It's a Green House

Having recently gone vegan I noticed a few things happen that I didn't expect and I've been making a note of these things as I go, as I know once I get a bit more experienced this new phase gets forgotten! I didn't give up dairy with the aim of any of these things happening, but they are all very welcome. If you are thinking of going vegan, or just curious as to how it goes, then these are the benefits you may not expect: You will automatically start eating better, even if you aren't trying to, I expected to eat more fruit and veg but didn't think about the fact that I would eat more variety of fruit and veg or that I would make healthier food choices due to choosing vegan options. It's not all health food though if that's not what you want! You will get excited about food again. I'm trying new recipes, new foods and new ingredients that I never considered before.  You will learn to appreciate your supportive family and friends, and learn who your ...

My second post on vegan food through the past month, don't worry I'm not going to spam you with food pictures every month but just documenting my finds over the first few weeks! November saw some new meals for me, my first roast dinner at someone else's house for one. My dad cooked it for me, I brought Linda McCartney pies and left one in his freezer for next time, he did all the veg and potatoes with no dairy :) We had the second one shortly after and Toms mums and I took Tesco nut roasts. First take away too, from Eurasia in Cheltenham - no photo as we got a power cut as it arrived so we ate in the dark! Tom likes an Indian takeaway so I knew this would be a hurdle to cross and bulk emailed a load of local restaurants to see who offered a vegan choice. I had mushroom sagwalla, chapati and poppadoms - just not having the mint and yoghurt dip. I like a korma so am looking for somewhere that does vegan korma (theirs has dairy), but it was a really good alternative and ...

Recently while I was washing up tupperware for the millionth time that week the thought crossed my mind 'would it be weird to ask someone for decent tupperware for Christmas?' Probably, but I would seriously love it as a present. This post started to formulate itself in my head, so here's a gift guide for the fitness obsessed girl in your life if you're looking for some inspiration :) Gym wear. Leggings, vests and tee's. Hoodies, cycle wear, running gear, hiking gear. Socks, headbands or accessories if you aren't sure on sizes :)  from here from here from here from here Vouchers - For a new type of class, bootcamp or experience. Or again for clothes, we can never have enough gym clothes. Like this groupon for yoga classes Food. We are obsessed with eating. A meal plan subscription, or a veg box delivery. Vouchers for a health food shop, or a website. Kit - Depending on their activity of choice of course, yoga mat, wrist supports, kn...

Recently I started substituting all of our cosmetic and cleaning products to cruelty free versions. I don't know why some animal tested products had found their way back in but they had. Maybe I just got lazy over the years or to be honest I think I just stopped checking products after a while as I thought I knew who tested and who didn't. Also AVON started testing on animals again. Which screwed up my whole system as ALL of my cosmetics were from them!! So I had to restart the whole process of finding cruelty free cosmetics, and I thought I might as well redo the cleaning products while I was at it. Seriously AVON wtf, like wt actual f. Anyway... It is so much easier nowadays as you can check in store on your phone if a company tests on animals (when I went veggie in the olden days it was if in doubt don't buy it, go home and look it up or ring them on the landline and ask...then go back and buy it if it was ok). I also use facebook groups and this website or thi...

A lot of questions people ask me generally, or if they are considering giving up meat and/or dairy, is about eating at restaurants.  I had my first meal out as fully vegan last week (before I've noted vegan choices but not necessarily always picked them), I made a little extra effort than I had before and rang the restaurant we planned to go to in advance to check what they had available. We went to the Storyteller in  Cheltenham . They were very helpful on the phone advising that at least 2 of the vegetarian options could be made vegan easily if I just ask for no cheese or dressing. It’s south west American food, the fajitas and burrito could easily be made vegan I was informed. It was no  hassle  ordering, the waiter got what I wanted  straight  away and adjusted my order with no problems. It was also really nice and I got extra guacamole with my starter as I wasn't having the cheese dip, without me even asking. Great service, and the foo...

I read a lot, and since it’s back to school time and the weather is getting cooler I thought it was a perfect time to start sharing some of the books  I've  read so you might read them too!  Revival – Stephen King I am biased as I could read Stephen King all month, but this was another really good book that draws you in and gets into your head. As usual it’s not a book for anyone who  doesn't  like violence, death or gory details in their reading, as he  doesn't  spare your imagination in a lot of the novel. The start was interesting, set in a rural American town and from the perspective of a child. I found the characters really easy to get behind and you get the sense of gathering danger, tension and something brewing. The relationship with the preacher and the effect it has on the characters throughout their lives is a constantly evolving story, at the start you think he might be the good guy but that soon comes into question. The midd...

First few weeks vegan went well! Feeling good, lost weight/bloat not sure but I look slimmer around the middle, eating well, not hungry, actually liking the lack of fat and grease from cheese. All in all it's been an easy-ish transition this time and I think it's going to stick. Here's my finds, lessons and gratuitous food pictures. I can still have  macaroni and broccoli 'cheese' I went to a vegan fair on the 31st of October, so I went vegan fully 2 weeks before. I figured I'd be able to find any gaps in what I wanted and fill them at the fair. I was a little disappointed in the food choices there, a lot of bakery stuff so I had some nice cakes but I was looking for some food staples and a lot of it was cosmetics, accessories, and animal charities. Don't get me wrong all really good just not what I was hoping for as a new vegan. Rice, tofu, spinach and nutritional yeast However I did speak to some people from Pulsin' and got some vegan prote...

Everyone knows the big benefits of getting fitter, like losing weight, living longer and reducing your risk of certain health problems. There are however smaller, more personal or less talked about benefits that are also amazing, these are the ones I've experienced: Life is just easier, I can take the stairs, I can run around at work all day and still have the energy to go to the gym, I don't have to ask Tom to open jars for me any more, I can carry things that are heavy for longer, I can reach the top shelves without asking for help, I can sprint for the bus, I don't get tired standing at gigs and I don't overheat so quickly... You will eventually love feeling exhausted and sore, and the hour killing yourself at the gym or track will be the best part of your day. I relish getting covered in sweat, and feeling out of breath and tired. That's how you know it's working! I absolutely must come home at least one day a week and flop into the sofa proclaiming that...

Over the last 2 years I have lost, gained, then finally lost again a lot of fat. Really as a side effect of training for various things, but often others seem to focus on the weight loss as my main achievement. Which kind of nags at me, like I've done a lot of cool stuff recently and all you ask about is my weight? I was asked again the other day how much weight I've lost. My reply was I have no idea. I'm not being modest, I never used to weigh myself. Plus I am probably heavier on the scale that I was when I was 'heavier' anyway, but I'm pretty happy with my progress at the moment and I've changed a lot recently in terms of training and nutrition. The person asking again said how much did I think I'd lost. If you go by weight on the scale and that works for you fair enough, but please don't define the health and progress of yourself and especially others by that number We are all a lot of things more than that. For example I am not a number ...