Kurhotel Skodsborg, Denmark’s original spa hotel declares 2024 The Year of the Sauna.
Drawing on its 125 years of traditional Nordic health and wellness - and the current buzz around saunas - Kurhotel Skodsborg launches a new Ultimate Stay package to celebrate its signature experience, SaunaGus. SaunaGus is a sauna experience like no other. This Danish tradition is best described as an aromatherapy sauna set to music in which a Gusmester (mist master) uses a swirling towel to infuse the air with pure essential oils giving a mild scent that - combined with the heat - enhances relaxation. Every session ends with a dip in The Sound (the strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border) to juxtapose the extreme heat, awaken the senses and push guests’ physical and mental limits. What sets SaunaGus apart from other sauna experiences is the Gusmester… Bo Berlin, a seasoned Kurhotel Skodsborg Gusmester with six years’ experience, brings a wealth of aromatherapy knowledge to SaunaGus. Bo uses over 60 essential oils which he expertly blends to unlock healing and calming benefits. Bo recognizes SaunaGus as more than just a standard sauna experience, citing its ability to: aid digestion, the heat enhances blood flow to the digestive organs and modulates the gut microbiome*, improve skin health - stabilise the epidermal barrier function and increase hydration** - and boost the immune system - increase white blood cell counts***. Tania Bill Petersen, another of Kurhotel Skodsborg’s Gusmesters, channels her background in dance when leading a SaunaGus session. With the help of music and light, she creates a unique, almost theatrical experience. With graceful movements of her towel and fan, Tania distributes heat and carefully selected oils throughout the sauna to either enhance relaxation and promote mindfulness or energise and uplift. Kurhotel Skodsborg’s one-night Ultimate Stay package is built on the early 19th century philosophies of Founder, Dr Carl Ottosen and his belief that the fundamental principles for a healthy life boil down to: light, air, water, nutrition, exercise and rest. The package includes:
* Brain-gut peptides in sauna-induced hyperthermia; T G Jenssen, H H Haukland, P G Burhol; Acta Physiologica; 1988 ** Effect of regular sauna on epidermal barrier function and stratum corneum water-holding capacity in vivo in humans: a controlled study; D Kowatzki, C Macholdt, K Krull, D Schmidt, T Deufel, P Elsner, J W Fluhr; Dermatology; 2008 ***Effect of a Single Finnish Sauna Session on White Blood Cell Profile and Cortisol Levels in Athletes and Non-Athletes; Wanda Pilch, Ilona Pokora, Zbigniew Szyguła, Tomasz Pałka, Paweł Pilch, Tomasz Cisoń ; The journal of Human Kinetics 2013
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Forget hours spent in the kitchen following complex instructions. In Part-Time Baker, each recipe is clearly labelled with 'hands-on time' and 'total time' to make clear how much effort you need to put in. Many bakes can be prepped in just 10 minutes and there are plenty of cheats and tips for impressive results. No need for loads of obscure baking equipment and all recipes can be scaled up sharing or down. Delicious, speedy baking recipes for every occasion – morning, noon and late-night snack, including: • Cheat's Almond Croissants • 3-Ingredient Chocolate Twists • Speedy Sesame Bagels • Spiced Ginger Traybake • Vegan No-Bake Chocolate and Pistachio Bars • Spring Green, Pesto and Courgette Flower Tart • Mini Pina Colada Loaf Cakes • Sugar Cinnamon Popovers with Warm Honey • Espresso Martini Cake • Molten Caramel Brownie Skillet Part-time Baker is all about reducing hours you spend in the kitchen, giving you more time to enjoy the tasty results. Whether new to baking or managing a busy schedule, you'll find realistic recipes that look and taste fantastic. Florence Stanton started her own online baking social media account @Tasting.Thyme in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2021. Every day she celebrates self-love through good food and good vibes with zero mention of calories. It showcases easy and delicious bakes, sweet and savoury, that show you don't need fancy training, huge kitchen or every tool to create wonderful food. Photography by Majaja Smend Munch Lunch & Dinner is just the book to help you gain more confidence in the kitchen. This new cook book is packed with easy-to-follow, delicious recipes. Discover how to turn low-cost. easy to find ingredients into tasty, nutritious dishes. In this world of celebrity chefs, social media and aspirational cooking, it's easy to be overwhelmed by conflicting information. One minute we are told to cook seasonably and shop locally, the next to hunt down unusual ingredients. Munch Lunch & Dinner cuts through all this noise. Every recipe uses ingredients found in your store cupboard or local supermarket. No need for specialist equipment either, most use just one saucepan. There are clear guides on how to shop and how to substitute expensive ingredients without sacrificing taste. Munch CIC is passionate about fighting health inequalities, empowering communities and helping individuals make healthy changes and learn about sustainable nutrition. The book was born out of Munch Community Cooking workshops and courses which they run to help people develop skills and confidence needed to cook from scratch. Munch Lunch and Dinner was designed as a take home tool for the low income and disadvantaged groups they regularly work with. However, they realised many more people would benefit from their back-to-basics approach to home cooking and meal planning. This cookbook is more than just recipes. It guides you through stocking cupboards with versatile ingredients and batch cooking meals for future use. There are tips for reducing waste and making food go further by using leftovers. Throughout the book there is nutritional information and advice about eating sustainably including ways to introduce more plants into your diet. Mary Louise Needham-Carlton, is a Director of Munch CIC and author of Munch Lunch & Dinner. On releasing the cookbook she said: “It’s exciting to potentially be able to help more people access healthy food and learn about sustainable nutrition. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated! We hope this book will be a useful guide for new cooks as well as a go-to for experienced cooks, for new ideas for quick mid-week meals. All profits help individuals and children at the Cooking Clubs learn valuable life skills, which is what we love more than anything here at Munch!” Buy the book from the Munch website, munchcic.co.uk or online via Amazon. Price £21.99 hardback and £14.99 paperback. Profit from every two books sold buys one space for someone to attend the Munch community cooking groups. These groups help children and individuals build a healthier relationship with food. Production of the book was supported by Winchester City Council. image received from Munch CIC via TravMedia I have not received a copy of this book, just sharing press news Made from the finest responsibly-sourced Madagascan cocoa and crafted by expert Belgian chocolatiers, these dark chocolate chips from Nibble Simply are sweetened with coconut sugar, which the experts say, is better for you! Grown in mineral-rich soil, Madagascan cocoa is one of the very best and one of the most exclusive, cocoas in the world, accounting for less than 1% of chocolate globally. Another thing, cocoa is full of flavonoids with antioxidant qualities which help protect skin against damage from UV rays and pollution that speeds up skin ageing. Goodies from the Nibble Group are fabulously different! Their lower-in- sugar, vegan snacks and bites are made with the best all-natural ingredients, nothing at all nasty lurks within! And they contain a fraction of the sugar of other snack bars. The two delicious ranges are: NIBBLE SIMPLY: Made with a handful of the finest ingredients, the little keto-friendly bites are super healthy with 55%+ fewer carbs, 60%+ less sugar and 160%+ more protein than their cookie counterparts. NIBBLE PROTEIN: Protein-packed bites are made with antioxidant dried plum purée. No sugar-laden dates or high GI sweeteners here. I was sent a pack of Nibble's yummy Madagascan chocolate chips to try and yes, they are fabulously rich and tasty! Definitely moreish!
All NIBBLE natural bites are vegan, soy and gluten free. The clever people there have avoided the most commonly used proteins: whey (dairy-based) and soy. Instead they opted for pea protein which contains no dairy or soy (common allergens) and it is sustainable - so, goodie! no cows required! It is also alkaline forming to help keep your body in balance and since it is a slow digesting protein, studies show it keeps you fuller for longer than whey protein. What's not to like? Nibble also contains other healthy ingredients including gluten-free oats, toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds and tasty dried plum purée. Now, dried plums, prunes by another name, are in fact, the original superfood. Well-known for being high in fibre, they're also tops for antioxidant power and contain over 40% less sugar than dates. As well as that, nutrient-rich dried plums are a good source of iron, potassium, boron - necessary for strong bones & muscles, magnesium and vitamins K and A. Wow! They are deliciously low GI too. No wonder dried plum purée is the base of the Nibble Protein range. Kew Gardens orchid festival is back and it's better than ever! Inspired by Cameroon's beauty and bio-diversity, this colourful celebration is sure to brighten up the winter months and it is the first time that this festival, the 27th! has been inspired by an African nation. Cameroon is home to an incredible number of orchid species, some are so rare that their locations are kept secret. From lush rainforests and volcanic mountains to deserts, Cameroon's huge variety of plants and wildlife are supported by varied habitats, reflected across the ten climatic zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew. A lot of work went into the displays for the Orchid festival, they took three weeks to create, each one assembled by a team of around 100 volunteers and 12 horticultural staff. The festival runs from 4 February to 5 March, 2023 and also features an array of sculptured animals inspired by the wildlife of Cameroon. There's a larger then life lion, giraffes, hippos and gorillas. When purchasing a ticket to Kew Gardens, entry to Orchids in included. For best value tickets, book in advance at kew.org. Tickets for Orchids After Hours should be booked in advance.
Photos (c) Kew Gardens & Gilly Pickup Everyone knows how important a good night's sleep is but unfortunately for many, it isn’t as simple as just getting into bed and nodding off. Sleep is just as crucial for our health and wellbeing as oxygen and water, but the trials and tribulations of modern life can make it almost impossible for most of us to achieve a full night of quality sleep. Whether it’s worrying about the cost-of-living crisis or stressing about work, you’re not alone. According to The Sleep Charity, 40% of people in the UK suffer with sleep issues and don’t get the recommended 7-9 hours per night. Never fear. Help is at hand from Claire Logan of boutique bath, body and home fragrance brand, ARRAN Sense of Scotland. Here are her top tips on giving your bedtime routine a major makeover to help calm, relax and prepare for that all-important sleep, as well as sleep-busting products to help improve the quality of your ZZZs. Keep to a Sleep Routine Routine is a great place to start when you’re trying to improve your sleep. Decide when you want to wake up and work back from there. You should aim for between 7-9 hours a night to boost your circadian rhythm and get a properly restorative sleep. Try to get up at the same time every day if possible, including weekends. Being consistent with your sleep schedule helps reinforce your body’s sleep / wake cycle. If you don’t fall asleep in around 20 minutes or so, get up and do something to relax yourself rather than getting frustrated, which can be counter-productive. Go back to bed when you feel ready for sleep but try to keep to your scheduled wake-up time. It’s also important to think about your activities before bed and incorporate these into your sleep routine. Certain activities like high impact exercise, watching TV or learning a new skill, can be mental stimulants, not only keeping you awake for longer but also reducing your sleep quality. Swapping them for something more therapeutic, for instance, restorative yoga, breathing exercises, meditation or reading, sends a signal to the brain that it’s time to wind down and switch off. Avoid going to bed when hungry or too full as this can affect the quality of your sleep. Limit alcohol and caffeine as the stimulation they provide can take hours to wear off. Wash the Day Away Life can be busy so it’s important to destress and relax at the end of every day to improve your sleep. Start your evening routine by washing the day away with a bath or shower – Claire’s advice is to try to make time for a relaxing bath before bed at least once a week. Hot baths may reduce blood pressure and it’s also thought that a sweat from a hot bath can burn as many calories as taking a walk, a brilliant added bonus. Adding the right products will enhance your bath time experience, so try a detoxifying face mask and heavenly scented bath salts. Soak in the bath for at least 20 minutes to allow the healing and relaxing properties to take effect. Transform ordinary bathing into a ritual bath, a ceremony to clear toxic energy and let go of anything that isn’t serving you. Use your bath to help set new intentions. Focus on what’s troubling you and add fragrances that will help deal with that. Lavender and Chamomile is great for relaxing while citrus aromas lift spirits and rejuvenate. You can also try writing your troubles down and burning them with a candle, a physical symbol of letting go, before getting into the bath to cleanse and rejuvenate. Create a Bedroom Sanctuary One of the absolute best things you can do to reduce stress and promote good sleep is create a space dedicated to relaxation. Making your bedroom strictly a sleep sanctuary is a great way to sleep train your brain. If you don’t have the time or budget for a full refresh, here are some quick, affordable update ideas. Start by clearing clutter. Less is definitely more when creating a bedroom sanctuary. It’s much easier to fully relax in a space without clutter; a minimalist style is key for engendering a serene and calm environment without over-stimulating the brain. Banish light-emitting electronic devices that are proven to be disruptive to sleep. Add clean crisp bed linens in classic white for a luxury hotel feel. Channel tranquil vibes when thinking about bathroom décor, neutrals, pale blues and serene greens are known to promote a soothing atmosphere, whilst nature-inspired colours such as earthy browns, soft greys and sage greens give off an organic and calming effect. One of the easiest things to do is open the window daily to let in some fresh air. You can also try adding air purifying plants to help focus your mind. Easy to care for plants such as succulents are great for adding a touch of colour as well as being decorative and helping create a healthy environment. Introduce scented candles; a de-stress double whammy of calming fragrance and soft, ambient lighting. Worried about naked flames? Diffusers have the same effect and you can add in mood lighting with fairy lights or a dimmer lamp. You can also try is pillow or linen spray made from organic or natural ingredients. Spritz on bedding, soft furnishings or towels when required. A lavender pillow spray or pulse point oil can help reduce sleep anxiety and improve sleep quality. Some Sleep Essentials Ideas to Try
Sleep Essentials from ARRAN Sense of Scotland Lavender has long since been used to aid sleep, whilst spearmint is said to improve memory and balance hormones. Escape to your own island spa with ARRAN’s Glen Iorsa range. It's the perfect fragrance for soothing anxiety and promoting tranquillity. ARRAN’s Apothecary collection is inspired by the ancient crafts of the alchemist, tried and trusted remedies which act as an antidote to modern living. Try the Apothecary Seaweed & Sage range created with clary sage to promote restful sleep by helping to reduce the effects of stress. ARRAN Sense of Scotland creates bath, body and home fragrance collections inspired by and proudly made on the Isle of Arran. For three decades the family-run company has created evocative scents from its Home Farm factory, an old dairy farm near historic Brodick Castle. From the freshwater spring to a pinch of seasoned gorse, there’s a bit of Arran in every single product. images: all courtesy of ARRAN Sense of Scotland |
AuthorI'm Gilly, award winning journalist /author of 13 books. Credits incl: Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, CNN, BBC mags, The Scotsman, Daily Express, Country & Town House, Metro, Countryfile, Tatler, trade & consumer cruise titles etc. Lifestyle Categories
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