What I Ate Today: vegan edition + recipe

Just as a foreword, I'm not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian. I eat meat occasionally but very rarely, and I'm trying to decrease my intake of animals products more and more. My aim is to make as many of my meals vegan as I possibly can. Some substitutes are really easy to make, and I've never been a big fan of dairy or eggs anyway. Regularly, I try not only to eat one vegan meal a day, but to have a complete vegan food day. Eating vegan just makes me feel good mentally and physically. My energy levels are much higher, I don't get tired after a meal or bloated, and my headaches have become less. On top of that, it is so much easier to keep my weight in check and I find I can eat more vegan food and feel satisfied and full, than if I were to eat a regular meal. At this point I don't think I'll ever be 100% vegan, but my aim is to consume more clean, plant-based foods and make them a priority in my diet.

Breakfast: 1 spelt flour roll with hummus and veggies + 1 cup of peppermint green tea

I had a very simple breakfast today, consisting of a bread roll which I picked up from my local bakery. It was done with spelt flour (lower gluten level than wheat), carrots and sunflower seeds. I put some hummus spiced with ginger and curry on both halfs and topped one with red bell pepper (my favourite), and the other with cucumber and a little bit of black pepper. Delicious!! 

As a beverage, I had one cup of peppermint green tea by teapigs, which is quite rare for me as I don't tend to drink something hot in the morning. I also had a glass of water right after I got up today.

Lunch: Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with coconut and almonds + 1 banana

Around 1:30 pm, I was hungry again and had lunch. I'd prepared a chia seed pudding the day before as I knew I'd be in the mood for something chocolat-y. I can't go a day without some kind of chocolate and this is one of the healthiest ways to have it. Around 30 minutes after, I also had 1 banana and 1 tall glass of water.

If you're interested in the chocolate chia pudding, here's how I made it:

2 tbs of chia seeds

3/4 tbs of cocoa powder or to taste (make sure it's the baking kind, no added sugar)

120 ml light soya milk (or your milk of choice)

1 tsp of flaxseed (optional)

sweetener to taste (I used stevia)

toppings (optional): 

4 almonds

shredded coconut

Mix your chia seeds, flaxseed, cocoa powder and sweetener together and add 120 ml of milk (you can use more or less than 120ml depending on how thick you want your pudding to be). Stir until the cocoa is disolved and the chia seeds evenly distributed. I added 2 drops of essential orange oil, but I've also done it with peppermint oil or cinnamon before. The possibilities are endless! Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2 hours. 

(Recommended: After 1 hour, I usually give it a stir as the chia seeds like to seperate from the liquid sometimes.)

Top with your favorite toppings. Today I used shredded coconut and almonds, but any type of nut works here. I often make this as a breakfast option as I can put everything together the night before and it's ready to eat in the morning. For breakfast, I make a larger portion and use more liquid, so it's runnier and top it with fresh fruit.

Snack: 1 serving on LantChips Original

As a snack between lunch and dinner I had one serving (25g) of Lant chips. I like the original kind which is lightly salted. These chips are organic and only have 3 ingredients: potatoes, sunflower seed oil and salt. You can actually taste the potatoe and they are slightly thicker than regular chips from the supermarket. I get these from my local organic grocery store, but I've heard they are also available from IKEA.

Dinner: Falafel with salad

I wasn't too hungry because the chia seed pudding was very filling, so I fried up 5 falafel in some coconut oil and made a salad to go along with it. The salad consisted of carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, mushrooms, greens including cabbage and a dressing of lemon and olive oil.

I hope you enjoyed my first 'What I Ate Today' post. If you want more of these, let me know.

 

My Top Five Uses For Coconut Oil

I use coconut oil for pretty much everything. There are other amazing oils out there that are worth checking out, but coconut oil tops them all for me and here's the reason why: it smells good. I know, sounds stupid, but the biggest problem I have with other oils, like olive or avocado, is that I don't like the smell of them. I still use them for cooking, but coconut oil is so special for me because I use it universally for pretty much everything.

Coconut oil from my local german drugstore (Alnatura)

1. cooking/baking

I love using coconut oil in my cooking. It has a high smoking point, so won't burn on you as quickly as other oils do. It's also great in certain recipes, as it solidifies when the temperature drops. That means it can sometimes act as a binding agent. There are so many amazing recipes with coconut oil that I will share with you soon, the list is never ending.

2. hair mask

I often use coconut oil as a hair mask. On days when I don't have to be anywhere, I'll smooth the oil on the lower 2/3 of my hair, put it in a bun or braid and leave it until the next day. Simply letting the oil soak in overnight or for a few hours will already help. Other than as an overnight mask, you could also heat some coconut oil, mash some avocado in for added moisture, and smooth it onto your ends. Wrap you hair in a towel and leave for 30 min to one hour, then shampoo out. Sometimes, when I need an extra kick and my hair looks dull, I will use the oil as a serum after washing my hair. Caution: a little goes a very long way!

3. body lotion

The skin on my body is quite sensitive and very dry. Regular body lotions usually don't do anything for me. After taking a shower, I will smooth a little bit of the oil between my hands and work it into my skin. It has a subtle scent but nothing overpowering, so any perfume you want to use will not be compromised. I find that coconut oil sinks in really quickly and doesn't leave a residue on my skin, so I can get dressed almost immediately without greasing up my clothes. I also smooth it down my hands and my cuticles for a mini mani.

It does wonders for my skin after shaving as well. I'm very prone to gettin razor burn and the coconut oil calms everything down in seconds.

4. deodorant

Other than being very moisturizing, coconut oil also has anti-bacterial qualities. I use it in conjunction with bicarb and essential oils as a deodorant. It doesn't stop the sweat but definitely the smell!

5. face mask

I have combination to oily skin but, especially in the winter months, I tend to get dry patches around my mouth, nose and on my forehead. Whenever that happens, or if my skin is irritated for any reason, I'll use about a teaspoon of coconut oil as a face mask. Again, you can add in other components to make your mask even more potent (avocado, egg yolks etc.), but the coconut oil on its own is more than enough for me. I will smooth it onto dry, cleansed skin, leave it on for 10-20 minutes and take it off with a warm face cloth. If you have normal or dry skin, you can also leave it on overnight for an extra boost of moisture. Simply apply it instead of your nightcream. Some of my friends use coconut oil as a face moisturizer regularly, which would be too much for my skin, but it might work for you.

So there you have my top 5 uses for coconut oil. I often use it as a make-up remover as well, it's pretty much a universal product that can be used in any way. I love working with oils in general. They are gentle and non-irritating and you can be sure that you've done yourself and the environment a favour. One last thing: make sure your oil is cold pressed and not refined!!

Which oils do you use? Do you have a favourite?

Nail Of The Day: La Moss by Butter London - an old favorite

As soon as it gets colder outside, I have the urge to wear dark polish on my nails. While I love my forest greens and dark navies, my absolute favorite colour to wear during autumn and winter is a dark, blood red. La Moss by Butter London is the perfect choice.

I love it because it looks sleak and sophisticated but is still something different from your average pink or nude. It's easily something that I wear to formal functions, birthdays and in every day life.

Butter London polishes are not the cheapest but they are great quality. They apply very smoothly and dry quickly. I've never had problems with any of their polishes! What is the one nail polish you take out when the leaves start changing?

Style: Blink Boots with Cuban Heel

I have been looking for cute and stylish booties for a long time now. I've been on the hunt for them everywhere but I haven't found anything that I liked. I wanted a bottie that has a small heel but is not too long in the front because I don't like that look with my short legs. I recently browsed the website of Anna Saccone again (can you tell I'm obsessed?) and found these super cute boots in a mid brown color. What I love about them is that the back part has a slightly different color and half of that is studded. They look fancy enough to spice up a boring jeans/sweater outfit but still understated enough to wear with a statment piece.

I am absolutely in LOVE with these shoes! You do need to wear them for a while to be comfortable as they are quite tight in the front. I wear lacy socks with them at the moment because it makes it easier to slip into them. As soon as they're broken in, though, I'll be fine to wear regular socks. Oh, the burden of new shoes...:) Oh, also they're on SALE at the moment!!

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Blink Booties with Cuban Heel in Mid-Brown for €53.91 from Asos

Autumn: Shower Gels - Ponche and Warm Cinnamon Nights

I LOVE taking showers. I'm not one to take a bath very often but when I'm in the shower, that's my time to relax. For that reason, I prefer nice scented shower gels - they're my treat! At the moment I am obsessed with two shower gels, which scents fit perfectly into the colder months. 

 

On the left is a well known favourite, Lush's Ponche. This shower gel only comes out around Christmas and I absolutely love it. It is described as a mix of plum, orange and tequila. I could never recoginize the individual components but it has a very fruity and spicy fagrance which is perfect for getting in the autumn mood and still very nice for Christmas.

On the right is a very recent buy from my local drugstore. The brand is called treaclemoon (www.treaclemoon.de) and currently only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Warm Cinnamon Nights is a limited edition shower gel by this brand and it's one that reminds me more of Christmas than Ponche. It's beautifully sweet and smells strongly of cinammon. It has an underlying fruit scent, though, so it's not too sickly sweet. Also, it doesn't dry my skin out at all which many shower gels do. It's are a little more pricey than your regular shower gel from the drugstore but nowhere near as expensive as Ponche (8.99€). Another thing I appreciated a lot, is that Warm Cinnamon Nights is available in a try-me size in the travel section. This 60ml size is the one I bought and it gives you a fair chance of trying it out for a couple of weeks. I take a shower every morning and have used Warm Cinnamon Nights every day so far. It's about half way empty, so I'd estimate that there's enough product for 2 weeks or so.

Do you have any shower gels which you take out/buy for autumn and Christmas? I'd love to know!

Becoming healthy again!

 Getting Back To Healthy Eating!

I'm on a diet! 

Well, not really a diet, but I'm trying to get back to healthy eating. I've always been pretty good with my diet but somehow I started to get into all different kinds of food and ways of eating. All this threw me off and my routine became a routine no more. 

Two years ago, I went to Italy on vacation and I gained around 2-3 pounds, as you do on vacation, especially when the food is as good as in Italy. I mean, is there anything that doesn't taste good in that country? Anyway, I never lost those 2-3 pounds and here and there, over the last two years, I gained another one and another one....you get my drift. It all amounted to around 10 pounds that I gained. I was at a really great weight, so I'm still not overweight, but I don't feel comfortable in my skin anymore and I think that's the most important part -

As long as YOU feel good, 2 or even 5 pounds more are fine. If you don't feel good anymore, it's time to make a change.

I'm making that change. I've tried different diets and even tried eating as much raw food as possible. Nothing worked! I gave up on the different diets because they were too strict or didn't fit into my schedule. Then I stumbled upon Anna Saccone's (www.annasaccone.com) youtube channel and I watched her What I Ate Wednesday videos. Finally, I remembered how I used to eat, which is very close to her concept. Nothing is forbidden but it's about moderation and choosing the healthy option 80% of the time. The other 20% you can sin in moderation. Her videos are really inspiring. She eats regular food and just uses her head on what choices to make when it comes to her diet. I needed the help of her videos to get back into a routine that feels good. A regular diet in which I eat healthy food but allow myself a small treat every day. I did count calories at first, just wrote them down on a sheet of paper, to keep track of my meals during the day and to get an idea for what is okay to eat and what would be too much.

I've only been back to a good, healthy diet for one week, but I feel great. 

I won't be doing 'What I ate' posts every week, but I plan on doing them once in a while. If you need some inspiration and are interested, check out Anna's website and youtube channel! It's really made a difference to me.

Michael Todd Skin Discovery Kit - Normal/Combination Skin

I've heard so much about Michael Todd and his organic skincare and I finally decided to order a try-me kit for my combination skin. This kit includes 

• Honey Oat gentle deep pore cleanser, 30ml
• Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner, 30ml
• Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub, 30ml
• Citrus Cream Moisturizer, 30ml
• Pumpkin nutrient-rich facial mask, 30ml

I have tried these products for a little over 2 weeks now and I still have a little bit left of every product. I love the individual sizes because they are great for traveling but also really give you enough product to thoroughly test everything over a longer stretch of time. I also received one pumpkin facial mask extra which you can see in the pic on the very left. It's actually a larger size than the one in the kit. While I'm very happy about the very large sample, I would have liked it to be something else because the mask is already included in the original kit.  

After trying every product individually and the whole range as a skin care regimen, I have to say that I am not as impressed as I expected to be. I initially came across Michael Todd because many posts on blogs and youtube videos are dedicated to this brand and they all speak highly of it. I was disappointed because the products did not work for my skin at all. The cleanser is not too bad but only average in my estimation. It actually left my skin red and feeling slightly dry and tight afterwards. The facial scrub and toner are, again, average and don't stand up to many drugstore face scrubs I have tried. The moisturizer actually failed completely for me. It made my skin greasy throughout the day, overly so. I had to powder every two hours or so to get rid of the shine. At the same time, my skin didn't feel particularly hydrated. The Citrus Cream Moisturizer gets a big miss from me!!

The one product I LOVED and would actually consider repurchasing is the pumpkin facial mask. It is slightly exfoliating but still gentle and leaves my skin feeling soft and gives it a nice even complexion. I was very pleased with the result and am happy about the second sample after all!

Have you tried this brand before? What are your thoughts? I would love to know! 

For the price of the product and the shipping from the States to Germany, I will probably not shop at Michal Todd again. The face masks are something to consider but there are many amazing ones easier to get where I live that do a similar or even better job. If you live in the States and Michael Todd is easy to get where you live, I would recommend trying out the Pumpkin Facial Mask.

Michael Todd Skin Discovery Kit for Normal/Combination Skin on www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com

for $36