Hi everyone! I hope you’re well and lockdown 2:0 is treating you as well as it can. River is 8 months old now and to think that he was only just born when the last lockdown happened blows my mind a little bit; the time has quite literally flown-by.

It’s testament to our courage, adaptability and resilience that we are all weathering this pandemic storm with as much strength as we can muster but as a first-time Mummy, there have been times when I have felt quite scared about what the future might hold.

Having said that, I have also been quite full hope that we will overcome this and we will be stronger, collectively, as a result. I’ve noticed a real coming-together in the community we live in and it fills me with happiness that this has pushed us to open-up and get to know our neighbours and the people we walk past most days.

Lockdown has presented an opportunity for me to work behind-the-scenes on my business (during nap-time), and I am setting targets for writing! I have a few different projects on the go and I really want to publish more blog posts as I feel that I can communicate my feelings and encourage people with my words more instantly in this way.

I feel like we have to really nurture ourselves at the moment and set-aside some time to fill our bodies with good stuff; food, thoughts, water, exercise, a combination of all of these. Health starts at home in every sense and if we look after our home, our beautiful bodies & minds, we can create a tower of unshakable health that will serve us well.

First-up, I’m going to look at the things we can do to support our brilliant brains! Did you know that we have on average, 60,000 thoughts a day! Quite literally mind-blowing, right?!? Alongside drinking lots of water to keep those synapses firing, here are my top 10 foods you can include in your diet to bolster your brain:

Walnuts, avocados, green tea, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, turmeric, broccoli, oranges, coffee & kale…..Yay to all of these and here’s my Blueberry Banger recipe – the perfect way to start the day!

1 x frozen banana, 1 x cup of blueberries, 3 x tbsp of coconut nectar, 1 x tsp of pitaya powder, 3 x tbsp of coconut yogurt, a twist of lime, ice. Blend, slurp, repeat.

This is one of my all-time favourite blends and with the addition of a good dollop of vegan yogurt, it’s really creamy & filling. You can substitute the blueberries for other juicy berries or add a mix of all of your favourites!

Stay well and keep your chipper up. We will all get through this together.

All my love & encouragement,

Holly.