This recipe is gluten-, sugar-, dairy- and meat-free.
The Christmas spice
During the fall I’ve been testing out different recipes every Saturday. When you don’t consume that much gluten, sugar, dairy and meat, it can be a little bit tricky sometimes, to say the least. BUT… the more you practice and experiment, the better you get and the more you learn. We can all agree on that, right? It’s actually not that hard to be healthy, take care of your body, but at the same time eat delicious food.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (can you hear it), so in this blog post I wanted to share a recipe that includes some classic Christmas flavors, at least here in Sweden. It has a red color to it. It makes the food look golden yellow. It’s expensive. Usually you only need around 0,5-1 gram per dish. Can you guess what it is? Ah, who am I trying to fool? You’ve already seen the header by now. The answer is saffron. The magical saffron.
Risotto + Saffron = perfect marriage
Risotto is also one of my favorites, so combining these two is a great idea! In this recipe I’ve been using vegan parmesan. During the years I’ve tested most of the vegan cheeses. Some are ok, some are great, and some are not that great, with a “plastic” feeling to them. This parmesan is one of my favorites, though. And I would use it on everything if I didn’t control myself. A good quality pasta, with homemade pesto, topped with this parmesan… oh my, you have to try it! Super duper superb!
This saffron risotto is easily made with a lot of taste from the wine and cheese. However, I must say that if you want to, you can use more broth with a splash of vinegar instead of wine, and another cheese with a little bit of character. Go with what you like and have on hand. The saffron itself is the one that’s going to make the whole dish! Have a lovely day, Bon appétit!
From an ethical and moral side of the story, I would wish everyone to become vegan or vegetarian. I was a strict vegan for several years only because I was thinking about the animals and was willing to do everything in my power to consume less. The thought of killing an animal was unbearable. “If you can’t kill the animal, don’t eat it” was my philosophy. I can’t hurt a fly, so it’s not hard to see where this story will end…
However, as time went by, my health didn’t become any better. I was doing everything right in all the areas around eating, sleeping, exercising, and so forth. Then my focus leaned towards gut health. I came across Candida and started to look into that more. What it was, how you get it, why you get it, how you feel if you have it etc. There’s so much information, so many stories out there. You can read for days about the same stuff, so sooner or later your brain will become overloaded or exhausted.
Too much sugar promotes Candida.
There’s only one of you
All bodies are unique. We have different prerequisites, are born in different places (under different conditions), our mineral and vitamin foundation varies and our hormones shift during different days. So, to compare ourselves to others is like copying a haystack. My heart tells me that everyone should be vegan. But my brain says otherwise, at least until you’ve been checking or correcting imbalances in the body.
Some areas you need to look into, before I would recommend a diet are;
Are you female or male?
How old are you?
How much body fat do you have?
How much training experience?
Are you deficit in any of the essential minerals or vitamins?
Do you have regular periods?
How is your gut health?
And then a full-body exam with liver tests and so forth.
From there, I could get a better picture of what’s going on in your body and recommend what I think would be suitable for you right now. So, my message to you is: don’t go on a diet that doesn’t feel right for you. Don’t do something only because your closest friend succeeded with that specific diet. If you try something and it doesn’t feel right or make you feel worse, switch to another.
One of my favorite breakfasts is porridge with walnuts, banana, oat milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Different food affects us differently
To give an example. If you start the ketogenic diet it may feel great initially, but then worse or like it did before you started the journey. Hormones and the shift between them often cause that, and research has shown that the Ketogenic diet can raise estrogen and cortisol levels in women (link to article), so it all comes down to your starting point in those areas. Maybe the diet doesn’t fit for you as well as it does for your boyfriend’s hormones.
Another example is a vegan or vegetarian diet. If you have a sensitive gut like leaky gut or not enough good bacteria, there’s a chance your body can’t absorb all the nutrients. It may raise some of the minerals while others get suppressed. For example, the body has a really hard time absorbing zink so things like cereals and a lot of fiber may not be for you (phytate in some fiber inhibits zinc uptake).
A tasty swap, replace pasta and rice for beans.
I would suggest you do some research before you start something long term. Make sure you have checked with your doctor before. And if you can, your hormones, minerals and you’re your overall health. Due to the fact, that there’s no “one solution fits all”, is the reason why I give different tips and talk about what’s been working/is working for me. But in the end, it’s your body, so you know what’s work best for you.
I also want to point out that a “diet” doesn’t have to be something that makes you lose weight. It’s not what it’s all about! When I say diet, I mean a long term eating style that makes you feel as good as you can and deserve — a way of living for optimal health.
My advice for overcoming procrastination in life and everyday life (the effortless way), due to unresolved or too many unstructured thoughts and feelings, would be to:
Follow inspirational and motivational Instagram accounts, forget the people that make you stressed, anxious and bring you negative emotions in some way. I love “Law of Attraction” accounts (more on that in another blog post) and general business themes where they give you advice on books, side income, and so on. These can give you the daily dose of goal-setting motivation, which keeps you from spending too much time with unnecessary things.
But remember, take time off from social media occasionally, especially before going to bed (and in bed). In general, take a day off from everything, so that you can feel energized for the rest of the week. You’ll work harder and smarter!
Take a walk each day. Many of you may think that all kinds of exercise increase the stress hormone cortisol, but a slow walk actually lowers it. So, if you have a lot on your mind, take a walk, breath in the fresh air and clear your thoughts. The day becomes even more productive then. Many of my best ideas come while I’m doing these activities.
Walking in nature – one of the best medicines
Write down a list of the things that bother you. All the stuff. Even that annoying pile of laundry. Sort them according to the things you can do right now, the things you need to work on and the things you can’t do anything about. Make a daily checklist of things you can do now, take time every day or a day every week for the things you have to work on, and lastly, write down why you can’t do some of the things in your checklist and how you feel about that.
ATTENTION! If your issues have to do with other people, realize that you can’t change anyone. You can talk to them (communication is key), they may listen, take it in, but when it all comes down to it, it’s up to them to do something about it. Do not waste your energy on the things you can’t change. Set goals for yourself to strive upon.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, take one small step in the area you tend to procrastinate, and they will add up and become a walk towards the right direction or at least you can pat yourself on the shoulder for trying.
Make a vision board. Cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers of stuff you would like to have, emotions you would like to feel, places you want to go to, etc. Glue them onto a cardboard or a paper. Or you can store them in a safe place where they’re easily viewed. Everything can come true if we put our mind and energy on something. We can at least make most of the time we have in order to “create the highest, grandest vision possible for our lives, because you become what you believe!”
And with that said, believe in yourself! This has to be the most important point. If you do not believe in yourself, no one else is going to. No one is better or lesser than you, but the level of commitment varies. Another thing that makes us different is the fact that we have different skills, we think differently, learn differently, want different things and have different childhoods. Some of us might have to put in more energy onto our projects, but we can all succeed or at least get to a higher level by trying.
Read books, in general. But also books that reflect on your goal. If you want to start a business, read about business, if you want to eat healthily, read nutrition and so on. The book above “You’ve got a book in you”, by Elizabeth Sims is a gift from my little sister. She knows I love to write and wanted to give me an extra push in the right direction. Inspiration and motivation – check!
Books for inspiration
This was just a few of all the things you can do to get inspired enough to just get moving, with other words “How to overcome procrastination – the effortless way”. But remember that some days you just have to take it easy and binge watch Netflix, just keep working on your mission the next day with even more energy. It’s a difference between procrastionation and give your body a chance to recover and relax! I will talk about vision boards, Law of attraction and my favorite sources for inspiration in another blog post.
I’ve been searching on the internet for hours and hours after jewelry that I feel can complete my style. Rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces are serious statement pieces. When I had my hippie-period, I walked around with knotted textile bracelets. After a while, my preferences changed in the favor for a little more of the sparkling kind and for the past couple years, the classic, clean and metallic ones have been my favorites. I’ve found some real beauties in previous months, so here are my five favorites right now.
1. Tiffany & Co. I love their discrete, small and elegant jewelry. Like the black dress and the trench coat. It never goes out of style.
2. Sandberg. I found this brand when I was browsing in Vogue’s April issue. As I mentioned above, I really love the elegant and discrete type, which all of these are. But you can also find a unique style, with uneven edges.
3. Artemis Apollo. Jewelry can complete the look. If you wear all black, the earrings and necklaces make it turn out one way or another. It can become a modern chick, classic lady/gentleman, or a colorful artistic look. Artemis Apollo has something that involves all those categories. Just take a look at the picture below!
4. Monica Vinader. What I like about them is how comfortable they look, how easy and good-looking locks they have and that many of them are perfect for personalization with their flat surfaces. An ideal birthday, wedding or special occasion gift.
5. Pippa Jayne. When I first saw this collection, I thought about Lord of the Rings. With their bark-twig-looking rings and beautiful cut diamonds, my mind travels to another world. They’re in the more pricey section though.
Let me know which jewelry collections you fancy from the once I’ve been listing above and your own personal favorites!
I really love making lists. It’s something about the feeling crossing off the stuff that has been done and the freedom to just let go once you put it on paper. If you love being creative, journaling can be really inspirational. There’s an unlimited way of putting it together, only your mind sets the boundaries.
My tips for journaling:
You can choose between blank, lined, squared, or “all-ready-made” pages. If your mission is to be creative – pick the blank one and make it from scratch. For immediate structure and organization, take the “finished” one. CGD London (on the picture) has really inspirational ones, and they almost feel like you made them yourself.
My second tip would be to get a “Frixion clicker“. You can erase for two years with the “friction ball”, and then the color is permanent. It’s an excellent pen, acting like a pencil and an ink pen. And if you’re like me, you despise doodle and misleading information, so this pen is undoubtedly a lifesaver.
Put pictures in it, different colors, or paint your own images. Set goals and take one step closer each week. Put stickers when you finished daily tasks and so on.
Get inspiration on YouTube. Step by step guides can give you a lot of ideas. I recommend you watch Bullet Journal for an excellent tutorial.
