Start baking
Baking is a great way to fill those rainy days this winter, spending time in the kitchen with friends and family or simply enjoying some time by yourself with the radio turned up can have a positive effect on your mood.
If you’re an amateur when it comes to cracking egg shells getting involved with a class is a fun way to learn the necessary skills. Bake with a Legend gives you the opportunity to have an unforgettable baking class with some of the nation’s most loved bakers from the hit TV series The Great British Bake Off including Glenn Cosby, a 2013 Contestant on the show.
With their events taking place in beautiful kitchens, the attention to detail of each event is carefully considered making for an easy and fun day of baking. With plenty of time to chat to the star bakers in between step-by-step demonstrations, learning to bake has never been so much fun.
Bake with a Legend cater for corporate, team building, birthday, stag and hen events whilst booking onto group classes is also an option, so there is really is no excuse to get the aprons out.
Take up gardening
Gardening hobby
Spending time outdoors can do wonderful things to both body and mind. Mark Sage, Head of Horticulture Buying at Wyevale Garden Centres explains why gardening is the perfect hobby for those in need of some time outdoors.
Gardening is a great form of aerobic exercise, digging and raking are excellent ways of strengthening muscles and increasing joint flexibility – and as anyone who spends their Sunday afternoons in the garden will tell you; it’s a workout! Extending beyond improving physical health, the benefits of gardening are endless.
Growing your own fruit and vegetables can alleviate stress and boost your sense of achievement and self-satisfaction. What could be more rewarding that enjoying your own home-grown tomatoes or making a soup jam packed with potatoes, carrots and beans from your garden? Whether you have a small garden, a patio or simply a windowsill, a variety of herbs, salads, fruits and vegetables can be grown almost anywhere.
Go to Cookery School
Cooking outdoors has become the new craze with sales of outdoor smokers and pizza ovens continuing to rise, and it’s no surprise – rather than spending all your time alone in the kitchen, your guests can now be part of the action and cooking becomes a communal event.
To help you discover your new love for outdoor cooking, Manna from Devon Cooking School teach you how to prepare, manage and use the flame to cook a whole range of dishes, from ‘flash in the pan’ squid, slow roasted joints, baked artisanal breads and delicious sweet treats.
With expert help on hand, you will learn to love the traditional ways of cooking with family and friends in a relaxing atmosphere. If cooking using an open fire or learning how to make fine artisan bread were on your bucket list this year, then the folks at Manna from Devon will make sure you walk away with some new skills under your belt.
Learn to be mindful
If you’ve always wanted to learn more about food produce and want to become for mindful about environmental impacts, then taking a lesson with The Mindful Kitchen is a great way to learn about the food you eat.
With the aim of ‘connecting you to nature with every bite’ Heather Thomas and Marian Reed run workshops in which they teach the basics of sustainably and how each and every one of us can do our part to look after the environment.
To be mindful is to be conscious of your surroundings. Radically changing your diet is no easy task but the Mindful Kitchen aim to show that combining mindfulness with cooking and communities is a sure way to connect you to nature.
The Mindful Kitchen offers a section of events and they are also available to hire for functions at home in both London and Copenhagen.
Take up yoga
It has been said many times before but taking up yoga can do wonders for those fitness goals. It can be quite daunting seeing pictures of individuals bent in all sorts of ways that defy gravity but learning the skills in a welcoming and understanding environment is a great way to ease yourself into the sport.
Venues such as Bhuti in Richmond, South West London, provide support for anyone looking to invest in their mental welfare. Meaning the wellness within, Bhuti is a wellbeing centre with a soul focus of making sure each individual that passes through the door lets go of any stress that is holding them back in life.
Offering a range of Yoga, Pilates and meditations classes throughout the day members can drop in at their leisure, spending quiet time in the tranquil members lounge or making the most of the spa treatments in which highly trained therapists will work miracles on your mind, body, complexion and soul. Debbie Frank, an astrologer who works with Bhuti seeing clients individually, will also teach you exercises to overcome stress and provides lessons on your individual astrology.
Not only can your build body strength but for those looking to improve their diet, Bhuti is also home to a wonderful vegan café. Certified by the Soil Association, the café is open for both members and non-members serves up delicious gluten and sugar-free dishes including millet porridge, raw brownies, healthy breakfasts, a selection of salads, soups, juices and daily lunch special.
About the Author / Gareth Hargreaves
Gareth looks after all editorial content on 50connect. He is the Swiss Army knife of content ideas and production.
