Saying No....

Ok hands up if you find saying 'No' hard........ ME ME ME

OMG why is such a tiny word so freaking hard to say!?!

No thank you I don't want that tree you just used to print out information that could of easily been emailed to me, No thank you I don't want that plastic bag, No thank you I am not an environmental jerk!

On the weekend I went to a beautiful new farmers market, it was a new one in my local area. I had in my head that I was going to ask questions, say no to plastic and not buy anything wasteful.... I succeeded :)

But today at a meeting I felt guilty about not accepting a gift bag and then I had to take copies of paper work home...... It's cause I have British blood in me, it's a Netflix serious so it's true hehe

There also seems to be some sort of stigma associated with being environmentally friendly, people give you a weird look when you say no thank you to things or they tag you as a hippy, a greeny or that your some sort of trash Nazi..... I don't mind the idea of wearing tie-dyed clothing and hugging a tree or two but I am definitely no Nazi!

I am more aware of my environment because I want my kids to grow up in a world that still has natural beauty like forests, trash free beaches and clean fresh air :) But I also want to teach my kids the value of what the environment has to offer and that if we look after it, it will provide for them for the rest of their lives and their children's lives.

I just signed up to a permaculture course so that I can learn how to grow veggies and then pass that knowledge onto my kiddies, I have just set up a proper compost bin and my next project is setting up a better recycling zone and teaching my kiddies how to wash and separate their recycling.

Us parents have the ability to mold our children, to pass on our knowledge and to share our mistakes so that they don't repeat them! So it is with this knowledge that I am going to push passed the 'saying no is hard' I am also going to push passed the stigma and show how much this lifestyle has helped me to see whats important to me and how happy this lifestyle not only makes me but also for my family :)

If you want to join my journey comment below X

Chaos....

So when I started my quest to minimizing my household 'stuff' I had no idea the chaos that was going to breakout!

OMG we have sooooooo much CRAP!!!!!

Currently my boot is stuffed filled with things to donate!

Its funny though I was hanging onto a lot of 'stuff' for stupid reason's like 'I might  need that late or it was expensive' none of this stuff bought me happiness let alone serve a purpose other than gathering dust and taking up space.

I never thought this stuff was harmful until now.....

All that stuff was taking valuable time and energy away from what does make me happy, my family :)

I have completed about half the house and I already feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, cleaning up only takes an hour instead of the WHOLE day and I now have time for more important things.

I have also learned to delegate, my time is important and valuable and I can't do EVERYTHING on my own so I have enlisted the help of a lovely gardener to clean up my jungle, I have my step father coming over to help me remove some hard rubbish to the appropriate recycling facility and I am getting my weekly shopping delivered from an organic farm.

I feel so good, less stressed, more relaxed..... Who'd of thought living with less would give you so much in return :)

Community

Do you know whats going on in your community?

Do you feel part of the community?

Something that my journey has lead me to is finding my own community, getting more social in my community and discovery what wonderful community resources I have at my finger tips!

So we have local farmers markets:
1st Saturday of the month is Bridge mall
2nd Saturday of the month is Wendouree lake, Sunday is Clunes
3rd Saturday of the month is Creswick, Sunday is Talbot
4th Saturday of the month is Wendouree lake, Sunday is Avoca

We have local farmers:
Spring creek organics, Kielys rd 3352 Navigators (you can visit their farm or see them at the farmers markets, find them on Facebook)
Food garden (organic farm fresh veg from multiple local farms that you can pick up or get delivered, find them online http://foodgarden.com.au or on Facebook)

Bulk by take your own bags/jars:
Go Vita, 23 Sturt st Ballarat
Ballarat wholefood collective, Reid st Brown hill reserve Ballarat in the cricket hall (you need to join, simply print out form & pay $50 first time joining fee and renew for $20 each year there after) It is volunteer run and only open on Wednesday's 9am-11am 5pm-7pm

Holistic health:
Acorn & Oak herbal dispensary 46 Armstrong st Ballarat (An amazing, colorful array of herbs & tea's and the friendly staff can help to prepare tinctures, special teas and more amazing potions that are tailored to your specific needs)
Go Vita (A great range of health related vegan friendly products)

This is just what I have discovered so far, I dare say its not even scratching the surface of what I have available in my local area. I promise I will add and update this list :)

Getting involved in your community is not only supporting local farmers, growers & business's but also making your community a better one, a healthier one and most of all a more passionate one!

Not only have I become a more social shopper but I've also become more mindful of who I buy from, when you buy something you are supporting that business something I never really put much thought into until I changed my diet to whole food plant based. My diet change opened my eyes to the horrible world that is the meat industry, I cannot believe what is deemed ok in the meat industry but only now do I realise that being a consumer of meat and me purchasing me was ultimately me saying its ok to miss treat, torture and kill animals.

This too can be said about consuming products from the 'big' shops, my purchasing from super markets etc is supporting the over depletion of natural resources, creating masses of waste, taking away money from small business and so much more!

I also wasn't a nice consumer, I just wanted my stuff I didn't to talk I just wanted to get in and get out.... Yep I was a bitch! I am ashamed of what my over consumption made me but the honest truth was I was not a nice person!

The reality is as consumers we need to educate ourselves on where our products are coming from and what we are supporting when purchasing those products.

Now I am passionate about what I consume, I am passionate about who I support because ultimately I'm voting for something whether that be animal cruelty or local veg growers. I am now so much happier and I love learning and conversing with my local producers. Shopping day is no longer dreaded it is something I really look forward to, meeting the happy farmers, grower, producers and learning how they lovingly make or grow their produce for me to buy to nourish and enrich my family :)

Don't be a bitch like I was! Support the community, get social, join in and ultimately be HAPPY :)

All the local Mum's are smiling

Mum's are doing the happy dance, I know I did :)

So I was going to write a post on Monday but I was just soooooo busy putting my house back in order I fell asleep after dinner!

So I have been a busy bee, Monday was used to put the house back into working order and spent time brewing potions to help combat the winter blues (Lets be honest my children have been germ infested snot monsters so the house needed to be burnt down really, but instead I opted for a potion with ninja abilities to hunt down those germies and kill them before they knew what was coming hehe) I also made up a hearty soup using up all my limp veg, cleaned out the science projects from the back of the fridge.

Today I made some bathroom products, sandwich wraps (reusable, vegan plantbased wax) and I started working through toys, bathroom cupboards and junk draws using my new minimalist approach. I am so proud of my efforts, I have a basket of gifts, donations and re-purposable items and only one small bag of rubbish..... WINNING

I have also managed to go out to the shopping center and not go into Kmart.... I know true strength right there!!!

Tomorrow on my 'to do' list is minimizing my clothing, minimizing the kitchen cupboards and writing out a menu with new tasty meals to try.

I have to confess I have been a little lazy, I've resorted to pack foods and takeaways because I have been unorganized while working. No excuse though!!!

Sometimes life gets in the way.... And that's Ok!

Keep trying!

I have noticed that I am more aware of what I want, I want to remain feeling amazing, I know how to get those feelings, by eating Whole Food Plant Based and I know that I can do it! I just need some time out to recover from a busy fortnight and get back to planning :)

I forgot my number one rule #To make myself a priority

I think as a mum I forget to say NO, I also put everyone else's needs first.

It is not selfish to put yourself first, infact its the best thing you can do for your family!

If your happy then your family will be happy..... YUP its that simple :)

So now that the school holidays are over it;s time to get your mojo back!!!!

Take up a class or hobby, try something new, go visit a new place or catch up with friends, volunteer in your community.... Do something that makes YOU happy.

So it begins......

Cleaning that is.....

And when I say cleaning what I really mean is purging my house!

I am sick and tired of living in clutter, not being able to find things, always have to clear away 'stuff' before I can cook or work at my desk.

I always thought it was because we live in a small house with 5 people but the reality is we have been sucked up into the world of commercialism!!

As you've been following me on my journey, you would have noticed how simply changing my diet has opened my eyes up to the world around me. I am no longer just focused on the scales or even the bigger picture my health. I am now open to all the possibilities that I guess I just didn't have the energy to see before!

So with some googling and YouTube I have discovered a movement called ZERO WASTE LIVING, and this way of living not only fits in beautifully with my whole food plant based eating :)

Not only is is ZERO WASTE its also ZERO CHEMICALS, ZERO CLUTTER & ZERO EXTRA COST..... I am doing my bit for the environment, getting more involved in my local community and teaching my kids along the way.... WINNING

Two places that I have found helpful so far are found both on YouTube and Facebook, Waste is for tossers and Zero waste home.

I am going to start in my kitchen as its the room I use most, its where all my healthy yumi food is prepped and right now its just chaos hidden behind those cupboard doors!

I have deccluttered many times, in fact I am known well for having a skip bin at least twice a year for my 'clear outs' and I hate to admit it but I reckon I was a huge contributor to landfill! I didn't think what was to happen with what I was throwing out as long as it was no longer in my house causing chaos! I am a tosser!

But this time is going to be different! I am not ordering a skip, instead I am going to recycle, re-purpose, rehome and donate my clutter. The good old saying one mans trash is another mans treasure :)

This also fits in beautifully with Plastic Free July!

Bring on the composting, growing organic veg & living a clutter free life!

Habits

Whether its what your eating, what your putting on your body or using in the home trying to make change to these things is difficult!

From my own personal experience when I make changes I can change completely for a week or two and then stop, I think for me if I am not doing something perfectly then I am failing. I have found since getting older and life getting busier that when I enact a change it lasts days then I am back to old habits!

What I failed to realize is that a HABIT takes time to learn, time to ingrain itself into my every day life, THEREFORE it's going to take time to unlearn!

Habits become some natural you become UNAWARE of them! So true, when I first embarked on my Plant Based eating I was fine at home because I was surrounded by veg but when I went out I would order the 'usual' food because that was my habit! I changed that habit by adding a new habit that has now become ingrained in my mind, so it has pushed out the old habit and replaced it :)

It took time though, just like any habit that you want to change or replace.

So you need to be your own cheer leader!

And what I mean by this is get excited about your small achievements, so you go out to dinner and you follow your new goal and eat the plant based meal 'WOO HOO GO YOU GOOD THING' relish in that amazing achievement..... The next time you go out for dinner, you forget to really look at the menu and ask questions about the meal and you order something that doesn't fit plant based goals, IT'S OK! YOU HAVEN'T FAILED!! Instead look at ways that you can make your next dinner out a success.

Once you change your thinking, once you stop beating yourself up, you'll start seeing the successes more than the failures and before you know it you only see the positives and this amazing feeling you get will become the norm!

This can be applied to any goal :)

I joined Plastic free July, my first day was a failure because I was not used to saying 'no' to plastic, I was also very unaware of things that were plastic for example plastic straws. Instead of dwelling on my failure I went home and started educating myself on plastic and thinking of ways to make my next shopping day a success! So now I have my reusable bags in my car, I have one in my handbag along with my reusable cup and I also have ordered myself reusable straws, cutlery and lunchbox.

If you'd like to join me on my Plastic free July follow this link: https://plasticfreejuly.seedsandsprouts?kid=Q1DJT

Start by writing down your goals down, break them down, really get stuck in! Get excited! Be your own cheer squad! Surround yourself with like minded peeps!

You've got this!

Anything you want, you can achieve it :)

No I am not Vegan BUT......

I get asked daily if I am Vegan?

When I say 'no I am whole food plant based' they look at me funny and say 'so Vegan then!'

Simply put Veganism is based on animal cruelty where as WFPB is based on eating for health.

The real difference is that I (mostly, still a work in progress) don't eat anything out of a packet, nothing processed. Everything is as close to its natural whole food as possible no added salt, oil or sugar and when I do buy something in a tin I always read the labels, where as most Vegans (not all) don't read labels, eat packet foods that are heavily processed and contain more numbers than plant based food, I like to call them 'food like products'.

I was watching a documentary the other day where a doctor explained that although 'natural flavoring' may have started from something natural but is now so over processed with additional chemicals added that its no longer 'natural' yet companies still claim its natural because it started from something natural..... Confusing isn't it? So how do we really know whats in our food? WFPB takes out this confusion for me :)

I must admit since starting my journey I've become very curious in where my food comes from, I also understand and sympathies with the Veganism goal of removing animal cruelty from society. I've watched a few documentaries now on the treatment of animals breed for the meat/dairy industry and find it absolutely appalling and definitely a topic (I feel) should be made public because something should be done! 

Lucent (full doco found on YouTube) is an Australian documentary, it was just what I was looking for in the sense that I had seen many american and European documentaries and wondered could this be what we experience here in our beloved Australia, could we be just as bad? In fact I honestly think we are WORSE, the treatment of the animals was just disgraceful I had to look away many times! It also got me questioning what type of people these slaughter house workers!

I plan to watch Dominion next, it is the 2018 squeal to the 2014 Lucent. I am pretty sure its on Netflix.

I can't exactly explain why I put myself through watching such heartbreaking documentaries, I mean what can I do? Well I hope through what I share here, on my Facebook and with my family that I can educate them to make better choices. I also hope through my not buying meat,dairy and other animal products that I am at least not adding to the problem.

The thing that veganism misses however is their own health, they are so busy fighting a good cause yet forget that if they don't look after themselves they are in no real condition to fight the good fight! WFPB looks at the direct impact food has on the body, it looks at how whole food can heal the body and return the body to homeostasis while also harming none :)

The other thing that WFPB does is not support big food companies, instead it supports local vegetable farmers and for me it also means supporting local home based business that make products such as vegan soap. I have also started to eliminate chemicals such as bleach and replace it with things like vinegar and essential oils, in fact for me my journey has taken me to what I'd like to think a better place, a more environmentally friendly, more caring place.

I hope you are enjoying the hustle and bustle that is school holidays.

Don't forget if you have any questions just pop them in the comments :)