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The Body Retreat

The Body Retreat

Women Only Weight Loss & Wellbeing Retreats

Year: 2017

Pink Peppercorn Mackerel Rillettes

I Love Fish Pate or Rillettes in all its forms… what is not to love about heavenly fish mixed with salty butter smoothed onto some yummy toast.  Delicious…but can be dangerous to your waistline.  Often this tasty treat is made with vast amounts of butter, the fish cooked in wine and even occasionally finished with brandy.

This version of Mackerel Rillettes is a lighter and healthy way to enjoy this tasty treat. The mix of smoked and fresh mackerel means it is so easy to prepare, there is less sugar and also gives the dish a lighter quality.  There is still the richness of butter but it has been lightened up by the addition of natural yoghurt and even a dollop of mayo. (Trust me on this one…it adds a certain piquancy)

You don’t have to use the pink peppercorns…but for a special event, I think it’s nice to have those little bursts of bright pink coming through.

Serves 4
  • 4 Smoked Mackerel Fillets
  • 2 Fresh Mackerel Fillets
  • 1 Lemon ( plus more for serving)
  • 50gm Unsalted Butter
  • 100gm Natural Yoghurt
  • 1 Tbsp Good Quality Mayonaise
  • 2 tsp Pink Peppercorns, roughly crushed
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Dill
  • Sea Salt

So first things first, you need to cook the fresh Mackerel fillets.  Place the fillets on some baking parchment with a squeeze of lemon, wrap into a parcel and cook in a warm oven for about 5 – 6 minutes.  You want the fish to just lose that subtle translucency but not cook through completely.  Leave to one side to cool in its parcel while you assemble the other ingredients.

When the mackerel fillets are cool enough to handle place all the ingredients (including the mackerel juices from the parchment parcel) in a bowl and mash up with a fork to break up the fish to create a smoothish texture. You don’t want it to be too smooth but be guided by your own palate and preferences here.

Taste and adjust seasoning with the juice of more lemon and the sea salt.

Serve with some crudities or slices of sourdough toast.

 

Healthy Chocolate Fondant Pots

 

Who doesn’t love a chocolate pot.

Just the right side of chewy but still a bit gooey these little pots are so easy to make and if you have made any of my recipes before now you probably have all the ingredients in your store cupboard already.

Portion size is everything here, these are quite intensely chocolatey pots, so a little goes a long way.  If you are serving at a dinner party and it’s your 20% then this recipe will make two generous portions.  Or you could make these up mid week but in which case then they make 4 little morsels…just think about the size of puddings on retreats…just a couple of mouthfuls.

If you don’t like cinnamon then skip it or add ground cardamom, the zest of an orange or get creative in your own way to suit your taste.

 

2 Generous Portions or 4 Midweek Treats
  • 4 tbsp Ground Almond
  • 2 tbsp Organic Cocoa Powder
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp Coconut Milk
  • 1 tsbp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbps Maple Syrup
  • Coconut oil, melted, to grease dishes

 

 

Preheat oven to 160°.

  1. Place all ingredients, except for coconut oil, in a bowl and whisk to combine until there are no lumps or clumps and the mixture is light and bubbly.
  2. Use the coconut oil to lightly grease 2 or four, small ovenproof bowls. Spoon mixture equally into each bowl.
  3. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  4. Serve immediately, with fresh berries and a dollop of natural Greek yoghurt or creme Fraiche.

 

Healthy Duck a l’Orange

Can there really be a healthy Duck a l’Orange?

French cooking is often associated with feasting.  Dishes are laden with butter, oil, wine, heavy creams…on the face if it doesn’t sound like a healthy way of eating.  But of course healthy eating is all about balance and moderation and so no whole foods should ever be permanently off the menu.

Eaten without the skin, duck breasts are as lean as white meat chicken or turkey. They also contain more iron per serving than most other poultry and even some cuts of beef.

If you want to avoid the extra fat, just remove the skin before serving. The fat is in the skin, not in the duck meat.

By the way, here’s something counterintuitive but true — duck fat has properties similar to olive oil, with a good combination of poly- and monounsaturated fats. Duck contains some saturated fat as well, so you don’t want to go duck fat wild.

There’s also the ease. Duck breasts are as easy to cook as steak and can be prepared in just 15 to 20 minutes.

This dish has been given a Conscious Cooking clean up so making it a great balance between indulgence and healthy eating. The result is a healthy Duck a l’Orange.

Serves 4
  • 4 duck breasts
  • 2 oranges (extra to garnish)
  • 50 ml red wine
  • 100 ml orange juice
  • 100 ml chicken stock
  • 4 star anise
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbps sherry vinegar
  • 1 tsp black pepper

 

 

METHOD

To make this healthy Duck a l’orange.
Using a zester or grater, zest the oranges.

Remove the remaining peel and pithe and break the orange into segments – set both the zest and the segment aside

Pat the skin of the duck breasts to ensure thy are dry, then score the skin with a very sharp knife and then season with pepper.

Thoroughly heat a large, heavy frying pan (one for which you have a lid). Place the duck breasts in the pan, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Drain off any residual fat that you have in the bottom of the pan at this point.  Turn and cook the other side for 3 minutes, then remove the duck from the pan and keep in a warm place.

Use the same pan to make the sauce

Remove most of the duck fat and then add the red wine, sherry orange juice, honey, stock, spices, orange segments and the orange peel to the pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring often.

Return the duck breasts to the pan and stir to coat them in the sauce. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 7 minutes.

To serve, carve the duck and serve it with the orange sauce, some boiled new potatoes and baby carrots or a big green salad.

 

Body Retreat Co-Founder Julie Brealy Is The Big 10 !!

Have you met our co-founder Julie Brealy?

The quieter, more reserved side of the Body Retreat team. Not one for self-promotion Julie is rarely seen on our social media pages but everyone who books a Body Retreat will speak with Julie before they join us.

You may not know this but Julie is one of the UK’s premier residential health retreat developers.  10 years ago almost to the very day Julie designed and then managed not one but Two of the UK’s first ever non-military residential weight loss camp in the South West

Julie back in the day

Knee injuries meant the end of Julie’s 20 year career in Womens Football having been told by an orthopaedic surgeon that she would never run again and if she did not have some major surgery even walking might deteriorate.

This was the catalyst for a career change.  Determined to avoid the surgery and still lead an active life Julie went to college and studied Sports Therapy, Sports Massgae and Personal Training with a view to her creating her own rehabilitation.  She even had her Dad make her some rehab equipment in his shed that would help her build strength in her legs and knees.

Julie has now run 6 marathons

It was this passion and dedication that lead Julie to work in the health fitness world.  Julie was approached by a local businessman seeing a gap in the market and asked her to design and run residential weight loss camps in the South West

Encouraged by her own journey back to health Julie was excited to be able to support others, especially those whom society has pushed to the margins, those whom GP’s have offered little or no help, those who are recovering from illness or injury and needed personalised support to achieve their goals.

Julie with one of her first weight loss groups

However, four years of increasing group size (at their highest the group size was 35!!!) and with negligible follow up or client care Julie’s dream of making a difference was being eroded by the push for profits.  Julie was spending less and less time with clients and her courses were being reduced to a “sheep dip” with everyone following the exact same programme.  It was soul destroying.

It was time for something different.

Julie and Juls

A chance meeting on holiday brought Julie & Juls together and the germ of an idea for the best ever women-only health retreat was born.
No big groups, no sheep dip approach, instead personalised service, a team of female instructors and trainers and therapist who are at the top of their field, breathtaking locations, luxury accommodation, mouthwatering food, spa facilities…the list went on and on and on.

Fast forward SIX whole years and Julie’s passion and dedication are fully rekindled.

Having furthered her studies in weight loss and obesity management, strength & conditioning coaching, Nordic walking instructor, running coach, Master Kettle Bell Instructor, and even now studying endocrinology and phlebotomy Julie is always pushing forward to understand more about how the body works and how in particularly women’s health can be understood and improved.

Julie Brealy

It’s very fitting that as she celebrates this milestone that Julie is back in the South West on our Weight Loss Retreat, enjoying doing what she does best.

One of the achievements that Julie is most proud of is that some of her very first weight loss camp clients from 2007 are still joining us today now at The Body Retreat.  Women who achieved the results that they wanted and who found in Julie a real partner to support them improve their health and wellbeing in so many ways.

Summer 2012

But what does this mean for you????

Well if you are looking to work with someone to help you reclaim control of your health and wellbeing, if you are tired of being told that it’s your fault that you are not achieving the results you want, if you are fed up of being stuck in a health rut and really cannot see a way forward then Julie Brealy is exactly the kind of woman you want to work with.

Come and see for yourself why Julie’s 10 years of expertise make her one of the best trainers/coaches around.

 

Signs That You Need A Holiday

Do You Need A Holiday?

We all know the feeling.

You have been working for months now, working longer, harder and trying to work smarter but are beginning to feel a little jaded.  You enjoy your work but you feel listless, tired and generally, dream of a lottery win that would allow you to jet off and have some time to relax. You feel you need a holiday but you seem stuck.

Getting away can be restorative and help counterbalance our busy work lives. In fact a recent survey by DWP said that in the current economic times that work levels and work stresses growing bigger that taking time off work should be seen as a necessity, not a luxury.

10 Signs That You Need A Holiday.

  1. You feel your temper rising.  You find your anger rising in small situations like a queue in the supermarket not moving or someone stepping in front of you as you board the train.
  2. You feel exhausted on Friday afternoon.  But just as tired on Monday morning.  Sleep just doesn’t seem to be helping to lift you feeling of general fatigue you feel.
  3. You get tearful at silly TV shows or adverts.
  4. Your to –do list leaves you cold.  You once were enthusiastic about the challenges in front of you …now they just feel like a never-ending uphill struggle.
  5. You cannot remember the last time you had fun.  When did you last really let your hair down and have a big old belly laugh?
  6. You can’t face the phone.  When you get home from work you feel all talked out, so you switch your personal mobile to silent.
  7. Comfort eating is your crutch.  You can’t seem to get through the day without some little treat
  8. Caffeine is your saviour. There is just no way you would make it through a whole day without caffeine.
  9. Your hair/nails/skin is a mess.  You have little time or interest for self-care, even shaving your legs is a chore.
  10. You have begun to notice health niggles. Over-working depresses your immune system, making it more likely you will catch a cold or the flu or develop aches and pains and struggle to sleep.

 

Getting away, even for a short period, can do wonders for both body and mind.
But sometimes just getting away isn’t enough.

Did you know that according to a recent survey by the Post Office that men also find it easier to leave it all behind than women, who take longer to relax once they do get away? Women find it harder to just switch off and do nothing…so lying by a pool with a book sounds like a great break but the reality is that after a day or two the stress levels start to rise again.

The answer could be to have an active healthy holiday, when you are able to get away from it all, have time to relax and recharge the batteries but not so much time that your head starts to whirl round that to do list on a loop.

This is a big part of what brings women to our Healthy Holidays in France, Spain and Wales each year.  It’s about having a mental and physical break.  It is the perfect balance of structure and freedom, fun and fitness, relaxation and time to refocus on what is important to you in the long term.

Still not convinced? Here are 5 great reasons why you need to break free from the daily grind and book yourself a Healthy Holiday.

5 Great Things that happen when on a Healthy Holiday.

  • You get some sleep.  You might feel tired, but a physical tiredness not mental, and this tiredness leads to natural restful sleep.
  • Your stress levels reduce. Stress is a true physiological response originally meant to help us and keep us safe. It releases hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine for the fight or flight response that was necessary for early man. However, in modern society, chronic stress can be destructive to our bodies. Getting away and leaving your everyday stresses gives you a break from the constant high levels of these hormones and a chance to repair some of the damage
  • You meet new people and have fun. Travel allows you to meet people from all over the world. Socialising is great therapy.  Spending a week with a small group of like-minded women, who have no expectations or demands for you is liberating.
  • You can get outdoors and be active.  This means you’ll be out in the fresh air, enjoying the outdoors and breathing more deeply, re-oxygenating your blood.  You’ll also gain benefits from the exposure to sunlight,  An added bonus is that most women leave us a dress size smaller at the end of their holiday.
  • You get your spark back. Travelling to new locations gives you an opportunity to spend quality time to focus on yourself, without the intrusion of day to day responsibility.

 

If you need a holiday then why not join us.

We still have availability on selected Healthy Holiday dates in France & Wales this summer.

If you fancy a holiday with a difference where you don’t feel you need another holiday to recover from your annual vacation then this is the holiday for you.  As experts in women’s health and with 6 years experience of residential retreating under our belt we promise that you will return home lighter, brighter and tighter with energy and enthusiasm restored.

Don’t delay, our next three retreats are sold out, so if you like the sound of this healthy holiday or just want to know more then Click Here and arrange a call back at a time that suits you.