Which plant do you most associate with festivals?

Grass you say? Assuming you’re referring to the lush stuff beneath your tent and betwixt your toes, then yes, fair enough, that’s a pretty key ingredient. But we think there are some other plants that could be just as important to ensuring you have a great time.

If you’re planning on having a summer of back-to-back al fresco concerts, blow-out weddings, boozy BBQs and forest raves then we highly recommend you pack a solar-powered kettle and a pocket-sized Pukka tea tin filled with plant-based goodness into your backpack.  These naturally nutrient-rich infusions will help your body and brain handle the hedonism and and help you stay festival fit all summer long.

1. Prepare and repair with powdered plant power

Whether it’s your physical or mental energy that needs a boost, Vitalise powder is a great foundation. It’s a nourishing blend of 30 natural and organic plant-based ingredients including fresh freeze-dried berry and vegetable concentrates, green foods such as wheat grass juice and spirulina, and a combination of medicinal mushrooms and herbs.

Added to a glass of juice or water, each serving contains essential vitamins B1, B2, B6 and vitamin C and unlike synthetic vitamins, Vitalise nutrients are naturally occurring in the foods themselves. This means your body can absorb and use them more easily, they’re gentler on your system and they don’t just end up in your pee! This super-blend is also a fantastic source of antioxidants including betalains from beetroot, and catechins from green tea, which have been found to support detoxification – just what you need to aid mental and physical revival when suffering with a hangover only festival goers will know.

2. Perk up with pure red ginseng pills

Instead of relying on sugar and coffee when you need more energy, try Pukka’s Wholistic Red Ginseng supplements. Rather than just being a stimulant, traditionally prepared red ginseng can have restorative as well as energizing properties. In herbal medicine, it’s said to work as an ‘adaptogen’ which means it has a balancing effect on the body and helps to increase resistance to stress. In other words, red ginseng works with the body rather than against it.

As well as balancing stress and energy, red ginseng supports strength and endurance, making it one of our festival season essentials and a must post-festival to get you back in the game.

3. Put a rocket up your breakfast

Energy-boosting breakfasts containing plenty of protein and slow-releasing carbohydrates, like scrambled eggs on rye toast, will keep your energy up for the rest of the day. Adding in a handful of iron and vitamin-rich rocket will put a spring back in your step much faster than a plain old croissant. 

Photo: theowlwiththegoblet.com

4. Rehydrate and caffeinate the smart way

All that alcohol and lack of sleep can really take its toll. The short-term temptation is to up your coffee intake but we all know that can have a draining effect on your already depleted energy reserves and leave you feeling jittery and anxious. Swap coffee for a green tea, such as Pukka’s Ginseng Matcha Green Tea, which is lower in caffeine and counts towards your water intake (you should be aiming to drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day).

5. Protect those precious festival memories on the road to recovery

Nothing feels worse than post-festival blues but if you are struggling to concentrate and focus on your work agenda, try Pukka’s Turmeric Brainwave 7 Day Kit, containing seven days’ worth of Turmeric Gold Tea and Turmeric Brainwave capsules.

The brain-boosting botanical blends are formulated to support mental clarity and keep you ‘on the ball’ of life. Containing brahmi (bacopa) and gotu kola, these traditional Ayurvedic herbs support circulation to the brain and aid memory, learning and concentration. Complemented by a range of other herbs including holy basil which has adaptogenic properties, the Pukka Turmeric Brainwave capsules calm the mind and support mental clarity.