PFF: vegan

Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts

Looking after the planet and all the animals on the planet is something that is really important to me, hence my decision to go Vegan and cruelty free. It has been around a year now since I started implementing these small changes into my life. These kind of changes are motivating and make you want to do more. It's a personal win, a small gain which you know is also doing fab things for the environments and the animals.

So I finally reached the point where I felt like I needed to do more. Like ok, yes, being vegan is great for the environment but what more can I? I am a religious recycler (ask my flatmates!) and I try to re-use things like old jars, plastic bottles and take my tupperware everywhere. I carry around a refillable water and coffee bottle. I take my own bags shopping and do my best to not buy the plastic ones. But... there's still a lot of room for improvement. I have recently stepped up my tooth brushing regime so I have a full compostable bamboo toothbrush and powdered toothpaste from Lush which is much more eco friendly. As I'm learning new things and the googling/ tweeting began (by far the best way to get tips), I have come up with a few ideas that I will implement in the coming months.

1. Reusable sandwich bags instead of plastic food bags.

This is a big thing I really want to change. The amount of plastic food bags I through away is ridiculous. I use them quite regularly for storage in the fridge and to take sandwiches - one reason for this is because it tends to take up less room/space. I'd like to make more effort storing food in my tupperware, even if it takes up more space and I will investment in some washable sandwich bags/wraps. Two options I am considering are here. I think this will be a great investment and will make my lunch also look cute (always down for that!). No more plastic in the ocean, please.

2. Composting food waste

I have expressed that this is hard to do living at university on campus but, as soon as I move back home I will be trying to compost food wastage a lot more. This is something I do irregularly (i.e. chuck my banana peel in the herbs or weeds) but, it's something I would like to make a habit out of and do on a regular basis.

3. Stainless steel razor

I would like to thank ... for this recommendation. This is something I would NEVER have thought of myself. My bathroom products are really the main area I think I need to work on - do you ever look at your hoards of plastic bottles and question whether it is really necessary? I know you can recycle them but still.. I do currently use disposable razors so I think investing in a reusable stainless steel razor (they're supposed to last a realllllly long time) will be a very worthy investment. Roll on pay day.

4. Taking my reusable items EVERYWHERE.

Do you ever get to Aldi and think 'Oh crap, I forgot my bags'. I always forget to put them back in the car after taking the groceries in. I really need to stop doing this. My solution - I'd like to start packing a mini reusable kit: a tote bag, water bottle, cutlery, reusable straw, steel thermal bottle (for coffee/tea), handkerchief and a tupperwear/reusable sandwich wrapper. This sounds like a lot but it's actually really easy to shove into my backpack and means I am prepared for all different situations.

Educating myself.

Netflix: A Plastic Ocean

Sky: Sky Ocean Rescue

Zero Waste: Going Zero Waste | Zero Waste Week | Bloggers

Ok, so there they are. My intentions for the coming months. Let's do this. Join me in an attempt to reduce waste; do good for the environment, the ocean, the animals and your bank balance.

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You might remember that back in September I wrote my 'September Healthy Habits' post (if you don't, you might wanna go read it here!). I set myself a monthly challenge to help reduce some not-so-healthy habits and try to create some healthy(er) habits i.e. drink more green tea and less coffee :( It worked. It really helped. I really enjoyed it and it really gave me something to track on a weekly basis. Bullet journal lovers you will love this. In fact i'm doing mine on these free January bullet journal printables by Sandra at Wundertastisch using the 'habit tracker' page.

I'm not the 'new years resolution' type of gal. Instead I prefer to set myself monthly challenges to keep things new and work on things that really need working on. Setting yourself a yearly goal is far too broad. It doesn't help you to improve. Without further ado, let's get on to chatting about my health goals for January - what they are and how i'm going to achieve them...

Eat legumes 3 times a week

Legumes or beans are the perfect source of vegan protein and i'm guilty of not eating enough of them. I love myself a veggie curry but I often forget to add some kind of protein to it. This is something I shouldn't neglect since I strength train and workout on a regular basis. Protein is so important for your body and so this has to be a focus for me in January. It only involves opening a bloody tin for goodness sake.

Run a 10k

Eek this is a challenge an' half considering I don't really love to run that much (it's alright sometimes, in summer, or by the beach). But hopefully me and my flatmates will be taking part in the Wolf Run in April which is 10k + obstacles so, i'd like to be able to run a 10k quite comfortably by that point. So my aim for this month is simply to run a 10k. Send help!

Complete 5 unassisted chin ups once a week

This is something I can do, I just don't. I really want to add more pull ups into my weekly workout routine. They're such a good upper body exercise and a great addition to any workout routine. I want to practice as I used to be able to do a lot more and there's no better way to improve at them. This shouldn't be too difficult, just a nice reminder to add more compound, function moves into my workouts.

8,000 steps per DAY

This is going to be hard for me. Walking was also part of my 'September Healthy Habits' as it's something I definitely let slip. I can probably hit 6000 quite easily on a day of lectures and walking to the gym. It's the other days that will be more difficult. You know what it's like when it's cold outside and you're all warm and snuggly inside - you don't want to leave do you?!

Complete one day a week 'raw til 4' style

This is something I naturally did quite a lot on holiday. I would eat lots of fruit and smoothies for breakfast, a salad for lunch and then have a cooked dinner. I really liked how it made me feel so it's something i'd like to add into my daily life. But it's winter and I prefer warmer food like oats in winter, especially for breakfast, so once a week is enough for me (for now!).

Take some 'me' time to read 5 days a week

Yes once a day. I was guilty of not really giving myself any chill time in the latter half of 2016 and as much as the fitness/food goals above are good, mental health is also equally as important. You can't neglect your mental healthy habits. So i'm really going to try to read (a non academic book) every night before bed. It really helps me relax and switch off. That 'me time' is just so valuable. The reason I have put 5 days is because I probably won't read at weekends if my boyfriend stays over.

January goals come at meh. Let's do this *flex emoji*

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There's so many cool, hip (did i really just say that!), fancy, cheap, nice food places to try in Amsterdam. I am definitely a foodie and that's the first thing i'll want to try whenever I visit a place. I want to try it all. I definitely felt like a weekend in Amsterdam wasn't enough. I didn't even get to try the infamous Febo (vending machine style fast-food) because i was SO full the whole time. Oh well. Maybe next time eh.

In this post i want to share with you two of my favourite places i ate in Amsterdam. My first ever Wagamama's was also enjoyed here although, it's not very cultural is it?!

Bagels & Beans

This is one of the first places I found when searching Google for places to eat in Amsterdam. There is a few dotted around the city. We went to the one near Vondel Park. This was a perfect spot for brunch after having a photo with the infamous 'I Amsterdam' sign.

I was really undecided between a sweet and savoury option. I went for the sweet option, obviously, it is me, but the Veggie-Chicken option did tempt me! I got the Banana sweet bagel with maple syrup and cinnamon on a cinnamon and raisin bagel. DELICIOUS. Everything you would want from a bagel and actually kept me full all afternoon. I also got an americano alongside with steamed milk (i'm pretty sure this was soya). The perfect midmorning fuel.

Bar Bukowski

A true gem that we just so happened to stumble upon. I'm really glad we did. I would highly recommend this place followed by or after a walk in Oosterpark which is lovely by the way. This is a cafè restaurant by day and cocktail bar by night. Named after the writer Charles Bukowski, his quotes are displayed everywhere and the decor is quirky and very instagram worthy. The menu is in Dutch, most of which you can decipher, but the waiter was super lovely and happy to help translate/answer all my annoying questions. We sat outside because it was July and it was really hot. I opted for an iced americano and the American pancakes! They were pretty amazing too. Totally unhealthy but worth it. The fruit on the side made me feel ever so slightly better about my decision #healthgoals.

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I can't believe we're in December already. It sounds so clichè but where has 2016 gone?! Where?! I don't often do monthly favourites, mostly because I'm forgetful and throw away half of the products. But, November has been a pretty decent month filled with lots of good memories and FOOD. I've taken a visit to Manchester Christmas Markets, took countryside walks, drank lots of Christmas coffees and ate lots of mince pies (oops!). So here are some of my favourite foodie and life bits from November...

Aldi Dark Chocolate Lebkuchen

Coincidentally my German friend introduced me to these after the Manchester Christmas Markets. I've never tried these before but, they're absolutely delicious. They're just Christmas in a biscuit. Perfect with a cup of tea, a hot chocolate or a Christmas coffee. Your choice. I'd have one (or probably two or three) of these with one of my homemade lattes.

Aldi Dark Chocolate Orange Rice Cake Bars

I've been obsessed with these for a long time. I featured them in my Vegan Snacks post. They're the perfect chocolate hit. They satisfy your sweet tooth and they're only 92 calories. Perfect Christmas snack. What's more christmassy than (Terry's) chocolate orange!

Chocolate buttons

I like chocolate OK! Chocolate buttons are cute AF. They remind me of childhood and they seem to last a lot longer than a regular chocolate bar. I like these sprinkled on oats or on hot chocolates. These are my two favourite flavours: White Chocolate from Tesco (40p) and Chocolate Orange from Asda (37p). They're both so good. Two of my favourite vegan chocolate finds.

Asda Dark Chocolate and Mint Spread

Ugh, where do I even start with this? This absolutely BEAUTY. You NEED this in your life. Spread this on toast, chocolate rice cakes, mix with hot milk for hot chocolate, eat straight off the spoon. You get the hint. It's just gooey, spreadable chocolate goodness. It can get pretty sickly but on the most part, you'll probably find it quite hard to put the spoon down. Also, the fact it is £1.50 just makes it even better.

Lidl Spiced Biscuit Spread

If you thought the chocolate spread sounded good then you will LOVE this. This is basically Lidl's version of Lotus Biscoff spread. It's also £1.50 which makes it tempting to buy two (yes I have done that!). If you don't believe how good this is, you can ask my flatmates. We've made it through a fair few of these jars and I'm taking orders to pick some up for Christmas (we're up to 8 jars in total!). So if you like Lotus biscuits and you like spreads.. this is for you. It's so damn delicious, I have to restrain myself, like a lot.

Flowers

I love getting fresh flowers, they make such a nice addition to the room. These were a lovely little treat off my boyfriend (brownie points). Combined with the festive Caffè Nero takeout cup (this is the 3rd Christmas cup in my room - crazy, I know!), I think this makes a really cute Christmas display. So pretty. It's always nice to be spoilt with pretty flowers. Who agrees?

Christmas Decorations

I wrote a blog post all about how I'm getting ready for Christmas. I'm feeling so christmassy this year and I don't know why. My favourite thing this November has been decorating my room in a Christmas theme (follow me on Instagram, I'm always sharing new roomie bits). I have a red, gold and green themed shelf in the photo above and my window is decorated with blues, pinks and whites. I have fairy lights galore. I'm honestly in Christmas room heaven.

DIY

This month, as well as decorating my room to be #roomgoals, I have been enjoying making some homemade, decorative roomie bits. I've been enjoying being creative. Pinterest has kept me busy that's for sure! I made the little parcel in the photo above out of an empty toilet roll. You can find out how to make it here. Not only is it fun but, I love spending my money on cute, crafty bits and bobs. Any excuse for a shopping trip!

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