I have personally tried all of the products below – or given them to a trusted associate better qualified than myself – because I never want to recommend a dud.Â
I hope you find them suitably delicious or helpful, and that they make your life better in some way. That’s what wellbeing should be about!
Antioxidant-rich olive oils
Extra virgin olive oil is a key part of the Mediterranean diet, shown to contribute to a longer, healthier lifespan. Personally, I’d never dream of eating cottage cheese or tomatoes without it. Here are some of my favourites, all of which offer a high polyphenol content – believed to provide many of the health benefits.
Olive oil sommelier and Citizens of Soil founder Sarah Vachon has three tips for choosing a healthy EVOO:
- It must have a container that blocks out the light
- Check the harvest date to ensure it’s as recent as possible
- A bitter flavour, with a peppery hit at the end and plenty of plant aromas are the attributes of a healthy, high quality EVOO.
Pictured above, left to right:
High Phenolic Ultra extra virgin olive oil PGI Lakonia organic
£24/500ml (822mg/kg of polyphenols)
Popoli extra virgin olive oil
£18.90/500ml (649mg/kg polyphenols)
Frescobaldi Laudemio extra virgin olive oil
£25/250ml (734 mg/kg of polyphenols)
Also available from Selfridges, £26.49/250ml; Fortnum & Mason, £39.95/500ml
Citizens of Soil olive oil
£30/500ml pouch (779mg/kg polyphenols)
Sweet treat
Sometimes only a sugar hit will do. We can’t pretend too much of that is good for us, but combining it with 6g of protein, wholegrains and unsaturated fat does help. More importantly, these new cinnamon bun-flavoured, gooey nut butter flapjack delights are so delicious that I had to hide them from my younger child, as neither of us could get enough.
Pip & Nut Stuffed oat bars; 15 bars for £19.
Also available at Amazon, £19/15 bars and Waitrose, £3.40/3 bars
Sleepytime drinks
The unbearable heat has made me desperate to find something to help me sleep, which felt like a good time to try out some of the ‘functional wellness’ drinks around at the moment. While it doesn’t feel fair to judge whether they work at improving sleep in the middle of a heatwave, these were the ones I most enjoyed the flavour of…
Pictured above, left to right:
Magnesium Nightcap by MyOva, £36/30 servings
This brand specialises in hormonal health supplements, so if perimenopause or your menstrual cycle causes sleep issues, it could be a good one to try. There’s a regular cocktail of ingredients, including sour cherry extract, magnesium biglycinate (the right type for relaxation), lavender, camomile and reishi mushroom. It’s strongly flavoured with cocoa and works in hot or cold milk, which I particularly appreciated when my bedroom was 28 degrees at midnight.
Tom Parker Creamery Bedtime Milk, Ocado £1.75
It doesn’t sound like it should work as a concept – and I really don’t know how it manages it – but this fully shook me with how tasty it is. Lavender, valerian and camomile milk? How…?
Spacegoods Astro Dust chai, £29
A combination of ashwagandha, adaptogenic mushrooms and other sleep-inducing or improving ingredients like magnesium, tryptophan and camomile, this is a tasty, sweet chai-flavoured drink with no added sugar or artificial flavours. It’s third-party tested and the starter kit comes with a nifty little whizzer to make sure it’s perfectly mixed.
