Friday 20 January 2012

It’s week two of The Artful Diner’s January detox and the past 24 hours have been a little crazy, to say the least. It began with a rather intense workout involving what my personal trainer Jezz, from The Third Space health and fitness club in Soho, likes to call the “hang snatch” and “overhead squat”…

7.30am

It’s drizzly and miserable outside, but even Mother Nature can’t turn me off my next personal training session with Jezz. I turn up ready to roll for our one-hour session and we begin by having a chat about nutrition. According to Jezz, having control over your meal choices is a huge factor when it comes to healthy eating habits. Particularly when dining out, Jezz says the key is to carefully consider how your meal has been prepared and what sides you order. For example, swap the potatoes for some green beans. Hmm, I keep this in mind for my dinner date later at Kensington Place.

8.30am

Our session wraps up and I can already feel it in my back and legs. Today we focused on two total body exercises – the “hang snatch” and “overhead squat”. Jezz tells me both are great for building athletic power, speed, flexibility and core strength. I’ll be an Olympian in no time… or at least beach-body ready for summer (so I hope!)

10.30am

Catch up for a brief meeting at St. Ali coffee bar and café on Clerkenwell Road with a few colleagues. I order a green tea – my new favourite detox drink to help cleanse the liver.

2.30pm

Grab a quick bite to eat at the office (it’s a freshly made salad from home that I whipped up this morning), grab my camera and head to the Royal Exchange in the heart of London’s Square Mile. I catch up with head chef Robin Tarver to photograph two of his suggested “pick-me-up” dishes for winter.

4pm

Head across the road to Coq d’Argent to take some more photos – this time they’re of head chef Mickael Weiss’s salmon rillette dish. Although the dish has some crème fraîche in it, I can’t resist sampling some. But it’s everything in moderation, right?

6.30pm

I have an early dinner date with a few girlfriends. Because we’re all on the healthy eating bandwagon this month we have a booking at the lovely Kensington Place in Notting Hill. With its gorgeous menu that sources all its fish from The Fish Shop you can’t go wrong here when it comes to healthy meal options. Tonight I opt for the smoked fish board (pictured above) with mackerel, salmon, anchovies, sprats, cod’s roe, pickles and soda bread. Mmm, delicious!

8pm

The girls and I head to the Gate Picturehouse in Notting Hill to see The Artist, which totally lives up to all the hype.

11pm

Back home, tired and ready for a great sleep. I begin considering what I’ll have for breakfast. The “healthy” egomaniac inside me wants to say something lush and gourmet, like smoked salmon with avocado on rye bread. Yum!