The sad day that I realized I was gluten-intolerant

Admittedly, I've had this hunch for a while. I've complained to friends, family, blog-readers, colleagues, Romans and country-men about how bad my digestion is and how my tummy gets upset all the time.So often in fact, that some people are starting to get quite irritable about listening to my digestion rants. 

Anyway, today I finally put two and two together, and worked out that it's wheat. And I had this realization while naughtily snacking on a Chinese fried dough snack. 

(Source)
It's like these, only flaky. I didn't even think to take a photo and
now it's been devoured 

How shall I describe the experience? 

First, I was happily enjoying some munch-time, and then about half an hour or so later, I felt really, really, really sick. Think of indigestion, bloating, and nausea all rolled into one. And then it hit me, this happens every time I have too much of anything with flour, including cakes, pasta, and bread. 

As a child, I remembered absolutely detesting having bread for breakfast. Bread was really difficult to stomach, but growing up in an Asian household, you learnt to eat whatever was put in front of you... or else!  

So, I grew up with a tolerance for being intolerant. Honestly! I thought it was perfectly normal to feel sick after meals all the time, which was why it also took me ages to work out that I had a lactose intolerance. 

There are many ways (most that have yet to be 100% foolproof) on how to test for food intolerance. The easiest way is to keep a food diary. This way, you can work out what foods trigger your intolerance, and hopefully see a pattern from that point onwards. You can also do Food Intolerance Tests, but these have yet to be proven to work. 

I did work out that I can have wheat in small amounts, just like I can have cow's milk in small amounts too. My symptoms only trigger when I've gone past my threshold. 

While I'm feeling a little peeved about this, hopefully this will help me curb my snacking. Ideally, I'd love to be able to munch on carrot sticks like some people do, but I love that feeling of fullness that gluten gives me (or in my case.... overly full when I've had too much!). Here's to a new gluten-less diet. 

Curried Quinoa with Tofu

Here's an easy mid-week dinner to whip up, especially if you are a fan of quinoa. It takes less than 30 minutes, and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. Leftovers are perfect for next day lunch.

Ingredients 

3/4 cup quinoa 

1 large onion, diced 

4 tbsp Indian curry paste 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 bay leaf 

3 cardamom pods 

1 tsp turmeric

3/4 cup sultanas 

1 1/2 cups stock 

almond flakes and coriander for garnishing 

oil for frying 

Brown the onion and tofu, add the curry paste and spices and fry till fragrant. 

Add the sultanas and quinoa and stir to coat. Pour in the stock and simmer till quinoa is cooked through. Add water if quinoa is still undercooked and it's looking a little dry. 

Garnish with almond flakes and coriander, and dig in! The sweetness of the sultanas mingle well with the rich spicy flavour, it's low calorie and high in protein from the quinoa and tofu. 

Easy Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

I needed a change from my regular diet of winter vegetable soups and stews today, so I decided to make something colourful that featured my favourite superfood, quinoa! Not only is this salad a beautiful assortment of colours, it is also nutritious and warm, so it's still perfect for winter.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegies 

3 cups cubed vegetables (I used eggplant and zucchini, but you can use capsicums, carrots, pumpkin, parsnips...) 
1 red onion sliced into wedges 
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes 
1 cup quinoa 
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
cumin to taste
2 cloves garlic 
2 cups stock/water 
Feta to crumble  
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil 

Preheat oven to a moderately high temperature (180-200C).
Mix vegies, onion and tomatoes with 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour into baking dish, and roast till cooked, about 10-15 mins.
Fry up the garlic and cumin in some oil, and add the quinoa. Add stock/water and cook till quinoa is puffed and fluffy.
Toss together the quinoa, roasted vegies and chickpeas, crumble feta on top. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve onto plates and drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar.

Voila, ready to be consumed!

Craving that perfect crunch?

What's the best thing that could happen on a Monday?

Free rice crackers in the mail, of course! 

I was lucky enough to receive some samples of Fantastic's Crisp'ns Rice Crackers, and boy are they delicious! Just the perfect thing when you have the munchies too, and a Godsend if you a fan of chips or other savoury crackers, and do not want to pile on the kgs. 

I received two serves of Crisp'ns in two different flavours - Original and Barbeque. One single serve is about 60kJ give or take, and has very low fat content! 

The Barbecue flavour was definitely my favourite. The flavour was so intense, it took away from the subtlety of the Original flavour that I tried second. Both have a really crunchy, light and airy texture. I much prefer these over previous brands of rice crackers that I have tried. It reminded me of my childhood  favourite - Wang Wang crackers! 

Tastes just like these!

The Barbecue flavour does add on a "whopping" extra 3kJ per serve though... so extra time on the treadmill may be required :P A recommended serving size is also a measly two crackers! Good luck keeping to that, these babies are so delicious! 

Like all processed foods, this will not be as healthy as munching on carrots, but if you want an occasional indulgence, why not give this a go? I rate this a 4/5...only because I'm sad I can't have more. 

Will you be giving this a go? What's your favourite snack? 

Eating the ayurvedic way

I've developed an interest in ayurvedic diets. I have always been intrigued by ayurveda, but was always slightly skeptical of its benefits. I had previously added it to my list of pseudo-sciences, along with homeopathy, chiropractics, and colonic cleansing (eek!).

Yet, there is a lot about ayurvedic doshas that paint me accurately. I am a pitta-vata. Pitta-vatas are normally medium-light build, sensitive, productive, and prefer hot and humid weatlher (if vata) or cold climates (if pitta). More information on your dosha type can be found on the Body and Soul website. If you need to identify your dosha, try doing this quick and easy quiz on the Yoga Journal.

The three different doshas that could affect your diet.
(Source)

Recently, I've been experiencing some pitta imbalance - feeling hungry, but experiencing frequent digestive problems, and vivid dreams. The foods that I need to avoid are anything sour and anything hot/spicy. Both are things that I love, so I am slightly distressed. Then again, there is no getting better if I don't take the first step. 

From a non-ayurvedic perspective, it makes sense to cut down on those foods anyway. Sour and spicy foods are generally very acidic, which can't be helpful for digestive issues! I'm also supposed to eat moderate amounts of dairy, which I am doing, one cup of yoghurt at a time.

This will be a hard diet to stick to when I'm on my trip to Asia (homeland of Spicy, oh no!). 

Has anyone else tried any ayurvedic treatments? I would love to read what you thought. 

How to control your meal portions

I'm no Martha Stewart. If you've read a little about me, you'll find that only about two years ago did I swap from my Maccas/KFC diet to one that is home-cooked.

To be honest, I find it hard to believe that it took me so long to go from this 

the notorious KFC man burger
(Source) 

to this. 

Silverbeet (swiss chard) with raisins, toasted sunflower seeds on a bed of quinoa
(Source: My kitchen)

Nutrition aside, some readers have requested that I do a post on portion control. I'm not particularly great at portion control myself. I follow a semi-ayurvedic way of eating, but instead of having my biggest meal at breakfast, I have my biggest meal at lunch, and my smallest meal during an early dinner. 

Reading up about portion control brought back memories of being in school, in that dreaded home economy class. 

If you want the easy way to understand portion control, you can purchase a curry plate from any Indian grocery store 

Curry plates look like this, only they are metal.
Think of the rice compartment as vegies, the meat curry as your protein, and the vegie curry as your starch.
(Source)

or you can use the image below. 

(Source)

It's up to you what source of starch/carbs, vegies and protein that you would like to use. You could do the full vegetarian option and choose lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, kale etc option, or you could have your fish, chicken etc, depending on your dietary choices. 

Most vegetarian meals contain a mixture of protein, vegetarian and starch, so it is difficult to portion them out into a portion plate. Some ingredients double as a source of protein and carbs. What do you do then? I'm personally never that rigid about these things. I know superfoods like quinoa are rich in protein and also carbs. If I use quinoa in my cooking, I generally won't have another grain, but I may use another protein source such as chickpeas. I'd still portion out the grains/legumes/tofu to be half the amount of the vegies that I'd use. 

I decided to put the portion plate to the test however, using meat because it was easier to photograph the portions. I made Cajun chicken, with a salad, and some macaroni. 

Cajun chicken, salad and macaroni

I made a lot of salad. There was more in the bowl and it couldn't fit onto the plate. What can I say... I must like my greens. I also feel like there is a little too much macaroni. In my regular meals, if I were to make something like this, I'd skip the macaroni altogether, and just have the chicken fillet and a lot of salad. 

I did enjoy attempting to control my portions though. For the most part, I think my current diet is quite nourishing (I'm flexi-vegetarian, and only have meat mostly on weekends). 

How do you control your portions? Do you ever think about what you put on the plate and if you are getting a balanced diet? 

Yoga Journal 21-Day Fitness Challenge completed

I finally finished the 21-Day Challenge. Not in 21 days though, my excuse is that I was mixing it up with other kinds of fitness activity.

I didn't end up making all the recipes... I live alone, and meal-planning is hard work. Whatever I make for lunch I generally have to bring to work for dinner (and then have it for lunch and dinner the next day), and I usually have no access to a fridge, and we have no microwave. So, everything has to fit into a little thermos food jar. But, I did attempt some, most were edible, some were extremely delicious, and some were... of interesting flavour...

Read through my account and sign up for the challenge! For a free yoga resource, it's pretty great.

Review: The Rushing Woman's Syndrome

I have a habit of rushing through life and wanted to slow things down. I tried meditation, supplements, deep breathing... when I heard about this book through a women's magazine, I thought it sounded like something I could benefit from. 

Dr Libby Weaver has a phD in health science, majoring in nutrition. So, a lot of what this book is about is about the stress hormone, cortisol, and its effect on weight gain. While I haven't read her first book, Accidentally Overweight, which is a bestseller, I do believe that this is in most ways, its sequel. 

While there are a lot of things in this book that I agree with, most of which should be practised anyway, such as chewing your food slowly, reducing your caffeine and alcohol intake, not over exercising, etc, she does occasionally make some slightly weird assumptions, like Rushing Women (a term that she coined) have more masculine qualities. To sit and deep breathe is apparently a feminine quality... to be competitive at work is a masculine quality. In some ways, this takes me back to that Elephant Journal article that I was griping about. What are the defining qualities of feminity and masculinity? 

Another unsupported claim she makes is that Rushing Women tend to have daddy issues. It would have been nice to have seen some evidence, but it looked as if she made it just purely on her observations of her clients and her own personal experience. 

She includes a lot of snippets for magazines that she had written over the years. A lot of it repeats itself, so I felt the book could have been condensed to half its size. There are some practical advice at the end, although not much of it were things I didn't already know. 

In a nutshell this is more of a book for weight loss, rather than to slow yourself down. Buy this if you're wondering why you are not losing that extra pound, but don't buy this if you think it will help ground you more. 

To purchase: I have not seen this book stocked at my local bookstore because it has been independently published. I purchased mine off her official website, it's AUD$29.95 before postage. 

Yoga Journal Fitness Challenge

And so it begins. I started this a little late because I was finishing off the Tribesports challenge, and the weekend happened... Torchlight also happened... Anyway, Day 1 of this challenge officially began today. I have been impressed so far with what I've seen from the Yoga Journal emails. The challenge emails come with a 30 minute exclusive video, a suggested recipe for the day, and the occasional bonus video/tip. Out of all the challenges I've done this year, I highly recommend this one.

The challenge in a nutshell. Taken from http://www.socialworkout.com/yjfitness

DAY 1: Pump it up 

Today's focus was on a flow sequence, intending on boosting the heart rate. Loved it, clearly explained, and beautifully demonstrated. Also loved the warming down sequence at the end before sivasana. The recipe for today is a yummy looking gingery quinoa salad, which I would have loved to have made today, but my tummy was playing up.

DAY 2: Awaken your core
Today's recipe is a Blueberry-Cucumber smoothie. I'm loving these Alexandria Crow videos. She explains really clearly, so most of the time, I just work on her aural direction without needing to look at the video. Today's core work session was hard, harder than the Tribesports challenge!!

DAY 3: Put some Ashtanga into your step 
This was the same video as Day 1, with a bonus video on ujjayi pranayama. Today's recipe, a Portobello Mushroom and Spinach Tartine with Roasted Garlic Spread looked really tempting, but my stomach bug unfortunately has not subsided. :(

DAY 4: Flex your muscles 
Today's awesome sequence focuses on the upper body strength, so lots of chaturanga and side planks, low planks and low side planks. And today's recipe? Green Tea Edamame! Unfortunately I've been too sick to try any of these recipes... I'm just having soups every day, but I've made a note of which ones I'd definitely try out and will blog about these when I do.

HIATUS: So... unfortunately, no progress in the challenge (which I guess means I have failed it :( ) It's the school holidays now, and my life turns topsy-turvy come school holiday time. My work hours change, I have holidays planned, and I catch up with life. So... I guess this means, this post will resume post school holidays. See you come Monday, 8 October.

DAY 5:Happy, Healthy Heart
Back to Video 1, with a beautiful white bean and arborio rice soup recipe attached. A bonus video on alternate nostril breathing. Never done this before? It clears out the sinuses, and claims to help balance out your body and calm your mind, while promoting wakefulness.

My attempt at the white bean and arborio soup

DAY 6: Unwind from the Week 
This is a slow-paced yoga for rejuvenation. Going into tabletop pose felt really good after a strenuous session of Pilates this week. And today's recipe? A Crunchy Green Tahini Salad.

DAY 7: Take it Easy 
I really like how they've incorporated a rest day into the sequence while still encouraging you to be healthy with a Pesto-Potato Frittata. Yum!

DAY 8: Align with Power
This week's cardio videos are done by Noll Daniel. I have to admit that I don't like his videos as much as Alexandria's. I've always had a preference for female teachers... I didn't particularly warm to Noll's voice nor words that he would use. That aside, it was a good sequence, definitely felt warm after the practice, although not sweaty even though it was a warm day. However, these delicious muffins are definitely a perk and I've added it to my to-bake list.

As it turns out, not as delicious as they sound. It tasted more like a fruit scone. 

DAY 9: Get Creative with Crunches
The strongest workout so far. Also by Noll Daniel, this focuses on the core. I'd rank the difficulty as intermediate-advanced, there are modifications that he introduces, but it's still a very intense workout (especially after yesterday's pilates). I'd say this is one of my favourite sequences, I will definitely be coming back to this in the future. Today's recipe is a Spicy Tofu Bento Bowl.

DAY 10: Staying on Track 
Just the regular weekly cardio video, plus a spaghetti recipe.

DAY 11: Feel like a Rock Star
This video had a strong focus on upper body strength, think bakasana, side planks, one legged pushups, pushups, one legged planks. I'd rate this as intermediate-advanced, depending on which modification you want to go with. Kim Sin, the yoga demonstrator, is crazily fit. Today's recipe is the Paprika Cauliflower Pita Pockets, which were incredibly yummy!

Pita pockets, mmmmmmmmm

DAY 12: Happy Body Happy Brain
The flow video for the week, plus a recipe for a veggie fried rice.

DAY 13: Cultivating Steadiness and Ease 
Back to the same rejuvenation video as Day 6, plus a recipe for Baked Apples with Maple-Walnut sauce.

DAY 14: Restore Yourself 
Another rest day, so no videos. There are however, suggestions for rejuvenation poses, such as legs up the wall, child's and corpse pose, and a couple of reclining poses. Recipe for the day is poached eggs on asparagus. What a wonderful breakfast idea!

DAY 15: Working with Breath
This is the flow video from week 1, which I really enjoyed. Another breakfast idea... Overnight Chai Steel-Cut Oats

DAY 16: The Core of the Matter
Same video as Day 9 so be prepared for another core workout. The attached recipe for curried lentil soup with lemon is simply delicious! In fact, best lentil anything that I've made ever.

Ok, so it looks like gruel, but I swear it's delicious!

DAY 17: Go with the Flow 
Flow video from Week 2 to shake things up! And a recipe for spring rolls with lemon ginger dipping sauce, yum!

DAY 18: Growing Roots 
I found this Alexandria Crow sequence really challenging, and I think it made my knee injury worse :( It was full of squats, and my left knee just couldn't take it. And a recipe for a chickpea, artichoke heart and tomato salad with arugula.

DAY 19: Advancing Your Pranayama Practice
Back to flow video from Week 1, with a short textual focus on pranayama. Recipe for the day is Quick-Brased Broccoli with Sun-dried tomato and goat's cheese.

DAY 20: Beyond the Body 
Noll Daniels rejuvenation video, plus ultimate vegan chilli recipe. This recipe does look incredibly yum and I wish I could make it, but the ingredients are very American and I can't seem to find them here. Help anyone?

DAY 21: You did it! 
And so I did, after way more than 21 days :P I did keep active in between though, with these yoga videos slotting into my workout routine instead of being done daily. We finish off with a Sicilian Swiss Chard over Quinoa.

The celebratory final meal

If you're interested in participating in the 21-Day Fitness Challenge, you can sign up here, or alternatively, purchase the DVDs. There are both intermediate and beginner challenges to opt for on the website. It's a free challenge (unless you buy the DVD), so go challenge yourself today!

Beating the bloat

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'd been having some stomach issues, which was the reason why I had decided to become a flexi-vegetarian. While my tummy is better, I'm still struggling a lot with bloating and indigestion. I'd really rather not have to take any pills or antacids for it, rather just change my lifestyle to fix the problem because I feel that bloating and indigestion is symptomatic of bigger health issues, such as chronic stress.

Some of the things I've tried:

• Giving up meat most of the week 
• Trying to eat more slowly. This has been really hard, because at work, I get a 30 minute window to eat (work scheduling is strict... in the end, I have about 15-20 mins of meal time, which ends up being just gobble gobble gobble) 
• Doing yoga asanas that focus on the digestive tract, eg. supine twists 

Things I have yet to try;

• Seeing if I have a food allergy. I'm not even sure where I start on this... Google searches bring up tests that cost hundreds of dollars and I'm not really swimming in cash right now. 
• Drinking Peppermint tea 
• Giving up milk and dairy. I just love milk too much. Plus, there are days when I have milk and feel fine, so I don't think I'm lactose intolerant.  
• Eating 5 small meals a day instead of 3 main ones.

I still believe I'm possibly not eating slowly enough. I've read suggestions that you should put your fork/spoon down in between each mouthful, but I'm always time pressed. And now that I have invisalign, putting on and removing my braces take up about 5-7 minutes of my meal breaks.

Oh, what a first world problem... any suggestions?

Better than Black and Green

I've found a new obsession. This is perhaps one of the best things I've discovered since starting Sadie Nardini's 14-day yoga detox (which I have yet to complete... and review... but it will come :P)

ROOIBOS!

It's an African red tea, with a taste similar to a black tea, but without the bitterness of the tannins in black. It's also

• non-caffeinated 
• high in antioxidants
• reported to help with allergies, anxiety and digestion 
• has cancer-fighting properties  
• traditionally used to fight asthma and dermatological problems

Does it sound amazing... or does it sound amazing??? 

I've tried three brands of Rooibos so far. I have to say they taste pretty similar and consistent across the range, unlike say... green tea or a breakfast tea. T2 and Tealeaves both have flavoured rooibos, which I haven't tried, so if you're into flavoured teas, could be worth checking out. My personal favourite between T2 and Tealeaves would be Tealeaves. They're cheaper, and I think their other teas taste better... however their packaging is very no-frills compared to T2. 

T2 Red The first rooibos I tried. Loved it, but it was pretty expensive. 

Just Rooibos This comes in teabags. I didn't find it any different to the looseleaf teas, in fact it was easier to use if I was brewing for one. Plus, I found this at my local Coles and it was so cheap compared to T2 and Tealeaves. 

Tealeaves I haven't purchased loose leaves from them, but I did try their rooibos up in the Dandies. It was a bit weak, but I think it was because the restaurant skimped on leaves. 

Sadie's course had this GREAT smoothie using rooibos, blending mixed berries, rooibos, milk and honey. It seriously tasted like bubble tea. /drool. Unfortunately, I can't share the recipe here because it's her recipe, but it's not hard to work out the ratios *wink wink* 

Anyway, fellow tea lovers, go forth and enjoy! 

Eating A Farmer's Backyard

Alongside becoming a flexi-veggie, I've recently begun Sadie Nardini's 14-day detox program. I'll write a review on the program once I've completed it... in the mean time, here's what I had for lunch today.

You're looking at 3 carrots, 1/2 a cucumber, 1 cup spinach, 2 celery stalks with leaves, and 1/2 an apple. I even added some lemon juice, and then popped it into my liquidiser to make my smoothie. 

Unfortunately, my liquidiser doesn't blend as well as a blender does, so it ended up still quite clumpy and I had to eat it with a spoon. Not the best feeling in the world, eating vegetable mush out of a glass! Tastewise, it wasn't so bad, the apple taste was quite pleasant, and made everything a little sweeter. It's meant to be a power alkali green juice, but I thought it tasted suspiciously acidic.

The amount of vegies the recipe required yielded not one, but THREE low ball glasses worth of smoothie (or vegie pulp... whatever you prefer to call it). I only managed to get through one and a quarter... and that was through sheer determination.

On another note, my new reformed diet has really yielded a change in my skin. It's a lot clearer and today, I braved putting on loads of makeup, and am only going to work with tinted moisturiser and mascara, something which I haven't done in a long, long time.

The Vego Teething Problems

I know.

I said I'd do an update about my new flexi-vegetarian (it's a real word!! I found it on this awesome vegie site) diet a month after starting and it's only been 11 days. But, I thought I'd highlight some of the highs and lows of this experience (Yes, 11 days in and already I can feel a difference).

Some positive changes I've noticed

• I have lost or at the very least, maintained weight despite the odds... more on why I was really surprised at the end of this post. 
• My skin has improved! I don't get as many breakouts, it's kind of dewy... I'm quite pleased! 
• I know I'm getting enough fibre, and a lot more vitamins and minerals 

Now, onto the teething problems! Any future vegetarians out there, this is what you can probably expect! 

PROBLEM #1 I am having this TERRIBLE PROBLEM!

TMI?
Image from images.google.com

Sorry, someone had to put this out there to warn unprepared veggies who think it's all taking the high road and being a green hippy. Yes... a green smelly hippy. It's slightly embarrassing, and I really hope my body adapts soon.

Anyway, apparently having a sudden increase in fibre intake can cause this, especially when coupled with sugar. Which brings me to problem number two.

PROBLEM #2 I can't stop craving sugar 

Sweets, sweets, more sweets. Biccies, chocies, cakes! I crave them all day, at any time of the day. I have cake before lunch, cake after dinner, cake for tea. And biccies all day in between. I just can't help myself. Frankly, I'm amazed I'm not 100kg by now. Tonight, I'm going to bake myself a carrot cake. Just because I've been craving it all week.

Oh Brunettis, you are my Candy Mountain

Apparently, it's because I lack protein in this new vegetarian diet. But how can I, when I've been eating the beans/lentils/chickpeas/etc that have been giving me !@$#)!& Problem #1 in the first place?!

So, all you vegetarian n00bs, if you've been experiencing any of these, you are not alone. I just really hope I don't get stuck in a lift one day with a whole bunch of starting vegetarians. :P

Any tips on surviving this diet change?

Microwave-free living

I'm not one of those people who grew up in a household which didn't know the conveniences of the microwave. Au contraire, mum used to heat things up in the microwave all the time. When I moved to Australia, the microwave was what kept me fed through my uni years (as I'm sure it's keeping many a uni student alive today).

However, when I moved into my current apartment 4 years ago, I had to shop for all my electricals. One of the last few items to purchase on my list was a microwave. When mum came over to visit, she told me that she hadn't been using a microwave for years, because she believed it's harmful to the human body (it's very possible, you are cooking in plastic), and it destroys nutrients in your food anyway. If you're interested in having a read, just do a general google search of the dangers of the microwave, or click here.

4 years on, I still haven't purchased a microwave. I'm rather surprised I've lasted this long, but I'm quite fine existing without a microwave. In fact, here are some of the positives!

You become a much better cook 
Having to make everything from scratch taught me how to use food savers (you know... those little containers for you to keep leftovers), and made me more domesticated than I would ever be.

You take more interest in the ingredients of your food 
If you're a convenience meal addict as I was, have you ever wondered what goes into the can/carton? Well, I never did. Now, I know exactly what goes into my food, when it was made, how... I don't put any preservatives, and I don't use much salt nor sugar. Definitely the healthier option.

You plan meals ahead 
And thereby become a picture of organization. You'll also probably save some moolah, especially if you make food in large quantities and then freeze.

You preserve the nutrients and taste of food, keep clear of harmful waves, carcinogens etc etc 
You know, everything else listed on all those warning sites as being bad for you.

Admittedly, not everything is peachy though. Some things are more time-consuming to do... eg. melting butter/chocolate, preparing wax for waxing... plus heating up food without a microwave creates much more crockery/dishes to wash compared to if you just put a plate in the microwave. However, tiny tiny little issues, not much of a big deal.

Would you ever go without a microwave? Try challenging yourself to a month free from the microwave, it's really not that hard!

The Herbi-Omnivore

I had a really bad tummy episode last week. Non-stop heartburn for over 24 hours, excruciating stomach pains... So, I decided to give up meat. Only during the week, I'll still have meat on the weekends or the poor bf won't cope I think, haha. I figured it'll be healthier, ethically more correct, and hopefully might help me lose some kilos. And not to mention, improve my skin!

It was a tough decision. I've eaten meat my whole life, and I love meat. All meats, to be honest. Luckily enough, I also love my vegies. I hope to at least be able to start working through this diet for a month. Little goals promise better success :)

Today, I made this very yummy Asian Ratatouille. I wasn't sure if I'd be full on it, but it's surprisingly quite filling, and oh sooooo tasty.

I'll make a post in a month's time to discuss how this new diet is going. I'm feeling positive, that's always a good start!