Taking a break

I am taking a short break until my creative juices start flowing again. The winter has really hit my energy levels hard. It can only get better from here though as the evenings are getting lighter already. I really want to start making videos on my YouTube channel so look out for them. 

I hope everyone is well and are wrapping up warm. 

Much love

Jennifer x

Flower Power Friday

I didn't leave enough time to continue my story from last week, but it is in progress. So I'm going to be slightly boring and post pictures of some flowers that have cheered me up over 2013. The best smelling flowers were in Turkey in September, the scent that filled every evening was so pleasant for my senses I wish everyday smelt like it!

Think Thursday

Yesterday I wrote down my thoughts at work. I had a lot. I have come up with the idea that if I write down what I think daily and reflect it before bed or maybe the next day, that I would be able to start moving on.

I tend to think a lot about past events and I do this because I must not have got over things. I am terrible for holding grudges so it's something I should do to help.

I want to be healthy in my mind as well as my body, so I am going to introduce this slowly so that I can become used to it and stick at it long term. It wouldn't be a diary as such, I've tried keeping one daily and it never sticks. Perhaps if I only write what I'm thinking and nothing else, then this can help me.

Self therapy. No need for expensive counsellors. No visit to the doctor. No inconvenience for driving somewhere and taking up time. Just write the thought down immediately and reflect on it later.

Have you ever tried anything like this?

Much love

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday

I wish the sky was blue and the sun shone everyday. It would make me happier and I'd definitely spend more time outside.

Tasty Tuesday

I have been enjoying my breakfast smoothies recently because they've been berry delicious :-) I tend to have 1.2kg bananas and then a handful of mixed berries. The colour is a really deep pink and the taste is sweet, for a small amount of berries it doesn't taste like bananas at all.

I've been having at least 5 different fruits a day too. During September/October I had been on banana island. I had bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, followed by a salad or sometimes replacing bananas for dinner with a cooked meal. I think the lack of variety for a long period did not help me in some ways (lack of enthusiasm for eating only bananas), but since buying more fruit varieties I have been feeling excited about eating.

I started having B12 shots in October and then I got an outbreak of spots on my face, chest and back. Not sure what caused it, but the spots are still around. One good thing I have noticed a lot more recently is that my skin feels silkier than normal and although I have spots on my face, it looks healthy.

Bananas are great, hands down, but I think sometimes you can exhaust a particular food. Now I really appreciate my banana smoothies and I look forward to getting up for one after my morning jog.

I haven't taken a recent photo, but I shall update the post tomorrow.

Fruit it up everyday!

Much love

Jennifer x

Make it Monday

I forgot that I actually made something last week! I am here to show you what to do with your empty watermelon shell. 

So, when I have left over fruit I don't know what to do with it. I was talking about bird feeders for some reason and then I just thought about filling the empty watermelon with some left over food. My dad told me to attach some string and here is the result.

Now, I do not think that the birds have enjoyed my selection, but it is the thought that counts. If you are into wildlife and know a bit about what they will eat then I am sure you will fill the shells with something they will enjoy. I just had fun squishing it in.

Have you ever made a bird feeder or do you give your fruit scraps to the birds?

I'd love some tips on what to do with my food waste. The council stopped the composting bin collection and my dad does not want to compost in his garden, so I tend to put a lot of waste in the general waste bin :/ I feel bad for that.

Much love

Jennifer x

Soulful Sunday

Hurrah I had a few hugs this weekend :) 

My schedule has proved to be somewhat unrealistic. However, I think this could just be down to the situations I have experienced over the last week that were not predictable. I will try again this week and if it does not work, then I will redo it.

I just finished the 9th Sookie Stackhouse book, which means I only own one more to read. I shed a tear towards the end of this book. It really got me emotionally. I do not want to buy the next 3 because I have a lot of other books to read and as I want to declutter before I go travelling, I really have to read them all (unless they are hard to get into for the first 2 chapters I will consider not wasting my time).

I had a very weird dream last night. I was eating cooked food, but I cannot remember what it was and I was disappointed with myself for breaking my resolution only 11 days into it. Thankfully I woke up and realised it did not happen. However, today my dad and my brother had toast and it really got my cravings for bread up. Someone had left the corners of bread on the plate and for a split second I contemplated eating them (I never normally touch anyone else's leftovers so I definitely was not feeling like myself) and then I remembered my dream and I shook myself out of it. Strange. Later on though my brother went to McDonald's and I looked at his burger and felt another craving, but then I remembered this 14 year old burger and it freaked me out. I would really love to get my mouth on a chunky vegetable burger covered in a vegan sauce with a floured bun. Mmmm. Nevermind.

I've been watching Awkward in my spare time (as well as reading) and it just makes me want to go back to school/college/uni and live out my days as a student with all the usual teenage drama. Although this show is more dramatised than real life, I could not imagine someone to have a life similar. 

I got rid of some unwanted clutter, which is a relief, but I still have more to go. I think dealing with it all in one go is so overwhelming, I tend to keep things to cherish because I've got rid of other stuff. So doing it in stages is good because I get rid of most things eventually instead of hoarding it when I no longer have a use for it. I figure that if it really means something I can photograph it and then get of the physical object. I just hope that I do not get amnesia because my theory is that I will always have the memory.

Well I need to prepare for bed and possibly start the 10th True Blood book.

Much love

Jennifer x

Sweaty Saturday

As most of my spare time is now spent reading, it is not uncommon that I get my sweat on by reading sexy vampire novels. I know I keep raving on about these books, but oh my they do get my pulse racing. A while back someone posted a link on my facebook page that watching scary films can burn more calories than watching a comedy. I wonder how many calories I burn whilst reading these, sometimes scary and sometimes sexy, books.

Whilst I am not telling you to give up your gym session for a thrilling novel, I do believe that reading is a wonderful hobby. I just hope that the books left on my shelf can keep me entertained as much as the books by Charlaine Harris have.

Here's my activity for this week. I ran every morning except Thursday (only weekdays) and I did my arms and shoulders day and chest and back day at the gym. I missed Thursday's leg day because my mum came round after work. I may go tomorrow to do it, the gym should hopefully be quiet so I can use the "big boys" machines without getting too many looks.

Here's what I aim for:

Ciara's legs mmmm

I'd love a miracle to look like any of these women overnight, but I know it takes time. I need to get my body fat measured and although my BMI calculation says I'm "healthy", I think in 80-10-10 terms I'm possibly classed as overweight! I have so much blubber on my belly and thighs, it's disgusted me for well over 12 years. So, that means it's going to take a few years to achieve my optimum weight, shape and body fat percentage.

One day at a time. I just remember "what would future Jen do?" and I keep on going. Well hopefully by 2015 I will have at least lost some excess fat! I know health is important, but it's my outside that I see, so I want to look as great as I feel inside.

Much love

Jennifer x

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for Charlaine Harris. Without her my head would not be constantly stuck in a book. Gripping story lines about vampires, werewolves, witches and a blonde girl would not keep me on edge if it was not for her.

I am thankful for her great story writing.

Much love

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday

Today I wish that I had a fountain of knowledge. 

More specifically, I wish that I could recite facts, quotes and important information about why eating oils are bad for your health.

I do my best to stay out of peoples eating habits at work, but when someone says oils are "healthy" and they are not healthy looking, I start to question why we are all fed such BS and believe it. 

Omega 3 is apparently essential, but why is it that people automatically tell you to eat fish? Well according to this website, you are better off having ground flax seed. Just 2 tbsp provides 132.9% of the RDA for Omega 3, followed in second place by walnuts. Oh, fish came third but you'd have to eat 4oz of salmon just to get 61% of the RDA, which means if you rely on fish you'd need to eat a lot. Obviously I recommend the flax (as I am vegan and care about the life of fish), but I just cannot see why you would justify eating fish over plant based food.

Anyway, my colleague was talking about olive oil. I said it's better to go to the source of the fat than eat the oil, e.g. eat the olive (but they are normally coated in oil anyway *rolls eyes*) or if you really want healthy fats eat avocado. If I want to eat fat, I will eat it from a whole foods source. I do not like nuts as a source of fat because you have to eat so little and they can become addictive (and again the controversy about them being cooked/roasted to stop them going rancid), but I will make nut milk. 

This argument is also good for sugar. Why eat a chocolate bar loaded with preservatives, saturated fats, artificial ingredients, etc when you can just go for the fruit? Fruit is the best source of sugar hands down. So why do people keep eating the shitty seriously unhealthy bar of candy? The best days of my life have definitely included when I gave up chocolate, stopped drinking alcohol and stopped consuming meat and dairy. 

Give it up! You'll feel great (providing you eat the right foods once you've given up the wrong foods). 

Anyway, let's get back on topic. 

So, a fountain of knowledge would help me in situations when I have to defend my eating habits, my lifestyle in general and when I want to provide insight to people who believe the BS and are so closed minded that they do not know of any other way.

If I can recommend one thing to do this year it would be to cut out fat.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Next time you see me, please give me a hug!

Much love

Jennifer x

Tasty Tuesday

Today on Tasty Tuesday I have had an idea for making raw "cottage pie". So this recipe requires a "mashed potatoes" topping with a "meaty" gravy base. I thought about this at work because someone was eating something that looked like cottage pie. It used to be one of my favourite meals as a meat eater, especially topped with melted cheese...so now I want to try and make a raw version because I like getting creative in the kitchen.

I already know what the mash will be made from. It will be cauliflower. Below are some receipes that I will consider using and modifying for my pie.

Megan Elizabeth's video

The Rawtarian recipe

I do not want to add any salt or oil to my mash and the only issue I have with Megan's recipe is the coconut meat, because I do not think I can get my hands on a coconut she describes. I want to experiment with using a nut milk/cream to make it more sloppy like my mash potatoes would be and this will hopefully make it creamy. I know there is a whole controversy about nuts being raw, but on my "fully raw" year I will eat some nuts (in milk form) and I am having nutritional yeast too.

For the "meaty" base layer I need to find a good raw gravy recipe so I can marinate some vegetables in it before topping with the mash. The vegetables I am thinking about using are probably going to be onion, mushrooms, a small amount of carrot, some other soft vegetables and I want to shred/grate something with a chewy texture that can be the "meat".

I have a feeling I will struggle with the gravy. Again I want to avoid oil. I want this meal to be low fat, plus with the nut milk the gravy will have to contain as little fat as possible.

This is going to be a work in progress, but please do wait for the outcome. I'm sure I will try it soon :)

Much love

Jennifer x

Monday Musings

I am feeling like my week is so structured that I need freedom with my blog. I may keep certain days the same, but Make it Monday will only appear again when I actually make something!

Today I thought a lot about kissing. It was mentioned in a group I'm in on Facebook that a few people have never kissed a vegan, so it filled my thoughts most of the morning. As far as I'm aware there are no vegan guys at my work, so my daydreams of kissing a vegan from work will not come true...but I'd still like some lip action sometime soon! (I have kissed a vegan by the way)

My colleagues have accepted my random giggling now, but when I giggle it's often because of the thoughts I have like above. I remember in university one of my tutors said "I'd love to be inside your head to know what you think about" (or something along those lines). Oh yes, my head is a crazy place to be!

I've decided that I'm going to stop using Facebook so much. I've uninstalled the messenger app and taken the website off my homepage and bookmarks. I have not checked it today and I don't intend to. My phone battery life is almost full because of this!

Some things have put the internet into perspective for me recently. I need to spend more time reading my books and less time maintaining cyber friendships. If you want to be my friend I want texts or phone calls or even better face to face contact, no more Facebook.

So on that note I am off. 

Enjoy your evening

Much love

Jennifer x

Soulful Sunday

I guess this describes how I'm feeling! 

The internet is continuing to make me crazy!

I had a lot of thoughts...

Sleepy Saturday

I admit I've been lazy. Winter is really killing me off. My schedule has not started yet. 13 hours of work last week hurt my eyes. They've been bloodshot since. I am not feeling my normal self, so my focus is off already! Still raw though :-)

Let's start from Monday.

Much love

Jennifer x

Fun Friday

Welcome to Fun Friday!

It's a bit later than normal because I went shopping with my dad for wallpaper samples and then we watched some terrible English soaps, but today I felt like I wanted to watch brainless TV!

So, I am listening to Britney Spears and I want to dedicate this post to some of her videos and songs that I love and can have fun singing and dancing to.

An absolute classic.

Oops I did it again

One of my favourites

(You drive me) Crazy

This one had me dancing for years!

I'm a Slave 4 U

This version of the song is the best in my opinion and it features Austin Powers ;)

Boys 

(I love the dance from 2 mins onward)

No other song says Britney's back and she doesn't give a whaaaaat like this one

Gimme more

This has to be one of her best songs ever

Stronger

I love it when Britney dances

Till the World Ends

And as she has made a come back this is her first release from her latest album

Work B**ch

What I've learned from Britney is...

Work for what you want, keep dancing till the world ends, I am stronger for all the stuff I go through that tests me, people will still be wanting more, I also love boys (as in males, I prefer them to be 24+ and less than 40), I also love dancing, some boys drive me crazy and keep me up at night and no matter how innocent I appear I'll probably break your heart.

I love Britney. 

Much love

Jennifer x

Think Thursday

Welcome to Think Thursday!

Last year I decided to go vegan, first I went vegetarian in January and then towards the end of February I stopped eating dairy (although my official vegan anniversary date is 19th May). I went vegan with the intention of being a raw vegan, so I was high raw for days and then I'd give in to my cooked food cravings, or I'd see some vegan food I'd never tried before and ate that. I always felt like I let myself down. 

I did two fully raw 30 day challenges and kept disappointing myself by eating cooked foods. The weird part is this, I had been telling myself for the last few months that I would be fully raw from January 1st and so far I have not craved cooked food (that normally happens on the first day because I am "denying" myself of something). 

I think the fact that I had thought about it for a few months and made it my resolution, my body has just accepted it so far. As long as I stay prepared then I can only win in this situation.

So my thoughts are that as long as you think about something, set a date and make sure you are prepared for the commitment and your plan is easy to implement and maintain, then your body and mind can just make that switch over night.

I know it is only the 2nd of January and tough times may lie ahead (this is my 3rd raw day), but I am feeling really confident now about this. In fact I am super excited about the journey that I will have this year by eating fully raw.

Have you ever experienced anything like this before?

Much love

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to Wishful Wednesday!

As it is the start of a new year we now have 365 days (including today) to do something to make our wishes come true by the end of the year!

I wish to eat a lot of durian this year.

Photos from a Google search, I should try to reference where they are from...

And I'd love to be eating it alongside Durianrider ;)

Much love

Jennifer x