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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 16:

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Show gratitude today for the things and people you have in your life. 

While we can (and probably will) always dream of more, we must never forget what we already have. Today I am showing gratitude to everyone who has supported me and believed in me over the last year in this new stage in my life. 

THANK YOU for making it possible. Xx 

#lahlahadventchallenge #lahlahyoga #advent #challenge #gratitude #thanks#dream #support #belief #yoga #goodvibes #positivity #happy #healthy#malta

LahLah Advent Challenge Day 15:

Focus! 

Today I challenge you to turn your phone off for one hour, close Facebook, Instagram and anything thing else which may distract you and focus on that thing that you've been putting off doing for ages - I'm pretty sure we can all find something we keep making excuses not to do, just do it! 

#lahlahadventchallenge #lahlahyoga #advent #challenge #focus #effort #yoga#justdoit #happy #goodvibes #positivity #monday #malta

LahLah Advent Challenge Day 13:

Get Creative! 

Get creative in the kitchen, make some homemade Christmas cards, make a homemade gift, make some mulled wine (mmmmm mulled wine!), get arty. You can do anything, just be creative  

As it is the 13th of December Santa Lucia, I decided to make the Swedish tradition of Lussebullar (Saffron buns) with some friends, we got a little bit creative with the shapes - see if you can spot the turtle and dog shaped buns . 

If you'd like to please share your creations please tag me! 

Happy creating! Xx

#lahlahadventchallenge #lahlahyoga #yoga #creative #baking #making#creating #homemade #arty #lussebullar #happy #goodvibes #positivity#weekend #advent #challenge #christmas #malta

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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 11:

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Change your perspective on anything you're struggling with. We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are and sometimes turning that thing totally upside down and looking at it from a different angle helps everything fall into place 

#lahlahadventchallenge #lahlahyoga #advent #challenge #yoga #upsidedown#handstand #tbt #goodvibes #positivity #balance #sea #malta #happy#healthy

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Winter Warming Weekday Veg Recipes

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If you have been following my Advent Challenge, you will have seen Day 8 was a challenge to try to become a weekday vegetarian. Becoming a weekday vegetarian you would be cutting 70% if your meat intake, but still able to have that burger on the weekend! By cutting 70% of your meat this would greatly help to reduce your carbon footprint as meat causes huge emissions and also uses 100 times the water that veg does to produce. Apart from saving the world, you will also be much healthier, save money, and maybe even lose a bit of weight. Win win if you ask me :-)

So here are a few of my favourite veg recipes to get you inspired:

LahLah's Homemade Hummus and Kale Crisps

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Take as much fresh kale as you desire, chop it up into bite size pieces, place on a baking tray, drizzle in olive oil and sprinkle in rock salt and bake for 10 mins or until crispy. While the kale is crisping, make your hummus:

  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • a big handful of parsley
  • 2 garlic cloves (1 if you're not that keen on garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon tahini
  • 1/2 lemon squeezed
  • 1 teaspoon JP Hot Sauce 
  • Pine nuts
  • Olive Oil 
  • Salt & Pepper

Whizz all the ingredients together in a whizzer (yes, that is the technical term) and voila, healthy delicious hummus and kale crisps ready! YUMMY!

 

Baked Sweet Potato with ricotta, grated zucchini, avocado, basil, tomatoes and seeds.

This one is SO easy. Turn the oven on to 200 C, wash and dry your sweet potato and then prick it all over with a fork. Put it in the over for circa 40 mins or until the potato is soft. Then remove from the oven, cut it in half and add all your favourite goodies. I like to load mine up with ricotta, followed by tomato, and grated zucchini, torn basil, avocado and topped with some pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. YUM!

Sweet Leek and ricotta lasagne 

This is a Jamie Olivier recipe which I love! 

  • olive oil
  • 4 leeks, thinly sliced
  • 2 red onions, thinly sliced
  • 250 g spinach, washed and chopped
  • 350 g good-quality ricotta
  • 1 litre base tomato sauce
  • 1 packet lasagne sheets, wholewheat if you can find them
  • 125 g mozzarella ball
  • 75 g fresh Parmesan, grated
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Prehat your oven to 180ºC. Heat a large saucepan and add a splash of olive oil. Add the leeks and sliced red onions, and sweat, slowly, until soft – about 10 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and briefly cook until wilted down. Set aside to cool slightly, then drain off any excess liquid in the pan. 


Mix the ricotta into the leek and onion mixture and season with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. 

Spoon a quarter of the base tomato sauce into the bottom of a 3-litre ovenproof dish. Cover with sheets of lasagne. Spread half the leek and ricotta mixture over the lasagne, then add a third of the remaining tomato sauce. Repeat with more lasagne sheets, the remaining leek and ricotta mixture and then half the remaining tomato sauce. Finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets, then spread the rest of the tomato sauce over the top. 

Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and dot over the top of the lasagne. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Place on a baking sheet and bake the lasagne for 45 minutes – it needs to be cooked through and golden brown on top.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-leek-ricotta-and-tomato-lasagne/

Spicy Carrot and Lentil soup

Here's a Nigella soup which is a real Winter-Warmer

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 
  • 1 pinch of dried chilli flakes 
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • 300 grams carrots (i used frozen baby carrots which worked fine, otherwise use fresh and coarsely grate them, skin on) 
  • 70 grams red lentils (split) 
  • 0.24 litres vegetable stock (hot) 
  • half a can of coconut milk

Dry fry cumin and chilli in a large saucepan over a low heat until the aromas are released. Scoop out half and set aside 

Add the oil, carrots, stock, lentils and milk to the saucepan then bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened. 

Blitz the soup in a liquidiser or with a stick blender. 

Season and serve with a dollop of sour cream and the spices you set aside earlier. MMMMMMMM!

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/spicy-carrot-and-lentil-soup-2764

 

Please feel free to comment if you try any of the recipes, and let me know your take on any of them!

 

xx

 

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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 10:

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Find some sunshine in your soul today! 

Here in Malta it's a stormy, windy, rainy, grey day but despite what may be going on around us, it's important to always be able to find that sunshine in your soul. Understanding that we can never control what happens to us no matter how hard we try, but that we can control our reaction and attitude to what happens to us and there lies the magic!

#lahlahadventchallenge #lahlahyoga #yoga #advent #challenge #sunshine#soul #goodvibes #positivity #healthy #happy #magic #malta

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LahLah Yoga Malta Christmas Present Guide

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In an attempt to put my own Christmas shopping off for even longer, I have put together a yogi Christmas guide for you. The perfect gifts for that health conscious person in your life! 

  1. LahLah Yoga Class Pack or Monthly Membership. What could be better then the gift of yoga? The gift of health, of wellbeing and of fun! Perfect for anyone who already loves yoga, and perhaps also for that person who needs some yoga and balance in their life but just hasn't found it yet. Drop in classes start at €10, and class packs start at €45. Contact lisa@lahlahyoga.com for more info. 
  2. A good quality yoga mat is a great gift for any yogi or perhaps also that little Christmas treat for yourself! No more using communal mats, it's time to get serious! LahLah has great quality mats available from €30, contact lisa@lahlahyoga.com for more details. 
  3. A Nutribullet or similar! For anybody into juicing, this "juicer" is actually an extractor which completely breakdown ingredients to their most nutritious, unlike actual juicers which remove all the finer and a lot of nutrition. Also great to make your own almond milk, hurrah!
  4. Some awesome yoga pants! Some of my favourite are: Teeki, Altar Ego, Onzie. Sweaty Betty and Lululemon are more conservative favourites! 
  5. Warrior Pose : an inspiring read
  6. Some naturally delicious skincare such as Liz Earle (one of my personal favourites) and Dead Sea Spa Magik which can be found at Holland & Barrett in Malta.
  7. Some JP Hot Sauce, the ultimate, organic, locally made gift for that fiery person in your life! (I may be a little bit biased towards this product, but honestly it's AMAZING!). This can also be found at Holland & Barrett Malta as from 9th of December.

Although giving gifts is great, remember that there is so much more that one can give all throughout the year than a gift on one day a year. If we all gave more love throughout the year, the world would be a much happier place :-)

Happy gifting xx 

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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 8:

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Become a weekday vegetarian and save the world and yourself  Did you know that meat causes more emissions than all of transportation combined (that's cars, trains, planes, buses and boats) and beef production uses 100 times the water that veg does. 

Just by becoming a weekday vegetarian you would be cutting out 70% of your meat intake, but you can still have that hamburger or steak on the weekend! Your carbon footprint will reduce, you will save money, you will be healthier, most likely live longer, and maybe even lose some weight! What are you waiting for? 

Check out this TED talk by Graham Hill on becoming a weekday vegetarian for more on the subject 

http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian?language=en#t-72341
 

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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 7:

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Take care of yourself this Sunday, give yourself some extra time to relax! For me that means spoiling myself in a nice long bath with my favourite bubbles, scented candles and book (which is currently Man's Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl- highly recommended). Maybe it's an extra long lie in without feeling guilty (which I also did today hence the lateness of this post!). Maybe it's having your most favourite meal. Maybe it's a gentle stretch and flow on your mat. Perhaps today it means lazing on the sofa nursing your hangover which is totally fine too! 

As long as you remember that you are number one and if you're not taken care of, then everything and everyone that you take care of will suffer too. 

"I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent, caring for myself is an act of survival" Audrey Lorde.

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LahLah Advent Challenge Day 5:

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A simple hello could lead to a million things. Today is about connection to the people around you. Make an effort to actually connect to the girl who always serves you your morning coffee, or the man you always see in the supermarket. 

"If you could only sense how important you are to those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." Fred Rogers. 

So today, leave smiles and compassion with every person you meet for you never know what that person may be going through. 

Happy Friday! 
 

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LahLah Advent Challenge: Day 1

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Happy December! 

This year I have decided to create an advent challenge! Instead of eating ourselves silly full of chocolate let's take care of ourselves and our loved ones too, and spread smiles and laughter!

The rules are: there are no rules! If you'd like to follow please do, if you do I'd love to hear about it so do post and tag me @lisalahlahyoga and #lahlahadventchallenge but you can also follow quietly. You can do one day and then skip five, you can do everyday (which would be great :-) ) but it's totally up to you! There are no prizes, this is just some fun to spread some joy, peace and happiness! 

So here goes! Day 1 of the #lahlahadventchallenge is to just breathe. Simple as that, just sit and breathe deeply for a few minutes and let your mind relax and see how you feel. For a moment, just be. Let go of all your to-do lists and being a human-doer and just become a human-being for a few minutes. It's crazy how often we actually forget to breathe and how shallow we breathe when we're busy and stressed. Notice how good it feels as you begin to deepen the exhales and lengthen the inhales. 

Simples :-)