I love surfing. I love the feeling of getting into the water – be it warm or icy cold. I love the ritual of checking the surf, the excitement of texting mates to let them know “it’s on!”, and of wriggling into my wetsuit.

While there is this great ritual around packing my board in the car, checking the surf, getting ready and then paddling out, I realised recently, I didn’t have a ritual around how I nourish my body beforehand. To be honest, that was the last thing on my mind.

But guess what? Without sufficient nutrition, my body didn’t have the fuel to endure the full surf session that I had envisioned. My surf stoke might have been high but my energy was not. Muscles started to fatigue, I could feel hunger kick in with my body calling for more from my empty tank. I tried to ignore it but my paddling strength dropped off as did my wave count. Ugh.

So, enter my new pre-surf ritual – a delightful blend of lean, clean and green, cold press juice. It can be made moments before heading out or if I’m organised, it can be made a day or two in advance.

Whatever the time of my surf, I now have found a form of nutrition that leaves me feeling super energised, sustains me for 2+ hour surfing sessions, supports my recovery and it doesn’t make me feel sick when I’m paddling out. It also means that rather than rushing off post-surf to stuff my face with whatever I could find, I can now hang out on the beach with my friends enjoying the experience.

So whatever your activity is, find your ritual, find a place for it to include your favourite cold press juice recipe (mine is below), and then love the heck out of yourself for supporting your health and your body for showing up and doing the damn thing!

I love this recipe because it has a light and clean taste with a hint of sweetness from the kiwi fruit. This delicious blend is a great way to alkalise the body, reduce inflammation and support your immune system.

Some of the other benefits include:

  • Cucumber and spinach both contain potassium, and spinach is also a great source of magnesium. These natural electrolytes help keep you hydrated which means longer lasting energy, minimises cramping and will assist with recovery
  • By adding lemon you help boost natural electrolytes, particularly potassium which is key for proper muscle function and connective tissue repair
  • Kiwi fruit are high in vitamin C which is not only good for your immune system but also helps with the growth and repair of body tissue so it’s providing extra support for muscles
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