Morning routine

Routinely she slipped out of her shorts and top. She took out her scale and adjusted it so it was straight and aligned on the floor. She stepped onto it looking down at the number. She stepped off, walked over to the mirror, looked into it and thought to herself is this me, is this my body. She went back over to the scale, the number had disappeared so she stepped back on, this time looking ahead. It was the same number, she was neither happy nor sad. She stepped off and waited again then stepped back on it a third time to make sure the number was the same. It was.

What is the purpose of life?

Is there a greater purpose for as to why you were brought into this world? Are we actually destined for some purpose by a greater work at force or are we merely just brought into this existence from sex and then we die. The middle is of course our life; how we live it, our interactions, how we choose to perceive things, our actions and how we react to every situation we encounter. Is this life? Is this all there is to it?

Some people don’t get to see anything beyond their village, forced into marriages, living in backward looking countries, not being able to question their beliefs for it presents a danger to their whole inner world toppling. Whilst those in the western world are so afraid of people from a different country that they choose to go backwards, to a civilisation of nationalism. The people living in these polar worlds are in this reality where they just get by. That is all it is. Getting by…. birth, education, work, some may be lucky to get a year of retirement and then death.

But wait, does society not make us believe that if we love something enough we will never have to work a day in our life. And these passions are what society creates through this middle ground we call life.

Maybe there is more to it, maybe it is the little things that matter, what we have to be thankful for, raising a family, bringing a child into this same existence but please do excuse someone who has some serious problems trying to grasp this concept of life when they see their own as meaningless and pointless.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society – Jiddu Krishnamurti

Minimalism

Looking around my room at all my possessions used to suffocate me, I had so much stuff lying around. Did I care for that small bookshelf in the corner which didn’t hold all my books but merely was there to display pieces of art or books I considered classic that they had to be displayed out in the open. But for what purpose?

Do you ever look at your possessions and ask yourself what purpose does this serve in my life? When was the last time I picked this up or used it? Am I just holding onto this because it reminds me of the past, a past I do not want to let go of? How does it really make me feel?

How to minimalise:

Put all your possessions into boxes, now when you need something take it out and place it in your room. By the end of the month get rid of everything remaining in the boxes. Items you find hard to let go off, take a picture of them so you have the memory saved in a camera roll or in a photo album rather than the physical item.

Benefits:

• Do not have to waste time looking for items/deciding what to wear
• Clear sense of direction
• Less clutter in your brain
• Focus on important decisions | more productive
• Allows you to make better purchasing decisions
• Saves money in the long-run

Local

A slight smile plays on my face as a man briskly walking in the opposite direction, wearing a black coat with a scarf catches my attention releasing a fond memory from not so long ago.

I am brought back to the cosy evenings in Paris, walking along a chain of restaurants and letting the warmth and ambience emitting from them decide where I will eat. Walking through tables outside with the hot air coming from the heaters warming my legs as conversations fade in the background. Caught up in the briskness of so many things going on around me, I’m brought to a sudden stop at a road as a deliveroo motorcycle rushes past.

Just on the corner of the street opposite the road is a small restaurant, with someone emerging from the door and holding it open for me as he sees me cross over. I find myself in a queue in this tiny cramped place with two others in front. One is talking to the waiter whilst another waits for their order, and behind me a couple come in already seating themselves, giving a slight nod to the waiter in mid conversation.

I place my order and seat myself by the table next to the couple. The waiter comes to the table where the couple are with a bottle of wine and two glasses, which he pours for them as he greets them and asks what they’d like to have. The man takes of his scarf which the waiter takes and places it behind him, on his chair. As the waiter walks towards the back leaving them to their drinks, the couple turn to me with pure bliss and content displayed on their faces asking if I have been here before and boasting about how it’s the best restaurant in Paris. They’re not shy to introduce themselves and tell me a bit about themselves, how they’re from the states and have an apartment here and come often. It doesn’t take long for me to warm up to them. In a daze, pure joy flutters inside of me as I move along the herd of people walking briskly to their platforms. I look forward to when I will be back in my favourite city. 

Transitioning to veganism

Part 1

I’ve been vegan for over 3 years, and before that I was vegetarian for about 7-8 years so the transition was very easy for me. Plus, as a vegetarian I was really picky about food and I did not have dairy products often. Going vegan I always wondered why I did not do it sooner, what was holding me back. Also, as I know people who are vegetarian I know what they struggled with before changing their diet or know some of their concerns upon deciding whether they should go vegan.

So without further ado, this is simply a guide on how to transition into a vegan lifestyle.

First cut out meat/dairy, whichever would be easiest for you to cut out. For the items you do decide to cut out, find replacements, read reviews online to see what others thought of it. My favourite replacements for dairy:

• MILK: RICE MILK and CASHEW MILK for cereals, OAT MILK (look for the OATLY brand barista edition) for coffee (trust me).
• CHEESE: for CREAM CHEESE look for the brand SHEESE. My favourite from their collection are the original, sweet chilli and garlic & herb. For slices or normal cheese you can’t go wrong with VIOLIFE. If you want to create a cheesy style sauce, NUTRITIONAL YEAST is great for that. For PARMESAN, the VIOLIFE PROSOCIANO.
• YOGHURT: ALPRO, the soya vanilla flavour is my favourite.
• MAYONNAISE: HELMANS VEGANAISE (the only one I’ve tried and did not have to search for another).
• DESSERTS: ALPRO dessert moments hazelnut chocolate, VEGAN BEN & JERRY’S (need I say more), ALPRO hazelnut chocolate ice cream, MAGNUM vegan classic.

For meat replacements:

• FRYS do the best chicken style meat replacements, I would recommend the burgers and nuggets.
• VEGIDELI CHEATIN’ bacon rashers are a must try.

There are also a lot of good vegetable style burger options in most UK supermarkets and they have their own range of meat-replacement products. Once you know what you like and can implement the replacements into proper meals, keep this up for a while. Then, I would slowly start to cut out products from the other category and find replacements, see what works for you and what meals you can make with them.

Next, lets debunk the bread rumour. Bread is vegan. I am not sure why people trying out a vegan or plant-based diet try to find a vegan bread and pay an extremely large amount for it (well of course it will be if its rye wholegrain blah blah bleughh made in á de la due). However, with that being said if you are looking in the fresh bakery section then I would have a look at the label indicating what is in the bread (a few contain dairy). Also, dry pasta is vegan.

This next one is revolutionary and my favourite to debunk. Most junk foods are vegan, oreos yes, crisps yes, biscuits yes, cereals yes etc. Look at the ingredients if it does not contain whey, milk, eggs etc. but says it may contain milk or another form of dairy does not mean it contains it. The factory where the product is made also handles dairy products so in the case of cross-contamination, the company has to indicate there may be a chance it contains dairy however it is highly unlikely.

(PS. If you got this far, I am not advocating a junk food diet, I am simply stating you can go vegan without giving up the snacks you would normally have or pay for some overpriced snacks simply because they have a vegan stamp on them).

Next, lets move on to eating out. This can be difficult as when I first went vegan I would cancel out on my friends because I knew I would be a hassle or did not want to sit there eating a salad. But, over time it has gotten so much easier because most restaurants now have vegan options. Also, it is always a good idea to check the menu online and see which items you can eat. In some cases, you can ring up the restaurant in advance and ask if they cater for vegans. Or, you can look at the vegetarian options and in most cases there is always a small ingredient that is non-vegan so you can ask the waiter if they can leave that out. If you are travelling, always pack food for yourself, options at train stations are rubbish.

Veganising meals. When I first went vegan I watched hotforfood, avantegardevegan, minimalist baker (great website for recipes), the vegan corner, sweetpotatosoul, Rachel Ama, Sukkari Life and just recently I’ve been following Lucy Watson (an online persona) who came out with two great vegan recipe books. She is probably my favourite because she is from the UK making the ingredients she used easily accessible for me.

Some videos/documentaries I think are good on educating yourself regarding a vegan lifestyle:

• Philip Wollen, Animals Should Be Off the Menu
• John McDougall, The Food We Were Born To Eat
• Neal Barnard, Power Foods For the Brain
• Neal Barnard, What the Dairy Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know
• Gary Yourofsky speech at Georgia Tech, 2010
• Moby, Why I’m Vegan
• Michael Gregor, Food as Medicine
• Michael Klaper, The Most Powerful Strategy for Healing People and the Planet
• Earthlinged, You Will Never Look at Your Life in the Same Way Again
• What the Health
• Forks over Knives
• Cowspiracy

I would like to say one more point when making the transition. Do not follow youtubers’ or online persona’s for advice or follow their diet choices (within veganism there are many different diets such as raw, high carb low fat, vegan paleo, vegan keto etc). At the end of the day, you know what is good for your body so nourish it and do not restrict or make it harder for yourself. We are only presenting options to make it easier for people considering going vegan, in no way are any of us health professionals and know what is good for others. If you are struggling or think you are lacking on a vegan diet, consult a doctor or nutrionist.

Sentimentality

Why do we get so sentimental or nostalgic about our past or when we come towards the end of a chapter in our life. The past is behind us yet we like to remind ourselves of what it felt like, knowing that feeling has long gone. Is being sentimental a good or bad thing?

A simpler time

Dragged out of a deep sleep from the sudden alarm of my iphone across the room, I don’t take long to get out of bed to turn it off. I can’t handle it ringing for another second. I’ve associated the sound with being in a rush from my early mornings getting ready for uni now the sound terrifies me and makes me feel like I have to rush through life, as if I’m running out of time.

Half asleep the first thing I check on my phone are emails and then swipe to see what the latest news is. I quickly realise I can be here for an hour checking through my phone so I put it on charge and stretch to wake myself up and think about New York, how I wish I was there. I wonder if there is someone in New York waking up to the sound of traffic and wishing they were here. 

Observations #1

Bustling music, people in distinct conversations.

A bar seat with a window overlooking a car park. People walking across on the sidewalks, in their own minds. I wonder what kind of life they lead, where are they going to or coming from. What are they thinking as they walk. What are they looking at on their phones, is it so interesting to avert their attention from them walking. Walking seems so robotic when we are staring down at our phones. Deep in thought I can see my own reflection in the window and of others as they walk by in the background. I feel so at peace, just taking in everything going on in my surroundings but at the same time allowing my mind to wander, picking things up and letting them go. A voice coming from just behind me, moves towards the vacant space beside me, pulling me back to reality as it questioningly says my order and places it on the empty space of the table just beside me.

Learning to walk again

I read a book about anxiety, which I keep on going back to whenever I spiral down.

Something I really liked about it was how it described it as learning to walk as you once did when you were small. I’m sure we have all fell at some point in our lives, however we managed to get ourselves back up despite this and eventually learnt to walk. This is exactly what it is like, overcoming anxiety. It will not happen overnight, but with practise it will get easier.

Everyone in life experiences setbacks. We have to find ways to deal with them. When they do occur it does not mean we have failed, it is important not to give ourselves a hard time. When a setback occurs we are not back to the beginning. Think about all the progress you have made and see it as an experience to learn something. We learn more from things when they do not go right than when they go well. Reflection can help with this, take some time to examine what has happened, why it happened and what you can learn from it. It is important to remember we can manage the impact anxiety has on our life. 

If we can understand our thought patterns we can do something about them. Through managing your thoughts, you can manage anxiety. Thoughts may seem like a part of you, however they can be changed. If you can identify your unhelpful thoughts, you can challenge them. Thoughts are automatic and random, they come into your head whether you like it or not. At times you may feel you have no control over what thoughts you have but you can choose how you react to them. 

When a negative thought comes you can use different options or methods to challenge them. I will go over these options. The first is to demand evidence. You can challenge a negative thought and replace it with a more balanced thought. You can ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the evidence?
• What type of unhelpful thinking am I making? (expecting the worst/fortune telling)
• What are the different views? What would someone else think? What would you advise your friend?
• What effect does this thought have on me?
• What action could I take? Is there anything I can do to change things? Am I ruling anything out? 
• Finish off with a balanced thought. I am going to be okay.

The second thing you can do is to dismiss the thought. A thought can make you worry which will physically wear you out. A way to address this is to see if the thought will matter in 5-10 years time. On a scale of 1-10 how important is it? Is it likely to happen? If it is unlikely then you are putting your body through unnecessary stress. Are you wearing yourself out over something that had not occurred or may not happen? If this is the case then worrying will not prepare you for it, it will tire you out. Are you worrying about something that is not under your control? At times, we cannot do anything about anxiety we learn to accept and live with things we have no control over. 

Third point is to distract yourself. Constantly thinking about your worries can make you feel worse, distractions can help take your mind of how you are feeling. This reduces physical symptoms. Keep a list of things to do to distract yourself and go back to the list. This could include: activities such as exercising, going for a walk, drawing, painting, housework etc. Look at small details around you, describe it out loud. Focus on breathing (youtube Vipassana meditation). Imagine a place where you feel safe. Remember a time you felt happy, describe this.

The final point is to challenge your anxiety. What you do or don’t do affects your level of anxiety. It can make things good in the short-term but it can make things worse for you in the long-term. It is important to face the fear slowly. Give yourself a chance to stay in the stressful situation so you can feel the anxiety reduce. Your body will get used to it and will be able to overcome your anxiety. To do this, make a list of things you avoid or do to reduce anxiety. Rate each item on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the most anxious you feel and 0 is where you are comfortable. Put your list in order and start off with the easiest steps and work your way up. 

You can use these options as a toolkit to treat your anxiety. However, the book is very insightful and looks at understanding anxiety and worry and ways to beat it. I would recommend it to anyone, just reading this post you’ve taken the first step.

The self-help book is called Unwind your mind. A guide to how you can manage worry and anxiety.

Coffee, coffee and more coffee

Can we skip an intro…..

and just launch into whatever this space will be about

Today’s topic: BRUNCH!

Am I the only person that would get up at 5am just to enjoy the sliver of quietness and pure bliss you get when making coffee. I am pretty sure making coffee is a form of stress relief in itself. AND THAT FIRST SIP

Fast forward to avo toast

All I need in life: bread and some great coffee.

I go to a lot of cafes so I will definitely be posting more posts such as this and show my favourite places to get some great coffee around the city.

Also, could you BE any more millennial than paying bank for an avocado toast and an oat milk latte.

Until next time

Caiou