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Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA on February 7, 2010
I mentioned in my previous post that I bought a bunch of organic kale for $2.50, the reason being that many of my health loving internet friends tout kale as one of the most important vegetables that you can whiz up into a healthy green smoothie.
I like me some green smoothies so away I went, kale in hand & put about 7 stalks in the blender with some water, apple juice and a banana, which is my usual go-to with spinach instead of kale.
The first thing I noticed was that my blender wasn’t hearty enough to quickly whiz up the kale. It’s a tough critter and took about a minute on high before it started working properly.
Secondly, when all was blended and done… the taste.
Oh dear. Apparently you’re meant to slowly work up to bunches of kale in smoothies, starting out with a couple of leaves at first. It was very bitter and extra apple juice didn’t help. I felt like throwing up due to the intense taste!
Kale smoothie mission = FAIL.
So learn from my mistakes, next time I will do the following:
– Use only a couple stalks of washed, organic kale
– Break it into pieces before blending
– Add some frozen blueberries/blackberries to sweeten it up
Dear kale smoothies,
I can’t stop thinking about you. I know it didn’t work out the first time between us, but I think if we spend a little time apart thinking about what we both want out of the relationship, then maybe we can be together…
Yours hopefully,
Annette
Be well,
xoxo
Posted in Food, Wellness Tips | 
7 Comments »
Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA on February 6, 2010
Image from http://food.libertine.au.com/
Having driven past a few times on previous weekends, seeing signs spouting promises of artisan bread, fresh fruit & vegies, free range eggs and organic produce, I finally woke up early enough to check out The Farmers Market on Manning in Bentley (just across the road from Curtin University) this morning with my mama.
My first time at a farmers market, what glee!
The markets are teeming with activity and everyone there seems relaxed and happy, my kinda place. There are cute little stalls throughout & pups galore (excellent).
Cardboard boxes are the go with no plastic bags to be seen. We try some organic lemon & garlic kalamata olives from a farm in York and end up buying some… so tasty! And at a similar price you’d pay in the supermarket.
Stalls noted include… flower / plants, organic tea, honey, curry puffs (!?!!), organic+vegetarian cheese (this place was going off because they were offering free cheese samples), chutney & sauces, raw juice, fudge, cakes, as well as the fruit, vegies, fresh meat, free range eggs etc.
The prices seemed exceptionally reasonable, I bought a bunch of organic kale for $2.50 & an organic kiwi fruit for $0.80. They will both make an excellent smoothie for me later!
Highlight of the morning would be seeing a tiny Italian boy with a huge loaf of artisan olive & sun-dried tomato bread that was about 1/3 the size of him, nibbling all over it, so cute!
The setting is fantastic, on the green grass under the shady pine trees next to the Aboriginal music college on Manning Road.
I’ll definitely be going back, I want to eat more local & organic foods and this is a wonderful way to support our local industries and farmers.
If you live South of the River, give it a go! I think you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did 🙂
Location
Clontarf Campus
Manning Road
Bentley, Western Australia
Time
8.00am – 1.00pm Saturday
Be well,
xoxo
Posted in Food, Reviews, South of River | 18 Comments »
Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA on February 4, 2010
On a scale of one to ten how typical is it to be inspired to take up dancing again when watching SYTYCD on late night television?!
Regardless of the answer to this question, inspiration has taken hold & me + 1 gorgeous friend are going to be shimmying, floor routine-ing, chair dancing & doing tear drops till our calves fall off! YAY!
Show girl shape up, here we come!
Check out: Sugar Blue Burlesque for more details!
The other great thing to happen Tonight was a salad of EPIC PROPORTIONS!! I’ve recently started getting pretty full-on into delicious salads and am definitely feeling the benefits of it.
Tonights number included such hits as…
♥ Handfuls of baby spinach
♥ Light fetta (with non-animal rennet of course)
♥ Vine ripened tomatoes
♥ Sweetened dried cranberries
♥ Chickpeas
♥ Sesame seeds
Honestly, it sounds so simple but tastes so amazing!
My friend & I have regular “salad dates” once a week, so much healthier than the coffee & cake that most of us go for! Maybe you can try having a salad date too?
It’s fun to go shopping for the ingredients, prepare it together & then sit down in front of a bowl of amazing vitamins & flavour while watching other people exercise! Alternatively you can watch coming-of-age teen comedies which we seem to alternate between.
Please make sure to enter the Safire Competition if you haven’t already and want the chance of winning some sweet goodies!
Be well,
xoxo
Posted in Exercise, Wellness Tips | 2 Comments »
Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA on February 3, 2010
Wellness WA loves making friends! We already have quite a few of various flavours, check them out & tell them we sent you! x
Raw Foods
The Raw Kitchen – great Perth company running raw food workshops & smoothie stalls!
W.A. Beauty & Skincare
Sodashi – found in many top spas throughout the world including Italy, Paris, New York, Switzerland… the list goes on. This highly prestigious luxury brand is based in our own backyard, North Fremantle and is a testimony to the fact that despite living in the most isolated city on Earth, we can make a worldwide impact!
Perth Spas, Salons and Retreats
endota spa perth cbd – down to earth heaven, ah-inspiring, all australian certified organic day spa
level 1 – 856 hay street, perth. 6181 9858
Chittering Valley Retreat – a retreat nestled to the North North East of the city, run by a qualified vegetarian chef – need I say more?
Far Away Friends
Ponikuta – a Melbourne gals beauty product review blog.
Healthy Living Blogs – the definitive world-wide resource of wellness & healthy living blogs!
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Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA on February 3, 2010
After a fairly intense past 6 months with little extra funds to ‘treat myself’, I got back into it Today with an hour long massage at my old fave, the Cove Spa (previously The Beauty Cove Day Spa) in South Perth.
At this moment, to me, Cove Spa is unparalleled. That being said, once I find a good thing I tend to stick with it! So this may be a biased opinion & I will be doing much more further investigation (hard life!) to see if I can find more wonderful places in Perth to get my pamper on!
I chose the standard 60 minute relaxation massage (at the princely sum of $105) to help combat the stress acquired from starting a new job & am so, so, so glad I did!
Here’s why:
♥ Comfy slippers, not all spas can say they have these but luckily this one can! So good to pad around in comfy slip ons.
♥ Free cups of tea! YAY! However, the water jug didn’t have any lemon slices in it, which it usually does. Lemon water is tasty. That’s my only gripe so I think they’re doing pretty fantastic!
♥ Expert masseuse. I was reluctant to venture away from my usual therapist Kate, but the girl I had (Sam) was just as good & really friendly! She made me feel comfortable & possesses magical hands.
♥ Aromatherapy! I was surprised when she asked me to inhale deeply three times (you lie with your head face down into a hole in the table), wonderful essential oils sent me that little bit further into relaxation, it was a really special touch that I loved and didn’t expect.
♥ Sam was really thorough, massaging onto my bottom (how proper!) a bit as there is a lot of tension held here for most of us due to sitting at computers all day long. Not for the shy I suppose, but excellent as part of a full body tension release.
♥ No pressure to leave the lounge area. I lazed around for about 20 minutes reading magazines and at no point felt rushed, which is how you want to feel after such a relaxing experience!
♥ Afterwards I felt so great and at peace with the world, which is how I always feel after a massage at Cove Spa. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true!
Highly recommended, once again.
Be well,
xoxo
Posted in Day Spa, Inner City, Other, Reviews, South of River | 3 Comments »
