In June 2016 The Health Bloggers Community hosted their first ever awards ceremony titled the ‘HBC Blog Awards’. The event was in collaboration with That Protein and sponsored by ourselves along with other great brands such as; Linwoods, Protein Haus and The Soil Association. The awards were a friendly and fun celebration of the fast-growing community of health bloggers which continues to grow and evolve each day.
Here at SuperFoodLx we have chosen to interview a few of the winners and finalists from the HBC Awards. Each interview provides a mini insight into each blogger but what SuperFoodLx liked the most about the interviews was learning about what makes a great health blog and each health blogger’s favourite health tips.
Today we will be interviewing UK vegan food blogger Nicole Osbourne from Ginger Kitchen who was a finalist at the Health Blog Awards 2016. When you get the chance, reach out and follow, like and subscribe to her respective channels on social media as they are a great way to stay informed on the health and fitness community.
Who are you and what do you do?
Hello! My name is Nicole and I write a food, health and vegan blog over at: www.gingerkitchen.co.uk
What inspired you to start your blog?
I remember coming across the blogging world one day and just falling in love with the idea and thinking it would be a wonderful thing to be a part of. I started my own lifestyle blog which I wrote for two years and in that time I feel like I changed a lot as a person and became a lot more interested in health. At the beginning of this year, I decided to start a new blog all about food and health so I could really focus my passion for this into one place. Starting a blog has definitely been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
What do you enjoy most about blogging?
The wonderful community and lovely people you meet through it. Blogging is such a great way to bring you together with like-minded people, people who share your passions and who just get it. I feel so inspired every day being a part of the blogging community, it’s such a supportive and welcoming place and I have met some really great friends through it.
Do you have a favourite blog post and if so what is it and why?
I don’t think I do, actually. I think almost every recipe I post I describe as being my favourite so I’d say I love them all! The words favourite, yummy and delicious are definitely overused on my blog. I just love food too much!
What plans do you have for the future of your blog?
To be honest, I really don’t know. At the moment I’m really happy with how my blog is growing and progressing. I am so excited to see what the future brings for little space on the internet, I feel like with blogging there are so many opportunities and new things that you can get involved in, you really never know where you are going to end up.
If you had to choose one meal to eat every day for one year, what would it be?
Porridge, 100%, without a doubt. I eat it almost every day anyway, I’m a total addict. My favourite combination at the moment is apple, blueberry and cinnamon but banana and almond is always a good one too!
What do you do to relax and de-stress?
To de-stress I love going to the gym and doing a really good workout. It always makes me feel wonderful afterwards and really helps to clear my mind and wind down from the day. To relax I love reading a book and just getting lost in another world for a little while. It’s so nice to focus all your attention onto a story, rather than constantly thinking about the things you need to do, what happened at work that day or what your plans are for the weekend. I love reading because it’s all about living in that moment and immersing yourself in the story.
What is your least favourite health fad and why?
I love the health community and everything about it. I love finding new healthy ingredients and ways to cook with different things. There are a few things I’ve come across though that just don’t make sense to me and that I don’t think are necessarily the healthiest thing for you. One of those is the gluten-free fad. I’m not sure why gluten has been given such a bad name because unless you have celiac disease then gluten is absolutely okay and you really don’t need to avoid it. A lot of the special gluten free products that you can buy are actually not great for your because they are so much more processed than their regular gluten containing counterparts, and whole grains are so wonderful and contain lots of goodness so you really don’t need to avoid them unless you have to.
What is your favourite superfood?
I think I’d probably have to say cacao powder. I love how rich and indulgent it tastes while still being really good for you. I really like adding it into smoothies and porridge or baking brownies and chocolate with it.
What is your most trusted natural remedy or keep healthy tip?
I don’t think I have just one but I always make sure I’m getting enough vitamins and minerals from my meals by eating lots of different fruit, vegetables and grains throughout the week. I also take a vitamin B12 supplement daily, which is really important if you follow a vegan diet.
If you have a tip (recipe, natural treatment) for keeping yourself healthy would you be able to provide one.
Drink lots of water, eat lots of fruit and vegetables and try and get regular exercise. I really do believe that these things will make you feel your best and keep you healthy. I don’t think being healthy is difficult and I think it is something that everyone can do, you just need to make the commitment to it.
If you could offer one piece of advice (about anything) what would it be?
Never compare yourself to someone who has been doing what you are doing for a lot longer. I think I’ve heard this one described as ‘don’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter twenty’, and I just think that is so true. We are all guilty of comparing ourselves to others and getting ourselves down because we aren’t doing as well as someone else. Doing this just makes us miserable, it’s much better to focus all that energy into working on yourself and getting to where you want to be. You don’t always get what you wish for, you get what you work for. Instead of comparing yourself, look at other people and feel inspired to work harder and reach your goals, gain ideas and really put your all into your dream, whatever that may be.
