This summer I, plus one, was invited by the Bournemouth Tourist Office to spend a couple of days in the jewel of Britain's South Coast.  My parents used to holiday in Bournemouth, in the 50s, so I have wonderful memories of playing on the lovely sandy beach there. And hot summers|!  Despite living in pebbly Brighton, down the road, I still go back whenever I can. The last time was a couple of years ago, on my own, to see Noel Gallagher in concert. More on that trip here.

Every August Bank Holiday weekend in Brighton, thousands of parka wearing, scooter riding men & women come to town for Modculture.  For those too young to remember, the Mods & Rockers of the 60's used to meet up (and sometimes fight) here on the South Coast: the former on scooters & the latter on motor bikes. (If you want to know more about that era a great movie to watch is Quadrophenia). 

When I trained as a Nutritionist, oh so many years ago, one of the first things we were taught was how important magnesium is for every single cell in the body, as well as every single woman on the planet! Fast-forward 20 years and I have to admit that although I am really good about having regular Epsom Salts Baths to get some of that magnesium into my body via the skin, & eating my green veg., I am not so good at taking supplements.

As summer rolls swiftly towards autumn/fall, I am wearing my shorts as often as possible, no matter what people say I should or shouldn't be wearing.  A woman over 60 wearing shorts???!!! The very thought of it.  Well, I happen to like the sun on my limbs and I want all the Vitamin D I can lap up before Winter emerges. I don't care whether I'm deemed too old to wear something I love, as long as I look in the mirror and feel good about whatever I'm wearing.  Nor should you. So that's one extra style rule (no doubt published somewhere for the Over 50s) that I'm willing to break, wobbly thighs or no wobbly thighs. (And they're wobbly, trust me!)

Here's a quick video of what I put in my juice.  This is the recipe that I find easy & quick as well as giving me my five portions of VEG & one portion of fruit a day - at least! This health in a glass will give you a huge boost of nutrients to set you up for the day with minimum natural sugar.  Plus you can also add some extra health benefits by chucking it in a blender and adding superfoods, such as cinnamon, flaxseeds, and turmeric, that I mention in more detail in my smoothie for 5:2 fast days here.

This year, for the first time, I grew nasturtiums in my herb pot and got into adding the lovely peppery leaves to my meals.  The leaves and the flowers are both edible: the leaves give you a big boost of Vitamin C and the flowers just make the food look so pretty. So a double whammy. (You can buy edible nasturtiums in most stores when they are in season, in the summer)