Sweet treat banana and chocolate cake/loaf/bread The whole way through lockdown I resisted making the obligatory banana cake. I just didn’t seem to have any ripe bananas hanging about the kitchen. But here’s one of my favourite banana cakes with spices and chocolate that I made this weekend for friends. This is a gluten free vegetarian recipe with vegan options You’ll need a loaf tin - 900g will do, if you don’t have one then use an 8 inch cake tin but to be honest it doesn’

This coming Friday we are hosting our virtual Funky Glow Flow Yoga Supper. I will be cooking some delicious curries and I thought that I’d share the main Kerala sweet and sour stew with you to cook at home. This curry/stew is made with butternut squash, spinach and coriander. Kerala Curry Serves 4 as a main or 6 with other offerings Ingredients 1 butternut squash, peeled or you can keep the skin on 1 tin of organic sweetcorn, drained - I use Suma 1 large onion or 2 small, pee

It’s a while since I wrote a recipe blog on here so, I thought I’d pop a couple of winter offerings from today’s Yoga Brunch - Sense The Joy - for those of you who were unable to join us. I wanted something warming for our brunch, a good hearty soup with lots of depth and flavour. I chose this Saffron, Parsley and Jerusalem Artichoke Soup for it’s versatility, you can play about with different vegetables in addition to the artichokes, perhaps leeks or pumpkins. On this occas

Here are some recipes from last Sunday’s Online Yoga Supper Club. I had numerous requests for these recipes, especially the Cacao + Hazelnut Miso Brownie. I have included some tips and where to buy some of the ingredients. Hope you have a fun time cooking. Courgette + Cavolo Nero Paprika Muffins Makes 12 muffins 225g spelt flour (you can also use self raising flour but leave out the baking powder) 2 tsp baking powder 400g grated courgette, as much liquid as possible squeeze

I thought I’d share a little information about Fascia before our online Pilates Brunch on Sunday 28th June. Fascia is a continuous web of connective tissue, it surrounds and weaves through your body Muscle; tendons, Ligaments, bones, organs, nerves and blood vessels. It's like our internal scaffolding - holding everything together. Healthy Fascia is pliable and hydrated it simply slides and glides allowing a free range of movement. When it is unhealthy it becomes dehydrated a

We are so happy to share with you some of our recipes from our recent Soulful Sunday Yoga Brunch. Enjoy! Golden Sunshine Smoothie 2 - 4 glasses 1 very ripe banana, chopped 1 handful of frozen mango/peaches/nectarine pieces 1/2 papaya, cut into chunks Juice of 1 lime Juice of 1 orange 2 tbsp of porridge oats (gluten free if desired) 50 ml oat milk 1/4 of a small cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and chopped 1/4 stick of celery, sliced Small piece of ginger, finely chopped 1/2 ts

We hosted our first online collaboration with Julia founder of La Lune Yoga in Manchester. Breakfast was delivered in South Manchester the evening before the event and we all came together for our practice on the Sunday morning, it was fantastic. We followed the Yoga practice with Suzanne giving a short talk about the menu and why the ingredients had been chosen, produces and local suppliers and then enjoyed our 3 course breakfast. An absolutely perfect way to spend a Sunda

The Complete Retreat was set up to collaborate with Yoga, Pilates, Meditation, wellbeing teachers and Nutritionists to offer our community some self care. We host events and retreats where you can put some time aside to come together with friends or family and share your practice, love of good food, socialise and establish an understanding of ourselves and others. Our gatherings are warm and welcoming, whether you are a complete beginner or have an established practice you ar

I made this Black Rice Salad for our Yoga Supper collaboration with Lucie Platt and it was gorgeous. Like most recipes it was a mixture of salads I’ve tasted in restaurants along with similar rice recipes I’ve used from cookbooks over time, which gives you carte blanche to add your own flavours to this dish. I start by preparing the rice and whilst that’s cooking get on with preparing the other ingredients so  I can put the salad together once my rice has cooled. A generous

I thought it would be lovely to share the soup recipe for Lucie Platt’s Yoga Supper starter with you. It's a wonder winter warmer and full of goodness and nutrients for this time of year. This soup is one of my favourites, the original is by Darina Allen who is an amazing chef and teacher and who’s recipes always have a successful outcome. I know that she would probably serve this up with some homemade Irish soda bread but I love mine with 5 grain bread, usually purchased fro

I just wanted to share some words from our collaborators Jonny - Yogeease and Rebekah - Wild Roots Nutrition about our upcoming Urban Day Retreat - Good Intentions on Saturday 18th January. We are all super excited to welcome our guests to this event. Many people set intentions at this time of year only to see them fade or wither away for a myriad of reasons. To help, I’ve designed our yoga practice to enable us to clear any (energy) blockages that are preventing us maintain

Last year was a bit of a roller coaster, the ride was thrilling if not somewhat scary at times. But hey that’s life and I’m feeling full of optimism both personally and collectively. I haven’t shared a recipe in a while and I thought this gorgeous Beetroot and Apple Soup - our starter at our Candlelit Yoga Supper - would make the perfect one for January. Beetroot and Apple Soup With A Sweet Paprika Kick Serves 8 2 medium onions, skinned and halved 3 garlic cloves, finely slic

Pilates Hub founder Belle talks about what Pilates means to her and what to expect from The Balance Within - Pilates Brunch Club.

By Julia Evans founder of La Lune Yoga Yin yoga, what's it all about? Yin is a slow practice, a still practice of letting go and letting be. Yin is by no means easy. Yin can bring up discomfort both in the body and inside ourselves. The challenge is to stay with what arises, knowing that it will pass and we can do it. This isn't to say that yin isn't enjoyable – on the contrary, yin can be extremely relaxing and rejuvenating. It targets and activates the parasympathetic nervo

Dukkah is an ancient spice mix that has been used by the Egyptians for centuries. It is a mixture of toasted and crushed nuts, seeds and spi

Summer is here and I’ve been fruit picking already. The Loganberries this year have been slightly sweeter and plentiful than last. I made my first Loganberry ice cream this week which was super easy to make - this recipe would also work well using other berries - so give it a go! The Loganberry ice cream is not only extremely moorish and tasty but vegan too. Ingredients - Serves 8 (you will need an ice cream maker for this version) 400g fresh loganberries 550ml unsweetened

I made this vegan cheesecake recently for our Mandala Yoga Supper Club and everyone loved it. I use the same base and filling for most of my vegan cheesecakes but change the fruit toppings seasonally. The recipe for this Alfonso mango cheesecake doesn’t use dates to hold the topping in place so beware and go with it if the mango oozes down the sides. I didn’t want to loose the intense colour so omitted the dates. Ingredients For the base 300g raw macadamia nuts (sometimes I

I made this soup for the starter at our International Women’s Day Yoga Supper Club celebration. The recipe has been requested loads so I’ve decided to put it up on the blog. Forgive me if you are bored of soup (can’t imagine why you would be) but here it is! Preheat the oven to 180c. You need 2 baking sheets lined with foil, a large heavy bottomed pan and a small heatproof bowl. Serves 8 (large helpings) 4 large aubergines - ends off and cubed into 2 cm pieces 600g fresh rip

Granola is actually really easy to make, you just need to get yourself organised and for the effort you’re better off making up a large batch. It keeps for at least a month in an airtight container so no worries there. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is such a healthy option. Granola should be consumed as a treat, say at the weekend or now and again. Try to make your own so you know exactly what’s in it as most commercial granolas are very sweet and full of process

Winter is here and often we don’t get the opportunity to spend as much time outside as we would like due to the weather being cold, frosty and recently snowy. Walking, running, climbing and lots of other outdoor activities get our bodies moving and that movement aids our digestion. Literally moves our internal organs and massages our insides. Yogis love inversion, not only because it feels wonderful to do but it aids digestion and is a lovely self massage. I was given this re