Vegan for Vegetarian Week- Oh My!

It’s Vegetarian week this week and for a while I have been having the urge to stick to just eating veg and ditching the near. Now for my meat loving friends its a huge shocker but the reality is that in the recent weeks I’ve started loosing appetite for eating meats and have subconsciously been selecting vegetarian options instead. This is not the first time I’ve been vegetarian, in fact I see myself as a “flexitarian”. This means that I flex between being a vegetarian, pescatarian and straight up meatlover. In the past, I have been vegetarian from a month to 3 years. It’s usually until it wears off. So you’re probably wondering “why”? Well my friends, I’m yet to still figure this out for myself.

But as mentioned previously, it’s vegetarian week and I thought to myself, I wonder what it would be like to take my eating lifestyle to another level, by being vegan for a week. I’ve never done this before but I know for a fact that I have had vegan days without realising and I’m pretty sure most of you would have had experienced the same if you think about. Now before you talk smack about how vegans are like rabbits eating leaves and carrots or how you always have meat or fish in every meal, I would like you to think of a time when you ran out of meat/ fish/ milk/ cheese and you had to complete your meal without it? Or you felt peckish and wanted to grab a quick snack so you bought packet of oreos? See? Well I have a few more examples that I actually realised for myself.

1. pasta and tomato sauce without any meat or cheese (because you didn’t have any)

2. Crisp/ chips

3. Veg Fried rice/ Rice and peas / Jellof rice on its own

4. Chow mein

5. Oreos/ Ritz crackers

6. Aunt Jamaica’s pancake

7. Bagels/ Bread and margarine

8. Income Instant noodles (fried onion and fried noodles flavour).

And there are more!

Being a vegan sounds really daunting. One thing I  must is that being a vegan on day 3 has been an absolute eye opener to realising the lack of options there are available when you’re out in public and you don’t have your packed lunch. I pretty much feel like I’m left with no choice other than eating snacks like crisps, nuts or fruits, just to get me through the day. And if I really wanted something to eat, I would have to ask the food place for the ingredients to ensure it was actually vegan friendly or result to eating salad. For this reason I feel like it’s definitely more expensive to be vegan when you are out, than when you have a pantry full of options on what to cook for yourself at home.

What’s more, I nearly fell into the trap of accidentally eating mac ‘n’ cheese all because I was craving a cheese and onion slice from the bakery today, until I realised that I was trying out the vegan diet! Clearly I have been tempted to already give in. Luckily, I saw a Burrito place and was able to order myself a really nice and juicy naked burrito without cheese and sour cream but with extra guacamole.

KUDOS to all the vegans out there. I’m going to be strong and try it out for a week but if I give in, it is not my fault *hides face* I just don’t think a complete vegan life is for me just yet.

Let me know if you’re participating in Vegetarian week or if you are a vegan by commenting on this post. It would be interesting to hear on the different takes on people’s experience.

Peace… Inner Peace💙

PEACE… such a simple and calm word yet so difficult to accomplish, especially in this day and age where it seems to be anything and everything going on at the same time. Achieving inner peace is just another hurdle to overcome in the current social, technological and economic environment. Nowadays, it’s difficult to spend some quality time alone because society tries to get us involved in either interact with one another on a number of trending issues through the ones close to you or through social media, which is driven through technological device like mobile phones, laptops, TV, tablets you name it. With technology becoming ever increasingly smarter and convenient to users, many of us result to spending quality time alone with our devices, to either search for inspiring information to stay positive, or treating oneself to a treat through online purchases, rather than developing your own inspiration from within. Furthermore, by being surrounded by all these distractions, it can become quite overwhelming, in realising what your mind, body and soul are actually longing for, in order to feel at peace.

The aim of achieving inner peace, is to peacefully care for yourself by replenishing your spirit, distress and give yourself the time to heal. Achieving inner peace is a process that takes you on a journey to experience and enjoy your own personal journey, particularly when recovering from a mental or emotional trauma. 

So if attaining inner peace is about staying away from all these different types of distractions, how is it possible to achieve this alone time with any given circumstances?

Well, the message is in the time. Inner peace is achieved after a period of time, which is spent alone in tranquillity to connect with yourself (mind, body and soul). Some may result to meditation either for religious reasons or a form.of exercise through Yoga, pilatese, mindfulness or simply working out in the gym. Other means include reading, painting, DIY, and any other light hobbies that enable a state of serenity. 

Nevertheless, over the past year and a bit, I have grown to practice having as much time alone as I possibly can. And as a busy student who was engaged in many activities at university, whilst studying full-time as well as working every day, my moments were often ceased in the morning, whilst walking 15 minutes to my bus stop and back home, and over the weekend. This routine consisted of taking deep breaths and meditating whilst on my way. In previous years, my go to distressed was working out at least 2 times a week and making sure that I maintained a healthy diet. However due to circumstances, rather than exercising in the gym my exercise resulted through my walks, which at first seemed a little stressful but eventually became a habit over some time and I began appreciating the moments I did have to myself.

Overall, inner peace takes time to create and time to achieve. It’s a process that cannot be rushed but with time and dedication, can be become the best investment in such little time. Even through a hectic schedule, you will treassure the moment you had to draw up energy, which you initially thought you didnt have. Moreover, the benefits you reap from gaining inner peace allow you to become in sync with yourself mind, body and soul. It allows you to heal and overcome any trauma that you have encountered and overtime help you to love and establish yourself to not only inspire yourself to look after yourself more but the benefits transpire through you and to others who are surround by you. So go ahead and give yourself some time alone. Your body deserves it!