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The Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace: landmarks we know and love when we think of London. But sometimes, these tourist hot spots can make it easy to forget that London has a lot more to offer when you know where to look.

Mountains and dinosaurs, one-hundred-year-old tiny pet burials, forests with towering oak trees, streets brimming with treasures: these are the secrets London has to offer, and I’m here to tell you exactly where to find them.

Vertical Chill, Covent Garden

If you’ve always dreamed of scaling Mount Everest, but the fear of frostbite, dramatic weather changes, a lack of oxygen, and freeze-dried meals has put you off, London can offer you a kinder alternative (with the help of your imagination). Vertical Chill offers challenging ice walls for you to conquer in the heart of Covent Garden within the safety of four walls. The facility will supply your equipment (ice axes, crampons, the works), and you’ll have a dedicated trained instructor to lead you towards the Chill’s metaphorical peaks.

Pet Cemetery, Hyde Park

It’s 1881, and Mr Winbridge, the groundskeeper of Victoria Lodge, has taken on a peculiar request. Cherry, a little Maltese terrier, has passed away. His owners, who were friends with Mr Winbridge, wanted to bury their favourite dog in the park they frequented for walks. And so Hyde Park’s pet cemetery came into creation. Throughout the Victorian Era, pets like Freaky, Bogie, Baby and Smut were buried here, upon the request of their distinguished owners. It’s the only VIP Victorian pet cemetery in Britain, which is probably why the tickets are expensive (£50 per visit), but this peculiar landmark is well worth a visit to experience a rare part of Victorian London.

Epping Forest, Edge of London

London is notorious for its busy streets, glamorous shops, lavish bars and historical sites. But woodland areas teeming with wildlife, lakes and rivers? You wouldn't think so unless you happened upon Epping Forest. This gorgeous area sits just on the edge of London and offers a beautiful setting for an afternoon picnic or a gentle stroll with the family. And if you’re looking to make a day trip, don’t forget to stop at Queen Elizabeth's hunting lodge for an insight into how the Royals like to spend their spare time. The word on Epping Forest hasn’t reached far, so go now, before the secret gets out...

Evans and Peel Detective Agency

It’s the evening, and you’ve had a busy day shopping and sightseeing. Now is the time to relax and have a drink or two at a detective agency. Wait, what? You want a glass of wine, not to solve a crime! Luckily, this is a special kind of detective agency, offering delectable refreshments in an unforgettable setting. To enter, give 310c Earls Court Road a buzz, and be greeted by your personal investigator. They’ll lead you through a bookcase (yes, a bookcase!) into a candlelit room where you can unwind and exchange murder mystery stories over a cocktail or two.

Crystal Palace Park

Speaking of the weird and wonderful, London’s hidden world of crazy doesn’t end there. Head over to Thicket Road, and feel like you're on the set of Walking With Dinosaurs (without the questionable graphics). Here’s a place that is perfect for your kids to let their imagination run wild (warning, getting them to leave may be difficult). And you can’t come to the Crystal Palace park without exploring its stunning gardens, admiring how the dino residents look a little too real hiding in the foliage, and the many gorgeous flowers and trees injecting vibrancy into this curious green haven.

Little Venice

It’s not difficult to see where this serene gem got its name from. Walking along the canal is like meandering along Venice’s romantic streets. It’s a little slice of Italy that celebrates London’s rich multi-cultural identity, with canal boats inches apart from one another resting along the river. On a hot summer's day in London, there’s nothing better than retreating to a little water relief and enjoying an ice cold beer at one of the waterside quaint pubs. And if you fancy an evening out, dinner on one of the canal’s floating restaurants would go down a treat.

Camden Passage

If vintage is your aesthetic, Camden Passage is the place to be. The alley, adjacent to Upper Street in Islington, is more than just a row of shops: it’s cute cafes, independent boutiques, and vintage shops teeming with exquisite one-offs. You won’t find a better place to hunt down treasures for your antique collection, or to have the best pick of shabby-chic furniture in all of London. And if pretty architecture is your thing, Camden Passage offers cobbled paths, Harry Potter like shop windows, and an array of stunning flower bouquets to marry all the beautiful trinkets and jewels displayed along the street.

Can you keep a secret?

Share what you’ve learnt here with your closest comrades. London’s hidden must-dos are all the more special for being away from the tourist throngs. So visit these wonderfully peculiar spots before the secret gets out, and enjoy the peace and wonder in a city full of surprises.

And if you’ve found a little haven of your own in our beloved capital city, share it here. We promise not to tell!

The beauty of walking? You can do it pretty much anywhere. Mountains, the beach, forests and rolling green hills; your gym, if you choose to walk for exercise.

But as a society, we’re fixated with intense workouts. We want a regime that’ll help us get the fitness results we want fast. So it’s no surprise that most people choose running, spinning, CrossFit and Military Fitness over the gentle art of putting one foot in front of the other.

However, there are many reasons to choose walking over high-impact and fast-paced alternatives. This gentle exercise is great if you’re suffering from an injury or illness, it’s free, and it can easily be integrated into everyday life. Walk enough, and it’s an accessible, easy-going way to keep fit.

Here are 30 tips on how to maximise your fitness levels through walking. Feel motivated to step outside your door, and pursue this modest exercise as your next fitness obsession:

1. Use a FitBit tracker - Feel motivated to walk by monitoring how many steps you’re taking each day, setting goals and acknowledging your progress.

2. Walk to the shops - For your shop ‘pop-ins’, put your shoes on and leave the house without your car keys.

3. Walk straight after a meal: According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, walking just after a meal rather than waiting 30 minutes is much more effective for weight loss.

4. Borrow a dog: Dogs LOVE walks. Bring a pooch along and their joy for the outdoors will put a huge smile on your face.

5. Bring a friend: If it’s a gorgeous day, chances are your friends will want to be outside too. Walking is better with great conversation.

6. Switch up the terrain: Did you know there’s a 60% increase in calories burned when walking uphill compared to moving on flat terrain? Use the app MapMyWalk.com to plan your inclines!

7. Set destinations as goals: Whether it’s the pub or a cultural landmark, pick something that will motivate you to walk towards your finish line.

8. Pick somewhere beautiful for hiking: Turn your exercise into an experience by exploring THE outdoors and soaking in the natural beauty.

9. Buy comfortable shoes: Invest in a new pair of light trainers to avoid achy feet.

10. Bring layers: Especially if you’re hiking somewhere mountainous or near the sea, pack a few light-weight tops to combat the changing weather.

11. Carry water: Being dehydrated will make you tired, and increase the chances you’ll want to quit too soon for a beverage.

12. Bring healthy snacks on long hikes: Eating is a great way to reward yourself. Plan Snack stops along your route to kerb hunger and increase your motivation.

13. Go on a photography expedition: Taking pictures of pretty landscapes can add another level of enjoyment to your walks.

14. Go backpacking: Walking to and from hotels, attractions and travel links is a natural part of backpacking and an excellent way to unconsciously exercise.

15. Join a walking group: trekking while socialising and networking is a great way to make friends who are passionate about fitness too.

16. Set goals every day: Motivate yourself with DAILY goals. Think in miles and destinations, and reward yourself after each target is met.

17. Buy a comfortable bag: Avoid back pain from an ill-fitted or cheap bag by opting for quality and comfort.

18. Stop your online spends: Online shopping saves you time and effort. But SHOPPING SPREES around the city will do wonders for your fitness.

19. Work and walk: If your job involves creative thinking and idea generation, bring along a notebook and jot down your thoughts to enhance your productivity.

20. Think about your savings: If money is tight, opting to walk instead of paying for an expensive gym membership will save you buckets of cash.

21. Pace yourself: You might feel motivated to walk fifty miles, but are you fit enough? Start with achievable targets to avoid feeling overly tired and discouraged.

22. Listen to a podcast: Get stuck into inspirational podcasts like The Real Hiking Viking and feel energised to keep those legs moving.

23. Take the stairs: Set yourself a new rule: no elevators or escalators when stairs are available.

24. Walk fast: Pick up the pace to burn even more calories. But don’t push yourself too hard.

25. Phone a friend: Preoccupy yourself while exercising by calling a friend or family member. The minutes and miles will fly by.

26. Pack a raincoat: Walking in the rain can be both refreshing and relaxing, but only if you have a waterproof on hand!

27. Go on a walking holiday: There are some incredible hiking routes across the globe, such as Jotunheim National Park in Norway and Tamang Heritage Trek in Nepal, begging to be explored.

28. Enjoy ‘me’ time: Make a daily habit of walking by yourself to clear your head.

29. Ditch the watch: Leave your watch at home so your journey isn’t dictated by a set time. Walk until you want to stop, not when you should.

30. Know your route: There’s beauty in not knowing where the road will take you. But getting lost can be stressful. Eliminate this worry by memorising your route, or bringing a map with you.

Make it happen.

Whether you’re a rambler, a hiker, a fast walker or a wanderer, there’s no doubt that if you do it enough, walking will keep you fit. Integrate this exercise into your daily life, and see it as an opportunity to learn about the natural world, to relax, and to stay healthy. Do this, and never look back.

There is lots of bad information out there about weight loss.  From pills and powders to books and gadgets, there is a whole industry making money from people’s efforts to shed the pounds. While some people may have limited success, time and time again it is proven that there is one simple way to lose weight – burn more calories exercising than you take in through eating.

While this isn’t generally what people want to hear, it’s safe to say it’s the most effective way to lose weight for most people.  One excellent way to consume fewer calories is to give natural smoothies or juicing a try.  We recently uploaded a beginner’s guide to juicing which you can read here.

How it works
By getting your daily sustenance from organic plant matter instead of calorie dense processed foods, you are going to slash your calorie intake.  But, crucially that doesn’t mean you’ll run out of energy.  Juicing does not = fasting or at least it doesn’t have to. If you make your drinks the correct way then you should be getting all the nutrients and goodness that you need and direct from the source.  If you feel hungry still then load up some more of those leafy greens to get you going again. While it’s true that you may find the first few days difficult, you should notice that your energy levels actually begin to increase and you feel ready for a good calorie burning workout.  That being said, it’s not recommended to undertake intense workouts on your first juice cleanse, particularly if you don’t exercise very often.

Provided you aren’t solely juicing you should seek to include plenty of fibre and protein in your diet through legumes, oats and rice as well as yoghurt or soya alternatives.  Having the occasional smoothie instead of relying solely on juicing can also help as smoothies retain the pulp from all the ingredients.

The amount of success you have with juicing and ultimately the amount of weight you lose will come down to how much you invest in it.  Those who fully detox or fast will of course lose the most, but even just replacing a fatty breakfast or lunch with a detox juice can help you to slim down.  Here are three recipes to get you started:

Minty Kick
-    1 apples de-cored
-    1 stalk of celery (without the leaves)
-    1/4 cucumber (peeled)
-    Fresh mint (to taste)
-    ½ a lemon (unwaxed)
-    1 cup of cale
-    1 inch of fresh ginger (peeled)
-    Add water to fill line of your blending cup

Carrot Cooler
-    2 small-medium sized carrots chopped
-    1 inch of fresh ginger
-    1 cup of mango
-    1 cup of grapefruit
-    Half a teaspoon of turmeric
-    Half a teaspoon of ground cayenne
-    A handful of ice cubes or crushed ice
-    Add water to fill line of your blending cup

Kale & Berry Blast
-    2 cup of blueberries
-    2 cup of kale
-    1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil
-    1 tablespoon of chia seeds
-    Add water to fill line of your blending cup

Use our recipes as a guideline to get started but feel free to experiment. If the consistency is too thin then you can always add more ingredients.   Share your favourite recipes with us by tweeting us at @TimeForYouGroup or for more tips and advice visit us at https://timeforyou.cleaning/uk/ for more tips and advice.

If you’re looking for a way to feel energised, positive and generally healthy then a 7 day juicing cleanse is the place to start. By ditching fatty, processed foods in favour of a plant-based, nutritional drink you can give your body a much needed kick that will leave you feeling better than ever before.

While a juice cleanse relies primarily on healthy vegetable drinks, it doesn’t rely completely on liquids and is categorically not a fasting diet. It’s simply a reworking of your daily routine that refocuses your food intake on the greatest sources of nutrients – plants.

Planning your cleanse
Try not to think of your cleanse as a diet, but more of a booster to work alongside your long term goal of achieving a mostly healthy diet. Diets have lots of negative connotations and you need to remain positive if you are to stick with it and achieve that healthy glow that you crave.

The best place to start is to plan out your diet for the week. Your routine each day should involve a juice to start your day, followed by a raw food salad or piece of fruit and then finally a warm healthy meal in the evening. Consuming only raw fruit, nuts and juices until 4pm is important. If you eat a cooked breakfast and then have a super healthy shake at lunch time then your body is diverting its attention towards breaking down that heavy breakfast, rather than soaking up all the goodness from a juice or smoothie. Planning your day this way will keep everything moving properly through your system.

It’s important to be prepared and to plan out a diet for the week which covers all the bases, making sure that you are getting enough of everything your body needs.  Try and prepare a diet which is based around macrobiotic foods like oats, barley, rye, millet, corn, buckwheat and brown rice and locally sourced vegetables.  Be sure to incorporate essential fatty acids from foods like flaxseeds, walnuts, avocados, tofu, kidney beans and kale.  Fatty acids like Omega-3 bring balance to your hormones, prevent blood clotting and do many other important jobs around the body. You also need to try and cut down on some of the toxicants that you might be consuming such as caffeine, tobacco, unfiltered water, unrefined sugars, etc.

Now once you have prepared what you will have for your meals, you need to decide what juices and shakes you will begin your day with. Here are some of our favourites which we recommend you rotate:

Dark Beet Juice
Beetroot accounts for 50% of your recommended daily allowance of manganese, a vital component in creating healthy bone and sinew. It also contains folate, a chemical which lowers the risk of major killers like heart disease and cancer and regulates normal healthy brain function.  To feel the benefits mix together two beetroot, an apple, some blackberries and an inch of ginger.

Tummy soother
Unrefined processed foods like white bread, chips and fizzy drinks can wreak havoc on your stomach. Now add coffee, artificial sweeteners, spicy food and alcohol and you have a real problem on your hands. To bring your stomach acids back into balance mix up one cup of pineapple, an inch of ginger, fresh parsley, avocado, banana and a squeeze of lemon to taste. This is a guaranteed way to flush out toxins and aid your digestion.

Citrus wonder
For a refreshing kick start to the morning mix together 1 lemon, 2 oranges and some grapefruit. Add some grated ginger for an extra kick. While citrus juice may have little nutritional value it is an excellent way to boost your metabolism which means you can convert carbohydrates quicker and lose weight.

Green Machine
Lots of juice and smoothie recipes you find will have bananas as their ingredient. However if you’re not a fan of bananas then this shake is for you. Mix together a handful of kale, a quarter of an apple pre-chopped, a quarter of peeled cucumber, some fresh lemon and some grated ginger.  Blend it together with some water and then add some maple syrup to taste if you find it needs sweetening up.

Experiment with these recipes and adjust them to your tastes. For further recipes take a look on websites like Pinterest and be sure to tweet us @TimeForYouGroup and let us know which one’s you’ve enjoyed the most.

Few things will liven up your cooking quite like fresh herbs. Having a store to add flavour to your dishes is something that will vastly improve your home cooking.  While dried herbs are readily available from most supermarkets and shops, nothing beats having fresh herbs grown in your garden. Here are some tips and tricks for getting started.

First you should decide upon the types of herbs that you would like to produce. Annual and biennial herbs can be grown very quickly, which means that you will have plenty of crops if you grow them continuously each month. They include basil, coriander, parsley, dill, lemongrass and rocket among others, while perennial herbs like chives, fennel, horseradish, mint, oregano, thyme and sage will take longer to grow.

Herbs require well drained soil with a balanced PH content; they also need compost and fertiliser to keep them sustained. When planting you should look for a spot which is sheltered but also gets a good amount of sunlight throughout the day.  However, some herbs such as basil, chives, fennel and sage aren’t very robust and may need to be grown indoors in trays and pots before being moved out doors later on.

Not everyone has the time, patience or space to grow a vegetable garden which is one of the reasons that herbs are often favoured.  They require very little upkeep too if they are grown outside, as the weather should provide them with enough sustenance, while indoor herbs will only need access to sunlight and some regular watering.

When it comes to harvesting your herbs, you need to be liberal with your picking. If you pick too much of the plant then you harm its chances of being able to regrow sufficiently – which means no more herbs for you!

Do you enjoy gardening? Do you have any special tips on growing your own herbs or creating a garden sanctuary? Tweet us @TimeForYouGroup and let us know, or alternatively visit us at https://timeforyou.cleaning/uk/ for more tips and advice.

The pride that you feel after cooking a meal made from fruit and vegetables from your own garden is hard to beat – ask any gardener.  But taste isn’t the only reason to opt for growing your own veg.  Take apples for example. According to some statistics, as many as 76% of all the apples eaten by hungry mouths in the UK are from another country, with many coming from the USA and non-EU countries.  Not only does this clock up air miles resulting in pollution, but it’s also led to a decline in British apple orchards with over half of UK sites destroyed in the last 30 years.  Yes, fruit doesn’t have to be imported; in fact you can grow it in your own back garden – which is a healthier, more environmentally friendly and often cheaper alternative than buying it in the supermarket. So, which fruits are easy to grow in the UK? Here we profile five excellent options:

1 – Apples
If you’ve got your heart set on a home-made apple pie then you’re in luck. To get started you need to plant an apple tree. You can purchase a young tree ready for planting from a nursery – just Google one in your area or nearby.  Place it in a bucket of water for two hours to allow it to soak up moisture. Next dig a hole with some manure and multi-purpose compost to make it fertile.  Place the tree in your hole and firm it down with soil until stable – try to choose a spot which has equal measures of sunshine and shade.  You might also want to place down some membrane, or even newspaper, to avoid too much weed growth around it.  Apple trees can grow very tall but only if you let them. If you’re worried about space then just keep on top of the pruning to manage the height to around 6-8 ft.  Most apple trees will begin to bear fruit in their 3rd or 4th year of growth but this can vary from species to species and from garden to garden so be patient.

2 – Blackberries and raspberries
Another home garden favourite is brambles like blackberries and raspberries.  Brambles aren’t fussy when it comes to soil but they do need good drainage and they grow best near fence posts, trellises or along walls as they need good support. Soak your blackberry root for a few hours as with the apple tree and again create a nice hole with compost to encourage root growth. Now plant the blackberry and snip the cane away so the plant is only protruding a few inches out from the ground to prevent disease. In terms of care you will need to prune your brambles once in the summer before it bears fruit and then once again after you harvest them.  

3 – Cherries
Cherries are planted as trees too, usually bearing their fruit in July.  Like apples and brambles, soak your cherry tree in a large bucket allowing it to soak up some moisture – you can even leave it overnight if you want. Now dig a hole with compost, manure and garden soil to make sure the cherry tree is set up with all the nutrients it needs. In terms of how deep you should plant the tree, there should be a mark on it which indicates the level it was buried too in the nursery which you should try and match. Now firm it down with soil making sure that no air pockets are left.  Your cherry tree will take around 2-3 years to begin bearing fruit.

4 – Plums
Plums are another delicious treat we can grow in our gardens – enjoyable both cooked and fresh. Victoria plums are a good option in the UK which bears plenty of delicious fruit.  Order your tree online and allow it to soak overnight. Now dig yourself a hole, once again with compost, manure and soil to give it a slow release of nutrients. Firm the plant in with soil, making sure that there are no air pockets left.  You should aim to prune your tree in spring and summer helping to avoid any diseases and you will normally be able to harvest at the end of the summer.  Victoria plum trees are known to produce lots of fruit and it can sometimes be beneficial to remove some of the smaller fruits early, to improve the growth of others.

5 – Strawberries
Strawberries are wonderful. Not only are they one of the sweetest tasting fruits but they also grow incredibly quickly and can be planted in a variety of places which can save you space for other crops to grow. Strawberries require rich fertile soil, so you’ll need to prepare some fertiliser and natural compost for it when planting.  Next, begin planting your strawberries. They need to be planted in rows with gaps of around 18 inches and leaving space for a path to allow you to pick them once they begin to grow. Be sure to weed regularly through the spring and lay down slug pellets to avoid pests from ruining your fruits. Once the fruits begin to flower and turn green you will need to keep watering to a minimum to avoid damp. Finally, once the fruits begin to ripen you will need to cover the beds with netting to prevent them from being eaten by birds!

Do you enjoy gardening? Do you have any special tips on growing your own fruit or creating a garden sanctuary? Tweet us @TimeForYouGroup and let us know, or alternatively visit us at https://timeforyou.cleaning/uk/ for more tips and advice.

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You will automatically be entered into the draw. Best of luck!

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Smartphones these days, give you the power of high-quality SLR cameras.  But do you know how to get the best out of them?  This guide explains the basic principles of photography and shares some top tips on how to supercharge your smartphone photography.

Make friends with your camera

First things first, use your smartphone camera as often as you can. The only poor pictures are those you don’t take. Take pictures you wouldn’t normally take and look for the unexpected. Play around with the settings and other functions on your smartphone camera. Practice makes perfect after all.

Three, it’s the magic number

One of the easiest ways to improve your mobile photos is to turn on the camera's gridlines. It superimposes a series of lines on the screen of your smartphone's camera that are based on the “rule of thirds” - according to this principle an image should be broken down into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, so you have nine parts in total. If you place points of interest in these intersections or along the lines, your photo will be more balanced and level and the viewer will be more naturally drawn to the photo.

Keep it simple

Many of the best photos include just one, interesting subject. So when taking a picture of a subject, spend some extra time setting up the shot. Some professional photographers say that the subject shouldn’t fill the entire frame and that two-thirds of the photo should be negative space, that helps the subject stand out even more.

Embrace the negative

Following on from the last point, "Negative space" simply refers to the areas around and between the subjects of an image, and it can take a photo from "good" to "great”. When you include a lot of empty space in a photo, your subject will stand out more and evoke a stronger reaction from your viewer. Need ideas for negative space? Perhaps a large expanse of open sky, water, an empty field, or a large wall.

Leading lines

In some photos, there's a line that draws the viewer's eye toward a certain part of the frame. Those are called leading lines. They can be straight or not, think staircases, building facades, train tracks, roads, or even a path through the woods. Leading lines are great for creating a sense of depth in an image, and you can make your photo look purposefully designed, even if you just happened to come upon a really cool shape by accident.

Different Perspectives

Taking photos from a unique, unexpected angle can make them more memorable, it creates an illusion of depth or height with the subjects. It also makes the image stand out since most mobile photos are taken either straight on or from a bird's eye view. Try taking a photo directly upward and playing with the sky as negative space. Or, you can try taking it at a slight downward angle.

Repetition

Repetitive patterns are very pleasing to the eye, they appear whenever strong graphic elements are repeated over and over again, like lines, geometric shapes, forms, and colours. These patterns can make a strong visual impact, and photographing something like a beautiful, tiled floor can be enough to create a striking image.

Go for gold

For an amazing landscape photo, your best bet is the golden hour, the hour around sunrise or sunset. The sun is low and has a warm tone that brings out details. To use the sun to your advantage any time of day, look for pockets of light, someone walking down a street in a slant of light makes a powerful image.

Lemme take a selfie

Hold the phone high with your arm extended to prevent a double chin. If it’s sunny, move into the shade. Sunlight can cause your face to be overexposed or cast a harsh shadow and make you squint. The best way to take a full body selfie is with the camera out of your hand, propped against books or something else to keep it upright, and using a timer.

Steal

Pick your favourite photos on Pinterest and Instagram and try and compose similar shots yourself. You’ll be amazed at how good your photos will look if you have a simple framework to follow. It will also give you the inspiration to vary your photography style.

Written by Mike Pye

It’s officially salad season, but that doesn’t have to mean the limp leaves of lettuce with forlorn slices of tomato and cucumber of the past.

Before getting on to how to spice up your bowl of greens, let’s look at the benefits of salad chomping.

Buff Up

Salads are full of nutrients and low calorie, so a great way of eating high volumes of food to fill you up on a diet. And salads are colourful and inspiring, providing a satisfying and pleasurable eating experience, unlike many ‘diet’ foods. Throw in some lean proteins like prawns or chicken and grains like bulgur or millet and you’ve got a nutritionally balanced and really filling meal.

Get a Nutrition Hit

Salads are a powerful way of eating well and getting a variety of nutrients in a fast and tasty way. Vegetables provide us with natural energy, with fibre, antioxidants and other nutrients that we need and they help to keep our stomachs happy and healthy.

Eat Water

You're supposed to drink eight glasses of water per day which is pretty daunting. But you don't have to drink all that water. Roughly 20% of our daily H2O intake comes from solid foods, especially fruits and vegetables.

Beat The Bloat

Most of us don’t respond very well to processed bread, many people suffer bulging uncomfortable belly afterwards, so a lip-smacking salad can be a great excuse to ditch stomach bloating sarnies for lunch.

Be Inspired

The worship of roast cauliflower, avocado and char-grilled broccoli is no longer a trend, nor just the preferred choice of the health fanatics. We’ve learnt in the last ten years from the likes of Ottolenghi and Deliciously Ella, that vegetables have unlimited potential. Wake up your tastebuds, vegetables and fruit, nuts and grains, can be brought to life with some love, imagination and a fantastic salad dressing.

And here’s 5 easy ways to sass up your salad

Veg Love

A few roasted veg can create a sophisticated and divine salad worthy of lunch guests. All you have to do is cube some veg like sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, beets or whatever you’ve got lying around, drizzle with oil, season with some dried herbs, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and roast in the oven at Gas mark 6 for about 30-40mins. Serve cold.

Herbilicious

You’d be amazed how chopping up fresh herbs can transform a salad. Just be experimental. Got some spare basil, mint and parsley? Chop it up and throw it in. Don’t be afraid of overkill or blending the ‘wrong’ herbs. All fresh herbs just work well with green leaves.

Get Fruity

There’s no reason that fruits have to remain relegated to dessert. Fruit adds freshness and texture, not to mention vitamins, minerals and flavour. Here are a few combinations to try: Blue cheese and pear, watermelon and feta, strawberries and spinach, avocado, pineapple and watercress, blackberry and goats cheese. Open up your salad world!

Dress it up

Making salad dressing from scratch is nearly as fast and easy as shaking up a supermarket bottle of the stuff and the taste is so much better than even the most "gourmet" versions you’d buy. There’s so many to choose from, but if you want to go super simple just cover your leaves with a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and season with some salt and pepper.

Go Nuts

The benefits of adding nuts to your salad go beyond just adding flavour and texture. Think nutrition. You can sneak some of the most nutritious nuts and seeds into a salad to make the salad taste better, and reap all the nutritional rewards. Try almonds, walnuts or toasted pecans/ pine nuts for starters, although go wild, anything goes.

Written by Mike Pye

Photos courtesy of Katya Willems

Meditation isn’t something that you have to do for hours on end to reap the benefits. Just ten minutes a day will make a difference.

At the end of the article, we’ll give you a meditation practice to follow that really will last just ten minutes and it’s super simple. But let’s look at why meditating is so brilliant before you commit.

Get a handle on your stress levels

Studies have shown it actually rewires your brain so that the neural pathways responsible for fear and anxious thoughts are weakened. Feeling overwhelmed by a busy week? Meditation can help you stay calm and centred during challenging situations, and to relax after the storm has passed.

Be healthier

Practising meditation is one of the easiest ways to improve your overall health. Studies have shown it can turn on genes that protect you from pain, high blood pressure and infertility, among other benefits. Meditation has also been shown to boost your immune system, increasing your chances of staying well.

More shut eye

Taking the time to meditate can help you let go of those circling thoughts that keep you from drifting off at night. You’re also more likely to have deeper, more refreshing sleep, so you’ll wake up feeling energised.

Be Smarter

It has been linked to better focus, concentration and attention to detail. Studies have shown that it can reconfigure your brain to strengthen the parts associated with attention and sensory processing.

Tap into your creative genius

Partaking in meditation can help awaken the creative parts of your brain (yep, even you non-creative types). Research has revealed that meditation can enhance your ability to come up with creative ideas.

Become nicer

This is one of the most amazing benefits of meditation – it can make you kinder and open your heart. Studies have shown that people who meditate regularly are more empathetic and compassionate towards other people. What a beautiful gift to the world.

Be more beautiful

Meditation is scientifically proven to help to eliminate skin problems like acne and eczema, and if you want to be sexy you need to be full of energy and zest for life. Meditation is proven to improve your energy levels and to make you live more in the moment, thereby giving the magnetic attractiveness that comes with it.

So you’re going to be hotter, cleverer, nicer, healthier, calmer. What’s not to like? And here’s how you go about it in just ten minutes a day:

The Practise

To prepare:

1) Find a comfortable chair and sit down, keeping a straight back.
2) Make sure you’ll be left undisturbed (switch off your mobile).
3) Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Check in:

1) Take five deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth and gently close your eyes.
2) Focus on the physical sensation of the body on the chair and the feet on the floor.
3) Scan down through the body and notice which parts feel comfortable and relaxed, and which parts feel uncomfortable and tense.
4) Notice how you’re feeling – what sort of mood you’re in right now?

Focus:

1) Notice where you feel the rising and falling sensation of the breath most strongly.
2) Notice how each breath feels, the rhythm of it – whether it’s long or short, deep or shallow, rough or smooth.
3) Gently count the breaths as you focus on the rising and falling sensation - one with the rise and two with the fall, upwards to a count of 10.
4) Repeat this cycle between five and 10 times, or for as long as you have time available.

Wind down:

1) Let go of any focus at all, allowing the mind to be as busy or as still as it wants to be for 20 seconds.
2) Bring the mind back to the sensation of the body on the chair and the feet on the floor.
3) Gently open your eyes and stand up when you feel ready.