Raw Hummus with Zucchini

Raw Hummus with Zucchini

Raw foods don’t have to be categorized in a different way than the foods we already know and love. Most of us already eat a lot of raw foods without giving it much thought or even categorizing it as such. Now isn’t that encouraging; it shows that choosing raw doesn’t have to be boring or complicated. Aspiring raw foodies can just take a look at their current diet and eat more of the already raw foods they currently consume.

Hummus is a funny one; it’s not raw but most people assume it is since a lot of dips are raw and you normally eat it with some veggie sticks. Only once people want to make hummus at home, they realize they actually need to cook the beans. And yes, buying canned beans still means it’s cooked even if you don’t do the cooking yourself.

From my education with IIN, I have some mixed feelings regarding a raw diet. I see both the pro’s and the con’s, but don’t subscribe to the idea that one is better than the other. I believe in bio individuality aka figuring out what is best for you, for your body, for your lifestyle and I also believe in balance and moderation.

Bern's First Juice Bar: I Love Juice

Bern's First Juice Bar: I Love Juice

When you walk around London or New York, you find a juice bar around every corner. According to Well To Do (one of my favourite online magazines for everything health - related) , there are now at least 25 dedicated cold-pressed juice bars across London. This doesn't even include boutique stockists, retail giants like Waitress and all the online ordering and delivery companies. Can I move back to London already? That's what I thought until recently.

But then I Love Juice Bern came for the rescue.

In Switzerland so far, surprise surprise, juice bars are a rare sight. For the most part, people here still believe that the "100 % natural" fruit juices sold at Micros and Coop are healthy. But with the opening of Bern's first cold-pressed juice bar in Herrengasse 10, a new era has began. Kudos to Tina and Tom, the founders of I Love Juice, for doing something that seems almost revolutionary for this Swiss city.

Heart Beat Up Yoga Event

Heart Beat Up Yoga Event

I have to admit: I'm not a big party girl. I went through a crazy party phase from when I was 18 to 20, but those days are over now. Call me boring, but I just don't enjoy getting drunk every weekend and 'wasting' my days hung over in bed.

I haven't stepped foot into a club in a while, but this event convinced me to give it another go. Hosted by Deddou from Pop Up Yoga and Liora, the Heart Beat Up yoga event converts your yoga mat into a dance floor and sprinkles good vibes like confetti in your body and heart. Imagine holding downward dog to funky hip hop tunes and lying in shavasanah while admiring the twinkling disco lights on the ceiling. Who wouldn't love that?

The event started off with a 90 minute Hip-Hop yoga session with Liora - we first did some gentle flows accompanied by a DJ mixing the beats and later on did some core work and handstand practice in pairs of three. In case you've never done yoga to Hip Hop before, let me tell you that it is a completely different experience to your typical yogi practice with meditative music. You feel so 'up beat', letting loose of all yoga stigmas and can flow freely whichever way you like. Anything is allowed, and it's just so damn liberating.

Banana And Maca Power Pancakes With Blueberries

Banana And Maca Power Pancakes With Blueberries

I wish I could say that my last weekend was a lazy weekend. The kind where you sleep for the better half of the morning and then spend the afternoon on the couch with a good book and some tea. But no, my weekend was jam-packed with celebrating #activenationday in Zurich and taking workout videos with Vic (watch this space, we'll be posting weekly workout videos soon!). This weekend I won't be hitting the snooze button either; I have planned to do a last big 30km run before my first marathon on the 25th of October. I've never ran this long before - so just in case I won't survive it, I wanted to let you know that I love you all dearly.

Also, I would not be able to leave you without sharing this one last recipe with you : warm, rich and moist banana and maca power pancakes. And power do they have! Thanks to the Peruvian superfood, these babies are an energy power house and will fuel you for the day. Note to self: Have a full stack of pancakes before going on this dreaded run. 

Celebrating Active Nation Day In Switzerland

Celebrating Active Nation Day In Switzerland

This weekend the world celebrated #activenationday. It is a movement created in 2012 by Lorna Jane to inspire women, their families, communities, cities and the world to live a more Active Life! Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980, with 39% of the adult population now overweight and 1.9 billion of the world’s population not getting sufficient exercise. This is troublesome & we need to start making changes.

This is where Active Nation Day comes it. #activenationday is a day dedicated to Active Living – a day where people are asked to consider putting their health and fitness first – resetting their commitment and inspiring others to do the same.

Delicious Low Carb Raw Vegan Thai Tomato Salad

Delicious Low Carb Raw Vegan Thai Tomato Salad

I know I promised it a long time ago, but I am only just now getting around to posting the first Phuket Cleanse inspired recipe. My time there was a whirlwind of experiencing new flavours, new ingredients and unexpected combinations that created the most delicious raw dishes. I have never had raw vegan food like this before, and let me say, it has been slightly life changing. I came back from my holidays with a list of things to buy: nutritional yeast, spiralizer, sprouter, deydrater, water filter and the list goes on. Two weeks later, and I've at least gotten myself a spiralizer. Step one, check. I already found all the recipe inspiration I need thanks to a blog called "Inspiralized", now I just have to find the time to get busy in the kitchen.

So, back to the recipe; as someone who is completely freakin’ obsessed with Thai food, I just had to post a Thai dish first. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. There's always at least 3 flavours involved: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, or spicy. It's not a secret that I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so maybe the fact that many dishes are sweet is the reason I'm hooked on Thai food. Latest after my Thai Cooking Class at Mai Kaidee, I have become inspired to bring the Thai cuisine to my own kitchen and start experimenting with some recipes. Expect some more Thai recipes to follow soon. But first, let's take a look at this simple tomato salad.

Rhythm108 x Balboa Event In Zurich

Rhythm108 x Balboa Event In Zurich

First off, apologies for my lack of posts these days; I've been a bit overwhelmed with my workload at the moment. I'm a very determined person and like to pack my schedule to the rim, but sometimes it just all gets too much. So please bear with me until I figure out a good routine for myself that allows me to juggle work, studying, blogging, training for my first full marathon and being a good friend, girlfriend and daughter. Yikes!

Thankfully, I had the chance to recharge my batteries a bit yesterday and just let the #fitfoodie in me go 'nanas. My friend Laura had dragged me to Balboa in Zurich for a workout before, but this time I had the pleasure to attend their event in collaboration with Rhythm108. It involved lots of crossfit (alright, it was only 30 minutes but it felt like an eternity) and a fun and interactive yoga sequence with Deddou from Pop Up Yoga. On that note: she will also be giving a lesson during the Heart Beat Up Festival in Zurich on the 10th of October, so come join us if you're around! Our green-loving palates were spoiled by Sasou whilst Bryon&Bronte delivered the yoga goodies. Now who said Switzerland wasn't finally jumping onto the health bandwagon? I'm so thrilled to see more and more young and fresh health-conscious companies pop up everywhere. Yay!

Healthspo Talk with Fanny The Foodie

Healthspo Talk with Fanny The Foodie

Scrolling through my Instagram feed sometimes makes me feel like the whole world is on a raw vegan diet, goes to daily yoga sessions and sips on greens juices all day long. But when I look around me, the reality looks quite different. Switzerland is still very much behind on the health trend and the simple task of finding a healthy meal at a restaurant can become an almost impossible task. So when I first started out on my health journey, I thought I was the only crazy health nut in Switzerland. That's why I eventually created the Swiss Foodies Facebook group in the hope of finding other like-minded people. And boy was I surprised at how fast we grew! We're now a group of 75 clean eating chicks that love to exchange recipes and meet up (mainly in Zurich) for healthy lunches, soy latte machiatto or putlocks at someone's house.

Active Detox Holidays With Phuket Cleanse

Active Detox Holidays With Phuket Cleanse

Back in November when I went to Phuket with a bunch of friends I randomly stumbled across Phuket Cleanse, a raw vegan 'active' detox retreat. Unfortunately our stay on the island was short and I didn't get the opportunity to check out the resort then. But after taking a closer look at their offer, I left the island with a burning desire to come back one day and experience Phuket Cleanse for myself. I had never been on a detox holiday before and it was one of those things I had been meaning to tick off my bucket list.

That wish finally came true last week; my boyfriend and I spent five amazing days detoxing, working out and getting our asses kicked by Phuket Cleanse's lovely but torturous trainers. But let me take it from the top and explain a little bit more:

Phuket Cleanse is a health retreat located in Rawai, Phuket that offers what they call an 'active cleanse.' It is a common misconception that energy levels are low when on a cleanse, and you will definitely be proven wrong if you think that way. Unlike other wellness retreats where the focus is on yoga and meditation, the schedule at Phuket Cleanse is jam packed with up to nine workouts a day to choose from, herbal baths and infrared sauna sessions, ice bathing, raw food cooking classes, trips to the beach and educational workshops about nutrition and wellness. Oh, did I mention (almost) daily recovery massages? Jackpot!

Wholesome Travel Guide To: Chiang Mai

Wholesome Travel Guide To: Chiang Mai

I can't even begin to count my blessings. As we speak, I am in Chiang Mai munching away on super ripe bananas and sipping on a young coconut. My boyfriend and I decided to spend the entire month of August in Chiang Mai with his family (they live here) before ending our summer holidays with a detox trip to Phuket Cleanse. Our days have been filled with daily yoga, massages, trips to the local food markets and disovering the city's food culture. I feel zen, balanced and extremely grateful for life right now.

This is my 4th time in Thailand, and I am as in love with this country as during my first stay. The people, the warm weather, the FOOD, the cheap massages..Can I move here please? As you can imagine, the food is the most interesting to me. I love to learn about local ingredients, their cooking style and working my way through every restaurant in my way. One thing you definitely have to do when in Chiang Mai is to go to the local food markets, especially at night. The one we went to is close to Meechok Plaza but there are tons all around town.  I'd suggest to go with an empty stomach so that you can really try some of the dishes they serve. A word of caution:  Many of the fruit juices have added sugar in them, so make sure to ask before buying them.

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Thai Cooking Class And A Note On Vegetable Oils

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Thai Cooking Class And A Note On Vegetable Oils

Every time after visiting Thailand we bring a bunch of herbs, spices and the good intention of finally starting to cook Thai, back home. Once unpacked and settled back in, all things get shoved into the far end of top cupboard and eventually get forgotten about. Including those good intentions. We have vowed to change this and to finally (4th time is a charm, right?) attend a Thai cooking class in the hope that this will inspire us to actually recreate our favourite Thai dishes at home.

After doing some research, we decided on May Kaidee, a vegetarian/vegan cooking school with centers in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. They offer a variety of cooking classes ranging from a standard Thai cooking class to raw food, fruit carving and tofu making classes. They even have an advanced chili paste course. We opted for the standard 4-hour course at a price of 1500 baht (around 38 Euro), where we got to learn a total of seven dishes: red and green chili paste, Pad Thai, green curry, massaman curry, fresh spring rolls, som tam, pumpkin hummus and mango with sticky rice.

Lessons From Recovery: Cooking And Eating Consciously

Lessons From Recovery: Cooking And Eating Consciously

We’re a generation of go-getters, always striving for faster, better and stronger. Without taking breaks, not even when it's time to eat. And that's a big problem. Digestion is a complex process that requires communication between the gut and the nervous system, and it can take up to 20 minutes before the brain realises "I'm full". Consequently, eating too quickly can lead to overeating and stress your digestive system.

Un-mindful eating eventually leads to unhealthy eating habits and "self-medicating" with comfort foods. Mindfulness might sound like a hippie concept to some, but it’s really just about being present. It’s easy to be on auto-pilot and go about our day-to-day lives without really living. Mindfulness is about paying attention to what you’re doing and soaking up every moment, rather than letting your mind race ahead, worrying about the next thing you’re going to do.

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