♥ NOOD Turmeric Latte

I’m so excited to be bringing back weekly beauty & wellbeing crushes! There are so many bits & pieces that get me excited about healthy living, beauty & nutrition that I want to share – so this bite-size format is perfect. Let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations for future crushes 🙂

<3 Turmeric lattes at NOOD Cafe

I’m currently obsessed with both the new NOOD Cafe in Leederville, and one of my favourite healthy treats to enjoy is their delicious Turmeric Latte. If you haven’t yet tried this golden milk of the health gods, put it on your to-do list. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory, full of antioxidants, great for the skin & brain, and has a list of benefits about a mile long.

♥ Takeaway Turmeric Latte + Avo on Toast!

The folks at NOOD kindly have some coconut sugar available so I always add a little to sweeten the deal, it’s also completely dairy-free & made with super tasty Almo almond milk (which you can also buy bottles of to take home). Love!

♥ Skin tea (more on this coming soon!) & HUM Runway Ready

<3 HUM ‘Runway Ready’ Supplements

I’ve been taking these supplements on and off for just over a year now, and I can see a huge difference in the growth of my hair & nails + overall pleasantness of my skintone when I am making a regular habit of it.

These cute little pink sachets contain 3 supplements, 1 x biotin capsule & 2 x black currant seed + sunflower seed oil tablets, all of which are meant to work wonders for hair + skin + nails. Importantly for me they are vegetarian and are also really easy to swallow. Bottoms up.

♥ Radical Self Love + Succeed, the next book on my reading list!

<3 Radical Self Love by Gala Darling

In the past couple of months I’ve cut down on the number of work projects in my life, and subsequently have found a lot more time for yoga, cooking, reading & hanging out in the sunshine. I feel super lucky on a regular basis, and despite having to be a little more thrifty with my income, couldn’t be happier with my new lifestyle.

I’ve followed Gala Darling on & off for around 10 years now and have always been a fan of her ideas around increasing fun, celebration & magic into daily life. Her first book, Radical Self Love, is a distillation of her views on how to love yourself more & live a rad-ass life, and I have found myself buried deep in the pages of it most nights. Taking notes, making plans & generally enjoying the good vibes contained within.

At the 3/4 mark, I thoroughly recommend this book, especially if you’re in a bit of a rut and need a little bit of extra inspiration to get out there, be your most dazzling self & kick-start your best life. Check it out here & if you’ve read it be sure to let me know what you think, too!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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Call me a wellness nerd, but nothing excites me more than hearing about a brand new way to get healthy, nourished and feeling amazing in our little city. It’s the reason I started this website and I can’t wait to start sharing more healthy discoveries with you again over the coming weeks, months and years!

Working in the Perth CBD, I often feel a little strapped for super healthy & quick lunch options that don’t break the bank and don’t require prep (very little kitchen space at my workplace).

During my lunchtime wanderings (read: desperate search for healthy vegetarian food) last week, I stumbled across an exciting new addition coming soon to Carillon City Food Court – FRESHII.

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With the motto of “Eat. Energize” emblazened upon the wall, and promises of healthy bowls, salads, burritos, fresh-pressed juice, soups, frozen yoghurt (& more!) I instantly got excited and started Googling the heck out of this new store which might be about to change my lunchtime life.

I wasn’t disappointed. Freshii is a “healthy-casual” franchise that started in Canada and has been exploding in popularity worldwide.

One of my favourite things about the chain, despite it not having opened here yet, is that the majority of their options are vegetarian & vegan, with the OPTION to add tofu, falafels, or meat. This gets me really stoked because I have found that most places in Perth do offer 1-2 vegetarian options, but the majority are for meat lovers. It looks like Freshii are turning that on it’s head by making 90% of their menu vegetarian, and then allowing the meat lovers a look in. WIN-WIN! In my mind this is how it should always be done and I imagine it would be good for business too.

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Having just returned from an amazing trip to Bali, the promise of “bowls” is what delights me the most. A quick browse of their website reveals not one, not two, but FIVE vegetarian bowls brimming with healthy ingredients for us to enjoy!!! DID I MENTION I’M EXCITED?

Buddha Bowl

rice noodles, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, crispy wontons, green onions, spicy peanut sauce

Pangoa Bowl

brown rice, avocado, aged cheddar, cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime wedge, fiery bbq sauce

Helloooooooooo baby!

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They also have a Superfood Soup, serve breakfasts including delicious sounding porridge, AND you can grab a 3-day juice cleanse from them too. What can’t this company do?

Needless to say I will be first in line when they’re open for business (no word on a date yet) & I can’t wait to give them all of my money.

Have you heard of Freshii before? What is your fave place in the CBD to grab a healthy lunch? I’d love to know so please comment below! 🙂

Love & wellness,

Annette xo

Greens greens greens! There are so many products around these days that make it easy to get a daily dose of green goodness into your hard-working body.

While a green smoothie each day is always on the cards, when I’m wanting to turn it up a notch these are my 3 go-tos for a little extra boost 🙂

1. Matcha Powder – one of the most popular superfoods of the past year or so, Matcha is said to deliver an antioxidant hit with a gentle energy buzz, making it perfect for those who are usually sensitive to caffeine (myself included!). Throw it in your smoothie, bake with it, add it to cold water & shake, pancakes, you name it. With so many Matcha companies around, I like to keep it local with Matcha Tea Co.

2. Clipper Decaf Green Tea – a LONG time fave of mine! You wont believe how much your skin improves if you drink 2-3 cups of this each day. All the goodness, zero caffeine!

3. Sun Chlorella Tablets – Concentrated doses of tiny, green nutrition – these are my new lifeline when I’m not able to have a green juice or smoothie, I carry these around with me and pop one whenever the need for a bit of a nutritional boost arises. They contain 22 vitamins & minerals, help the body renew itself, are a form of vegan B12 & also help the body to remove toxins. I get mine from The Little Organic Society.

I’d love to hear what your favourite way to boost your daily intake of greens is!

Be well,

Annette

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After the craziness of Christmas & the silly season – cue late nights, champers & plenty of delicious festive treats, it’s not unusual to be left feeling a little flat as our bodies try their hardest to recover from lots of leftovers and (more than likely) a lack of exercise.

I was invited to try out the COMO Shambhala Ultimate Wellness Package ($195) – and if I could, I’d prescribe it to everyone in my life who needs to press restart on their health & wellness in 2016. Take two hours at this luxury Perth CBD day spa and call me in the morning.

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The Ultimate Wellness Package consists of the 75 minute signature massage, followed by a super healthy main course & juice/smoothie of your choice from the COMO Shambhala menu at the on site restaurant (POST).

I’ve been lucky enough to try out many massages over the years, so I don’t take it lightly when I tell you that this experience with Jennifer my masseuse was, without a doubt, one of the best massages I have EVER had! I almost don’t want to share this review because it was THAT good and the word will spread, making it harder for me to book back in 😉 But I just can’t keep this gem to myself.

The pressure was firm, yet nurturing, & a gorgeous combination of essential oils – Bergamot, Thyme, Geranium & Marjoram mixed with a base of sweet almond & vitamin e – were expertly applied and massaged into my tired muscles, bliss.

I’m all about the little details and these were all on point. Hot towels on the feet AND neck (my absolute favvvvourite part of most treatments!), a home-made ginger, lemon & honey tea + healthy cookie (!!) post-massage, making sure I knew what was going on each step of the way, and a facial and head massage to complete the experience.

I floated out of there on Cloud 9, and promptly found myself on Cloud 10 upon reaching POST restaurant.

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Choosing one of these incredible options and a juice proved tough – the all sounded AMAZING! After much deliberation I decided on the Green Goddess (this is usually a starter, but the staff kindly prepared a main size for me) & a gorgeous mixed veggie juice.

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This was a warm green soup, and one of the best I’ve had, however my favourite part of the dish was the biggest flaxseed cracker I’ve ever seen – I’d eat this every day if I could! I felt so nourished and relaxed after slowly enjoying the meal and juice that I started wishing teleportation had been invented so I could click my fingers and instantly be back home, snoozing happily in bed.

Since this technology is not available yet, I said goodbye to the friendly staff & made my way home with a smile on my face, and a deep relaxation that I hadn’t felt since my holiday to Bali 6 months earlier.

If you can’t quite spring for an island holiday, this is honestly the next best thing. Thanks to the Ultimate Wellness treatment I’ve been able to start 2016 with my best (and most relaxed!) foot forward, and can’t wait to pay this beautiful new spa a visit again soon 🙂

For more information and to book, check out the COMO Shambhala Perth website & feel free to tell them I sent you!

Be well,

Annette xo

♥ Photo credit: Qi Yoga

Lately things have felt a little crazy. Despite selling my shares in the business that I worked on 24/7 for over 2 & a 1/2 years, life has quickly filled up with all kinds of work and activities. From working full-time at lululemon, to yoga teacher training and the subsequent commitment to attending 5 yoga classes per week (!!!), some freelance marketing work & trying to squeeze in glasses of wine with friends alongside binge watching Game of Thrones (5 years late to that party) – I am left pretty exhausted at the end of each day.

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favourite styles of yoga (and places to practice) that I find really nourish, relax & calm my nervous system when things are getting a bit too cray cray – Yin Yoga!

The classes I find myself getting to most often at the moment are at The Yoga Space (since this is where I’m doing teacher training) and the yin classes are held at 7pm on both Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Each class is lit with candles to help you slip into a deep state of stretchy relaxation, run for 75-90 minutes and are taught by expert yoga teachers with loads of experience in gently guiding you towards calmness and a (at least partially) switched off brain.

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Yin yoga is different to regular vinyasa/hatha yoga in that each pose is designed to release tension in the fascia and joints, rather than the muscles, and the poses are held for anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Props such as bolsters, blankets, blocks & cushions are also used to help the body get into position – although this is a quiet/slow practice, it can still be challenging as the body is being asked to relax into areas that it normally doesn’t. The teachers can help you with any poses that you find tricky, and you may even end up with 2-3 bolsters, 3 blocks and a cushion supporting you!

Over the course of the class you will take part in many different stretches & held positions, all while breathing deeply and doing your best to concentrate on the present moment, which is easier said than done on some days, and the class ends with an extra long Savasana (resting pose) …bliss.

Make sure you drive home safely afterwards as you’ll more than likely want to jump straight into bed as soon as you’re done, and did I mention that yin yoga can help you get an AMAZING nights rest? Well it can! I always sleep like a baby post-yin, sweet dreams, zzz!

Cost: $20 casual class

Where: The Yoga Space, West Perth

When: Thursday & Sunday @ 7pm

Be well,

Annette xo