Wow, what an insane couple of days it has been. All a bit of a blur, all a bit of a shock, but all of it really AWESOME!

It all started off with our Lansdowne team winning our division cup, what a celebration – that was then followed closely by Paddy O’s winning the Bravo ‘Make me Famous’ competition – Crazy!
(Please see all the pictures on our Facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/PaddysOGranola – and if you don’t already ‘LIKE’ us, please do!)

So, we just want to take this opportunity to say thank you very much for all your support of Paddy O’s – we really have such a wonderful fan base that keeps us feeling inspired and wanting to do better.

… in saying that we want to let you know first that we have so many exciting things coming up on the cards like,

1) New branding on its way … goodbye old, hello brand spankin’ new!
2) A WHOLE LOT OF ADVERTISING … we will be everywhere thanks to Bravo!
3) A new range of products … a taste sensation will be hitting the shelves soon

All of this will be transpiring over the next few months! Yeehaw – exciting times.

A bit of reading matter for you here.

As summer rolls on in – so does the dreaded brain freeze. You that that feeling as if someone just opened up your skull and decided to throw in a couple ice cubes to cool things down?

Last weekend, the weather was wonderful, so we decided to test out the 40 foot … and it was serious brain freeze material.

So, what causes brain freeze when it comes to food?

It is caused by cold food/ or drinks ( or in our case freezing sea water) hitting the roof of the mouth causing blood vessels to constrict. This is known as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia – say that three times backwards. The headache that follows is the pain receptors having a chat with your brain using the nerves in your face. The brain, a little thrown off by where the panic is coming from interprets this message as if it coming from your forehead … and therefore, ‘OUCH BRAIN FREEZE!’

Life Tip to Stop Brain Freeze:

- Pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth cures brain freeze … Yes, as easy as that!

We are THRILLED – Paddy O’s has been shortlisted!

Hold thumbs!

Last Friday I played my first rugby game in what feels like a decade (old man jokes will not be appreciated), and it was such a thrill.

After the game I was a little less thrilled when I saw a picture of myself, taken by @remwhite, circulating on twitter.

Being the team player I am, I will tackle this head on and use this platform to admit that yes, it was not one of my best pictures and no, my hair is not receding that much. The flash was obviously having a laugh and definitely crossed the line when it pulled a sneaky illusion on my ‘full head of hair’.

If you were around Blackrock or Lucan Superquinn this weekend you would have seen us on display and selling our Granola hearts out with tasty tastings. We are extremely happy to announce that well over 160 happy (and full) customers walked away with PO’G.

In other exciting announcements … boom boom kish …. Paddy O’s has a little suprise around the corner for our granola. We can’t quite let the cat out of the bag just yet, but stay tuned!

I don’t usually get the flu, but after a long plane trip, a short stint in China where everyone had a cough, and a long plane trip back home it was inevitable that a bit of a man cough and a very manly nose blow every now and again, would slip into my daily routine. After annoyingly keeping myself awake at night I overdosed on Lemsip, fresh fruit, oranges and yogurt with PO’G.

Three days later I was fully operational and back to normal.

I was having a chat with a friend and I asked, ‘Why do I wake in the morning coughing and feeling awful, and during the day feeling ok-ish, and then it hits me again at night?’

I was met by an intrigued, ‘Ahhh… erm no idea.’

So as all curious internet self-medicating ‘doctors’ would do, I googled it.

It all has to do with pressure and gravity. During the day we are standing or sitting upright which distributes the right amount of pressure for the body. But, in the morning and evening, we are vertical and thus our gravity and pressure is distributed differently adding unwanted pressure on the sinus cavities, unleashing the inner beast of the flu.

Also our circadian cycle (natural body rhythm) adjust to the time that hormones are released during the day – hormones that produce antibodies that fight off the flu are more awake and active during the day.

* note when I mention flu – medically, I mean common cold.

So, I have just read that women’s bone density starts to deteriorate around the age of 30.

What 30? We are but wee pups at 30!

This is where strength training kicks in, um literally. As we have all been told, A HUNDRED TIMES, that good eating and exercise go hand in hand, I am afraid to say it yet AGAIN, exercise is super important. I am at the moment am doing a lot of:

- Boxing

- Swimming

- Cycling

- Running

And my secret to keep myself going and motivated is to make it fun. I go boxing with my brother and my cousin and we have an intense workout and an intensely good time.

When I swim I get lost in my sea of thoughts, I play squash, run and cycle with friends allowing me a work out and a laugh.

Social Exercise – Socialcising!

So my little advice to you is, if you are doing exercise keep it fun!

Why does working out have to be serious? We aren’t going to be the next Arnie Schwarzenegger, are we?

Let’s Socialcise – join a football team this month, or squash league? Ladies I hear Zumba is pretty insane fun. Let me know?

Look, I am the first one to tell you that during the day I love a little snack or three. My aim this year is to keep my snacking healthy and in line with my fitness regime.

My healthy office/car/day snacks this year are:

- I love to always carry around a bag of O’Granola in my glove compartment of my car so that when I am on the road I can lean over and grab a handful. I really feels like it overrides that gnawing hunger feeling faster than anything else I munch on.

- A nice big juicy apple (obviously because I love apples!)

- Whole wheat crackers with a bit of marmalade on them

- Nuts (any kind, I personally like almonds for the road)

Let me know if you have any other healthy suggestions that tackle your little hunger pangs during meals? I would love to hear them.

* Photo is a behind the scenes of us in Galway during December doing a little last minute drop off of PO’G before the Christmas madness set in.