The Gratitude Diaries and choosing happy!

On a recent trip to the library I stumbled across a book that, upon reading the title, instantly struck a chord with me. One phrase that I like to always try and remember is 'live a good life'. This can obviously mean a lot of different things to different people as it's open to much interpretation, but for me it centres around doing what I can to care for the earth, be kind to those that inhabit it (animals and humans alike!) and approach situations and life in general with a positive demeanor. Granted there are times when I fail at all three of these things, but it's my mantra and focus that I keep coming back to ever when I feel like I've blown off course. So the more specific idea of gratitude and how the 'practice' of it can influence your life was a subject I was very interested in reading about!

The Gratitude Diaries is written by Janice Kaplan and follows her life the year she started writing a gratitude diary and researching the effects and benefits of graditude along the way. There are references from many sources from philosophers to researchers to friends and Kaplan's own personal experiences of how gratitude has had an impact on her life. The book starts on New Year's Eve with the idea that people expect the ringing in of another year to create a new, better and happier future but not knowing how to achieve that goal. After a year of research and practice, including keeping a diary of things that made her grateful, looking on the positive side of life and nurturing her relationships, one of Kaplan's concluding thoughts is "bring the right mood and spirit to each day and you can create the best year of your life." I think this is a really powerful sentiment and also one that holds such truth! 

The power of positivity is often underrated but I do truly believe that the way you approach a situation completely influences your experience of it. It doesn't mean you aren't going to get caught out in a sudden downpour or splashed by a truck driving through a puddle next to you, but you can either be angry and annoyed that you're soaked and unprepared or you can laugh at the hilarity of it all and be grateful the sun is now out to dry you off and that you have other clothes at home you can change into or money to go to a shop and by a new pair of trousers. So much of how we feel about events is predetermined before they even happen because we spend so much time worrying about things but you can't predict what is doing to happen so really, what is the point?! Do your best to live in the present moment and each morning CHOOSE to be happy.

I feel like reading this book has reaffirmed for me that trying to live a good life and all that means to me is the way forward! I have been making a more conscious effort to be grateful for everything in my life come rain or shine, I am choosing to see the bright side in everything (as best I can!) and approaching life with a positive attitude - hopefully passing some positive vibes and the idea of gratitude on to others as I go. Reading this book has inspired me and I thoroughly recommend reading it! In the meantime, put your positive pants on and remember all the amazing reasons you have to be grateful - today is a perfect day to just be happy!

Gulf Beach Half Marathon

So after a week and a half or so of settling into life in New Haven (more on that soon!) I ran my first half marathon on this side of the ocean! I'd looked for one in the local area to give me motivation to keep training after the Reading half earlier in the year and found the Gulf Beach half marathon in Milford which is just down the road. It was described as the flattest half marathon in Connecticut and the course runs along the boardwalk next to the beach - I thought it sounded perfect and it didn't disappoint!

While my intention had been to keep training after my previous race that didn't quite happen... And I had to start from scratch building up my distance. I worked out a plan to increase my long runs steadily until the race and because I have another race in two months time, the goal I set for this race was to finish, enjoy it and not injure myself! Come race day I was pretty nervous - as I always am! - but Patrick helped keep me calm and once I got running the nerves started to fade and the 'I can do this!' mentality took over. 

Patrick had told me to look out for him around the three mile mark and sure enough there he was, with a big sign cheering me on, putting a massive smile on my face! The course was an out and back route so it was amazing to know I would see him again around the 10mile mark. Little did I know that the two lovely ladies above were also turning up to surprise me on the way back through! Having people along the route to cheer you on and support you gives you such a boost and the three of them then drove back to the finish to be there to watch me cross the line which was fantastic!

The course itself was lovely and definitely one I wouldn't mind running again. The sea views were gorgeous although there was occasionally a very strong fish smell that wasn't the best when you're breathing deep! The route was lovely and flat, although it was a pretty hot day by the time we were finishing. The last 0.1 miles is run on sand and at a slant which was way more difficult than you would think it would be! Usually I would be sprinting for the line but it was enough just to keep my balance and keep moving. My final time was 2:12:05 which I was so pleased with and had zero ache or pain after. Going to try and mix in some speed training to improve for my next race - Philly here I come!

Flying Vegan

Eating on the go as a vegan is tough at the best of times and if you're also trying to avoid wheat or sugar or any other intolerances/dietary preferences you might have, only makes things harder! But being on a plane has to be the hardest because there is no where else you can go to find what you want. The best way to deal with it? Make like a Boy Scout and always be prepared! Tomorrow (yes, my exciting new American adventure starts TOMORROW!! Can you believe it?!) will be my third time flying without eating plane food. I did used to make sure I registered as a vegan in advance but after too many times of having products on my tray that I knew weren't vegan and eating dry bagels I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands.

This is the most prepared I've ever been (even have a yoga for planes video from YWA memorised!) and I have to say I'm actually pretty excited to have my inflight meal/feast! As you can see from the picture above I have a wide range of things I'm taking. I should just note here - you can take any food through security and onto a plane but you can't take things like fresh produce, meat or dairy through customs at the other end of your flight so make sure you eat it all first (the hardship!) or leave it on the plane. A lot of food that travels well tends to be dry and processed and obviously most fresh stuff does better in a fridge so I feel it's important to get a balance. Nairn's oatcakes are great travellers and I'm taking an avocado with me to smoosh on top. My plan is to take out the pit and wrap it up right before I go so that I just have to scrape out the middle without the need for a knife. In an ideal world it won't go too brown before I eat it but even if it does, that won't put me off one bit - I love avocado!! Personally I think avocado tastes better at room temp as I find it loses a lot of flavour in the fridge so it's a great choice. The bean salad I've prepared also is at its best at room temp so again it's ideal to travel with. 

Some other things I've made are raw cinnamon raisin cookie dough balls and peanut butter chocolate oat balls both from Texanerin Baking. They are both vegan, gluten and refined sugar free, incredibly easy to make - 5-10mins each tops - and taste amazing! I made them at the weekend and all my family have been snacking on them since. Luckily I put my plane ones aside before they dug in! The Bear yo yo treat is made of apples, pears and raspberries baked and made into dry fruit roll ups. They are designed for kids but they taste so good and are travel sized so brilliant to take on a journey! I've tried a few of their flavours but raspberry is definitely my favourite. Aside from that I have a small pot of nuts, a banana and an apple and seeing as technically I'm only flying during one meal time, I think this pile of goodies will more than satisfy me! If you have any plane, food or travel tips I'd love to hear them!

Coconut Granola Bars!

Recently my friend, Haya, asked me to recommend a good granola bar as they were fed up of buying them and had begun to realise that what they were buying wasn't quite the healthy, energising snack they were aiming for. Most store bought granola bars are full of sugar and syrups that it's more like a candy bar than any thing health giving! Obviously if a candy bar style treat is what you're after then those fit the bill but I prefer mine to pack more of a nutritional punch; especially if I'm using them to fuel my runs! A lot of race and running fuel tends to be gels etc but I prefer to refuel with real food.

Anyway, back to the granola bars! My go-to recipe has always been one from the amazing blog oh she glows. So many amazing vegan, gluten-free and naturally sweetened recipes over there (I prefer not to use refined sugar in any of my food). Naturally this was the link I sent over to my friend! But then came the list of things I actually now do differently to the original recipe so I decided to make a batch today to share on here. These bars are so scrummy you don't miss the sugar at all and they are full of nutritional goodness - what's not to like?! 

I love that these bars are naturally sweetened with dates and the protein punch from the seeds, especially the chia, is amazing - perfect for refuelling on the go! Personally I love the taste of cinnamon so I bumped the quantity of that up a few notches and swapped out the cranberries for unsweetened desiccated coconut (I find the bars hold together in my teeny running pockets better that way - plus I love coconut!). I also sprinkled some on top for aesthetics as I knew I would be taking pictures, but even though I pressed it in, most of it hasn't stuck very well so I wouldn't recommend that if you're planning to wrap them up and stick them in your pocket like me! 

So without further ado, here is my recipe for coconut granola bars (adapted from oh she glows)! If you try them or would like to share your favourite granola bar recipe please let me know! 

Coconut Granola Bars

(Makes 12 bars)

3/4 cup pitted dates

1 cup of water

3/4 cup of oats, ground into a flour

1/2 cup of chia seeds

1/4 unsweetened desiccated coconut (plus extra for sprinkling if you desire!)

1/4 pumpkin seeds

1/4 sunflower seeds

2 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 150C and prepare an 8x8inch dish or pan (I use a glass dish and don't feel like I need to grease it - the bars come out super easily).

2. Put dates and water in your food processor and blend into a paste. If your dates aren't super soft and your food processor is having trouble breaking them up you can leave them to soak for a while and it should get easier!

2. Put oat flour, chia seeds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and salt into a bowl and mix together. 

3. Add the date paste and the vanilla into the bowl and throughly mix together so everything is coated in the paste.

4. Pour the mixture into your prepared dish and spread it out as evenly as you can. If you want to sprinkle on some coconut do it now!

5. Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes; until firm to the touch. Allow to cool in the dish for at least 20minutes before cutting and removing to a rack to cool completely. 

Once they are cooled I wrap them up and put them in the freezer so they are always fresh when I want them but I imagine they would last about a week in an airtight container in the fridge! 

Staying grounded

I knew it had been quite a while since I last wrote anything on here but I can't believe it's been as long as two and half months! Time really has been flying for me lately and a lot of changes have been coming along with that. Where I was two and a half months ago in my journey is very different to the part I'm at now. With all the craziness and things I've been doing its sometimes difficult to take time out from your to-do list and just take time for yourself. And by this I don't mean just sitting watching TV or something because then you're not really giving your mind a break, just your body! Making sure that I stay 'me' through this crazy period is really important and definitely is a benefit of those around me too!

Yoga is something that always helps me stay grounded and connect my mind, breath and body together as one. While my running also helps me clear my mind it's a different kind of sensation than I get from yoga. I enjoy the feeling of the ground through my mat and physically supporting myself through the moves with my feet and hands. The philosophy of yoga with its element of meditation is also hugely calming and teaches you to empty your mind and connect to your breath; be at peace in your body as you work through your practice. But yoga isn't all serious either! There are plenty of seemingly ridiculous poses I am so far from mastering but it's fun to play around and test my body with the idea that one day I might get there!

When life gets busy it's sometimes hard to find time in your schedule to fit in everything you want to do. My approach now is that my yoga and my running are priorities and everything else slots in around it. This might sound unealistic but it's just about having a different mindset! In my life, maintaining my balance and grounding is fundamental for my happiness and well being; and therefore MUST happen. My friend, Jaki, bought me some gorgeous yogic anklets when I left work to remind me to stay grounded and make time for myself and they even remind me to just stop and take a breath when things are getting a bit mental!

'Yoga with Adriene' is my favourite YouTube channel full of amazing free yoga videos to do at home and Adriene herself is amazing and so inspiring. Her philosophy is 'find what feels good' and I think that's the perfect attitude to approach yoga. Sometimes it can seem really intimidating when you have the idea in your head of these incredibly bendy, flexible people and you feel like you'll never be able to do it but it doesn't matter if that's not the way you are to start with, or ever really! Heaven knows I wasn't - and I'm still not! - but I've definitely come a long way and its just about doing as much as you can and finding what works for you. That part of yoga is also about finding peace with yourself and your body and accepting who you are.

Recently my mum and I have started '30 days of Yoga' with Adrienne. It's the perfect way to find motivation to do some yoga everyday and not have to think about which video to pick because you simply do the next one in the series! You cover all different kinds of yoga and poses and it's a wonderful showcase of what is possible within your yoga practice. I'm hoping it will encourage my mum to keep going with it once I've moved because so far she's loving it! We're on day 15 now and it's definitely a challenge I recommend to anyone looking to start a regular yoga practice. And if yoga really isn't your thing, spend time finding or thinking about what it is that keeps you grounded when all the craziness is going on and share your thoughts! Remember to always find time for YOU.

Natural Beauty

Now that I focus so much on only putting goodness into my body I decided it was about time I started only putting good things on my body too! I've decided to try and use products that are natural, 100% cruelty free (no animal testing!) and as kind to the environment as possible. I already use shampoo bars which are totally natural, vegan and zero packaging so all round perfect really.

I bought a new one today called Montalbano. It smells divine. It's packed with lemon oil, lemon peel and even the juice to make your hair super shiny and in the sun it will lighten hair too - perfect for summer. Also contains green olives which are said to improve hair strength! As for conditioner, these days I tend to just use coconut oil twice a week. I just cover the ends of my hair and rub it in, leave it to soak in over night and then wash out with shampoo the next day. It leaves my hair gloriously soft and shiny.

Coconut oil also doubles as my make up remover and sometimes my moisturiser! I also use it in cooking and baking. I'm not sure there is anything you can't use it for?! It's amazing! I also sometimes use Skin Quench by Original Source which comes in some great scents. It's totally vegan but not as natural as other moisturisers (like coconut oil!) and also has quite a lot of packaging.

For my face I use olive oil as a cleanser and moisturiser. If you haven't tried it yet - you should! I was totally dubious about putting oil on my skin at first as I thought it would make it worse rather than better but Rose (BFF) convinced me to finally give it a go and it's actually worked wonders. My face is smoother, clearer and the redness has reduced! I get cold pressed olive oil because the usual process heats the oil and breaks down its natural structure which is shown to remove its benefits. At first I was using a lot of cotton pads as part of this cleansing process so as an effort to reduce my waste I bought some reusuable bamboo pads!

And finally (!) this amazing bundle showed up at my house today! When looking online for natural products this same brand kept appearing so I thought I'd give it a try! I bought just the lavender deodorant first which is aluminium free and it worked so well I decided to invest in another to keep in my gym bag so I'm not without one after a run (no one who spends time around me wants that!), fluoride free toothpaste and some suncream.

That's as far as I've got with my new approach to product selecting and buying and I have to say I'm loving it and the results so far! If I come across anything new or update my products I'll do another post. Hope this has inspired you to try some natural products or maybe to just be mindful of the impacts of the things that we buy!

Starting over & our trip to Paris!

Starting over can be one of the hardest things to do. Ever. When you have your heart so set on something and you've planned and invested so much into it, to reach a dead end can be heartbreaking. But that's what Patrick and I have had to do with regard to my plan for moving to spend more time with him. Unfortunately the university made a mistake and the course they offered me wasn't applicable for international students - literally devastated! So much time and effort had gone into that for it all just to be taken away from us in one email. 

I can't say I coped with it all very well at first and it's been a tough couple of weeks to let go of all our previous plans. Having said this we have tried to make the most of our situation and so in September I will be taking an extended 3month holiday  to the States! After a 3week break there for Will & Claire's wedding of course. While it isn't what we originally had in mind I'm actually quite excited about this new opportunity for us and for me to travel more than I thought I would. As I've heard many times over the last few weeks, offered as words of comfort from family and friends, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it's hard to see that reason in the face of disappointment but I think it's important to have faith, and that where there is a will there is a way and we have two wills.

But onto happier topics! On Patrick's most recent visit we went to Paris for 4 days which was amazing. The weather was wonderful and we did and saw so many fabulous things from climbing the Eiffel Tower to a trip to Disneyland (a special treat for me!!) to delicious meals at lovely restaurants. We of course hit all the usual tourist spots and had our pictures taken all over the city but what I was most surprised about was how well I was able to eat as a vegan in Paris. Everyone knows the French love their cheese and butter so I assumed eating out would be rather difficult but it turns out with a little planning Paris is full of vegan opportunities! 

The two best places we went (IMO!) were Hanks Burgers and La Bocca della Verita. The first place, as the name suggests, is a burger place, but all the burgers were vegan! It was amazing! I had just trouble trying to decide what to have but I had some of mine and a bite of Patrick's and they were both delicious so I don't think you could make a wrong choice. They also had desserts which are  so hard to come by in non vegan establishments if you want anything other than sorbet so of course I couldn't say no! I chose the carrot cake and it was the best I've ever had. If I'd eaten it before we left instead of saving it for later I absolutely would have had to buy another one.

The second place was a tiny little Italian restaurant Patrick had found online (Italian is his favourite) and I'd OK'd the menu in advance. The funny thing was he'd actually forgotten to check if the menu was okay for him but luckily he found something he liked. I chose what could be considered a 'basic' option of pasta with tomato and basil sauce but it was incredible. Sometimes the simplest things done impeccably are the most satisfying things to eat and this was just superb! We had lovely wine in a beautiful setting outside and a very friendly and helpful waiter which just made our entire dinner feel wonderfully special. If we ever go back to Paris, that restaurant will definitely be on the list of places we return to!

You know what, even Disneyland wasn't that bad for eating at and I'd resigned myself to a day of limp salad and fries as my main food sources! The salads were actually plentiful and not at all limp and that wasn't even my only option. I was pleasantly surprised and I no longer have to be apprehensive about the food in one of my favourite places in the world letting me down ;)

Reading Half Marathon & a new PR!

I am absolutely buzzing right now!! As the title of this post suggests I ran Reading half marathon today. It's only the second time I've run a half and the first time I've done Reading. The first one I did was in Cardiff and while I started off training really well, I went on holiday for three weeks about four weeks before the race and well, I didn't quite manage to keep up with my training! This time I've been training really hard and it totally paid off because I knocked 18minutes off my time for a new PR of 2hours 4minutes and 3seconds!!! So proud!!

It was a gorgeous day, in fact almost too hot at points - the last 1.5 miles on a long straight road with the sun beating down were tough to say the least! The course was flat for the most part, two hideous hills but the crowds were amazing and finishing in the stadium was an atmosphere I will never forget. Even gave me enough of a boost to sprint the last 100m! 

Massive thanks have to go out to my wonderful boyfriend Patrick for his constant support through my months of training and waking up super early this morning to wish me luck! He's always encouraging and motivating even when I'm having the worst days and I really couldn't have done this without him! Also a huge thanks to my parents for ferrying me around today and bringing my post run fuel - my mum even made me some delicious granola bars! And finally, but by no means least, I want to thank Jaki my running training buddy and Alecia for starting me off on a brilliant pace to lead me through to my fab time!

Would definitely recommend this race to anyone thinking of running a half marathon. It's a brilliant atmosphere, incredible crowds and a great course! Not to mention a stadium finish that gives you such a high!!

Plan A

I've called this plan A but in the scheme of things it's probably actually about plan C... But as it's the best one we've had by far I'm going to go ahead and call it plan A! As I've mentioned a couple of places on here I am looking to move to America in the very near future, primarily to be with this amazing man below.

Don't you just love his smile?? Anyway, we met about 18months ago now and have been dating for the last 9.5. He's currently doing his PhD at Yale (I know, brains and looks - I'm such a lucky girl!) and we want nothing more than to be in the same town. Although sometimes I think I would settle to be in the same state! So I'm looking to move there. Sounds straightforward right?! Yeah not so much...

Unfortunately the U.S. government isn't too keen on letting people into the country unless they have a really good reason. Sadly being in love with an American citizen doesn't count unless you prove it and get married and, while that is hopefully on the cards for the future, that's not something we want to rush into while we have other options to consider!

I looked into being a teacher (really not for me!) and working (unless you're highly skilled or very wealthy, business is a very tricky option) before deciding to try and study and get a student visa. I really want to do an MBA to further myself in my career through studying, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to do everything I wanted! You also have the opportunity to work part time on a student visa if your university allows you so hopefully I will be able to earn some money and experience alongside my learning.

My application has been processed and, literally about 5minutes ago as I was writing this, has been provisionally accepted based on my grades!! I'M SO EXCITED! There are still hoops to jump through as an international student but hopefully I will pass with flying colours and be able to confirm my place in the very near future.

Patrick and his flatmate, my future roomies, found and signed for their lovely new apartment yesterday too so that's another piece of the puzzle complete! There are an awful lot of steps to go through between now and moving and a lot that have been gone through already to get to this point! But after months of waiting for other people to make decisions, things are finally starting to look like they are moving forward - I'll keep you posted!

Green for GLOW

I don't know what it is about waking up to a bright sunny morning but I am absolutely bouncing out of bed these days, full of energy and ready to take on the day! After the months of winter and darkness, feeling like it's still the middle of the night when my alarm goes off and not even getting a shred of daylight by the time I finish work either, it's definitely a welcome change.

Maybe it's the vitamin D factor or maybe it just feels like an appropriate time to actually be getting out of bed (the sun is up and therefore I should be too!) but here I am at 9.30 on a Saturday morning after already having done some yoga in the sunshine and now enjoying a deliciously green smoothie while I type this. It's like heaven!

Smoothies are my favourite way to start the day when it's sunny - and most days even when it's not. I jam pack them full of plant goodness to power me through my morning with as many added benefits for my body as I can. This morning it's my favourite green smoothie right now, full of healthy fats, vitamins and tastes delicious! My skin is something that I've long struggled with so I try and include ingredients that will help it as much as possible.

Avocado makes this smoothie beautifully creamy and is packed full of healthy fats to help keep your skin hydrated and soft and helps regenerate skin cells and reduce redness (hallelujah!). It's also full of vitamins C and E which are both amazing skin antioxidants and help maintain skins firmness and youthfulness.  Spinach is what makes the gorgeous green colour and is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there. It's FULL of vitamins such as A which improve skin tone, B to give protection from the sun, C and E as above and K to improve your complexion by minimising blemishes and dark circles.

Mango is not only delicious and full of vitamins such a A and C as above, it contains many other antioxidants which also improve complexion, rejuvenate your skin, and delay the onset of skin ageing! In addition to being an excellent energy source, banana is loaded with vitamin including B6 which is vital for maintaining skin elasticity. And lastly, but by no means least, nectarine contain vitamins A, C, and K plus beta carotene which also helps keep skin firm and glowing. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the benefits of the above foods but it's a pretty impressive résumé for a smoothie don't you think? A wonderfully nourishing way to start the day and fuel you through your morning with glowing, gorgeous skin.

Have a beautiful day everyone!

What's in a name...?

One of the hardest things about starting a blog isn't deciding what you want to talk about or why you want to do it, it's picking a name. It was easy for me to say I didn't want to pigeon hole myself into just talking about say, food or recipes or running or my planned immigration. I knew I wanted to create a place where I could share everything and anything I wanted to but without a specific theme, the opportunities for names seem endless. Trying to find one with traction, that means something to the person writing it is the biggest hurdle.

But here I am so that means I made it! I have to say it took a lot of brainstorming before something I'd been told recently popped into my head and it just clicked. I can't remember the original source or study this came from but its an idea that, as someone who follows a whole food, plant based lifestyle, I absolutely love. Photons are particles of light and are all around us. As plants grow they absorb these photons and embed them into their cells. So when we eat plants as part of our diet we are in fact also eating these light particles and are quite literally glowing from the inside out.

Now I don't know about you but the image of that to me is so beautiful. To be so connected with nature and full of that energy and light is something I strive to achieve on a daily basis and just felt like a perfect reflection of my lifestyle! So here I am, full of photons, ready to begin my next adventure...