How to make your festival experience healthier, smarter and more amazing

It’s festival season in the UK, which means it’s time to get together with your mates and listen to some great live music as you stand in knee-deep mud, balancing a warm cider to your breast while expertly dodging flying bottles of piss…some experiences may vary!

I am definitely a fan of ‘The festival’. I love the expectation. I love the music. I love that you can seriously get in touch with your inner child, be a bit weird and every one around you is doing the same.

But for the healthy living addict, festivals can be a bit challenging…

Where the hell is the organic fruit? 

Why is every vegan option Mexican-based?  

Wait, I’m drinking ALL day? 

For these questions, I have to give this side of advice: Ease off. 

Personally, I see festivals as a chance to let loose. They’re like mini super-exhausting holidays. I go to around two a year, which equates to about five or six days. There is no other time in the year when I will be drinking as much alcohol, eating so much rubbish or staying up so late. I justify my cutting lose by grabbing onto that beautiful word: balance.

Having said that, I don’t think going to festivals mess up my wannabe-healthy-living too much. On my first day at Download festival this year I walked 50,000 steps (Thank you, Fitbit). That is four times the amount that I normally do in a day. At Secret Garden Party, I dance for hours on end. Well, I call it dancing. It’s probably more flaying limbs, but hey, back to my point about being about to be a weirdo without judgement at festivals. 

So back to balance; it’s not cheating; this is rewarding. A few days of the year living ‘wild’ isn’t going to wipe out all the hard work you’ve already put in. Balance is key.  

Still, it doesn’t hurt to have the following at hand to help you inject a bit of healthy to your festival experience:

Snacks

Yes, most festival organisers are starting to realise that not everyone wants to plant their face in a soggy burger and the selection of eateries is improving (Still waiting for you, Reading Festival…) but I still bring a selection of food with me. Preparation is everything, when I camp I bring the following: 

- Vegan Mushroom Rolls: A doddle to make, easy to transport and great snack food. I took them to Download this year and they were the perfect first night dinner. 
- Bliss Balls of all types: You can buy them, yes, but there are so many recipes on the web one of my favourites have to be Raw Caramel Macadamia Balls  Again, easy to make, transport and they don’t need a freezer to carry. 
- Smoothies: This year I bought the packed lunch Innocent Smoothie cartons They were an absolute blessing when I woke each morning to menacing dehydration. 
- The obvious but I have to mention: Nuts, granola, oatcakes, avocados, bananas, coconut water, just plain water. Chuck some halluomi on the BBQ and have it with some hummus and avocado; it’s a winner. 

Your own penis

What, what? Okay, otherwise known as the Whiz. It’s basically a funnel to help ladies pee like a man. Or as Wikipedia like to call it: The Female Urination Device. I took one to Download and it improved my wellbeing to such an extent, it has to go on the list. Festivals equal queuing. My boyfriend waited for forty five minutes to use the portaloos one morning at Download. My bladder would have had none of that. So what did I do? I zipped up our tent and used the Whizz right into an empty bottle. No mess, no spills, all thrills because I was liberated. It also meant that I didn’t need to walk across a field filled with tents in the middle of the night for a wee. Safety first, people. I cannot express how the Whiz made my festival experience more awesome! 

Protection

It seemed like the moment a guitar finds its way into an open field in the UK, the heavens open and you end up in a lot of mud. But sometimes you get lucky. So bring the suncream to protect your skin as well as bringing your wellies to protect your feet. And don’t forget the socks! After all, Bear Grylls puts dry socks as one of his top ten survival essentials because, and I quote, ‘It's as important emotionally as it is physically’. Because wet feet SUCK.   

If you’re looking to get lucky, and don’t mind that your partner may not have washed their nether-regions in three days, bring condoms. If you would like to hear the ‘Cheese Toastie’ story told to me by one of my festival friends, just ask me on Twitter. 

The Bum-Bag

I am a portable supermarket at festivals. I hate having a bag when I’m dancing, so the bum bag is another one of my festival staples. The following is a list of what it carries, all of which I always end up using and thinking to myself: ‘You are so smart for having these on you, you smart thing, you!’. I carry loo roll, pain killers, mini hand sanitiser, money, phone, poncho, hip flask, eye drops, plasters, snack bars. I also clip a water bottle to the bumbag, which as well as allowing me to be my own hydration station, provides me with a subtle dance space maker when I swing my hips. Hey, it worked at Secret Garden Party! 

Have fun, people. See you in the mud.

X KB

Seize the day: Why traveling makes your life better

Chances are you’ve had the following conversation:

Mate: “Oh my god, we SO have to go to ‘Random European adventure/reasonably priced short hall destination’

You: -“Absolutely! You know, I saw you can fly there for 12 quid/I have loads of airmiles that I need to use!’

Mate: -*gasp* “Why don’t we go next weekend?”

You: -*gasp* “I will absolutely go with you next weekend!”

Sure, you might both whip your phones out at the same time, letting your thumbs dance in their search for the best cultural experiences in Barcelona, luxurious spas in Dubai or the prettiest Airbnbs in Rome. But when you come to say ‘Tata’ and Monday rolls around, all your travel plans get pushed back, forgotten or you just get that ‘Meh, can’t be bothered’ feeling. It’s not intentional, but like so many things life gets in the way. Time rolls on, and before you know it you’re saying: “How the hell is it April? This year is going SO fast.”

And time does go fast. Maybe that’s the darker lining to having a well oiled weekly routine. 2016 is the year where I promised myself that routine would frequently be broken. And after visiting The Travel Hack and reading about their 12 trips challenge, I made it my goal to visit somewhere I haven’t been before every month.

My travel style is part fake local, part super tourist. I try to find the thin line between following a self-made itinerary to just letting things happen without feeling like I’ve missed out on something important. So an added part of my challenge is to chill the hell out a bit pre, and during,  each holiday. I have to put away the Von Trap whistle and learn to exist in a new place even if the coffee bar around the corner had a much better write up on Trip Advisor.

Three months in, and I’ve been to three places that I’ve never been before - one in England, one in Scotland and another in the Middle East. Where will I go in April? Who the hell knows, but I’m up for it. Think it’s a waste of hard earned cash? Below are just a few reasons of how traveling makes your life better:

• Get out of your comfort zone- My best travel moments have been when I’ve done something that has scared to kale out of me (Kale? Why not). My first solo excursion in a foreign country happened at a time where doing something by myself would usually break me out in a sweat. It was a point in my life where I really, really needed to start getting to know myself- hell, even LIKE myself.
  
  To this day I still highlight the very moment where I sat down with the Grand Canyon in front of me as the time when I started to change for the better. Even typing that sounds cliche- but thinking about the memory made me smile. I want that for everyone. By getting out of your comfort zone confidence will be built. Horizons will be expanded. Balls will be grown. I am yet to travel totally solo- I hope to do it in 2016. 
• Remind yourself that the world more than your corner of it- the world is fricking big, my friend. Something I am always reminded of when I travel. Honestly, EVERY TIME. We may meet people who we initially feel are so different to us, but with closer inspection (or conversation- hold the magnifying glass) you’re reminded that we ‘peoples’ aren’t actually so different after all. It’s a humbling experience. 
• Break the routine- Routines are great. They help us stay on top of things. They help us reach goals.  But they can also provide us with mirror days where one day is the same as the next. Not being able to decipher one Tuesday to the next, or just living for weekend is no way to be. Travelling forces us out of that routine- or at least make a new one. This slows us down and can remind us that we don’t need to have a constant to do list. 
  
• Education, Education, Education - Is there a better education that one you get while travelling? I love being on tours and listening to commented about history, cultures and art. You know, that moment you tilt your head to the side and start to drool with pleasure as your brain matter is massaged with delightful new information? Amazing. Eating different foods. Meeting new people. Changing your perspectives not just on the world but also yourself. It’s one thing to read about it in a book- it’s quite another to feel it under foot, breathe it in and see with your own eyes. 
• Experiences vs Things- This video explains the point beautifully.Final note: please do not let the idea of cost stop you from exploring the world. 

Now fly my pretties…fly!! 

KB X 

How to manage the post-holiday blues- looking after your body and wellbeing

Doing my best to be the productive blogger-turned traveller, I’m writing this from an over air-conditioned lounge in Kuala Lumpar on the now fourth hour of my wait for my connecting flight to London. It’s my return journey, and I’m being faced with the same thing I and every other holidayer has as their journey comes to an end...my life now absolutely sucks.

Dramatic? Maybe. But I can’t recall a time where I, or anyone I know, has returned from a break from work, college or school without feeling a dash of resentment. 

The truth is, post holiday blues will and do happen. I remember a classic burst into tears mega-jetlag moment when I came back from Oz a few years ago when having my first shower off the plane and I realised that my drab British bathroom had no windows whereas my Australian bathroom looked out onto never ending beautiful bushland. I resigned myself to misery and looked at everything around me with a particular dark shade of ‘I hate everything here’. Being me, and being around me, was not fun. 

What I recognize now is that it’s entirely up to me to how long I let my post holiday grump drag my mood down; I’m the one in control. Accepting that we may feel disheartened after a break is realistic, you can’t just put the mask on an solider through it. It’s important to feel it, but there are steps you can take to make your transition to RL that much more bearable. So here is how I’m planning on avoiding getting stuck in the mindset that anywhere but here is better...

Rest. 

You need not only to catch up on the sleep you lost in travel, but also the possible emotional smack you had if you left relatives behind or, my personal fav, going from summer to winter in a matter of 24hrs. Be kind to yourself. Eat the right food, get the right Z’s and give your body and mind time to re-adjust. If you get back into your work routine exhausted, your emotions will be all over the place and that black dog of post holiday resentment will be going into overdrive. 

Gratitude.

Dancing on the beach at Byron Bay during a full moon.
Absolute gratitude every time I look at this photo!

Dude, you just had a holiday. A holiday that brought you new adventure, experiences and reasons to remember why our world is pretty darn amazing. Whether you visited Byron Bay or Blackpool, you had the means, the time and the ability to change your life up for a time. So many others aren’t so fortunate. So when you’re grumbling about it being -3 instead of 30 take a moment to reflect on this.

Reflection.

Get your holiday photos out and take time to reminisce. Maybe your experiences brought about a few small changes in your life, or maybe you find that your trip changed you for the better in more ways than first or ever thought. Writing your thoughts down, or the changes you feel, is a great way to hold onto the positive on why you went away in the first place.  

See people. 

I mean particular people. The ones who you will always leave feeling the same thing: that was such a positive, good use of my time- man, I love that person! It’s oh so tempting to hide away at home once you return from a trip dripping about on Facebook and going green at other peoples adventures. Instead, throw out a few texts and get some plans in the diary to fill your time with people that make you feel good. 

Plan.

Okay so that holiday is over. What’s the next one? It doesn’t hurt to fantasize about your next destination. I’ve been known to inhabit Kayak and Expedia daily after my return just to shift my post holiday grump. If you do book something, it gives you another thing to look forward to or a countdown to watch! If traveling isn’t on your agenda until the pennies turn to pounds, then start planning activities that you know will bring a smile to your face. Maybe invite some unpredictability into your life. Try something you’ve never tried before, cook something you’ve always been meaning to cook catch up with people you’ve been meaning to see for yonks. The point is to find the wonder in your ordinary so that we’re not always relying on our annual holiday to find our moments of gratitude and happiness. 

Pre-plan. 

Make sure homes your home. It might be a bit late for this, but I know that if I come home to a house that’s messy with laundry piled up, carpets that need vacuuming, and a room that looked like it threw up the contents of my suitcase three times I’m not going to feel great. Coming home to a tidy, clean space will be better for your mind and body. Who needs that instant ‘to do’ list building in your mind as you walk through the door? 

Get outside. 

Get grounded by putting your feet to the earth as soon as possible. This will expose your body to the natural magnetic frequencies that are released by the earth and basically combat all the positive electrons in your body. Sound too wacky? Have a read of this. I read a lot of positive accounts of frequent flyers indulging in some outdoor bare foot yoga once they arrive at their final destination. Even if I decide I don’t want bare toes on some cold, crunchy grass I will make an effort to get outside as soon as possible. This way I can remind myself of how beautiful the UK actually is (Something I can forget when I’m back from Oz) but also let every cell in my body understand where I am.

x KB

Traveling Healthy Living Style: Top tips for flying the healthy way...

Ho, Ho, Ho, holiday season is nigh, and for a lot of us it means becoming reacquainted with a giant, aluminium flying can for either few hours or what feels like an eternal hell that is the long haul flight. 

I'm literally a week out from starting my own holiday journey, which I like to call the mother of all long hauls: the London to Sydney. It's a flight I’ve done on and off over twenty years (Yes, before they had personal TVs in front of your face. Oh, it was tough). Over that time I have come up with my own tried and tested formula which helps me emerge from said plane feeling less like a dribbling zombie desiring fast food and more like a human ready to holiday it out. So here are my top tips for flying the healthy way: 

Order Ahead: Make sure you contact your airline in advance to choose your meal. There is nothing more annoying that having to stick with the last chicken meal when you actually haven’t eaten meat in years. It should be old news that you can get a huge variety; vegan, veggie, raw. Take your pick and hope for the best. And on the subject of eating, eat light meals in the days leading up to your flight. That way you won’t feel like you’re attempting to digest a lead balloon while sitting on your backside for what can feel like an age. 

Pick your seat prior: This isn’t being control freaky, this is you picking the seat you know that you want. Personally, I go for the aisle seat because it means that I have the freedom to get up and move whenever I want. For others, they like the window seat for the view and the argument that there are less germs (Thanks for the extra paranoia, internet). Make sure you check up on your seat the day before you fly because you could get lucky and change to a seat which neighbours unoccupied ones so you can make your own insta-bed! Who needs First Class?

Be rested: One year I decided to stay up all night before my flight to Australia thinking I’d drop off the moment I found my plane seat. Incorrect. I was irritable, my mind was cloudy and I ended up getting sick a few days after I arrived. Try be as rested as possible before you fly because chances are the Z’s you get on your flight aren’t going to be capital. 

BYO: Food, that is. I'm talking, nuts, oat cakes, dried fruit, protein bars, more oat cakes. Do not depend on your airport to supply you with healthy food. In my experience, there isn’t a lot of choice and you end up panic buying crap that won't help you feel good. I'm still waiting to spot a coconut water past security, but a girl can dream.   

Water: Of course I had to get this in here. Remember that if you do bring a bottle of water with you to the airport it will be taken off you at security. So, it’s best to prepare to buy another once you’re through to duty free. If you can find some coconut water after security then go for it! When on the flight, I recommend getting friendly with the airline hostesses. And I don’t mean swapping life stories, I mean getting up to visit them in their galley to score more water. You may even make friends out of them and get some free perks. 

Beautify: Being locked in an air conditioned tin will play havoc on your skin. In fact, you may emerge looking like the lizard queen. To combat this, I will quite happily slap on an invisible overnight mask (I swear by Origins Drink up Intensive Mask) after take off as well as reapply hand cream and lip balm whenever I feel like it. It gives me something to do, and it really does make a difference to your skin when you’re back on land. So save up those free samples and prepare to self-soothe on your next flight. 

Move: It is so important to keep the blood flowing while you’re sitting down for long periods of time. Plan to take a walk every thirty minutes, stretch and get on with some chair yoga because, let's face it, what else is there to do?

Be Kind: To combat the flying anxieties, have a playlist at hand that you’ve designed specifically to relax to. Make sure you use it back home in the weeks before you fly so that you’re body learns that those tracks mean chill out time. Flying is also a perfect place to try some mindfulness meditation. No one will even know you’re getting your zen on while flying at 30,000 feet. While your at it, bring out some aromatherapy action. Thisworks have a great In Transit Muscle Therapy roll on, which I've used and loved for the past year when I've travelled. Its relaxing Marjoram, Black Pepper and Clove scent beats the classic 'Eau de plane'.

Get the gear: As well as the products listed above my in-flight survival kit also includes: a neck pillow, my own headphones, eye drops, ear plugs, eye mask, anti-DVT socks, a kindle loaded with every book I've ever had an interest in as well as an iPad loaded with my favourite TV shows. This bit is all about the comfort and are noticeably in the category of: 'Pretend I’m anywhere but here'. Something that I think is paramount for ones wellbeing when going the long haul. 

Lastly, enjoy it! Yes, it can be tough, but what a privilege to be able to travel the world. Take on the challenge and remember to always look for the unexpected and the awesome. 

X KB

Fighting colds, the flu and any other winter related snotfest the natural way.

With a heavy weekend behind me, I feel like my body is currently treading on that thin line between feeling a bit run down and moving onto full blown snotty sickness. Tis’ the season to stock up on tissues after all, right? Sometimes we get sick and just have to deal with it. Since I’ve been trying to live the healthy lifestyle and be more mindful of what I put in my body, I’ve looked to natural remedies instead of heading straight to the over the counter concoctions to combat the sniffles and help me recover faster. 

Whenever I got a cold when I was young I would shudder in my boots and well as blow my nose because it meant only one thing: Dad was going to make his all natural anti-cold brew. He swore it would be the only thing that would help me feel like a person again. It was part ginger, part lemon, part garlic all yucky, throat burning, hell. But, it worked. I’m not surprised considering that each of those ingredients is a killer for battling the common cold:

Picked this zesty baby up from the FARMacy

Ginger:  Prevents and treats colds, sore throats and inflammation of your mucus membranes. It’s claimed that ginger reduces pain and fever as well as a host of other goodies that you can find here. 

Garlic: A powerhouse natural antibiotic that is excellent for fighting colds, coughs and the flu as well as boosting your immunity plus so much more. And it scared vampires off...of course!

Lemon: I drink warm water with lemon every morning to kick-start my digestion (And lucky me, I’ve trained my partner to make it for me every morning). Lemons are famously high in vitamin C and great for detox so another natural anti-cold powerhouse. Their health benefit list is crazy amazing.

I guess that ‘Drink from Hell’ was my first lesson in the ‘power’ of real food. No chemicals needed, and for me I feel just that bit better knowing that. 

Other natural remedies I’ve used and will use again when snotty include:

Gargle that salt- Sore throats are a nightmare and one of my real pet peeves. I find that gargling with warm water which has about a teaspoon of dissolved salt in it a few times a day alleviates that horrid feeling like magic. According to the power of google, the salt cuts the mucus and reduces the inflammation, so lessoning that nasty knife swallowing feeling. Just don’t swallow the salt water- something I learnt from an 80s episode of Home and Away- if you do that you may upchuck and that isn’t gonna help that throat. 

Drink up- One word: Hydration. If you’re fighting illnesses you need to keep your fluids up. Whether it’s hot water with lemon and honey, herbal teas, fresh juice or just a simple, beautiful glass of water.  

Gentle Yoga- Being inactive makes me feel poo. But when I’m sick, I know I that trying to beat my squat record when I can’t breathe through either nostril isn’t going to make me feel better. Instead, I take it slow with some light Yoga. Turn to YouTubes Yoga with Adriene, who has a great sequence to do when you’re sick. After completing this short video, I actually felt a hell of a lot better than I would have done sinking into my couch, covered in tissues watching another Vampire Diaries episode. 

Get some rest, idiot. I confess, I’m a bit of a night owl who is sometimes, maybe all the time, checking her phone, playing words with friends or watching a YouTube video. This doesn’t make early nights happen. And we know we need rest when our body is fighting a nasty. So be strong, switched off whatever electronic equipment you’ve got around you and put yourself to bed to catch those Z’s. 

Prevention: Oops, too late? The old saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ is a saying for a reason. Prepare your body for the winter months and you might get lucky and not have to splurge on the kleenex. I am a big user of echinacea, which has been reported to prevent colds as much as it’s been reported not to do a thing. Maybe it’s a placebo affect, but for me when the winter comes in I start adding it to my juice just out of habit. Practical wise, I will be more cautious washing my hands around my colleagues who bring their colds to the office (Cheers) as well as avoid smooching them at the Christmas party (Obvy). And another obvious one: stick to eating foods which are real and not a processed sugar fest that's only going to feed a virus. 

Enough about my experiences, what natural remedies sort you out a treat when you've got the sniffles? 

Have a lovely week,

x KB