An Interview with Madeleine Shaw - Nutritionist, Yoga Instructor + Author

I recently had the pleasure of taking an amazingly revitalising morning yoga class with the beautiful Madeleine Shaw. We caught up afterwards to enjoy a smoothie and some chit chat. I discovered that her down-to-earth nature is enchanting and her calm and happy nature is easily contagious.

Here you can learn what you can expect from Madeleine’s glowing new book, how she feeds her thirst for nutrition knowledge, and what it’s like to build a healthy career.

There will be few people who aren’t familiar with you since the release of your beautiful new book, Get the Glow. But in case anyone has been hiding under a rock, could you please briefly describe who you are and what you do?

I’m a qualified nutritional health coach, yoga teacher and author. I love creating recipes and giving advice to people to help enliven the hottest, happiest and healthiest version of themselves. This includes gluten and sugar free recipes that help heal the body from within.

I’ve already touched on it, but you’ve recently released your first book, congratulations! Can you briefly describe what people can expect to find inside?

Of course! All of my recipes are gluten and sugar free so you can find one hundred yummy, natural recipes in my book. They are all easy to prepare, and the kinds of foods you would like to eat everyday. There’s a good mix of vegan, vegetarian and of course, meat dishes in there so there really is something for everyone.

Where did your health and nutrition journey begin?

It began when I moved to Australia and started working in an organic cafe on Bondi. I used to think low fat and calorie free foods were good for you and lived on a diet of low fat yoghurt and rice cakes. I had terrible digestive problems, bad skin and limp hair. My job in the cafe, and the healthy Australian way of life educated me about food and what I should be putting in my body. I knew in that moment that I wanted to follow a job path into health and nutrition.

How do you educate yourself on nutrition?

I first studied at the Integrated Institute of Nutrition and trained to be a nutritional health coach. I am now studying a three year course in Neuropathic Nutrition at CNM in London.

What do you love most about your career?

I love that I get to help people and change people’s perspective on food. It makes me so happy to hear from people whose lives I’ve had an impact on no matter how big or small it may be.

And what is the most challenging aspect?

That just hard to switch off, owning your own business means it everyday 247 so its hard to have down time.

What exciting things can we expect to see from you in the future?

I’m working on an online wellness platform for mindfulness, exercise and nutrition called the Glow Guides. It’s not quite ready yet, but I’m so excited about it!

What sort of things might you get up to on a typical day?

I’ll wake up early and go to an exercise class, and if not I’ll go to a yoga class later in the day.

I love to cook, so if I’m working from home I’ll be whipping up something in the kitchen. It’s really sad but I spend a lot of time on my laptop sending emails, and researching. If I’m not working from home I’ll be running around to different meetings in London.

What do you eat in a day?

I love eating eggs and avocado for breakfast. This is pretty much a staple meal for me.

For lunch I’ll then have something light like a salad with some form of protein.

Then for dinner, I’ll sit down with my boyfriend and have a big hearty meal at home. I love cooking dinner in my house for everyone it makes me feel happy to have people enjoy my food!

You’ve recently qualified as a yoga instructing (and I’ve had the pleasure of practising with you!), but are there any other fitness disciplines that you enjoy? Do you follow an exercise regime?

As I said, I love going to classes. I love Core Collective, Lomax and I also have ClassPass which is great - there’s so many amazing classes in London to choose from so in that respect I’m spoilt for choice!

What is your ethos?

​I try to only eat foods that you can pick, hunt, or gather. It's very caveman but it's also a very natural way of eating!​

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Madeleine's beautiful book, Get the Glow for some hot, happy and healthy inspiration. If you already have your hands on a copy, let me know what your favourite recipe is so that I can send it to the top of my list!