. These ones have ventured beyond childhood to what I call ‘teenage ducklings’, as they are about half the size of an adult. So, so pretty! Just another reason I love living so close to a beautiful lake in springtime.

Warm Roasted Root Vegetable & Quinoa Salad

Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of this one, as it was a bit too dark at my table, but this evening I met up with lovely fellow blogger Elizabeth from Life With Elizabeth Rose at the Subi Hotel. As I checked out the menu, I was excited to find this dish before my eyes:

For $13.50 I was sold, and it was incredibly yummy! Roast beetroot, baby carrots parsnips, spinach, crunchy spices – it all came together so well, and despite not being able to see what I was eating, I was very happy with this dish and will definitely be back to have it again!! If you’re in the area and need a healthy bite then this wont disappoint.

What are your crushes this week? Be sure to share them so we can all be inspired to continue reaching for optimal wellbeing!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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I like the idea of health-conscious cafes, but I don’t like the ‘judgy’ vibes some of them have. You go there happy to slurp up vege soup and crunch raw things, but while you’re doing it you also want to be able to chat to your mate about how you stayed up all night and drank a buttload of red wine, without having to deal with the ‘you should really cut back on the booze and try to get more sleep’ glares from your fellow diners (yes, you can say all that in a facial expression).

The better cafes are ones that put an emphasis on healthy eating, and healthy product purchases, but acknowledge that lifestyle enjoyment comes in many forms. Yelo Café really hits the bullseye in this regard: at Yelo, vegan wraps and green juices sit alongside giant slabs of chocolate brownies and strong creamy coffees, and nobody gets their goat up about which combo you choose.

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Formerly the Bennion Street Café, Yelo is right on Trigg Beach; its clientele are mostly local, and often hit Yelo post surf/power walk (there’s always a few doggehs out front!). That said, the surfers are mixed in with more urban yo-pros: it’s a real diverse clientele. Yelo’s ‘Clean Carparks’ fruit and veg juice is a healthy favourite, Yelo also do acai smoothies, and have a fridge full of coconut water (including fresh young coconut), fruit juices and organic sodas.

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Their coffee is made from Fiori beans and Bannister Downs milk and served in a BioCup: it’s the best for miles around (there’s two coffee machines on the go so you get it quick, too).

Hydration choices aside, the best thing about Yelo is their wholesome, fresh, home-made menu of ‘snacks’. Favourites reel: the Vegan wrap, the gluten-free spinach and mushroom frittata, the oatbran muffins, the gluten-free macaroon slice and the bircher museli, but there’s also plenty of breakfast wraps, tuna patties, croissants, sandwiches and sweet treats on offer: many of which are vegan, or gluten free.

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Take in the sprawling ocean views while you wait for your order: or be tempted by Yelo’s ‘provedore’ section, curated with wellness in mind: for sale are healthy cereal boxes, Yogi Bliss trail mixes, Serenade Organic Skincare, Abhi’s Bread, Ecoya soy candles, surf wax and plenty of other goodies.

Yelo is located at 331 West Coast Drive, Trigg.
Contact: 9447 9441 or email yelo@bigpond.com

By Thousands Perth City Guide editor Danielle Marsland, who, in the words of Donovan, is just mad about Yelo.

Be well,

xoxo

♥ Photo by wheresthebeef?

When I knew I was going to Melbourne I started researching raw restaurants, vegan restaurants and vegetarian places.

I was surprised to find that since I left there two years ago the raw food revolution hasn’t taken over, it’s barely crept in, or maybe I was looking in all the wrong places.

In saying that I must tell you right now before I explode – Yong Green Food surpassed all my expectations – it was fabulous!

My daughter and I arrived at about 8:30 on a Friday night and as we approached the restaurant we saw a huge group of people out the front, “Surely they’re not waiting to go in” I said to Candice. I haven’t had to line up for a very long time to get in somewhere and I wasn’t too thrilled about the prospect of lining up for food.
But they were.

So, the deal is no reservations, you turn up, go into the restaurant write your name and number down in the book by the drink cabinet and wait to be called.
The issue was there were five names before ours and we were starving!

Sadly by this stage we’d read the menu which looked absolutely fabulous so now we couldn’t go anywhere else.

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25 minutes later and it was our turn. The only issue then was how to decide what to eat. We wanted everything on the menu, followed by another serving of each.

♥ Nacho’s with chia chips

Lentil Hot Pot

Grilled Kingfish

We knew that we would be coming back at least one more time before I returned to Perth so we decided on the Raw Nachos – chia chips with cashew sour cream, guacamole and chili as an entree to share. Candice had the Lentil Hot Pot for main while I chose the Grilled King Fish.

The nachos were amazing, the chia chips were light, crisp and divine. Candice did say that she preferred my sour cream (there’s a girl who knows which side her bread’s buttered), but agreed that it was the best guacamole she’s ever tasted.

The Lentil Hot Pot was perfect, it was a bit of a chilly night in Melbourne (surprise, surprise) and the warmth of the dish was a perfect fit.

The Grilled King Fish was lovely too, and if I hadn’t tasted the Lentil Hot Pot first I would have been in heaven, ah the joys of coveting thy neighbours food.

Surprisingly neither of us had room for dessert so we left it at that.

The service was wonderful, our waitress was full of smiles, tips and advice. And we were planning our next meal before we even walked out the door.

The next time you’re in Melbourne you must drop into Yong Green Food and then go down the road to Neo Tokyo where you can pick up your new vegan handbag.

Service: 5 stars
Food: 5 stars
Price: 5 stars

Win win win!

Note: We went back there Saturday night and then again Tuesday night (only because we were in Ocean Grove Sun and Mon) and the food was even better!

Girl crush alert! Ruby Rose was at the table next to us on Saturday night. How gorgeous is she!

In the comment box below I’d love to know anywhere in Perth that serves Raw Vegan food, or just good old-fashioned vegetarian.

Yong’s Green Food
Address: 421 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
Phone: (03) 9417 3338