My Friend Passport – Interview With Mia Uren

If you are travelling to, laying over, or residing in the beautiful city of Sydney – please keep reading. Sydney is known as the Harbour City. It is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful and liveable cities. Even after residing and travelling abroad for the last ten years, I would have to agree it’s harbour is one of the stunning I have seen.

For all things health, travel and beauty in the city that enjoys over 300 sunny days each year – I interview a young, glamorous, health savvy local, to give you her up to the minute guide and tips on how to enjoy your time spent, in her hometown.

Introducing….

Mia, otherwise known as “Chia Mia“, is a respected fellow health coach, blogger, my classmate and gorgeous green juice goddess. Mia loves nothing more than spending hours in her kitchen creating delicious recipes to share with friends, family and her tribe.

Friend Stamp – Mia Uren

The beautiful Mia Uren – aka Chia Mia

Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you are from and why living a healthy lifestyle is important to you?
I am a qualified health and wellness coach (just a few weeks until the course is finished) from Sydney Australia. I grew up in the Inner West of Sydney and have always lived either there or in the Inner Eastern Suburbs.

Living a healthy lifestyle is important to me because I always like to feel and look my best. In my early twenties all I cared about was partying and as a result I did not take good care of my body and I always felt tired and worn out. Once I started to improve my health I noticed a huge positive shift in my energy, mood, skin and general outlook on life.

Your favourite holiday destination to calm the mind body and soul?
Definitely Byron Bay; I love how chilled and relaxed the locals are there, it has a real hippy vibe which I love. I also love that they have a wide selection of health food stores and cafes and lots of healthy produce. My ultimate goal is to be able to work from home in Byron Bay and have my own organic garden and chickens, so I can have fresh eggs every day.

Let loose in Sydney for 24 hrs only, what would be on your list of must do and see?
I would probably start by doing the Bondi to Coogee walk first thing in the morning then stop off at one of the cafes along the water for breakfast. I would then head to Mosman, hire a kayak and kayak around the national park there and eat a pre-packed lunch on one of the little secluded beaches there. For dinner I would probably head to a restaurant at The Rocks like Sake, then finish off with a cocktail at Palmer and Co in the city.

When travelling, what staple items are in your carry on luggage?
I haven’t done a whole lot of travelling since I started on this health journey but I will be travelling to London in a few weeks. I will be taking some protein balls, salads, herbal teas, nut butter, coconut water to stay hydrated (I am assuming that’s allowed on the plane), face mist, a pro-biotic that travels well, some books and my laptop on board with me.

Where are your favourite places to shop in Sydney for healthy, organic wholefoods and supplements?
I love ‘The Source Bulk Food store’ in Balmain . It’s my idea of heaven and I always end up coming out of there with way more than I intended on getting. They have massive tubs of things like nuts, maca, grains, coconut oil, natural shampoo and natural cleaning products. You just get as little or as much as you want and it always ends up being so much cheaper than buying it from other organic stores. I also love About Life in Balmain (also located in Bondi Junction and Cammeray) for things like Kombucha, beauty products and co-yo (my all time favourite food). They also have a café attached to it that does a lot of organic meals, smoothies and hot drinks with almond milk.

In Sydney, where do you frequent for healthy café culture?
Bondi Beach and just the Eastern Suburbs in general are great for healthy cafés. There are so many great organic and healthy options to choose from, however, I don’t get there very often now as I have moved to the Inner West. Balmain is starting to open up a few great healthy cafes, including About Life as I mentioned above, so I have found myself eating around there a lot recently.

Are there any fitness classes or places to enjoy training outdoors that you would consider unique to Sydney?
When I was living in the Eastern Suburbs I used to do a boot camp with ‘Bottoms up’ at Centennial Park every Saturday morning which I loved. They also do classes in Bronte and on Bondi Beach. The girls who run it are so lovely and the workouts are so much fun. I used to go for runs in Centennial Park a lot; it’s such a beautiful place with all the trees and lakes, it’s hard to believe it is right in the centre of the city and is surrounded by a busy road. Since I have moved back to Putney I like to go for runs around there as there are lots of nice parks and areas that run along the water. The Botanical Gardens is also a really scenic place to exercise.

Do you have a recipe to share that we could prepare and transport onboard for a healthy mid-flight meal or snack?
These ‘Protein Balls’ are perfect for that; you don’t need a blender to make them either so they are the perfect thing to whip up in your hotel room.

Mia’s Protein Balls

Ingredients
4 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp almond butter
½ mashed banana
4 tbsp LSA or almond meal
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp goji berries
For rolling the balls in: chia seeds, cacao, LSA or coconut (optional)

Method
Mix tahini, almond butter and banana in a bowl until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients until a dough is formed. If you find the mixture is still quite wet add in some more LSA.

Take small pieces of the dough and roll them into balls. If you wish, roll the balls in some chia seeds, cacao, LSA or coconut. Store in the fridge or freezer.

What tips do you have for people trying to eat healthy – on the go?
Preparation is key!

Mia’s portable green smoothie

Make lunch and breakfast the night before so that you have one less thing to do in the morning. Smoothies are always a great option when you are on the go: either blend it up the night before and store it in the fridge in a portable jar or bottle so you can grab it before you walk out the door, or just have all your smoothie ingredients chopped up and ready the night before so you can throw it straight into the blender in the morning. I find for lunches just bringing leftovers from dinner the night before is always a great time saver. Also on you weekends or days that you have free, whip up some snacks like protein bars, bliss balls, healthy dips or trail mixes so you can keep them in your bag throughout the week whenever you are feeling peckish.

Are there any organic beauty potions that you particularly recommend for the glamouset to stay looking gorgeous throughout our journey? Where in Sydney can we get our paws on some?
As I was telling Linda the other day, I am very excited as after trying many different types of natural deodorant I have finally found one that works by Fresca Natural. I buy it from Organics On A Budget.
For a good face mist to keep your skin fresh and moisturised, I like KORA organics Rose Mist. KORA also has a good tinted moisturiser and lip balm which you can get from David Jones and About Life in Sydney.
I have also found a coconut oil based concealer by RMS beauty which I love as well.

Thank-you Mia!

One thing I have never discussed with Mia is that I also would love to be able to work from home in Byron Bay and have my own organic garden someday. After travelling half way around the world and still not back, it’s amazing to realise that I was lucky enough to be raised in paradise (I grew up very close to Byron) and have that strong desire to return to my roots. I look forward to the possibilty of being neighbours, sometime in our future :-)

To get in touch with Mia, you can follow her via:
Chia Mia Blog
Facebook
Twitter