Fancy a Date? Smoothie that is....

Well, I had to get your attention somehow didn't I? I've been tinkering around my West London kitchen working on new healthy recipes for smoothies and absolutely love this one. 

It has to be one of the simplest recipes as well as the most delicious. Putting dates into a smoothie is a great way to get some fibre into your body, as well as satisfying a sweet tooth. Using only three ingredients you'll get a delicious drink packed full of essential, vitamins, minerals and nutrients. And if you've ever been partial to a bit of butterscotch then this is for you! It's really healthy and tastes just like it! 

Ingredients

15 Whole Dates

300 ml Coconut Milk

1 Ripe Banana

Make sure your dates are as squidgy as possible, de-stone them, chop in half then put into your  blender along with the coconut milk and ripe banana. Whizz away until you get that lovely butterscotch colour and you're good to go. As always don't keep it to yourself, be generous and share the love around by giving a glass to a friend, family member or work colleague. Enjoy! 

My first online interview about the benefits of Pilates

Am very excited to announce that I was asked by local fitness organisation Urban Vitality to do an interview about Pilates and how it can improve sports performance.

Those of you that know me know how passionate I am about Pilates based exercise and its benefits- no matter what your age, gender or fitness background. So how could I refuse their request for a few words? Plus they are lovely people with a like-minded passion for what they do. It was my first 'Live' interview so slightly nervous but loved it!  

Here it is in full!

What does a Pilates teacher eat?

Being healthy and happy (which is my mantra) is all about looking after your mind and body in a way that not only feeds you in a literal sense, but feeds those feelgood receptors that get treated when eating tasty food.  

So whilst I’m mindful of eating lots of good stuff, it doesn’t come with the sacrifice of food with no flavour. Oh no. No blandiness (is that an actual word?) for me. It has to taste good as well as be healthy. So what does a Pilates teacher eat? Well, there are no set rules but teaching 20 plus hours of exercise a week I have to make sure I eat plenty of protein, as well as get a good shot of essential fats and fibre in each meal, so here was my lunch today.  And I can tell you it sure was tasty! Recipe below. Why not try it and see if healthy tastes good to you too?!

Toasted Goats Cheese and Nectarine Salad drizzled in Orange Blossom Honey

100g Goats cheese of your choice  (I used Chevre blanc)

Ripe Nectarine

Handful of Pumpkin Seeds

Handful of Walnuts

Generous handful of baby spinach leaves

2 teaspoons orange blossom honey

Salad dressing

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

½ cup Olive Oil.

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Assemble your spinach leaves on a plate, scatter the seeds and nuts over them, and add slices of nectarine. Slice your cheese into two pieces and grill on a greased baking sheet until bubbling and golden. While the cheese is toasting make up your salad dressing and pour a little (vary the amount to your taste) over the leaves. Remove the melted cheese very carefully from your baking sheet with a flat spatula and lay on top of your salad. Then comes the best bit, drizzle the honey over it, and eat. And for added va va voom, why not make my Summer Workout Smoothie to go with it. In previous post. Delicious!  

Summer Workout Smoothie

Summer Workout Smoothie

So I came up with this recipe recently when the London weather hit 28 degrees celsius (or that’s 82 Fahrenheit for my US friends)- I thought I’d try and create a drink that can double up as a meal pre workout. My summer workout smoothie has got protein, vitamins and minerals and it packs a punch with antioxidants (great for combating the effects of all that sunshine on your skin). Oh, and it’ll give you a fab boost, of energy.

250 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk

2 whole cooked beetroots (diced)

2 handfuls of blueberries

1 banana

Nice and easy this one, put all the ingredients in your blender and whizz away until smooth- just don’t wear white whilst you’re making it if you’re prone to the odd spill as you’ll end up covered in purple spots! Enjoy!

Real Men do Pilates by Rachel Lawrence

I guess the overuse of this headline (try putting it into google and see what you get) reflects the fact that it is much harder to encourage men to try Pilates for the first time.  One of the challenges I face as a Pilates instructor is the idea that Pilates is just for women, that it’s easy and not challenging enough for the male psyche. And this is the perception I love to blow out of the water. Pilates was, after all invented by a man who was incredibly strong, athletic and dedicated his whole life to fitness. If you’re in any doubt as to how manly the exercise regime can be, you only have to look at the picture below of Joseph Pilates himself, taken in the 1940’s when he was already 60 years old.

By any standards, he had a very impressive physique for a man, let alone a 60 year old, and when you take on board that it was solely down to practicing daily Pilates there must be a lot more to it than you think. So what do you get out of it if you are a man?

                  The men I train all want a powerful core, defined muscles and most of all to feel strong and look good, and Pilates delivers this on all counts.  One thing I should add here though is visible muscle definition does depend on weight, and the muscle to fat ratio in the body. If a man is overweight to begin with, and doesn’t adjust his eating/drinking plan along with his exercise regime, he’s never going to look as good as a man with a healthy diet, and that goes for any form of exercise. But every man who attends regular Pilates sessions will see an improvement in core strength, stamina, muscle definition, back strength and better posture- all of which makes a man look and feel better.  

                  The first thing men notice with regular Pilates sessions is a reduction in their waistline- one of my clients who trains three times a week has gone from a 36 to 34 inch waist which he is delighted about. The reason being that in Pilates we work the abdominals continually due to the breathing technique we use, and the use of both isometric and isotonic movements (so a static hold using the abdominals whilst performing a dynamic movement with the arms or legs, or both). Also, the Pilates session is always focussed primarily on correct postural alignment throughout every exercise, therefore whatever you may be doing you will be using your core to stabilise whilst you do it. Simply broken down that means you get an hour of abs every class, no matter what other exercises you are given.  So why not try it? Are you man enough?!

Written material copyright of Rachel Lawrence.

 All Rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

Papaya Peanut Smoothie

With summer in full swing here in London I thought I'd post a smoothie recipe that is full of  the exotic taste of the holiday season- papaya, lime and coconut with an added protein hit of peanut to give you a meal in a glass - great as a meal replacement or a pre workout boost. I'm drinking mine before an evening of teaching ballet barre workout and pilates, so lots of energy required and this is perfect pre multiple plies, and abdominal workouts!

Obviously if you've a nut allergy, leave out the nut butter,  it's just as tasty and you can always substitute by adding extra Greek yoghurt.

It'll make two large glasses so share the summer love around and give a glass to a friend in need. Enjoy!
 

Papaya Peanut Smoothie

1 papaya
1 banana
330 ml coconut water
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2 dsp medium oatmeal
2 dsp peanut butter ( pure nut butter with no sugar,salt or additives)

Scoop out the papaya seeds and throw away, then scoop out the papaya flesh and put in a liquidiser along with the chopped banana and all the other ingredients- whizz up until it's fully mixed, decant into glasses and drink!
 

© Rachel Lawrence. All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

Everything you wanted to know about pilates but were afraid to ask!

I am very excited to announce I will be running my first Pilates workshop on Sunday June 1st. This is a new venture for me and the idea is to encourage those people who haven't tried Pilates before, or those who have tried it but wasn't sure it was for them to come and experience the great benefits, and the great workout you can get from a Pilates class.

I teach it California style. What does that mean I hear you ask!

Well, it's a little more dynamic than some of the more traditional Pilates you may have experienced, and a little more challenging. I believe we are all more capable than we think when it comes to fitness and wellbeing, and my teaching style is focused on helping you get the most out of your workout whilst also enjoying it. Exercise doesn't have to be a task after all, it can actually be fun too! Especially when you start to see, and feel the benefits in your body.  Heres what some of my clients have been saying about classes: 

We have been doing Pilates for years and have tried out various classes in Chiswick. Rachel’s classes are by far the best! You definitely work hard but you can see (and feel) the results: The backaches are gone and your body feels so much more toned. We highly recommend giving the classes a try! Anne and Peter

Rachel is a really creative teacher - her positive attitude inspires us to succeed with things we never thought possible! Janet

When I saw Rachel teaching Pilates, I knew straight away that she was a top professional and the teacher I was looking for. She is very clear with her instructions and does all the exercises with us, always checking that we are doing them right and focusing on us breathing correctly and engaging our core muscles throughout the class – all so indispensable for a great Pilates class. Carla

Please email if you'd like to book a place, I look forward to seeing you there!

Pilates Workshop at Lululemon

A little glimpse of my recent Pilates workshop for Lululemon Uk- thanks to them for hosting me and to all the inspiring women who attended. You rock ladies! Only question is where are all the Pilates men?! Would love to see more men reconnecting with their core, so how about it fellas?