retreats | Yoga Kitchen Coach

Connection with your tribe is the new Kale Friendship is an essential ingredient for a healthy body.

25th October 2019

Friends….

It may be obvious to most of you, but I think the following blog is worth putting out there, as a reminder to myself if nothing else!

Recent research have shown that social isolation is on a par with high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise or smoking as a risk factor for illness and early death.

People who are chronically lacking in social contacts are more likely to experience elevated levels of stress and inflammation. These, in turn, can undermine the well-being of nearly every bodily system, including the brain.

Absent social interactions, blood flow to vital organs is likely to be reduced and immune function may be undermined. Even how genes are expressed can be adversely affected, impairing the body’s ability to turn off inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been linked to heart disease, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and even suicide attempts.

Powerful stuff right? So in light of these discoveries, it is imperative that we put down our devices, often, and reach out to friends and family. It’s not enough to eat your veggies and exercise, we have been ignoring one of the most powerful human wellness ingredients in our pursuit of success. Its simple, just make an effort to hang out with your people and focus on them entirely, be silly, listen and help each other.

If you are already ticking all the boxes of living a healthy living, and yet some nagging issues remain, the answer may lie in your connections with others. We lead isolated lives and its not easy to find your tribe, but there are ways. Join a retreat, or a weekly class, or sign-up to Meetup – a great app allowing you to find others with similar interests within your area.

It’s all about finding a balance between healthy living & relationships. You need to pursue both and its also worth mentioning that having a ‘buddy’ on your journey to better health will increase your chance of success 100%.

Thank you for reading, I hope this post has inspired you to go out and connect with your special people, or perhaps take the first step towards finding your ‘tribe’.

In dedication to your radiant health,

Marlien x

Wellness + Nutrition

Yoga Kitchen Workshops 2019 Yoga Kitchen Nutrition Workshops

28th January 2019

Are you tired all the time, do you struggle to lose weight and feel that you would like to invest in looking and feeling your best? Join one of my workshops this year to learn how and what to eat – and how enjoy the journey to your best health!

Announcing all my workshop dates for 2019, covering subjects like How to eat for natural and effortless weight loss and which foods & supplements to include for beautiful skin & boundless energy!

For dates & more info navigate to my events page https://yogakitchencoach.com/the-yoga-kitchens-events/

Wellness + Nutrition

Is Coconut Oil Really That Good For You? Is Coconut Oil Really That Good For You?

11th July 2017

I have been advising the use of coconut oil for years, but recently there have been many articles in the media ‘debunking’ the health properties of coconut oil. Here is my opinion, as well as link to a couple of articles on the subject which I think is well balanced and based on scientific research.

When choosing an oil/ fat to cook with I do advise using cold pressed coconut oil, it has a high smoking point which means it doesn’t become toxic like olive oil during cooking. it also has a delightful taste and other health benefits such as NOT containing omega 6 fatty acids which leads to heart disease as well as being a good source of medium chain fatty acids. read the below two paragraphs and the links to their sources for a more detailed explanation.

‘The smoking point of olive oil corresponds to 280 degrees Fahrenheit, which is relatively low and implies that olive oil should not be heated at high temperatures. The smoking point of coconut oil is 350 F, making more appropriate for cooking at moderate temperatures. Cooking above the smoking point of an oil is not recommended and can lead to the formation of compounds that could be harmful for your health. Olive oil is usually liquid at room temperature but becomes solid in the refrigerator, while coconut oil is hard when kept in the refrigerator and can be either solid or liquid at room temperatures because of its melting point of 76 F.’

which is better: coconut-oil-or-olive-oil – LIVESTRONG

You may have heard that coconut oil is high in saturated fats, artery clogging and dangerous. The truth is, the medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) found in coconut oil are rare in nature and highly health beneficial. MCFA are digested by the body in a different way than the common long chain fatty acids (LCFA) found in most other foods. MCFA are quickly digested, producing energy instead of body fat and arterial plaque like LCFA. About 50 percent of the MFCA in coconut oil is lauric acid, which strengthens the immune system and is also found in human breast milk. Caprylic acid and capric acid are also present, contributing to coconut oil’s antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.

medium chain fatty acids – LIVESTRONG

Coconut oil has been touted as a superfood, but is coconut oil just a health fad, and actually bad for us, it is after all very high in saturated fats, traditionally believed to have been the major cause of heart disease. Well, here is my opinion; saturated fats are not necessarily the culprit of heart disease. More and more research now reveals that heart disease is caused mainly by refined & processed foods as well as trans fats and sugar. Humans need some saturated fats, but as with everything we need to keep balance in mind. When choosing coconut oil instead of other vegetable oil such as sunflower oil, canola, corn oil etc, you are still making a healthier choice, click on the link below to see some of the reasons why this is true.

Perhaps it is wise to use coconut oil in small quantities when cooking, and occasionally add it to a coffee when doing intermittent fasting, or add it to a smoothie before a workout. The jury is still out on whether or not it can be labeled as a superfood, but when it comes to eating a clean balanced diet I still believe that coconut oil can most definitely play an important part in living your healthiest life. Quality over quantity is once again true here.

In dedication to your best health

Marlien

Is Coconut Oil Healthy? (The American Heart Association Doesn’t Think So)

Breakfast, Wellness + Nutrition

The Hideaway’s Sublime Muesli Gluten Free, Paleo & Vegan Friendly

24th November 2016

Many moon’s ago, I received a phone call from a lovely man called Stephan Young, requesting that I start teaching him and his fabulous wife, Jackie, yoga at their guest house: The Hideaway.

Since then my journey with the Hideaway has lead to our unique Retreats & Wellness Getaways.

When hosting retreats with Stephan and Jackie the term ‘working’ seems inapplicable. Their attention to detail and quality is legendary…and the thought has often occurred to me mid-retreat ‘that I can simply turn up’, everything else get’s ‘magically’ done and dealt with.

Another awesome perk of hosting Yoga Kitchen Retreats at The Hideaway is that I get to enjoy having brunch cooked by Stephan and Jackie…and boy oh boy is it a feast. Jackie prepares grain free muffins, and grain free muesli , and Stephan cooks a magnificent hot breakfast to go with it, also gluten and dairy free.

But this blog post is all about Jackie’s muesli’s…long before her grain free Muesli Jackie was famous for her Hideaway Honey Muesli, they both are so good – I could have them for pudding. After much nagging Jackie has generously agreed to share her recipes here. Thank you Jackie!

Paleo Granola (Grain Free)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

2 cups raw walnuts

2 cups raw cashews

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup sesame seeds

½ cup linseeds

⅓ cup sunflower oil (or coconut oil if you prefer)

⅓ cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Break the nuts into small pieces, place in a deep roasting tin and add the pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, cranberries, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and linseeds.

In a large jug, combine the sunflower oil, honey, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix well.

Pour the oil and honey mixture over the nut, seed and fruit mixture and stir well to make sure that all the ingredients are well coated. Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 mins.

Remove the mixture from the oven and stir well.

Return the mixture to the oven and bake for a further 10 – 15 mins or until golden brown and crispy.

Remove the mixture from the oven and leave to cool for at least 10 mins before stirring to allow the nut clusters to develop. (Use a spatula to get under the granola and release it from the bottom of the roasting tin).

Once the mixture is completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Hideaway Honey Muesli

Makes about 2 litres

Pre-heat oven to 140°C

Ingredients:

250g Bran Flakes

500g Tiger Oats – Old Fashioned large flakes (you can also get hold of a Gluten Free rolled oats from Health-Connections)

100g sesame seeds

100g linseeds

100g sunflower seeds

100g pumpkin seeds

½ cup honey

1 cup sunflower oil

250g pecan nuts (or alternative nuts of your choice)

Dried fruits/flaked coconut (optional) to taste

Instructions:

Mix the Bran Flakes, Tiger Oats and seeds together in a large, fairly deep, ovenproof tray.

Mix the honey and sunflower oil together in a large jug and heat in the microwave for 1 min. Pour this mixture into the ovenproof tray and stir the dry ingredients carefully to ensure that they are well coated.

Bake the mixture in the oven for a total of 45 min at 140°C. After each 15 min interval i.e. at the 15 min and 30 min point, remove the tray from the oven and stir the mixture again to aid the distribution of the honey and to ensure even baking of all the ingredients.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow the muesli to cool before adding the pecan nuts, dried fruits, flaked coconut and whatever else you fancy. You will need to continue stirring the mixture often as it sticks very easily as it cools.

Cook’s notes: Store in an airtight container. If it loses its crispy texture, place in oven for a few minutes to re-crisp. Serve both these muesli’s with some tahini and/or greek yogurt, you can add extra honey or maple syrup, but they are ‘sweet enough’ as they say.

So get cooking good looking, once you have experienced these muesli’s you will be converted.

In dedication to your glowing health

Marlien x