Rachel's Blog | Inspired Health by Rachel Grunwell

September 25, 2015

Spring Detox with Wellness Retreats NZ

By Rachel Grunwell

All pictures courtesy of Sarah Alice Photography (except for the above yoga pic)

“You are whole. You are seen. You are more than enough. You are loved”.

These beautiful words are from yoga and mindfulness educator Nikki Ralston, whose voice is soothing my mind to a blissed out place.

I’m among 25 people at a Spring Detox Retreat with Wellness Retreats NZ (held at Ponsonby’s Sapphire Room). So 25 lycra-clad bodies are all laid down, glued to mats. All 50 eyes are closed. Everyone’s breathing is slowed down and our collective nervous systems, respiratory systems and heart rates are calmed.

We’ve just finished a yoga session led by Nikki, blending chakra balancing (with affirmations and essential oils). So we’ve done just a handful of yoga poses (holding each pose for minutes at a time – that’s us in the pic above). We’re letting our bodies unfurl, stretch out, soften and relax.

With each of the yoga poses, we had taken a drop of a different oil (with names like “whisper”) and applied these to different parts of the body throughout the class. The slowing down of this class resulted in my body being light and left my mind feeling lifted and clear. I love long-held yoga poses. It’s not just because I’m a yoga teacher too. It’s also so restorative for my runner’s body (I’m in training for the Auckland Marathon next)!

It’s not just the yoga that’s led me to this float-away space. It’s the culmination of the day-long retreat that’s nourished my mind and body to a fresh place.

The day kicked off with rejuvenating flow yoga led by the host Melissa Carroll (this is her class in action below with clients breathing into the yoga child’s pose).

Melissa is the brains and beauty behind this business. Her personal journey to overcome chronic/adrenal fatigue led her to create Wellness Retreats NZ. She aims to inspire, motivate, nurture and educate clients to boost their wellbeing.

She gathers different experts to lead hour-long sessions or talks throughout the day retreat. These experts arm retreat-goers with tools to make healthy changes in life. I love this inspired goal.

Each retreat has a different theme, a different mix of speakers – and retreats are held in beautiful locations like Matakana, Waiheke or Ponsonby. Morning tea and lunch are from The Raw Kitchen (so raw healthy foods) and Artemis medicinal teas are on offer throughout the day.

At the Spring Detox Retreat, speakers included Dr Kathleen Wills (a doctor of integrative medicine and an author), Erin O’Hara (a naturopath, medical herbalist and yogi from Golden Yogi), a speaker from Living Nature (a natural skincare and beauty range) and Jenny Hardyment (a Feng Shui enthusiast).

I’m a wellbeing columnist for Fairfax NZ as well as the investing magazine Juno – yet even I learned new tools on this retreat. Here’s a pic of me armed with my writing pen and soaking up all I can! I love being in geek mode…

Anyhow, the experts are rich in knowledge and passionate about their words.

Highlights included Golden Yogi studio owner Erin’s smoothie-making workshop where she explained “the journey through the digestive system”, to the properties of kale and to what happens when you mix blueberries with anything (the colour brown, of course). She’s pictured here with the beautiful long golden hair.

Her tips were non-stop: “Add protein to smoothies to fill you up”…. “coconut water contains electrolytes”… “”chew food well so you get more nutrients”…. “with skin conditions, look to the digestive system”… “anything high in fat can cause reflux”… Her advice fired at the rate of gun fire. Fast, informative, information and knowledge-loaded. I loved it.

Speaker Kathleen meanwhile reminded us to be kind to others, less harsh, less judgmental (which is something I love about the yogi way, by the way). She also gave us the down-low on hormone health and imbalances and common symptoms.

Kathleen (the beauty pictured in the green top) talked about oestrogen, testosterone, how to address some health concerns, when to detox (at least once yearly) and, importantly, when not to detox. I loved how she reassured that a detox doesn’t have to be intense. It can mean just cutting down on meat 2-3 times weekly and integrating some healthier habits, for example.

While, The Living Nature expert (this talk is pictured below in the black-and-white pic) scared me off my lipstick and onto theirs… My jaw dropped when the speaker explained that if you wear lipstick a lot then you will consume 1.2kg of lipstick in your lifetime. Gulp. Literally.

I seriously questioned what I put on my skin too post this talk. If you put garlic on your feet then 10-minutes later you can taste it in your mouth. So imagine what happens to your makeup. Yeah, you soak that right up too… ew!

So when I heard that Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (often in foaming facial cleansers or body wash) is a chemical also used in industrial cleaning guff this also sent me scrambling through my bathroom cabinet when I got home. It’s a message I need to hammer home to my friends…

So this brand’s argument to “move to a natural approach” was convincing. And the tips for great skin were brill. I soaked those up. Just not Sodium Lauryl Sulphate any more!

Meanwhile, Jenny’s talk was all about lifting the energy of your home, and life, through the principals of Feng Shui. Her tips were about trying to attract more chi (positive energy) and to deflect “sha” or rather disruptive energy.

She told the audience to “open your eyes to what surrounds you”. She talked about how to soften harsh edges of your home, how decluttering can be good for the mind and energy of a room and she urged us all to go home and “throw away or give away 9 things you don’t need”.

“It’s amazing how much better you’ll feel,” she raved.

She talked about the five elements (fire, earth, metal, wood and water) and how to balance these for more harmony in your environment. I loved her explanation of why we should have plants in our homes: “It’s living energy”.

Finally, each speaker was just long enough to keep me entertained and happy in my seat. It was a brilliant day and I left feeling inspired.

I’d recommend this retreat. – which is a beautiful day-long escape to rejuvenate.

ps you leave with a bumper goodie bag & then Melissa emails later with a catch-up letter packed too full of discounts from her retreat partners. It’s all part of her incredible caring approach to boost the power of wellness with a wide reach.

* * * *

Wellness Retreats NZ is holding their next retreat: Vitality Workshops – Retreat for Men & Women, October 4th – The Sapphire Room, Ponsonby Central. For more info check out their site by clicking here.

ps enter the draw to WIN chia seeds + entries to the Rotorua Marathon through Inspired Health’s Facebook page by clicking here.

September 11, 2015

10 reasons why runners should do yoga – plus a new ‘yoga for runners’ course in Auckland

Here are the details for my next “Yoga for Runners” course 😉

When: Monday mornings from Sept 28, (6:30-7:25am @ Mt Eden Village Centre, 449 Mt Eden Rd, cnr of Mt Eden Rd & Ngauruhoe St opp. Circus Circus). The 6-week course costs $90 & is ideal recovery from your weekend long run (including a well-deserved stretch-out the day after the Auckland Marathon for those runners taking on that event).

To secure a place contact Rachel via [email protected]

Meanwhile, here are 10 reasons why runners should become yogis:

It can help you to run better. Running and yoga complement each other.
It can increase your range of mobility. This can be key to preventing too much pressure and wearing down on some areas, which can lead to injuries.
You learn to feel where imbalances, weaknesses and tight spots are in your body so you can work on these at home.
You’ll discover your core and this helps you keep upright in an event!
It’s good for focus. Train the mind to help you to go further in a race – it’s about will power when you get past the halfway mark.
Yogis are strong. People think it’s all about stretching and looking glam, but yogis have a lot of all-over body strength.
It improves ankle stability. Everyone wants to avoid rolling their ankles, right?
It improves proprioception – know where your limbs are in space. Think rock-hopping on off-road races – one slightly misplaced toe and a race can be all over.
Meditation at the end will help you chill out!
It’s fun!

September 4, 2015

New book gives tips on how to improve children’s health

By Rachel Grunwell

A family’s wellbeing can be improved very quickly in lots of ways.

So says Dr Leila Masson, a leading paediatrician and public health specialist interested in disease prevention (she’s also a mum of two boys). She has just released a book – Children’s Health, A to Z for New Zealand Parents.

She spoke about the book and how to improve kids’ health at a function at Ecostore recently and below I’ve listed 11 of her great tips.

The book also boasts quick and healthy family meal ideas, advice on how to support ill children if they get a list of ailments… to advice on how to know when exactly to seek medical advice.

Malcolm Rands, co-founder of Ecostore – a business of non-toxic household products – backs the book and says it would be useful in every Kiwi home. He commented that he wishes he had this expert knowledge at-hand when his children were little.

Here are 11 of Dr Leila Masson’s tips:

Own a dog. Children who grow up with one have less allergies.
Camomile teabags can be useful to have at hand. Make a cup of tea and then leave it cool it and then give it to a child who feels anxious or can’t sleep. A teabag left to cool for a while too can also be used on eye infections to bring down inflammation.
Serve less meat for kids meals – because too much of it can lead to constipation and in the long run heart disease and cancer. A dinner plate should be half full of veggies, ¼ full of whole-grains like brown rice and then a small piece of meat (lean meat or something like chickpeas).
Buy organic if you can. But if it’s too expensive to buy everything organic then prioritise which organic items you buy in order to get the best health benefits. An example is it’s okay to eat non-organic bananas, pumpkin and avocados for instance because you remove the skin before eating them. While organic apples should be a priority for kids as they eat a lot of these and eat the fruit’s skin.
Turn off all screens two hours before sleeping (for adults as well as kids). The blue light from mobile phones for example “interferes” with melatonin levels and this can affect sleep. Don’t even give kids aged under 3 any technology devices as it does nothing for their brain.
Send kids outdoors for at least an hour daily. This gets them moving and gives exposure to sunshine. The sun’s rays are good for Vitamin D levels, strong bones and this helps modulate the immune system (and fight those nasty colds).
Take off your shoes when you walk in the home. Shoes pick up pesticides, dog poo and other nasties. This is especially important if you have a young child as they can touch floors and then put their hands in their mouth.
Get rid of old mattresses (buy cotton ones or natural latex if you can). Old mattresses leak toxins and you spend a lot of time in bed and so this can mean you are exposed to these toxins for a lot of hours.
Buy eco-friendly household cleaners and products for your skin. Your skin can absorb these chemicals.
Don’t buy plastic toys, food containers and bottles. BPA can be in a lot of them, which is a chemical that can have possible negative health effects on the brain, behaviour and glands etc
If you have a virus then believe in the benefits of sipping hot water with a teaspoon of Manuka honey with fresh lemon. “It will help you get better,” she says.

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August 7, 2015

Golden Yogi Beachside studio opens in Takapuna

By Rachel Grunwell

Congrats Golden Yogi ! What a gorgeous, light and bright studio you have. Takapuna peeps are so lucky to have this incredible studio on their doorstep (can your next studio come to Mt Eden, near my house, please!!) Golden Yogi founder Erin O’Hara (the girl with the golden long locks pictured on the right in the above pic) is an inspired and experienced teacher whose passion is with Kundalini yoga. But there are all types of styles of yoga on offer here including vinyasa, yin, pregnancy classes to kids sessions and even meditations on the timetable. There are also top facilities (luxury bathroom!) and you can enjoy delicious drinks that are organic to raw-food inspired (LOVE The Raw Kitchen treats and amazing organic teas here!) or you can book a naturopathy session on-site… and so much more!

At the studio opening, Erin took a gorgeous class with breathe work, gentle movement, chanting and meditation. This left me feeling lighter and happier. That’s the test for yoga, Erin says: “Notice how a practice make you feel”.

Pictured on the left in the above pic is TV & radio journo Carly Flynn, who describes the studio as “one of my happy places”. Carly loves to spend time with the inspirational teachers through this studio. We are both fellow journalists (and we once worked together a few moons ago!) We had a giggle about our shared love of words and now shared passion for yoga. Perhaps all writers should do yoga; it’s brilliant for de-stressing! Actually everyone should try yoga (and they should do it at Golden Yogi, of course). You will feel lighter on your feet and fuller in your heart. However, I would say this, I teach yoga too (just a different style – my passion is with working with athletes who wish to re-balance their bodies in order to try and avoid injuries. 😉

Meanwhile, Erin hopes that people will love her new studio. She says she created it so people “have a pathway to find what they’re looking for” and she hopes it too will “connect people with their truth”.

I’m sure this space will blossom and be loved by this community. Folk will grow, heal and renew here at Golden Yogi’s new place. It’s a golden space.

Meanwhile, I just had to get a pic with Sunniva from RAWTILLFOUR – she’s a superstar for creating raw and vegan recipes. Make sure you check out her creations. They all look delicious. It was so lovely to connect with her at the Golden Yogi Beachside studio.

A little star at the event too was Buffy-Ellen’s cute little baby Mila. Buffy-Ellen is the superstar behind BEGOODORGANICS. She’s doing great things in the health-food inspired world. So make sure you check out her great recipes.

Here’s a dessert from The Raw Kitchen which was on offer at Golden Yogi Beachside. I think I went to heaven after trying one of these treats!!! I think this has started a new love affair. (ps I run so I can eat sweet treats!)

Meanwhile, to find out more about Golden Yogi Beachside click here.

July 28, 2015

‘Choc Cupcakes + Coconut Cream & Orange Icing (with less sugar calories)

By Rachel Grunwell

Here’s my recipe for ‘Choc Cupcakes + Coconut Cream & Orange Icing (with less sugar calories):

These are kick-ass delicious. Promise! The secret is hidden in the topping which is quite frankly heavenly stuff. I add orange juice and orange zest to mine, but you can keep the icing plain too if you like. This is equally scrummy! The recipe is so easy to whip up, yet so creamy and yum that it melts in your mouth. I make the coconut cream often all on its own and keep it in the fridge and pair it up with fresh berries too sometimes.

Choc Cupcakes + Coconut Cream & Orange Icing (with less sugar calories):

Ingredients:

250g Butter

1.5 cups coconut sugar

3 Eggs

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1.5 Cups Flour (to make the recipe gluten-free use 1 Cup Rice Flour, 1/2 Cup Potato Flour and 1.2 Teaspoons of Xanthum Gum… however the gluten-free flour makes the muffins firmer than the wheat version recipe)

2 Tablespoons of Cacao

1.5 Cups Milk

1 Teaspoon of Heilala Vanilla

Instructions:

* Place the butter (soften it a little in the microwave if it’s hard) and sugar in a mixer and blend thoroughly.

* Add the eggs and blend one by one.

* In a bowl: Sift the flour, baking powder & cacao together.

* In a cup put the milk and vanilla.

* Add the flour mixture and milk in spurts into the mixer until combined.

* Then spoon the mixture into paper cupcakes and bang in the oven for roughly 12-minutes on 180-degrees.

NOTE: It can take longer to cook the cupcakes depending on how much mixture you put into each cupcake holder… so you decide if you want whopper size, or petite cupcakes!

Here are the ingredients needed in the icing and also a pic of the ingredients ready to go. Excuse the mess with the orange rind there, I’m more Jamie Oliver-style messy rather than Little Miss Perfect ha!

For the Coconut Cream Icing:

Put a can of coconut cream in the fridge for 24-hours. It makes it firm. I then add 2 teaspoons of coconut sugar (finely ground) , juice from ¼ of an orange and 2 Tablespoons of orange zest (grated finely). Put it in a blender to mix. I use a Kenwood Blend X Pro blender, which I just love. I then chuck this cream in an icing piping bag (with a swirly icing tip on the bottom) and pipe the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes in swirls. I then top with coconut chips for that added WOW factor.

Voila. Cupcakes with less sugar and a happy household which laps up a sweet treat for a treat.

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June 14, 2015

‘What the Fat?.. Fat’s in, sugar’s out’…

* (Check our Facebook page to win stuff and for lifestyle inspo here)

By Rachel Grunwell

I was at the launch of this cool book at Loop Restaurant in Kingsland. Check out some of the Instagram pictures I took by checking out the Inspired Health Instagram account by clicking here. There were politicians, university and media folk, researchers, chefs, dieticians and more there to celebrate the launch including the three book authors.

Firstly, this book is a collaboration of great minds and talents (heavy weights in the industry, if you like): a professor, dietitian and a chef. It’s also heavy in weight – there are a lot of recipes and background information on how you go about eating certain foods and why. I’d call it a “good eating bible”. There are endless tips and tricks and I buried my head in this for hours and still have a lot to learn and recipes to try out!!!

There are recipes including soups to meals with side dishes and also snacks and drinks, but the authors talk about lifestyle, research on the latest science on food and there are even success weight-loss stories in this 300-page book (and they’re not just average Jos either, but rather knowledgeable folk…).

The great minds behind this venture are Professor Grant Schofield (nicknamed “The Fat Professor” as he talks about good and bad “fats” and the research side of the equation), Dr Caryn Zinn (nicknamed The Wholefood Dietician obviously for her preference for whole and real foods and expertise in this field) and Craig Rodger (The Michelin-trained Chef).

They’re on a mission to get Kiwis to change the way they eat and “flip the food pyramid” and consider the science of the low-carb, healthy-fat (LCHF) lifestyle. It’s essentially about eating whole and unprocessed foods like veggies, fruit, full-fat dairy products, legumes, good protein and good fats from sources like avocados, olive oil, nuts and coconut oil (some of these can be a controversial with experts from different backgrounds however). I wrote one of my weekly “wellbeing columns” on stuff.co.nz interviewing Caryn about “food for Fit Folk’ and you can read it by clicking here.

I’ve whipped up a few recipes from the book including the ‘low-carb bread’ to the ‘butter chicken, cauliflower pilau, raita and coconut naan’ recipes and they are AMAZING – nutritious but unbelievably delicious. In fact these recipes were so good they’ve been made a couple of times each within a week! I’ve even made the pilau with other dishes (this cauliflower side dish is replacing things like rice and potatoes in our house for some dinners). I’m super excited about trying more of the recipes. I’ve got to say the edge on this recipe book (over a lot of other cook books) could be there’s a Michelin-star chef involved. These recipes are not just good for you, but they also taste great! I think this book is a game changer in the recipe world; there’s nothing else that comes close to it. It give you the what, why and how-to on good eating. The book retails for $39.95.

ps: Here’s my attempt at the ‘butter chicken, cauliflower pilau, raita and coconut naan’ recipe. It doesn’t look as pretty as the one in the book, but it tastes darn good.

June 6, 2015

Gluten-Free Protein Pikelets

By Rachel Grunwell

Sometimes I’m just after a sweet-as treat – especially if I’ve done a big, long training run. These are gluten-free and yuuuuuumy! Here’s the recipe:

1/2 Cup Chickpea Flour

1/2 Cup Brown Rice Flour

1 Teaspoon Xanthum Gum

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

2 Eggs

1 Cup Almond Milk

1 scoop of Natural Clean Lean Protein Powder

1/4 Cup Chelsea’s Demerara Sugar

Throw all the ingredients into a blender. The mixture is thick and so you can thin it down with more milk to make bigger pikelets. I use a tablespoon of mixture to make each pikelet (cooked in coconut oil). I topped mine with raspberries, sliced banana, maple syrup (and there are some mint leaves for show!) If I had yoghurt in the house then I would put a dollop of that on too!

Good luck keeping all the peeps away from these delicious morsels! Unless you want to share…

May 31, 2015

Sweet Kumara Ice-Cream – by Sarah Dueweke

By Rachel Grunwell

(Rachel is on Instagram – just click here)

This recipe has kindly been supplied by Sarah Dueweke from her “Primal Kitchen – Real Food Recipes’ book. The book, by the way, has 176-pages of paleo-diet inspired food inspiration including soups, cookies, to pesto and hearty dinner ideas. Here she has kindly shared her Sweet Kumara Ice-Cream recipe – plus lots of tips on making this. It’s a very cool and quirky recipe which I made myself and I reckon it would be yummy accompanied with apple pie mmmmm… (ps remember to check out Inspired Health’s FaceBook page for our weekly Freebie Friday competitions plus other health, recipe & fitness inspiration – click here)!

Now here’s Sarah’s recipe, who by the way is a bit of a kumara fan:

She says: “I think I could write a whole book on orange kumara recipes . . . maybe I will. This creamy, delicious primal dessert is fun to make and to share with friends. The spices give it a gingerbreadlike flavour, combined with the goodness of orange kumara! If you’ve never tried making your own ice cream, I highly recommend it.”

Sweet Kumara Ice Cream:

Serves 4–6

5 egg yolks

1 cup Orange Kumara Purée (* instructions on how to make this down further below)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (* instructions on how to make this down further below)

2 cups cream (or coconut cream for dairy-free)

½ cup liquid honey (can substitute with Date Paste (page 164) or pure maple syrup)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk kumara purée, vanilla, cream, honey, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together in a small saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. Warm the mixture until just barely simmering, then temper in the egg yolks. To do this, ladle one spoonful at a time of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, while stirring, to slowly bring the temperature of the yolks up without scrambling them. Once the yolk mixture is warm, pour it back into the saucepan with the rest of the cream mixture and continue heating, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened. Do not let it boil.

Remove from the heat once thickened. Chill the mixture for several hours, or overnight. To cool it faster, place the mixture in a metal bowl, set this over a larger bowl filled with ice, and stir slowly to cool it.

Once the custard is well chilled, you may churn it through an ice-cream maker according to its directions. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, you can slow-churn it using a hand mixer. To do this, place the custard in the freezer for a few hours, without freezing it completely. Remove it from the freezer and whip it with a hand mixer for a few minutes to ‘churn’ some air into it.

Return it to the freezer for another 2 hours or so, then whip it once more with the hand mixer and place it back in the freezer to finish freezing. It’s a bit more time-consuming, but whipping the air into it gradually will ensure a light, creamy ice cream!

When I lived in the US, canned pumpkin purée was a staple in my pantry. I was gutted when I moved to New Zealand and couldn’t find it anywhere! But sweet orange kumara is a perfect alternative.

* Orange Kumara Purée

Makes 3–4 cups, depending on the size of the kumara

2–3 large orange kumara Peel and chop the kumara, and place in a large pot of water.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until soft. Drain, then allow to cool slightly.

Purée the kumara in a food processor or with a stick blender until very smooth.

Use straight away in your favourite primal dishes, or freeze in cup-sized amounts for a later date.

To me, it’s gotta be real vanilla extract, not that chemical stuff. Good thing you can make it yourself! Disclaimer – vodka isn’t exactly primal, but used in an extract you would eat such a negligible quantity that it shouldn’t affect your healthy lifestyle goals.

* Vanilla Extract

Makes 500 ml

4–5 vanilla pods

500 ml bottle vodka

Split vanilla pods in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Put the pods and seeds into the vodka bottle, twist the lid on tightly, and give it a shake.

That’s it! Store the extract in a cool, dry place. The longer it has to sit, the better and stronger the flavour will be. Just give it a shake once in a while.

Cook’s Note

You can use the same process to make other natural flavours.

To make almond extract, substitute the vanilla pods for ¼ cup blanched almonds. For lemon or other citrus extracts, mix vodka with fresh citrus peels. Peppermint extract? Combine vodka with fresh peppermint leaves. Try this with any of your favourite flavours!

Reproduced with permission from Primal Kitchen by Sarah Dueweke. Published by Penguin Random House NZ. RRP $40.00. Text © Sarah Dueweke, 2015. Photography © Elizabeth Clarkson, 2015.

May 15, 2015

Guiding amazing blind runner Hannah…

By Rachel Grunwell

TV1 presenter Greg Boyed and I co-guided blind Invercargill runner Hannah Pascoe through the Rotorua Marathon.

It was a tough, but amazing race. I loved it because I shared the journey with two friends. I also got a kick out of the beautiful day and looking out onto Lake Rotorua as we lapped it – Mokoia Island looks magical in the middle of that glistening water. I love thinking of the famous Maori love story that island is famous for too every time I lay eyes on it. Rotorua is a special place.

Anyhow, marathon day turned out to be a mint day, full of sunshine, smiles, and sore legs of course! But we conquered that race together and so we’ve got awesome bragging rights! As does anyone else who finished that 42.195km distance. She’s tough.

It was an accidental marathon for Greg. He planned to help me guide Hannah for half the race (as he had only trained for a half-marathon distance). I was so grateful to have him along for the journey to help with guiding Hannah. It meant there were two of us to make sure Hannah was safe during the race (ie that she didn’t fall over a curb or another person etc!)

But Greg ended up going the whole distance of the marathon with Hannah and I (us girls gave him a bit of a nudge – or you could argue we ganged up on him!) But seriously, he was more than strong enough to do the marathon and we decided to finish this race together as a team and help each other through it – however long it took. Greg ended up doing a lot of the guiding and holding the tether rope attached to Hannah. While I did a lot of the verbal cues for Hannah and acted as a tourist guide ie I love to talk and so I was constantly describing hurdles to avoid and the stunning scenery etc. I think I use my mouth more than my legs when I run!

Greg was as ecstatic as Hannah to finish that race. We did it a nudge under 5-hours. There’s something about conquering a marathon that gives you confidence. I think if you’re brave enough to take on a big goal like this then you realise that you can smash other life goals too. It’s tremendous.

It was a beautiful day: The best day. I was blessed to share it with two friends. I think we’re still on that runners’ high from that race. Greg and I have vowed to take on the lake again next year! And we’ll be twisting some more Achilles members to join us. So see you there if you can make it too!

After the race, Hannah gave me an unexpected gift. A blessed greenstone necklace. Of course it left me in floods of tears – it was too wonderful a gift and it means so much to me. I’m so grateful for the wonderful friends I have in Achilles members – that is the greatest gift.

Meanwhile, here’s a newspaper story I wrote on what it’s like to be a guide & about Hannah – you can read by clicking here

I also included Hannah’s amazing Rotorua Marathon mission in my weekly fitness/health & wellbeing column on www.stuff.co.nz – to read it click here.

* Greg and I are both ambassadors for the Achilles NZ charity, which helps disabled Kiwis nationwide to take part in mainstream events. Anyone is welcome to join. If you want to know more info, check out the Achilles NZ website www.achillesnewzealand.org

ps make sure you follow the Inspired Health’s Facebook page. There are great healthy recipes, weekly giveaways and competitions and lots of fitness & health inspiration. You can find it by clicking here

May 9, 2015

Banana Goji Berry Smoothie Goodness

By Rachel Grunwell

Ooooooh I’m loving this smoothie making bizzo – lots of fun and a great way to get some goodness into the kids. For this easy recipe you only need:

2 Bananas

2 Handfuls of ice

3 Cups of almond milk

A few drops of vanilla essence

1 tsp Manuka honey

2 tsp ground linseed

Whiz it all in a blender and then top with shaved coconut, chopped dark chocolate and almonds and goji berries. Dress it up with some mint leaves if you please! Eat with a spoon and enjoy the silence for a few moments while the kids lap it up!

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