Will You Switch Off For Good?

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In 2007, I joined with my family to participate in the first Earth Hour.
Since then, more than 150 countries, & almost 7000 cities worldwide have joined in this event - a community passionate about our Earth, & maintaining her beauty for the future generations.
 

In 2013, we are invited to take a pledge - to turn off our power for good & switch to renewable energy. I have taken the pledge, & I urge you to too! No matter whether you own your home or rent, there are options for us all to be involved.
Personally, as we currently rent our home, we have pledged to switch to renewable energy sources in the future. I am elated!


Sam & I will be dining by candlelight this evening - a reminder of the commitment we have made to our Earth & our future.

Without her, we would be nothing.

Earth Hour 2013 // Spread The Word // Make The Pledge // What's Happening Near You? 

 

  WWF Australia

So, will you switch for good? 

Healthy Life: Summer Oats

As a child, my father would make a big pot of porridge most mornings in Winter. We would wake to the nutty smell of milk, honey and rolled oats bubbling away on the stove, climb out of bed, and join our parents for a family breakfast - complete with matching bowls, a tea-cosied pot of black tea, and big glasses of orange juice. Sickeningly sweet and happy family-like, right? Gosh things are good when you're young.

Fast forward 15 years, and enjoying a sit down breakfast is a luxury...to be honest, any breakfast at all can be a luxury around here *insert gasp of horror here* I know, I know, it's terrible. I can hear my mothers voice scolding me for not starting the day with a proper breakfast, and asking if I'm eating enough, because I look "much skinnier than last time" she saw me (does anyone else's mother make comments like this, or just mine?).

Well, I'm making a change - a lifestyle change - to eat healthier, think healthier and live healthier.

Over the coming months I will be reading and researching, asking questions, experimenting and of course, applying all that I have discovered - and I will share it with you here. There's more to this journey that just tips and recipes for healthy eating, there's an inspiration*, of sorts, to discover and learn more about why we should live better (other than the notion that 'it's good for you'). More on that at a later date.

For now, I want to introduce you to a old friend: rolled oats. Filled with soluble fibre, low GI, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals, the humble oat is one of natures super foods...but you already knew all this.
What I didn't know was that this pantry staple was good for things other than Anzac Biscuits and steaming hot porridge on cold Winter mornings. Enter my new favourite meal - 'Summer Oats' (also fondly known as Bircher Muesli...with a twist).  


Summer Oats

1. place oats and milk in your favourite brekky bowl to soak
2. slice your apple, peel and segment the orange, cut open your pomegranate and 'smack' the glistening, jewel-toned pulp out with a wooden spoon - add to bowl
3. sprinkle with LSA, a dusting of cinnamon and top it all of with a drizzle of honey
4. find a sunny spot and enjoy, whilst catching up on your all favourite blogs, of course!

So, whether it's for brekky or a light (but filling) snack, I have a newfound appreciation, and dare I say, adoration for oats. 

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Do you enjoy the humble rolled oat? Any recommendations for interesting and delicious toppings and combos?

* inspiration is a strange word to use but I'll roll with it - 'Healthy Life' will become a series throughout this year, as I strive to learn more about living a healthy life, focussed on healthier eating for better brain function, as well as memory exercises, all focussed on learning and understanding more about Alzheimers Disease and prevention. This is a topic close to my heart - and worth a post all of its own. Stay tuned!

side note: Before you write me off as some lactose-free, almond milk drinking hippy, please hear me out! I have been lactose-intolerant for most of my life (due to a bout of gastroenteritis as in infant), and made the change to lactose-free milks and milk substitutes around about 10 years ago. I have tried my far share of soy, rice, and many many nut 'milks' in my short lifetime, and have finally landed on almond milk as my preferred substitute. I have included almond milk in this recipe and nutritional facts, purely as a suggestion and guide. I recommend almond milk to anyone who is looking for a delicious (and nutritional) alternative to full cream cows milk - give it a go!

Nutrition Facts

Oats: (per 1 cup)

   607 calories

   11g fat (2g saturated)

   0g cholesterol

   3 mg sodium

   103g carbohydrates (11g dietary fibre)

   26g protein

   includes folate, calcium, iron, zinc

Almond Milk: (per 1 cup)

   60 calories

   2.5g fat (0g saturated)

   0mg cholesterol

   150mg sodium

   8g carbohydrates

   1g protein

   inlcudes calcium, vitamin A/C/D/E, iron

Apple: (per 100g)

   52 calories

   1mg sodium

   14g carbohydrates (2g dietary fibre, 10g sugars)

   includes vitamin A/C, calcium, iron

Orange: (per 100g)

   47 calories

   12g carbohydrates (2g dietary fibre, 9g sugars)

   1g protein

   includes vitamin A/C, calcium, iron

Pomegranate: (per 100g)

   83 calories

   1g fat

   3mg sodium

   19g cholesterol, (4g dietary fibre, 14g sugars)

   2g protein

   includes vitamin C, calcium, iron

LSA (Linsead, Sunflower Seed, Almond) Meal: (per 100g)

   532 calories

   42.7g fat

   19mg sodium

   24.2g carbohydrates (23.1g dietary fibre, 4.8g sugars)

   20.6g protein

   includes calcium, zinc, magnesium

Honey: (per 100g)

   304 calories

   4mg sodium

   82g carbohydrates (82g sugars)

   includes vitamin C, calcium, iron

Cinnamon: (per 2g)

   6 calories

   1g carbohydrates (1g dietary fibre)

   includes calcium, iron

The above nutritional facts are a general indicator - refer to individual product information for a exact nutrition information. 

Picking Up & Dusting Off

I've been mulling over this post for a many, many days now.
I had intended to begin this new 'blogging' year with this post.
I would relate to you my utter joy at discovering and being a part of this online community in the previous months, and express my dreams and desires for the coming year.

It would be honest, inspiring...and well, on time.

In the time it has taken for me to find these words - my intentions for 2013 - my life has been turned on its head. These 'resolutions' (for lack of a better word) I have been conjuring seem trivial compared to the reality of my current situation. I am still processing all that has happened in the past week, the crazy, unexpected, suddenness of it all, and am now nervously paving the way of my future.

I don't want to delve too deep into it all, yet I feel in sharing this news here I may find comfort and healing - okay, here goes...I was informed this week that my job position had been made redundant.
It is surreal even writing this. It is a fresh wound and I am still coming to terms with this news. It's strange to think that 3 days ago I was a happily employed twenty-something - taking things for granted and dreaming of what I want, rather than being gracious for the simple joys in my life.
In an already struggling economy the coming months are sure to be testing for us (I was the major wage earner in our household) yet I know that this is hurdle we can overcome.
My mind is filled with doubt, anticipation and fear. I feel as if I have failed, although I know there's nothing that could be done. It's not that I am unwanted - far from it, I'm told - but that I was given up for the sake of another. 

I am unsure of the road ahead, all I can be certain of is that I will succeed...eventually.
I will still accomplish my desires for this year, more often than not I will do so quietly, perhaps at time I will share them here, once the time is right. All I can say right now is that this year will be one of change - for the better - in myself and my life. I...we, will live simply and purposefully.  

I will find the opportunity within this difficult period of our life.

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I don't want this to be a pitty-party for me or a 'look how difficult my life is' post. That's not my intention. I feel that this is a safe place for me to share what's on my mind and heart, with you, and I will continue to do so. I have overcome more heartbreak than this - I will do it again. 

Picking myself up and dusting myself off. 

Sorry for the word heavy post. x 

Bits and Pieces

Following on from my previous post I realised I am already making some changes (as vain and materialistic as it may be!) - I have a new hair colour! I dyed it a shade of burgundy earlier in the year, and I loved it (minus the fading), but a couple of days ago I realised I needed a change!
Back to my 'natural' colour, black, or as black as it would go, as some of the red still shows through in the sunlight.
It has made me feel a little fresher and more polished, as well as being a lot easier to style with my wardrobe (red and red often looks strange!)
 It's vain, I know it! But what do you think?

the old & the new

 
I'm embracing change!



P.S head over here for another Sole Society/The Beetle Shack giveaway! This time Sole Society are giving away 2 pairs! of their amazing shoes to one very lucky reader!
New shoes would really change my day! Good Luck!! x

Inspired: to change

I love when I am inspired. Inspired to create/explore/tell/imagine/learn & much more! 
Today I was inspired, by this lovely lady, and her post on the 'morning routine'. 

Now that I'm back at uni (and can't sleep in until midday) I'm craving some sort of routine in my everyday life. My mornings are usually a mixture of lazily watching the news and checking emails, and then rushing to get dressed and packed before running out the door to get on with the day. No breakfast, no stretching, no meditation...and I hate it being this way. 

Time for a change!

I'd much rather enjoy the morning, and prepare myself for the day ahead. My hope is that by creating a routine I'll become more productive in my daily activities, and begin to create a healthier way of living for myself, and Sam...and our animals. 

At the moment my current day is*:

7.30     wake up, turn on tv, watch some morning news

8.30     feed the animals, followed by turning on laptop, checking emails/blogs/social networks

9.00     get dressed, let Tig out in the yard, run out the door to uni/work/errands

12.00   lunch (usually at a cafe or take out), followed by more uni/work/errands

16.00   come home, relax in front of tv whilst checking emails/blogs/social networks

18.00   feed the animals, followed by Sam and I tossing up whether to cook or get take out (unfortunately, it's usually take out...healthy take out...if that counts)**

19.00   study intermingled with checking social networks

21.00   shower, put on comfy clothes, snuggle up in bed with Sam and watch our favourite show/s (the IQ and record function on the Foxtel has been worth every penny!)

I usually fall asleep anywhere between 9pm and midnight.

*with the exception of days that I work early, which means I'm up at 6am and home at 4pm...so everything else gets crammed in later!
**house work is usually left until about now, depending on whether or not there's clean dishes for dinner, or how much of a mess the animals have made inside...sometime I refer to them as our children, considering I feel like I'm constantly picking up all their toys and cleaning up after them!

Can you see why this needs to change? I really have no stability in my current routine.
I'm hoping that if I begin my morning with a stable routine, then the rest of my day would be more productive. I'm thinking that the best way to make this change is to have a plan of when I want to wake and what I want to get done in the morning before I start my regular day. 
Writing it here and having people keep me accountable (and hopefully support me) is what will keep me on track. I'm not going to change my whole day, but if I can make these small changes, rather than just going through the motions, I'm sure my mind and body will thank me for it in the long run.

This is what I'm aiming for in the morning:

6.00     wake up, watch news (only the news update part and not the rest of the drivel that comes after it)

6.30     make fresh tea with our herbs 
7.00     head outside for some meditation/gardening/enjoying sunshine
8.30     feed the animals  
8.35     tidy up the house, let Tig out in the yard
9.00     get dressed, run out the door (let's be honest!) to uni/work/errands

Sam and I have also decided that we're going to walk Tig at dusk each day. It'll give us a chance to step away from the tv/laptop/phone for a half hour and spend time together, out in the fresh air, and Tig will get her exercise/be so exhausted afterwards that she'll sleep soundly during the night ;)

So, that's my goal for the next 21 days! (you know the saying; 'takes 21 days to create a habit'!)

I know I'll still check my phone for emails when I get up, and might struggle to stick to having a cup of tea for breakfast, but if I can begin to make a change to my lifestyle then I'll be happy. 

As my father once told me; 
Dad: "how do you eat an elephant?"
Me: "I don't know...how?"
Dad: "one bite at a time! *insert typical father-like belly-laugh here*
(sorry, I couldn't help it. I love dad jokes!)

~This is where I'm hoping to spend some of my mornings, soaking up the sunshine...as soon as it's warm again.