London’s healthiest spots for 2018

With 2017 quickly coming to an end and festive parties in full swing, it’s not too surprising that we’ll be eating too many mince pies and having too many glasses of fizz. So, it’s time to write up those dreaded new year’s resolutions, and start the new year right! I’m pleased to introduce to you London’s healthiest spots for 2018…

Darcie & May Green from the Daisy Green Collection

Darcie & May Green, the two eye popping canal boats have recently barged into Paddington Central. Designed by legendary British pop artist Sir Peter Blake in collaboration with Prue Freeman, the fabulous founder of the Daisy Green collection, Darcie & May serve everything from scrumptious brunches through to innovative cocktails. They offer a generous menu with plenty of options for their vegan customers including the jackfruit curry with turmeric rice, coconut sambal, house pickles and flatbread.

For more information, please visit: http://www.daisygreenfood.com/venues/darcie-may

Yeotown Kitchen

London’s first mindfulness café, serves up deliciously nutritious food and detoxifying freshly pressed juices in a unique meditation station. In a serene environment, guests are invited to sip green juice, settle into a meditation pod, select a 5 to 7-minute guided mindfulness meditation, and emerge feeling refreshed and de-stressed. Yeotown Kitchen is an extension of the Devon-based wellness retreat Yeotown, co-founded by husband and wife team Mercedes Sieff, one of the UK’s leading vinyasa flow yoga teachers and positive psychology coach, and Simon Sieff, avid surfer and yogi.

For more information please visit: www.yeotown.com/blog/yeotown-kitchen-fuel-for-body-mind

Redemption Bar

With locations in Notting Hill and Shoreditch, Redemption Bar is London’s only vegan, sugar-free, wheat-free and alcohol-free restaurant, and serves up delicious eats and mocktails in a gorgeous setting. Voted one of the best vegan restaurants in London, the ethos of the Redemption Bar is firmly rooted in caring for the planet while delighting even the most sceptical meat lovers.

For more information please visit: http://redemptionbar.co.uk/

Mindful Chef

Give yourself a boost this January with Mindful Chef. Say goodbye to the stodgy carbs and join 600,000 other diners in eating and living the Mindful Chef way. From £4.50 per meal, Mindful Chef deliver everything you need to make delicious, low-carb evening meals. Each imaginative recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and made using locally sourced, fresh produce.

For more information please visit: https://www.mindfulchef.com/

Healthy eating with The Vurger Co

The Vurger Co offers a mouth-watering 100% plant-based menu packed full of your 5-a-day without missing out on any of the flavour and indulgence. Serving up vurger delights including The Vurger Co’s Auburger, made from aubergines, chickpeas, red onion and vegan cheese, The Vurger Co is definitely a must visit for those wanting to pack in their vegetables whilst not cutting out any of the burger satisfaction.

For more information please visit: http://www.thevurgerco.com/

LIMA Fitzrovia

The menu at Michelin-starred restaurant LIMA Fitzrovia integrates both traditional and contemporary Peruvian cuisine, representing the gastronomic expansion that has taken place in Peru in recent years. Whilst LIMA aims to source much of its produce from within the UK, the restaurant also brings carefully selected and hitherto unheard-of ingredients from small producers in Peru. Many dishes feature exotic and nutrient-rich ‘superfoods’ from the Andes, such as quinoa, yuca root, bee pollen, chia seeds, and cacao.

For more information please visit: https://www.limalondongroup.com/

Macellaio RC

A hearty steak might not seem like the obvious healthy choice this January, but at Macellaio RC they use the highest quality Fassona Beef, a renowned breed carefully selected for its naturally hypertrophic muscle growth among the cows. Even leaner than chicken, the meat is extraordinarily low in fat and cholesterol, whilst also remaining extremely tender. Cooked simply, seasoned with rock salt and olive oil from Tuscany, this is the perfect healthy protein fix to kick off the new year. Macellaio RC has sites in South Kensington, Exmouth Market, Union Street and Northcote Road.

For more information please visit: http://www.macellaiorc.com/

And a little further afield…

Wellness holidays abroad: Kunisaki Trek Tour with Walk Japan

Tred the same path once used by Buddhist monks more than a thousand years ago through the mountains of the Kunisaki Peninsula and get back to nature with Walk Japan’s Kunisaki Retreat. Explore beautiful, remote countryside by foot, enjoy relaxing hot spring baths and immerse yourself in Japanese culture old and new. The foundations of the Kunisaki Retreat start with Mine-iri, the monks’ practice of traversing sacred mountain paths in prayer, which has been part of the religious life of Kunisaki since the 9th Century. Pass through peaceful, little-known mountain paths and stop by to explore picturesque hamlets, temple grounds and caves where monks once found shelter. This retreat is the perfect way to unwind and relax – the ideal way to start the year and get back to you.

The Kunisaki Trek Tour is a ten day, nine night fully guided walking tour. The first tour is running from 11-20 April 2018, with prices starting at JPY428,000 per person (approximately £2829.08). This includes travel for the duration of the tour, accommodation for 9 nights; 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 9 evening meals; baggage transfers and entrance fees.