health | Fitness on Toast

Posts tagged 'health'

10 AUTUMN ‘HEALTHY GETAWAY’ ESSENTIALS!

09/10/2020

The summer may be well and truly kaput, yet your travel aspirations invariably live on… The deluge of the past week has unquestionably marked the seasonal transition to Autumn, and whilst we weren’t exactly travelling abroad en-mass over the summer, the ‘Blighty staycation’ certainly came in handy as a welcome relief from cabin fever. Whilst I have around 8 more weeks until my little one bids a hello to the big wide world, I will try to punctuate the weekends with a few more mini countryside/coastal getaways. Given my size as a heavily pregnant woman, the items filling my getaway bag look altogether different to my usual Active Escapes! This post shows 10 key essential items I pop in the bag when I’m after a wellbeing escape to some wonderful part of the country, as you might be considering this ‘fall’! Read on, dear reader… (more…)

MY PHOTOGRAPHY REVIEW OF THE IPHONE XS CAMERA

30/09/2018

It’s been some 3 years since I wrote one of my most well-read ‘how-to’ posts, entitled Blogging 101; in that article, I focussed on my camera selection as a part of what makes FitnessOnToast so much fun to create, and a way to differentiate your own creative pursuits. Time has moved on, as has technology, and now I have professional-grade photography integrated in my smartphone. After visiting Cupertino for the recent launch of the Apple iPhone XS, I’ve been test-driving one of their golden phones for the past fortnight, and this post is the result of my creative experimentation. Shot almost exclusively on the iPhone XS (all except for the 2 shots of the phone itself), these images were captured around Hampstead Heath in the glorious late-summer British sunshine. Click MORE for a full look at the new Camera capabilities and my full perceptions…

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A LITTLE TIME WITH APPLE WATCH SERIES 4

19/09/2018

Over the past 3 years, I’ve authored some of my most in-depth blog posts about each successive version of the iconic Apple Watch since it revolutionised the health and fitness tracking landscape back in 2015 (see review 1, review 2, and review 3); personally I’ve enormously valued the advances it’s enabled for me, arming me with data and awareness, reminding me to act, keeping me in contact with the community around me – and it did this whilst integrating seamlessly with my own ‘life technology stack’ in an un-intimidating, user-friendly way. Now, following an overwhelmingly impressive trip to the Steve Jobs Theatre in Cupertino, California, I have been introduced to my latest wrist companion, Apple Watch Series 4… Click MORE to see my full perceptions about this fascinating piece of kit, which represents a big hope for the future! (more…)

TECHNIQUE FREAK!

18/06/2018

Poor training is a sad sight to behold 😪. I wanted to revisit a key component of ‘sound technique’, as I wrote about it many years ago but it remains no less topical as ever-more fitness converts venture to the gym to kickstart their lifestyle changes. It’s also pretty perfect for this time of year when no doubt people are more likely to head outside for their sessions. So, if like me, you love the outdoors & perhaps don’t have access to / don’t always feel like going to the gym – but you still want a workout which is challenging and effective – well then, this post is for YOU! First consider the following 3 different training techniques, and some of the exercises I suggest doing to put those techniques to use! Also, it requires no weights; just a nice summer’s day, like the ones scheduled for the coming week… (more…)

BREAKFAST POTATO FRITTATA WITH MUSHROOM & SPINACH!

04/06/2018

The humble spud may have originated in the Andes 7000 years ago, but it features heavily in today’s Swedish diet, and is a mainstay in many of the recipes in my recent book Fit In 3. When Love Potatoes reached out to ask me to craft a delicious, healthy breakfast recipe using potatoes, I was delighted to oblige, and dipped into my deep bench of spud dishes! The potato isn’t just an incredibly versatile ‘hero ingredient’ (think roasted, baked, mashed, steamed, crisped, wedged/chipped etc), but it packs significant health benefits. Each one is loaded with flavonoids and carotenoids (whose antioxidant activities to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases), vitamin B6 (to enable enzymatic reactions and promote cellular renewal, as well as the production of serotonin in the brain and healthy heart function) and a unique type of ‘resistant starch’ that may help regulate blood sugar and improve the digestive health. They’re satisfying (their latin name solanum tuberosum literally means comforting tubers!) so you stay fuller for longer, and actually contain more potassium than a banana (which helps to regulate blood pressure and protect against the likes of stroke) or indeed any other fruit or vegetable. They’re also affordable, and always on hand as they’re grown throughout the year – the leading vegetable crop in the world. This recipe is for a delicious Breakfast Potato Frittata with Mushroom, Spinach and Italian Herbs – it’s quick and easy, requiring limited kitchen skills, packs a serious nutritional punch and will keep you full until lunch time! Click MORE for the full recipe and video ‘how to’… (more…)

TOP SIX HEALTHY LONDON FOOD JOINTS!

08/01/2018

Happy New Year, if I may still be permitted to say; but for those who chose to extend the festive break, today is the first working day of 2018, and thus, the most tragic day of the year. January statistically correlates with a high volume of re-joiners to the gym again, resolving to be more active and live healthier. Preach alert; the choice I made years ago was to be relatively healthy as an all-year-round lifestyle approach, (not a seasonal one), and it’s broadly been an enjoyable one at that! But for those taking up gym membership today and mobilizing those resolutions (quite literally), remember that so much ground is “made in the kitchen”. So, to help you not only eat healthily but also eat delicious and adventurous fare in 2018, here’s my top curated list of old and new healthy restaurant discoveries to check out around London. MORE… (more…)

WHY TO START TRAINING – NOW !!!

11/12/2017

Amidst the snowy deluge of a brutally frosted British December, Summer is but a moribund memory, seemingly belonging to a different planet (or Sydney in the case of my shots here!). Bikinis and/or trunks are consigned to a forgotten section of the wardrobe and instead, it’s acceptable to hide under countless layers of knitted misc. The commercialized ‘beach body’ frenzy is over; we feel as though we can relax, without the pressure to get naked! It’s also a time when we naturally eat and/or drink a little more than we otherwise would; t’is festive season leading up to Christmas…

For that reason, I say TRAIN NOW; this way whatever excess you’re consuming, at least you’re burning it off at the gym! Furthermore, you’re establishing a fitness routine now rather than leaving it to January, when going cold turkey will feel like a tragic uphill struggle. By the time the equally commercialized ‘new year new you’ fallacy comes around, you’ll already have a strong, regular thing going on; new year, same you! BTW, I don’t subscribe to the January frenzy, instead I believe healthy is a lifestyle choice all year round! This post contains a few 101 tips to get started, right now!

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ACTIVE ESCAPE TO ICELAND!

03/07/2017

A fortnight ago I escaped to a remote Eco Retreat called Deplar Farm, in an ancient, primordial landscape where people live a very different, and highly compelling life. Chief amongst any list of ‘the most beautiful places to visit on Earth’ will be found Iceland – I now understand why, and I hope this post shares some of that magic. It’s long been a romantic dream of mine to visit this isolated, mystical land with its rumbling geothermal engine, and tundra-punctuated basalt landscape; perhaps more interesting to you, my dear reader, is the recent proclamation in The Lancet that Iceland is ‘the healthiest country in the world’ alongside my homeland Sweden! But don’t be fooled, as it’s also one of the most inhospitable places to live on the planet – temperatures where I visited can plummet to an average of −30°C in January, and howling winds can lash at a brutal 160mph, with several meters of snow dumping daily. This means schools close, infrastructure suffers and cars avoid some roads for risk of flipping and/or just being buried! The land is barren and rugged but that’s bred a nation of robust and resourceful people. I was astonished by the natural beauty and the local food, but more than anything by just how much there is to do here! Click MORE to discover my expedition to Deplar Farm, the ultimate modern luxury retreat that I uncovered in the land of trolls and elves – a truly magical Icelandic saga!

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CITY ESCAPE TO CARDIFF!

05/05/2017

You may have spied that I recently ventured west to Bath for a Great British city ‘wellness break’, and through my escapades around that wonderful place, I wondered what lay further beyond, more westward still in the British Isles… this weekend, as a guest of the charming team at Visit Wales, I discovered precisely that. On a bank holiday city break to Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, I hiked the beautiful Taff Trail and toured the Millennium ‘Principality’ Stadium ahead of the UEFA Champions League final in June ! Here’s what I discovered…

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ACTIVE ESCAPE: MONASTERO SANTA ROSA

29/04/2017

When pondering life in a monastery, images of stoic monks engaged in the pursuit of tireless abstinence come to mind; perhaps you conjure their unfulfilled passions, heavy sacrifices, and somber dutifulness underscoring a lifetime of pious devotion. Well, you shall have to park those preconceptions to one side the moment you hear the Monastero Santa Rosa‘s bell welcome you to the Hotel – a charming and sonorous tradition ringing out from a simpler era. Whilst an ancient spirituality pervades Monastero‘s stone corridors, this is perhaps the most well-invested, immaculately finished gem on Italy’s glistening Amalfi Coast, and was the scene of my latest wellness pilgrimage. Blending the owner’s meticulous eye for detail, a masterpiece organic vegetable garden nourished by lashings of Italian sunshine, a ‘gourmet heavyweight’ chef, a heavenly infinity pool, a sumptuous spa complex, and exquisitely appointed rooms, the hotel nails the very essence of Amalfi magic. I visited in order to road-test their newly launched ‘Health & Hike’ package, and am thrilled to recount the special experiences I encountered over my 3 days. Read MORE to see all the glorious details…