International Womens Day 2016

Today – International Womens Day 2016, I want to urge all my wonderful ladies to do themselves a favour and take a look at the wonderful women I had the pleasure of sharing last Friday with.  Inspiring doesn’t even cover it, I was blown away by their positivity, achievements and generosity.  Without sounding too much of a hippy chick - All these women resonated with me and the journey I’m on – I know some of you are with me, so encourage you, really, to take a look at the stories of these strong women too.

First I want to celebrate Lynne Franks – Power

She really is a serious power house and a massive inspiration.  Business women? PR guru? Womens rights campaigner? Writer? Speaker? Inspiration? Leader? Entrepreneur? Spiritual? Feminist? Teacher? Activist? Project manager? Advocate?  Spokeswoman? How many labels can I put on this woman and yet still not do her justice?  What struck me in spending the morning with Lynne Franks was how humble she actually was.  Not something you’d expect.  Maybe humble isn’t the right word, but like many of us that have achieved great success, she doesn’t revel in it or dwell on it, or sit back and pat herself on the back.  She uses each success, however big or small, as momentum to carry her to the next.  She looks to the future, to the next project, the upcoming, the leads, the opening of doors, the connections and the interactions that follow and inspire.

Lynne franks opened my eyes to power – in business and our own power to look after ourselves.  Finding – dare I say it – a wellbeing path that will suit you and not being afraid to follow it is one of the best things you can do to empower yourself, and your health, wellness and success.

Lynne Franks currently works on developing the idea of Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics – SEED. Check out the SEED Handbook – basically a guide for female entrepreneurs with a value based approach to creating and running sustainable business.  And if you want more check out GROW: The modern womans handbook and BLOOM: A womans journal for inspired living.

The SEED project also holds workshops and training via the Women Into Enterprise programme.  Working with local government agencies and charities – including Croydon Enterprise – and the Princes Trust.

If you do one thing today -  International Womens Day – DO THIS:

Join the SEED Network: http://seednetwork.co.uk/

And the community for women: http://www.seednetworkingforwomen.com/

Plus if you’re in the area http://www.croydonenterprise.org.uk/

Second lets celebrate Suzy Greaves – Inspiration

At the end of the day I had the pleasure and in fact the honour to spend time with and listen carefully to Suzy Greaves – the current editor of Psychologies magazine. Suzy Greaves is a writer, journalist, health coach, life coach – she is a guide, a teacher, a helper and an inspirational leader. Again, so many labels and I’m still finding it a struggle to describe this wonderfully inspirational lady. Suzy Greaves deals in stories.  Bear with me here as this may start to sound a little wishy washy, but in the end will – I promise – make perfect sense.

At no nonsense, we believe in your story – everyone has one and everyone is part of one, our own stories are constantly developing and we need to learn to steer then wisely.  We concentrate as you know on incorporating good health, nutrition, wellbeing and fitness into our and your lives.  We do this is a holistic manner, tailoring our no nonsense programs, consultations and advice to your story – your needs, wants, goals and beliefs.  But we need to understand your honest, true story and your reasons WHY before we start any kind of change or progression.  Suzy Greaves understands this too and I want to share some of her wise words, wisdom and questions today.

If you do one more thing today - International Womens Day – DO THIS:

Take some time and honestly answer these questions:

1)  What do I want to do with my life?

2)  Whats missing?

3)  What do I want more of?

4)  What do I want less of?

5)  When was/am I happiest?

6)  When was/am I most miserable?

7)  What do I want to create next?

They are tough questions for some people – but think on this too – a great one before you embark on any change in your health and wellbeing goals:

What old belief’s can you let go of in order to create a new story?

We all have our owns stories, often shaped by beliefs that have been instilled on us from others – your mother, your ex, your teacher, your boss for example – they may have instilled a limiting set of beliefs on you and these may be the ones that you have started to live.  Which ones can you rid yourself of?  Which ones are limiting? What new story do you want to create?

Finally – Suzy Greaves invites us to accept our story so far:

This is what happened

This is my truth

I will choose how my story ends

So ladies – today - ask yourself this:

How do you want your story to end?

Check out Suzy Greaves here:

http://www.suzygreaves.com/about/

And Phychologies magazine here:

https://www.psychologies.co.uk/

Third I want to celebrate Shaa Wasmund – Anchor

 

Holding it all together on Friday was Shaa Wasmund MBE.  If you don’t know her, make it your mission today to find out more about her.

Shaa Wasmund was the facilitator of the event on Friday.  She is the women that made it all happen and steered us all in the right direction.  Shaa Wasmund helped everyone believe in not being afraid to be AUTHENTIC in every aspect of their lives.  For example in business – branding has to reflect you, your business, your attitude, your product, your influence, your creativity, your balance, your project and your real deal. If you shy away from being yourself, if you apologise for being yourself, if you try to be anything but yourself, if you be what you think others want you to be then this is just not going to work.  And at no nonsense, we want to see your authenticity – we want to see, help and support YOU.

On international women’s day we urge you to think about the power you will have if you can find the courage and confidence in your own lives to be  authentically you.  It’s SO HARD.  We get it. But believe me you can do it, and it will make you stronger, you will find things easier and you will be happier. 

Again – before we get to wishy washy and move further away from our no nonsense approach – we just urge you to take a look at Shaa Wasmunds work here as we cannot do her justice by trying to explain the concept in a short blog.

The third thing we urge you to do today – International Womens Day – is check out Shaa Wasmund: http://www.shaa.com/

So finally we want to wish all the women a Happy International Womens Day.  I want to send love out to all my ladies – my tribe – my supporters – my friends – my family – my no nonsense girls – the girls – the network – the strength

Join the community here:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google+ / Pinterest / Blogger

 

To share your own stories, inspirations, goals and successes.

And for more info talk to me: info@nitakothari.com

 www.nitakothari.com

Thank You

Hi all, this week its not a real blog.  Its a thank you.  I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone that has got involved with no nonsense so far.  Our little tribe is growing fast and that makes me happy and grateful to you all, every day.  

Here's the thing - we only launched no nonsense nutrition last year and no nonsense nita was born out of that.  Some who know me may say the no nonsense approach has always been there, but its great I can use this in this way to benefit others!  Its a great feeling to know also that there are others like me, who at this age just want to look after themselves the best way possible.  This last week especially, I'm grateful to all of you who who have come to me personally and shared your recent successes and thanked me for advice and help.  This is what makes it all worthwhile and this is exactly why I do this.  I realise how important a thank you is so I'm paying it forward (or back?!) and appreciating you all today too!

So who are the no nonsense tribe and should you be with us? 

Well we're not athletes or pros, we are not dieters or body/food shamers, we don't have a lot of time, or a lot of money.  We are not too interested in health products that we cant pronounce or have to buy online rather than the supermarket, we don't do fads!  We do enjoy healthy eating, healthy living and are very much interested in nutrition.  We do enjoy a drink, a night out and (lots of) cake.  We understand BALANCE. We want to save time and money while preparing real food to make us feel good.  And yes, in other ways too, we strive to create an environment and outlook that makes and keep us and those around us happy. And we share how we do this all with a no nonsense, easy, practical approach.

Does this sound like you too?  Well get on it and come join us then:

Facebook

We have a small but perfectly formed Facebook tribe. Find, like and follow us for daily inspiration and to share with me (and the rest of the community) your own insights, motivators, successes and life hacks FACEBOOK.  

This is your starter and this is the community we love.  To benefit you guys we will be posting more events and groups to get involved in too so look out for those.  We love our little facebook community and hope to give as much as possible here.  In fact - any facebook feedback - let me know.  You can message me via the page itself or as some of you already do just drop an email to info@nitakothari.com with any suggestions for things you'd like us to cover in the future.

Twitter

Follow us  here TWITTER and tweet us @nononsensenita Our Twitter feed includes pics and links, so if you missed something elsewhere you should easily be able to catch up in a couple clicks via our Twitter page. We like to share other people info too, so its a one stop shop for all things no nonsense, health, fitness, wellbeing related - of course with a few foodie snaps thrown in!

Instagram

Instagram - wow.  We were late to the party on this one (due to the phone and our fear of technology).  After getting a 7 year old to sort it out for me though, the Instagram account is up, running and firing on all cylinders now and we love it!  We love your likes and comments there too.  Keep them coming and let us know what you think of our crap foodie photos here INSTAGRAM How about tagging your own creations with #nononsensenita or tag us in your pics so we can see what you're all up to.

So that's the top 3, but there's more.  Don't say we don't give you options!

Google+

You can also join in via GOOGLE+  If you have a gmail / googlemail account you will automatically be registered for Google+ (who knew?!) so have a look at our profile: google.com/+NitaKotharinutrition You can add us to circles, follow us, comment on any links, pics etc and to like its a simple +1.  A BIG MASSIVE THANKS (again) to the almost 400,000 people over there so far. Google + is a success and as such, we will be growing our profile, launching our own community and creating collections for you all in the near future. Get involved now for updates and benefits.  Its free of course and if you have a gmail account you're already pretty much there.

Pinterest

Then there is PINTEREST - Confession - I have no idea how this one works - BUT I am trying! If you like a pretty pic and you like a good article this is where we share them.  Anything I can find that I think would benefit you will be pinned over on our Pinterest account.  You can like our pins and you can follow the whole account or just the pages that are of interest.  Go head, take a look and see for yourself PINTEREST.

Blogger

YOU ARE HERE.  Thank you.  If you've found this and read this far in, then that is just great stuff.  Thank you so much for sticking with us.  For regular blog updates simply follow us.  Or via our website you can click the BLOG/NEWS header for more (and the archive of news and blog items).  You can also sign up to our newsletter so the blog will run straight to your inbox.  

Website

Last but by no means least the anchor is the website.  www.nitakothari.com - that's me. Via any page on the site you can sign up for the newsletter.  Handy. We promise no spam.  The blog (although we like to think its weekly) its sporadic as is the news we share.  When there is a topic that needs cover, we cover it.  When there is an issue close to my heart I share it.  If there is something you ask for, you get it.  We like to share the no nonsense facts behind headlines, tips and how tos on general wellbeing and every now and then there are recipes and factual articles on nutrition principles.  Other than that there is a full website to discover where our SERVICES are listed, FAQ's are answered and all events, walks, talks and projects are listed.  Go ahead and take a look.  You can email us there too: info@nitakothari.com

Again - THANK YOU.  You lot are wonderful - no nonsense.

www.nitakothari.com

info@nitakothari.com

 

For the LOVE of PANCAKES

For me this is definitely one of the better weeks of the year.  Tuesday was Pancake Day – whoop! And Sunday will be Valentines Day, so love is in the air - another whoop!  Two of my favourite ever celebrations!  Come on – who doesn’t LOVE PANCAKES?! 

Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Day!  

As you can probably tell if you follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram – I got a little bit excited about Pancake Day this year.  That was until I realised I wasn’t sure how to make pancakes and I’d actually never even made them before.  Seriously.  So, this year I took the plunge and made pancakes all by myself (well with a little help from my friends). 

You see I’ve been very lucky (here comes the love part) to have a best friend in my world, who among other remarkable qualities, is an incredible cook!  And her blueberry pancakes are quite possibly THE BEST.  I’m also lucky enough right now (more of the love part) to have a boy that has his own little pancake making recipe that he whips up as an occasional dessert treat, or Sunday special.  So these were my go to’s in my quest to create the perfect pancake for myself this year. Unfortunately I wasn’t gonna get to see either of their lovely faces or kitchens, pans, plates or  pancakes this Tuesday so I asked for their recipes instead.  And just because we’re talking valentines and love, I’m sharing the recipes with you – sharing the love and the pancakes:

RECIPE 1 - My best mates blueberry pancakes 

Ingredients:

200g self-raising flour

300ml buttermilk

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

150g blueberries

Butter (just a little bit to melt into the batter)

Oil (just a little bit for the pan)

Maple syrup (to dress)

Salt (pinch)

Method:

- Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl
- In another bowl mix the egg and milk then pour the wet into the dry ingredients
- Melt a little knob of butter and stir that into the mixture too
- Add half the blueberries to the batter and stir through gently
- Heat a pan with a little oil
- Take a large tablespoon of batter per pancake and drop into the hot pan (ensure you leave enough space between spoonful’s for the pancakes to spread, cook and flip if you are using a large pan, and make sure each spoonful has a few of the blueberries in too!)
- Cook for a couple of minutes until bubbles appear on the surface – then turn the pancakes with a fish slice and cook for another couple mins on the other side
- When they are golden, take them out the pan and onto a plate
- Use the remainder of the fresh blueberries and the maple syrup to dress the pancakes over the top / on the side / wherever you like!

So these come out like an American / Canadian pancake stack.  Nice fat, fluffy pancakes.  Sweet, delicious and addictive.

RECIPE 2 - The boyfriends cheeky batter

Ingredients:

2 free range eggs

100g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

150-200ml milk

Pinch of salt

Pinch of sugar

Butter (just a little bit for the pan)

Lemon juice and sugar (to dress)

Method:

- Add the flour, eggs, sugar and salt to a bowl and mix
- Then mix in the milk until the batter is all combined, but still runny (add more milk as you go if required to keep the batter nice and runny too)
- Heat up a frying pan and make sure it’s coated with the butter
- Take a ladle and spoon in the batter mix – swirl around in the pan until it reaches the sides ensuring it’s spread out nice and thin and even
- Cook for a minute or so, then FLIP (or use a fish slice to turn the pancake over)
- Cook on the other side in the until the whole thing is golden and slightly crisp
- Flip out onto a plate, add fresh lemon juice and white sugar and roll up!
 
So these come out more like a classic crepe style – thin, crispy pancakes, golden and delicious. 

There you have it, for the love of pancakes I thought I’d share these 2 fine recipes.  Both taste tested many a time and I can give them both the no nonsense seal of approval.

BUT WAIT – I made pancakes this year too!  And even though I had both these recipes and know I love both end products, I of course couldn’t stick to the simple instructions but made it up as I went along, developing my own simplified version of the batter and cooking - even though it may well have just been beginners luck – the best, simplest and tastiest pancakes ever! (even though I do say so myself!)  So just for you guys here is recipe 3 – no nonsense naked blueberry pancakes:

RECIPE 3 - no nonsense, naked blueberry pancake

Ingredients:

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup milk (we used full fat, blue top milk in these)

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

Pinch of sea salt

100g blueberries

Maple syrup (to dress)

Icing sugar (to dress)

Butter (1 knob for the mix, one for the pan)

Method:

- Add the flour, milk, egg, knob of butter, baking powder and salt to your blender
- Blend
- Add half the blueberries
- Don’t blend  
- Heat the butter in a tiny frying pan (we used a non-stick 12cm fried egg pan perfect pancake size!)
- Ladle the batter to fill the pan 
- Cook for a couple minutes until bubbles appear on the surface on the pancake 

 

-Take a fish slice and turn the pancake over to cook through the other side for approx. 2 mins as well 

- We did this 4 times, making 4 pancakes – we ate one during cooking, so stacked 3 of them!
 

 
Then we dressed them with the remaining blueberries, melted butter on top, a sprinkle of icing sugar and maple syrup.

Top tip then, don’t whisk the batter – put it in the blender – it took less than 30 seconds.  Seriously – minimum effort, maximum taste, no nonsense.  Chefs / cooks / bakers etc will probably all tell you different, but we are about minimum fuss and maximum results!

These are all quite indulgent recipes so because love is in the air, we are being kind and because we love our bodies but do want more pancakes, we’ve put together a list of a few adaptations to our creations you might also enjoy:

• How about substituting whole milk for unsweetened almond milk?  And then adding chopped almonds to dress the pancakes too?
• How about ditching the icing sugar and maple syrup and using natural or Greek yoghurt on top of the blueberry ones, with some added fresh fruits and/or flaked almonds too?
• How about adding grilled pineapple to the boyfriends batter pancakes with perhaps a tiny touch of brown sugar?
• Instead of, or as well as blueberries – plums and/or cherries work really well
• Try adding milled flaxseed as well as flour? You may need to blend with a little extra milk, but this creates a protein packed pancake
• The addition/substitution of chocolate oat milk makes fab and healthy chocolate pancakes!
• Banana goes well with all pancakes, especially the chocolate ones or alongside a few pomegranate seeds on the boyfriends batter style too!
• How about adding peanut butter as a filling filling?
• And of course, how about cinnamon? Our favourite flavouring – a great addition to any sweet pancake ever made!
• If you’re going savoury, try spinach and pancetta / cream cheese and chives / pesto and peppers for healthy, filling options.

We could go on and on as pancake recipes are really very versatile – you can put whatever you want on your pancakes, but we hope the suggestions and recipes here help you decide.  How about making them for yourself or a loved one this Sunday as a Valentines day treat…?  Simple and cheap – but they will look and taste so impressive who’s to know!?!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY  

For more no nonsense tips and recipes please sign up to the newsletter on www.nitakothari.com

You can also like, follow and share your pancake attempts too via Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google+ / Pinterest

www.nitakothari.com

 **Please remember this is advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**