CityMoves with Nokia: Health Challenge for the North of England

Hey,

Today I'm looking at something which combines two big interests of mine - health and digital technology.

Being from Yorkshire and living in Manchester, I often hear the stats on how the North of England is reportedly 'less healthy' than the South. Apparently us northerners are more likely to be fatter and die younger; the recent studies of late make for some shocking reading!

I was really interested to hear about a new project from the University of Manchester, Connected Health Cities and Nokia, designed to encourage and challenge people across the North to live a healthier lifestyle.

'CityMoves' is an eight-week step challenge, running until the 21st December, focused on the positives in using data and technology to promote healthy living.

I'm already a big advocate of using technology to make life easier when it comes to health. Being pretty much always glued to my smartphone, I already use and love apps like My Fitness Pal and Nike Running - plus I've got my Pure Gym app to book and manage classes, as well as an app I've found absolutely invaluable since realising that I have a complex series of food intolerances - the  FODMAP guide (developed by the MONASH University).

To aid those taking part in the CityMoves challenge (which you can sign up for yourself, here), Nokia are providing motivation in the form of their technology solutions.

I was sent the the Nokia Steel Activity Tracker Watch and the Nokia Body Cardio Smart Scales to try out for myself*. I've been testing these out for just over a week so read on to see how I got on!

The Nokia Steel: Activity Tracker Watch

I've never had a fitness tracking watch and my main knowledge of these, like most I'd imagine, comes from the Fitbit.

Now, even with my limited exposure to fitness trackers - surely you have to admit that this is a good looking watch!

I've really enjoyed using the watch. It's definitely highlighted that I don't do anywhere near enough steps most days. Working in an office and driving to work means I'm at odds with achieving a good level of base activity. 

The watch face is very minimal, with the focal point (other than the time of course) being the gauge in the bottom right, which displays in real time how close you are to reaching your step goal.

Your goal is completely defined by you, which is done within Nokia's Health Mate app, syncing with your watch via Bluetooth.

The watch tracks all your details and you don't even have to be near your phone - it simply syncs when the two are reunited; so you can walk, run or even swim without it.

My favourite part of wearing the watch hasn't actually been the overview of my daily steps - it's been the sleep function.

The watch measures your pattern of movement as well as heart rate so it can provide an accurate picture of your night's sleep including when you fell asleep and how quickly, how many times in the night you woke up and how much light vs. deep sleep you achieved. I was pleased to find out that what I'm lacking in under-average steps, I'm making up for in over-average levels of deep sleep! Another of my favourite features is the ability to set a window for the watch to wake you up, not with a shrill ringing but with a gentle vibration on your wrist - and the technology calculates the exact point within your window that will be, depending on the optimum moment within your sleep cycle!

Nokia Body Cardio Smart Scales

The amount of data I have about my health right now is unreal - and the scales have really raised the bar!

Now these scales are so gorgeous and shiny that I struggled to get a decent picture of them as they were just reflecting everything! At under an inch thick with a solid aluminium base and slick surface, they truly are a thing to behold.

And they don't just look good, oh no. They go so much further than measuring weight alone, providing readings and insights like your BMI, body fat and water percentage, muscle and bone mass, heart rate and pulse wave velocity (that indicates your overall cardiovascular health) - plus it even gives you the weather forecast so you can plan what to wear for the day!

Using WiFi, the scales connect to your Health Mate app, hugely enhancing the health data provided by the fitness tracker.


I would genuinely recommend either of these products to someone looking for insights into their health and the motivation to improve their lifestyle. The fact that Nokia Health Mate, teamed with the technology products, also pairs with popular apps including My Fitness Pal is a huge plus too.

Don't forget to sign up to the CityMoves challenge - throughout its course, Connected Health Cities and Nokia will be providing motivational content and seasonal tips, plus giveaways of hundreds of fitness trackers like the one I tried out; the data collected from the programme will also benefit The University of Manchester who are partnered in the study.

Let's get moving!

Restaurant Review: Bottomless Pizza & Prosecco at Buca Di Pizza, Manchester

Hey,

Today brings a new Manchester restaurant opening that I was really excited about - Buca Di Pizza*.

This independently run pizzeria has already made a name for itself in Leeds for its  'Tutto' deal - unlimited pizza orders with bottomless refills of prosecco or house lager for an hour and a half.

Sounds like a dream to me!

I went down to the new cellar-style restaurant on Lloyd Street (close to Red's True BBQ) shortly after the opening to see if it lived up to expectation.

The restaurant is really nicely decorated inside. Walking down the steps from street level, you feel like you've stumbled across a real hidden gem. Buca Di Pizza, Manchester feels like an unassuming, Italian cafe, classically designed but with quirky relics lining the walls.

Opting for the Tutto deal, of course, I started off with prosecco (which was perfect) before trying the 'house' birra - which I'm usually a bit dubious of but I was pleased to find that Buca Di Pizza's was great!

The Pizzas

I was amazed at the choice on the menu. BDP specialise in Neapolitan style pizzas with 'a modern twist', with the menu split between classic Italian toppings and their own creations - including notable pizzas like 'The Snake Charmer' (Goan coconut curry sauce, chilli glazed paneer, lamb koftas, onion bhajis, grated carrot & beetroot, mint yogurt) and 'Rome of the East' (sweet potato & chickpea sauce, crunchy fried falafel, herb marinated feta, red onion, rocket and chili & mango dressing).

Our first pizza choices were a 'Nduja Love Me?' for me (tomato & basil sauce, grated mozzarella, mascarpone, spicy nduja paste, pepperoni, roast chicken, sundried tomatoes) and a 'Hickory Pig' for Chris (hickory barbecue sauce, grated mozzarella, chantico spiced cheddar, smoked pancetta, hickory smoked pulled pork) - both from the 'Pizza Buca' creation menu.

Both were well made and piled high with good quality toppings - impressive! Mine was very tasty and even though I'm usually more of a classic girl, the multitude of toppings seemed to work really well together; the mascarpone especially was a delicious touch. Chris was happy as Larry with the Hickory Pig as he loves BBQ sauce base pizzas but they just aren't for me so he doesn't have them often!

We ate these a little too quickly, eager to try a couple more. Next up were two pizzas from the Classic menu - a simple Pepperoni and a Frestosa - tomato & basil sauce, stracchina cheese, rocket, prosciutto and balsamic glaze. I found the balsamic a little overbearing on the Frestosa but other than that, these were great too - though we definitely preferred our first choices from the Pizza Buca menu!

We didn't manage much from our second pizzas so the friendly staff kindly boxed them up for us to take away.

At £25.95 per person, the Tutto deal represents great value - and quality! Though if stuffing your face isn't necessarily your thing, the individual pizza prices are really reasonable and they also serve pasta dishes too.

Is bottomless pizza and prosecco something you'd like to try?

Restaurant Review: Steak Out at El Capo, Manchester

Hey,

Another food review today, and not somewhere that would immediately come to the fore of my mind when thinking of somewhere to eat - it's Mexican-themed Northern Quarter bar, El Capo*!

Steak Out Monday

Chris and I joined El Capo for their Monday 'Steak Out' - an appetising deal of steak for two, two sides and a bottle of house wine for just £25, impressive indeed!

We're both big fans of a steak and having never eaten at El Capo before, we were eager to find out if this deal was as tasty as it sounded.

Not wanted to miss out on cocktails, we ordered a couple of those while we waited for the food. I had the house margarita: tequila, sugar, lime and salt - it was strong!

Chris had the 'Cocktail With No Name' - a homage to Clint Eastwood's masculine 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' character, containing the not-so-masculine ingredients of mango vodka, creme de peche, lime, lychee and pink grapefruit. This one was really good! 

On to the main event! The steak looked and tasted soo good. Substantial, well-seasoned (with extra salt and pepper on the board to taste) and sliced up so we could see how perfectly cooked all the way through it was. It was executed beautifully, medium rare as ordered.

We felt like our two sides were well-chosen: a wonderfully gooey, cheesy and tasty mac and cheese, with triple cooked sweet potato wedges. Both sides were delicious and went well with the steak.

The house red wine, an easy-drinking Merlot was the perfect finishing accompaniment.

I was majorly blown away by the value and quality of El Capo's steak night. The colourful and casual surroundings (and the fact that Happy Hour lasts until 7pm!) make it the perfect impromptu evening out as an antidote to the Monday blues.

My next trip will definitely be for 'Wing it Wednesday' - 50p chicken wings all night!

Have you eaten at El Capo

Review: Worsley Marriott - The Best Hotel Breakfast in the North West?

Hey,

So today I'm talking breakfast.

I'll be honest, breakfast isn't something I usually get excited about. More often than not, I'll tend to scoff down a packet of breakfast biscuits or have a bit of bland cereal at work for nothing more than a little fuel 'til lunchtime - on a weekend, I might treat myself to a bit of toast, that's your lot.

However, a hotel breakfast is a WHOLE other story. I think it's probably because I've usually paid for it within my room rate (and you know, get what you can for your money *read* typically tight northerner) and so it seems perfectly reasonable to eat as much as humanly possible at the breakfast buffet...

Skinflintedness aside, perhaps it's more the veritable wealth of tantalising and varied options available at most hotel buffets that does it for me. I mean, being presented with an array of breakfast items of the savoury, sweet, hot and cold varieties certainly put my plain Shredded Wheat (other boring wheat-based cereals are available) with almond milk to shame.

And so what usually ensues goes a little like this; "I'll start with a bit of toast with my coffee", "ooh I think I'm going to go continental! A few pastries with some meat, cheese and yogurt", "well I might as well have a bowl of cereal too", "that fruit looks too fresh and amazing to miss out on", "I suppose a bit of cooked breakfast won't hurt either, I need to set myself up for the day after all!" You get the picture.

Anyway, hopefully this gives some understanding of my unhealthy, irrational love of a hotel breakfast so when I heard that a hotel on our doorstep in Manchester had been voted 'The Best Breakfast in the North West' by search site, Trivago - I knew I had to check it out*...

We started with some delicious fresh pastries, of which there were several varieties, along with some strong coffee, of course.

I also decided on some fresh fruit and greek yogurt before moving onto the cooked options. There was certainly a lot of choice in this area; toast with all kinds of preserves, cereals with a broad range of toppings like nuts and seeds, porridge, muffins, cheeses and breads, as well a good choice of gluten free options.

However, I did my best to be restrained in order to leave some room for our host, Mark's recommendation - a made to order, fresh omelette from the central omelette bar.

I didn't need much convincing in choosing the house special which was made with locally sourced black pudding and blue cheese - two things I absolutely love!

Chris went for the same choice and we both agreed it was one of the best omelettes we'd tasted. We were so full after the omelettes which proved to be a tasty and satisfying set-up to the day!

Now, it would be fair to say that living in Manchester, neither of us has much call to stay over locally and it's therefore hard to say for sure whether this really is the best hotel breakfast in the North West!

What I can say is that the Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club makes a damn good breakfast!

Do you go to town on a breakfast buffet?

Review: barn//it Hair & Beauty Super Salon, Manchester

Hey,

I'm always game for trying new hair and beauty treatments in Manchester, which is great as there's always new salons popping up the city.

However a new kid on the block really caught my eye recently with their interesting 'super salon' concept.

barn//it* isn't your usual run-of-the-mill hair salon offering a few beauty treatments on the side, oh no. barn//it is touted as a real 'destination'; catering for pretty much all imaginable hair and beauty services under one roof - and with no less than five floors.

Fronted by celebrity hair stylist, Andrew Trott-Barn (putting the Barn into barn//it) and housed in a listed building on centrally located John Dalton Street, barn//it seems like the perfect addition to Manchester, cutting through the noise of 'samey' chain salons.

I popped down to try out one of their beauty services.

For a salon boasting five floors, barn//it actually feels really personal and perfectly formed. Each floor feels like its own tranquil (and especially stylish) oasis.

Having toured all the floors, the jewel in the salon's crown is undoubtedly the nail room. Kitted out with a full length bar serving specially created cocktails with your manicure, it's a brilliant way to spend a girly afternoon.

The fantastic, Lucy performed my treatment of choice: semi-permanent eyelashes, which I wanted to try out in advance of my wedding in July.

She totally put me at ease and I was so impressed with her level of knowledge of eyelash treatments - I truly felt that I was in the hands of an eyelash guru.

I had no idea what to expect with the treatment but Lucy explained every stage to me. I am normally a nightmare with anything around my eyes as they are ridiculously sensitive (to light, pressure, touching, pain!) but I was surprised at how comfortable I was during the treatment - especially as gluing the individual lashes to my own takes almost an hour.

I write this just as the very last of my semi-permanent lashes are hanging on. I looked after them as best I could following Lucy's advice and I'd say they still looked great after two and a half weeks. Take a look at the results below!

I was genuinely so so pleased with them. I completely boycotted false lashes for nights out a long time ago as I discovered that applying them was just not my forte... Because of this, I was a little scared of them looking too 'fake', especially as I was trying them out for a wedding day-through-to-honeymoon look, so asked Lucy to make them really natural.

There was no fakeness whatsoever - my lashes simply looked full, thick, dark and voluminous, with no need for mascara.

I'll certainly be back for these again and might even be bold enough to go slightly longer!

Have you ever tried semi-permanent lashes?