From sausages and ham to tortilla chips and tomato sauce, the sweet stuff is everywhere. How can we break our bond with sugar and get healthier in the long term?

Sugar isn’t good for you.

OK, let’s develop that a little further. It is well documented that regulating our sugar intake is the key to tackling obesity. But while chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies, for example, come with an obvious warning sign of their indulgent contents, there is less awareness of just how much added sugar there is in our everyday diet.

A year of no sugar

Here we can turn to the inspiring story of Eve Schaub. Back in 2011 Eve and family went sugar free for a year.

Together they battled the ‘secret world of sugar’. That is, the varieties of everyday products that, unbeknown to us, contain added sugar. Like bread, bacon, crackers or chopped tin vegetables. The family recorded better digestion, higher energy levels and better overall wellbeing among the direct health benefits they felt.

We can all take a leaf out of Eve’s book (literally, she’s written a book: Year of No Sugar). Here are just some of the tips I took away:

• Cut out all refined sugars from your diet – including white, brown and cane sugar, fructose, molasses and honey. Palettes change with time, and you’re likely to need a sugar hit less and less.
• Check the label – look for added sugar among the ingredients (nutritional information also includes naturally occurring sugars).
• Somewhat worryingly, sugar can have many different names; don’t just look for the magic word ‘sugar’.
• In restaurants, ask for a breakdown of what goes into menu items before ordering.
• Get creative – make up your own sugar-free bread, cakes, and other recipes.

You don’t have to do it all on your own – there are other inspirational stories of going sugar free, as well as great tips and sugar-free recipes online. Also check out sites and articles like:

• I Quit Sugar
• The Healthy Apple
• The Telegraph’s ‘How to kick the sugar habit’
• Davina McCall’s ‘How to be sugar free’

A sugar-free challenge accepted

Encouraged by the Schaubs, I’ve now been (mostly) sugar free for the past four weeks. After the first couple of weeks, I became aware that my energy levels were holding up throughout the day in a way they hadn’t previously. I didn’t get the munchies – either for savoury or sweet food – between meals. Yes, I lost a bit of weight, too.

And if I can go sugar free, then so can you.

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Some of our cherished Neal’s Yard Holidays devotees recently told us they’d like to browse our new wellbeing holidays without too much fuss.

And why not? If you’ve been on a few of our retreats already, or if you’re simply pushed for time and want to know the latest destinations on offer, being able to see our new wellbeing holidays at a glance sounds like a pretty good idea. Of course, we couldn’t help but listen.

So, here are our latest worldwide retreats. Could one of these new wellbeing holidays be your next getaway?

From sunny Croatia to the jungle in Costa Rica, and from sub-tropical gardens in south Spain to a peaceful country retreat in Surrey – what appeals to you?

Costa Rica

Yoga and Soul Wellness Retreat near Montezuma
Stay at a peaceful jungle lodge set in beautiful flowering gardens within a private reserve next to Cabo Blanco National Park on the pacific coast with its wonderful beaches. This oasis has a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and hammocks to relax in.
Selected dates between 1 March and 6 December
From £890 per person for 6 nights. Single rooms available

Spain

Yoga Retreats in Almeria
“It’s location to the airport, beaches and walking distance to the local village all add to the sense of ease and let go.” Week-long yoga retreats for all levels organised by Huzur Vadisi.
Year round – in Almeria in South Spain
From £775 pp pwk in twin/double shared room. Single rooms available

Sri Lanka

Seaside Ayurveda Yoga retreat, Bentota
Newly built, nestled between the river and the Indian ocean, with lush green surrounds. Stay in individual cabanas, swim in the sea or pool. Personalised Ayurveda treatments, yoga, river cruises and Sri Lankan hospitality at its best.
Open year round – near Bentota at Sri Lanka’s west coast, 100km from airport.
From EUR1190, approx £1067 pp pwk in single room.

England, UK

Wellbeing Retreats in Surrey
Come for Yoga, mindfulness and meditation, Tai Chi and/or creative arts, weekends or midweek. Their massage therapist is offering a variety of treatments onsite. Find rest and renewal at Claridge House.
Year round – near Lingfield in Surrey
From £189pp for 2 nights, or £365 for 4 nights hb single ensuite room

Detox Yoga Weekends in the Cotswolds
Rest and rejuvenate on this idyllic English countryside retreat. Learn to prepare both raw and cooked food. Rina Golan teaches powerful yoga and breathing techniques, and offers nutritional and lifestyle advice to rediscover your wellbeing.
Selected dates throughout the year at idyllic country house near Stratford-upon-Avon.
From £295pp for 2-night weekend, shared room. Single rooms available

Remember – these are just some of our new wellbeing holidays. For more activities, retreat destinations, offers and old favourites, take a look at our website.

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The weather outside is frightful – cheap retreats would be delightful…

Sorry, we just couldn’t help ourselves – and yes, winter has been incredibly mild this year, so, really, that first bit just doesn’t hold.

But maybe this does: the wallet feeling not a little light after Crimbo. Don’t let that stop you. At Neal’s Yard Holidays we’ve got wellbeing holidays to suit everyone, even those of us looking to escape on a shoestring in the new year. Plan ahead to save more with early bird discounts, and don’t miss out due to limited spaces available.

And you don’t have to skimp on choices. From walking on Cotswolds to glorious relaxation in the Canary islands, there’s plenty here to pick from, and even more on our website. Plus see exclusive offers to Neal’s Yard Holidays’ guests.

Getting there doesn’t have to cost the earth either – use our tips for cheap train and plane travel to keep those cheap retreats cheap.

Winter cleanse in the Cotswolds
Rediscover your wellbeing on this idyllic countryside retreat. Learn to prepare raw and cooked, nutrient-rich living organic food and fruit juices. Yoga and nutritional advice is provided by Rina Golan. Mention us to receive two treatments for the price of one, for only £65.
13–15 January 2017, from £295pp twin share room; or £395 single room

West Sussex weekend
With over 20 holistic treatments, yoga, Pilates, detox cuisine and a heated pool, Chillout Retreats’ getaway in Arundel offers luxury that’s value for money. Mention Neal’s Yard Holidays to receive a free 30-minute holistic treatment worth £30.
24-26 February, from £325pp sharing twin room, or from £450 single

Creative holidays with yoga in SW France
La Roane is set in a peaceful 20-acre estate with forest and fields, in rural France, near Toulouse. Enjoy yoga, music, dance or cookery, plus pool and sauna. Delicious vegetarian cuisine by award-winning chef.
23 May – 23 September, from 590pp pwk twin share; add £50 for single room

Wellbeing retreats in sunny Spain
Cortijo Romero is a peaceful haven where you can truly relax and be yourself. Choose walking, meditation, singing or ‘transforming your life’ week, with yoga or tai chi. £60 off for booking 6 months ahead, £30 off for 3 months ahead.
Year round, from £590pp pwk sharing room; single rooms available

Warmth and sunshine in the Canary Island
Stay at restored Canarian finca, nestled amongst dormant volcanoes and with stunning ocean views. Azulfit’s Surya retreats offer a rejuvenating mix of world class yoga, meditation, Pilates and nourishing therapies.
Year round, from €665pp pwk sharing room

For more cheap retreats and other wellbeing holidays, check out our website. Happy 2017!

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Desperate for a break but can’t hold out for the winter holidays?

You don’t need to. Treat yourself to a last-minute getaway and get some much-needed time off by picking one of our November retreats – from relaxing weekends in the UK, to sunny shores abroad.

Choose between weekend, week-long, and even longer holidays, at home and abroad. And if you want to know about upcoming escapes beyond our November retreats, let us update you with our monthly e-newsletter – it takes just a few clicks to subscribe.

Relax in Somerset, UK
At the Manor House near Glastonbury you’ll get the chance to rejuvenate with yoga, meditation and pure relaxation at the hands of AdventureYogi. Got better plans for November? Didn’t think so.
11-13 November, from £295 pp, sharing twin room

3 nights of five-star luxury in Sussex, UK
Head to Arundel in West Sussex for a Chillout Retreat, a special winter-warmer weekend, with Pilates, yoga, meditation, walking, and festive nutrition and a raw-food workshop.
25–27 November, from £350pp, sharing twin room

Weekend away in rural Dorset, UK
As the darkness of November starts to engulf us, Mellulah Holistic Retreats offer healing weekends, yoga, country walks, wonderful vegetarian cuisine, heated pool, sauna, and much, much more.
11–14 November, from £399 shared twin room; single rooms available

Luxury Costa Blanca retreat
This all-inclusive, 6-night luxury fitness bootcamp for women only. Come a life changing natural detox and weight loss, for fitness and wellness at this award-winning retreat and spa, courtesy of the Ultimate Retreat Company.
9–15 November, from £898 for 6 nights in a single room

Swim with wild dolphins in the Bahamas…
… make new friends and give yourself the gift of an unforgettable experience with the help of WildQuest. But hurry – one of our most exotic November retreats is nearly full, so book asap.
6–12 November, from $1,995 pp for 6 nights, sharing double room

Save on Ayurveda in Sri Lanka
Like getting more for your money? Try out the West Coast Ayurveda Resort in November, and get 10% off full-board accommodation. And a re-energising experience worthy of our list of November retreats, of course. Book early, availability is already tight at this popular resort.
8–30 November, normal price from £793 pp per week

This rounds off our list of November retreats that will boost your wellbeing and give you the energy to face the festive season. As always, there’s loads more holiday-browsing to be had on the Neal’s Yard Holidays website.

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Heading off to escape ‘summer’ in the UK? I’m not jealous, I promise. I’m not. In fact – here’s a parting gift of my own handy list of holiday essentials to take when I go away, designed for swift and compact packing that beats budget-airline red tape.

(But really, I’m not jealous at all.)

My top 10 holiday essentials

1. Ear plugs. Probably not what you’d expect at the top of anyone’s list of holiday essentials. But it’s not just light sleepers that might find this an essential item both on the bedside table and in the bric-a-brac pouch of the rucksack. Earplugs come in handy when your underway too, for example to muffle the sound of cranky children. Or stag parties. I use regular soft ear plugs, but air-pressure-regulating earplugs could be an alternative for the plane, potentially helping to keep your ears happy as the altitude changes.

2. Flip-flops. Even if towels are provided at my destination, comfy indoor footwear often isn’t. I’ve trodden on cold floors, wet floors, and less regularly cleaned floors; all situations where flip-flops help. On the flip (ha!) side, they also come in handy in a heatwave.

3. Hot-water bottle. Talking about things warm – for those with perpetually cold hands or feet, a mini hot-water bottle can save the day on many an unheated bus/train/plane trip, and in cold hotel bedrooms. Boiling water is readily available in cafes if you’re on the go, and you can often get pretty hot water from airport/railway station bathroom taps.

4. Small shoulder-bag, for days when you don’t need to lug your rucksack around. Also handy for stashing documents, passports, keys and other valuables, and keeping them close on the plane/train/coach/boat.

5. Tablet with small keyboard. I’m by no means welded to my electronic entourage, but the trade-off of flexible working hours is that I sometimes need to check in while I’m away. After years of lugging around a ginormous 15-inch brick of a laptop, I invested in a small Bluetooth keyboard build to fit to my tablet, and haven’t looked back.

6. Think discount: Student ID any other cards that might potentially get you a discount are easy enough to stash away in your wallet, so take them.

Health cover could save you cash on a holiday abroad © Wolfilser

7. Think insurance: Definitely a must in any list of holiday essentials: I never go away without good cover. Citizen of the European Economic Area or Switzerland, and going on a European holiday? The free EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is there for the taking, so don’t forget to apply for it in good time. You might still need extra health insurance, so check exactly how EHIC works in the country you’re visiting.

8. Think cash, in the form of a pre-paid travel card. There are many to choose from, and you can load some of them with a variety of currencies before and during your trips.

9. A ‘Pack this’ checklist – yes, I actually use these for my inbound as well as outbound trips. If you’ve ever forgotten to pack everything up after a holiday, you’ll know why packing checklists are a swell idea in both directions.

10. A pouch of ‘goes-without-saying’, including travel tickets and in-date ID (check the validity entry requirements for the country you’re heading to), medication and mini-toiletries. In 100ml refill bottles, not off-the-shelf, of course.

And with that, I bid you ‘farewell’, and wish you a truly fantastic time away!

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Guaranteed warm weather in much of Europe and beyond, and still a chance to cheat the rush by getting away before schools close… What’s not to like about summer retreats in July?

And with a great line-up of summer retreats, we’re sure to have the perfect getaway to help you relax – and potentially escape yet another wet July in the UK.

We give you yoga escapes in the beautiful countryside of the Surrey Hills, creative holidays in Spain, and a variety of detoxing getaways for a fresh start. And among our hand-picked summer retreats in July there’s something for the time-poor as well as those looking for a longer holiday. Dig in!

The short getaway…

• South Wales retreat: A combination of yoga and Ayurveda to help you truly unwind and relax. From £570 per person, full board for three nights, including treatments and yoga.

… and our longer summer retreats in July

• Chillout Retreat in blissful Mallorca: yet another one-off opportunity, from 17-23 July. Enjoy the island plus yoga, Pilates, meditation, detox food and juices, art, massage treatments and pool. From £649 for 6 nights, shared room.
• Tai Chi in the mountains of Southern Spain: 9-16 July. Come to explore and play tai chi! You’ll learn moves that free your joints, relax your muscles, engage your mind and fill you up with creative energy. From £650pp p/wk sharing room (singles available). And there are other activity holidays throughout the year at Cortijo Romero.
• ‘Mini Eden’ in Turkey: Yoga at Suleyman’s Garden near Dalaman comes with accommodation in traditional thatched huts and stunning sea views. From £645pp for a week.
• Ayurveda retreat in Sri Lanka: A top-class holiday on the south coast of Sri Lanka, with full body massages, herbal baths and steams, and rejuvenating scrubs. From £747 pp per week.

Can’t find what you’re after? No worries – here are more ideas for summer retreats in July.

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Affordability is a huge part of an enjoyable holiday. And since holidays invariably start with a journey, we thought it would be a good idea to look into flying on a budget.

In this blog post we focus on the usual suspects – cheap flights – and how to ensure you’re really flying on a budget. We’ve saved you the leg work and put together some tried and tested tips for keeping travel costs down.

Have a safe – and cheap – flight!

Updated 27 June 2018.

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When summer gets going, the warmer sun and longer days help wellbeing retreats across the UK and Europe really come into their own. June summer retreats are some of the best.

Home-grown destinations have so much to offer. Whether it’s Ayurveda massages in Wales or yoga in Somerset, there are plenty of June summer retreats where you can immerse yourself in peaceful seclusion.

June is also perfect for European getaways. With the more expensive school-holiday season yet to start, you could make your hard-earned cash go a long way on June summer retreats in France or Spain.

And the blue waters of the Mediterranean and Adriatic beckon too. The coastlines of hidden Greek islands and secluded bays of southwest Turkey are ideal for relaxation and sunbathing, and it’s still not too hot in June to explore the local heritage and landscape. Making them ideal destinations for a June summer retreat.

Here is our selection:

June summer retreats near home…

• Ayurveda in Wales: head to South Wales to unwind and relax with a combination of yoga and Ayurveda. From £570pp for 3 nights.
• Raw Horizons in Yorkshire: Relax with Kundalini yoga, unwind with meditation, refresh and rejuvenate with healthy raw food cuisine, plus enjoy the hot tub and sauna. From £345pp for 2 nights full board.

…and the rest of Europe

• Yoga in south-west Turkey: Huzur Vadisi, one of the country’s best-known yoga retreats is waiting for you, nestled in a peaceful valley amongst olive groves near Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. An ideal place for a June summer retreat. From £535pp per week.
• Creative holidays near Toulouse: Get inspired with one-week holidays focusing on yoga, music, dance, cookery or art. From £590pp for one week.
• Luxury Yoga Retreat in Pelion, Greece: at the foot of the magical Pelion forest where crystal clear water laps rhythmically at the water’s edge. Enjoy vinyasa flow yoga and massages. From £790pp per week. – See above photo.

Fancy a trip further afield, or just need more ideas where else you can go this June? Then you find more in our calendar.

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We know, we know… It’s not quite Pancake Day yet, and here we are, posting ideas for an Easter retreat.

But then that’s how we’re wired over here at Neal’s Yard Holidays. Always looking ahead for the next bank holiday and the next chance to get away. And we figured we’re not that different from anyone else, so if we’re thinking about going on an Easter retreat then you might be too.

And what’s more the Easter weekend is early this year, 25-28 March, so planning your Easter retreat now is a good idea. Get your booking in and make the most of those bank holidays. Here are our tips for:

Easter retreats near…

If you are simply after yoga and relaxation then you can refresh and rejuvenate at Raw Horizons‘ spacious manor house in beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Soak in the hot tub and relax in the sauna. Wholesome food is served – so just sit back!
18–20 March, from £345pp for 2 nights inclusive

…and far

Well not so far, Italy beckons with the beautiful countryside, In Sabina, just an hour north of Rome. Sunflower Retreats offer daily yoga and a range of optional activities like cooking classes, Italian lessons, holistic treatments and even hot springs.
24–30 March, £565pp for 6 nights

Or escape to deeper warmth, and wake up to tropical bird song in Sri Lanka. Rejuvenate with a personal Ayurveda retreat, organic food, yoga and meditation.
March/April, from USD110pp pn (approx £74) for single room, fb, including treatments

Need more ideas for getaways around Easter time? Find out where else you can go this March and April. And you can sign up to our free e-newsletter for updates on wellbeing holidays we’ve got coming up.

The post Looking for the perfect Easter retreat? Look no more… appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.

What better way to show yourself or a loved one that you care than the gift of wellbeing this Valentine? Have you considered a Valentine’s wellbeing retreat for rejuvenation?

Given how much we love (pun intended) wellbeing and all things health, it will come as no surprise to you that we have a stash of excellent wellbeing retreats to fire up your Valentine’s Day celebration with a Valentine’s wellbeing retreat. Or use these to simply make the most of the spring 2016 half-term!

Here are our top suggestions:

Complete detox and relaxation
Combine yoga, meditation and wholesome food with powerful life-coaching to help you relax, transform and revitalise. Where? At Raw Horizons’ impossibly idyllic Yorkshire retreat.
12–14 February, from £345pp sharing; single rooms available

Holistic retreats in rural Dorset
Fancy something a little bit different? Besides yoga and meditation, Mellulah Holistic Retreats offer Kundalini sound healing workshops, energy healing circles, countryside walks, and free use of heated indoor pool and sauna. A truly healing and rejuvenating Valentine’s wellbeing retreat. 20 February, from 10am-5pm, £60pp for the day

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Just after half-term (why not escape at a less hectic time?), this gem of a skiing  holiday offers gentle warm-ups with yoga before hitting the slopes in south-eastern France. A chalet with an open fire as well as healthy vegetarian food are all yours.
20–27 February, from £845pp (twin room) and £995 (single room)

As always, there’s plenty more where that came from – whether it’s a Valentine’s wellbeing retreat or a winter-sun escape. Just check out the rest of our February getaways.

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