March’s Wellness Picks: Our Favourite Products Of The Month

It seems that Spring may finally have arrived: hello blue skies and goodbye wooly jumpers and puffer coats! The cold can make one feel like hibernating under the duvet and doing little less. With warmer weather, comes the motivation to get back on the health horse and luckily, our favourite wellness product picks for March are ideally suited for that very purpose!

Leafdrops Spirulina Drops

Spirulina is not just a superfood, it’s up there at the top of the list. This cyanobacterium, aka blue-green algae, has been consumed for centuries and has been growing in popularity in recent years as a plant-based protein option with results. Spirulina is packed with antioxidants, vitamins A and B, iron, chlorophyll (great for detoxing), omega 3, and essential fatty acids. Its makeup is over 60% protein, all of which is totally bio-available. It’s hardly surprising many, including the UN, consider spirulina to be the healthiest food on the planet. Leafdrops is a brand new Hong Kong startup whose mission is to bring the gift of spirulina to us busy and stressed city-dwellers. Their Leafdrop drops are little green tablets of nourishing goodness: 500mg of pure spirulina. In fact, theirs is some of the best on the planet- it grows in pristine lakes in Australia, an environment that is totally free from anything toxic including pesticides. Use Leafdrops pre-workout to get an energy boost of energy, or every morning to set yourself up for success (it’s great for mental clarity and increased concentration or throw it in your smoothie for an added punch if you are experiencing a mid-afternoon slump. Sprirulina’s protein content acts as an appetite suppressant while giving you the energy you need to make it until dinner. Just call it your wonder drop!

100g Leafdrops Pack, HKD 275, available via their website.

BASAO Smoky Bohea Loose Tea

We Green Queen gals sure do drink a lot of tea. In fact, by the end of the day, our desk looks like some kind of strange used mug exhibit! We are always sipping a cuppa. Which is why we love Hong Kong homegrown brand BASAO‘s new signature loose tea collection. BASAO is committed to creating teas that leave you feeling warm and fuzzy in more ways than one. Their packaging is made from recycled aluminium. They work closely with their tea farms to ensure clean, sustainable and ethical farming practices are respected. They push for optimal tea growing conditions, even going as far as consulting with soil scientists to ensure the teas are grown in the most nourishing and alive environment. Which is why their tea tastes pretty incredible. We also love their flavours. Anything smoky has our vote so the Traditional Smoky Bohea Tea is right down our alley. Grown in Wuyishan, in Fujian province, this tea is made using traditional methods, which includes such things as triple-smoking pinewood to produce a robust and flavourful tea. Just make sure to consult BASAO’s website for steeping guidelines: with tea this special, you want to ensure you make the most out of your cuppa.

Traditional Smoky Bohea Loose Tea, HKD 195, available through their web shop.

Fitbit Alta Personal Wrist Tracker

We all want to be healthier, but getting results can be hard. And as we like to quote, what isn’t measured, can’t be managed, ” or something like that. We all need to be held accountable. And in the age of the internet of things and big data, the wearable tech trend is one many people have embraced. A leader in the market,  Fitbit offers a selection of devices you keep on your body at all time, in order to help track everything you do, from your workout, to how many steps you walk, to what you are eating and how you are sleeping. The device wirelessly connects to your computer or phone, pushing all your data so you can review, analyze and track to your heart’s content. But FitBit acts as more than a tracker: it is almost like a personal wrist coach, reminding you to move and encouraging you when it detects hard exercise. You can also use the app to set specific health and fitness goals, creating reminders to help you achieve them. The company recently launched in Hong Kong, and come April 1st, they are coming out with a brand new lifestyle model: the Fitbit Alta. This latest device offers everything you love about Fitbit and combines it with a sleek new design, as well as a selection of styles and colors. Think a Tory Burch collection and choices of interchangeable metal and leather bands. This is a wearable tracker you can proudly show off next to your tennis bracelet (ahem). Another great feature? The battery lasts for a full five days. All of this makes the FitBit Alta an incredible wellness tool that gives you the power to put your best self forward.

Fitbit alta, HKD 998, available from April 2016 at these retail locations in Hong Kong.

Chewswize Perfectly Portioned Snackbox

New healthy food startup Chewswize makes finding the perfect snack a cinch. This Hong Kong based snacking service allows you to order one of their three snack boxes, each of which contains five individually packaged snacks, one for every day of the week. All of their snacks are free from artificial preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and irresponsibly sourced palm oil. Each snack container clearly displays its caloric value and is labeled with clever icons to let you know which ones have fibre, which ones are naughty, which ones are rich in protein and so on. Chewswize offers a selection of over 40 different snacks and users can rate each one on their web site. Snacks range from creatively named and flavoured assortments of dried fruits, nuts to rice crackers, fruit bars and dark chocolate. Chewswize also allows you to customize your box, ensuring you never receive snacks you don’t like and instead are greeted by exactly what you love every time you open the box. Snackboxes are delivered weekly Mondays and Thursdays every week. Another thing to love? The packaging: it’s recycled, biodegradable and has no glue. Bonus: they a special box version for kids and a low-calorie version for those looking to get lean PLUS they cater to corporates with office-friendly packages/

Chewswize Original Box, HKD 88, available on their website.

Gymbox Protein Meal Delivery

Working out non-stop and still not seeing the results you want? It turns out that what we eat, not what we do at the gym, is actually the biggest factor that determines your figure. Some experts say it’s 80% of the equation. This is why it is so important to follow a healthy and balanced diet. But this is Hong Kong and we are all busy! Cue Gymbox,  a new delivery service offering one-dish freshly-made meals that can be stored in the fridge for up to five days once they arrive at your doorstep. Gymbox’s offering is about quality ingredients (their meals are 100% organic), an allergen-free approach (everything is totally gluten free) and perfectly balanced macros (every meal is under 400 calories and contain over 40 grams of protein). In fact, their meals are also specifically designed to be consumed post-workout, which now that you have dinner sorted you can make sure not to miss. They currently have three options including a stuffed chicken, a fillet of sole wiht almonds and a tofu box for veggies- all the mains sit on a bed of your choice of quinoa or brown rice.

Stuffed Chicken Breast Gymbox, HKD 68, order via their website.

Images courtesy of Leafdrops (lead photo), BASAO, FitBit, Chewswize, and Gymbox.