Organic & Free Range Meat & Dairy?

Oragnic & Free Range Meat & Eggs are no better or more ethical than the standard meat and eggs.

Many farms still pack thousands of animals onto their lots to increase profits and many free range animals don’t actually see the light of day as the regulations are to just “have access” not actually requiring the animals to spend certain amounts of time outside.
Sometimes, for example, chickens used for their meat are overfed to the point of being unable to actually move and re-locate themselves to their so called “outdoor access”.
The farms still partake in the same inhumane torture as the standard factory farms such as dehorning, debeaking, branding, tails being cut off, rings put on their sensitive noses and castration, all without painkillers because medication wouldn’t class the animals as “organic”.
This means they also cannot vaccinate the cows against diseases and if the dairy cows’ udders become infected, they are left untreated.
Once the animals can’t be used for their bodily fluids and functions anymore and haven’t died yet from being over worked, they are shipped off in terrible conditions, with no water and food to be slaughtered just like any other.
there is nothing humane, holistic or healthy about the treatment and consumation of animal products, even when “organic” and “free range”.
The only thing that is organic is the food they ate. #govegan
source: peta.org

The Truth Behind Cows Milk

i honestly never knew this, and i’m sure many of you still didn’t, but cows don’t just magically create milk their entire lives. they’re not a milk-making machine.
cows produce milk for the same reason as humans… to nourish their babies.
factory farms artificially inseminate the cows and when the calves are born, they are torn away from their mothers the day they are born so the calves can’t “steal” the milk they wish to sell. this causes distress for both of the animals. gary yourofski, who has gone behind the scenes in factory farms, fur factories ect. said that the worst scream he has heard is from a mother cow crying for her baby.
imagine a human mother giving birth to her child that she thought would be hers for a lifetime and having it taken away by strangers?
if the calf is a female, she’ll have the same fate as her mother & will be used for milk and if it is a boy, he’ll be used for veal and slaughtered after a few months of life spent in shocking conditions.

cows are supposed to live for 20 years but many dairy cows only live for 5 due to being overworked. their meat is usually what is used for minced meat & other processed goods as the animals are so worn, the meat is of “low quality”.

are you a meat eater or vegetarian but feel as if you can’t go vegan because you can’t give up cheese?
the reason you may be so addicted to cheese is because cows milk is supposed to be addictive for baby cows because they need it do grow and that’s also why it’s so full of fat, protein & hormones.. to grow a 35kg calf into a 450kg cow.
cow’s milk is also known to cause cancers such as testicular, breast & prostate cancers and it raises cholesterol levels.
lots of people struggle with digesting dairy which, to me, is just another clue that we shouldn’t be consuming cows milk.

so please be considerate with what milk you are adding to your cereal & coffees, the yoghurt you are adding your muesli too & the cheese on your sandwhich or that is sprinkled on your pizza.

go for oat, soy, rice, coconut or nut milks & there are vegan cheeses available too for purchase or to make yourself.

but what about calcium?! cow’s milk is detrimental to your health & your calcium levels. your body thrives on an alkaline diet and cow’s milk is acidic. for your body to return to an alkaline environment it draws the calcium out from your bones and teeth! this can cause all sorts of bone issues such as athritis.
source your calcium from these instead, which all also contain a wide variety of other nutrients as well: kale, blackstrap molasses, tempeh, collard greens, tahini, almond butter, soybeans, broccoli, fennel, blackberries, black currants, oranges, dried apricots, figs, dates.
#govegan ✌🌏🚫🐮

Humans Are Herbivores

Even though society has trained us to think we are omnivores, we in fact are not.
REAL carnivores (and omnivores – meat & plant eaters) can eat RAW animal flesh, internal organs, brains, eyes, skin & fur.
we, as humans cannot because we will become ill.
before fire & tools, humans were just plant eaters because they would gather their food, not hunt it… as, of course, it is unsafe for humans to eat raw flesh.
our teeth are flat, like herbivores. not sharp and pointed like carnivores & omnivores.
our colon is long & complex, like a herbivore. not simple and short, like carnivores & omnivores.
our nails are flattened, like herbivores. not sharp  claws, like carnivores and omnivores.
the length of our intestines are 10-11 times our body length, and herbivores intestines are 10-12+ their body length. carnivores intestines are 3-6 time their body length & omnivores are 4-6 times.
our saliva has carbohydrate digesting enzymes, like herbivores and both carnivores & omnivores have no digestive enzymes in their saliva.
by killing and consuming the animals, we are in turn killing ourselves with the cholesterol & saturated fat their flesh contains and it promotes disease because of the acidic environment it creates inside our body. talk about karma!

so tell me again, why are we “supposed” to eat animals?! ✌❤🐄🌎 #govegan

Raw Vegan Double Choc Chip Cookies

1 cup dates, soaked prior
1 cup oat flour
1 tbsp @powersuperfoods cacao powder
1 tbsp @powersuperfoods cacao nibs
2 tsp chia seeds
dash of cinnamon
👉 blend all the ingredients in a food processor until well combined and blended. you may need to add some water (i added a few tbsp of the water the dates were soaking in) form into cookie shapes and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
these can also be made into bliss balls!

Pura Vida Bracelets – Discount Code

Do you remember friendship bracelets?

These Pura Vida bracelets are like those but much prettier than any i’ve ever made, haha & they support charities as well!
In spanish, pura vida means “pure life”. The pura vida lifestyle is about being free & living life to the fullest!
The founders of Pura Vida Bracelets, Paul & Griffin, had met two less-fortunate men on their travels in Costa Rica. They were hand-making bracelets on the street & shared a one room house with 3 beds they shared with several family members. Paul & Griffin took some bracelets back to america to sell to help the men. They became quite popular & which is when it became a business and changed all their lives forever and gave more jobs to those in Costa Rica to keep up with the demand as they had gone from selling a few bracelets a week to over 25,000!
Pura Vida bracelets also donate to other charities with purchases made from their Charity Collection.

Svore yourself a bracelet today where you are helping someone in need. I have a 10% discount for you guys to enter at the checkout “ESH10” check out the Pura Vida Bracelets site for their huge range – it’ll be hard to choose just one!
puravidabracelets.com/sale

Return2Raw Review & Disount Code

You can have your sweets while getting your super-greens in with @return2raw!
Simply pop 1 heaped tbsp of @return2raw & 5 bananas in a food processor & blenduntil smooth to create health packed nicecream!

Our bodies thrive in a high-alkaline environment but a modern diet that most people follow (one which includes processed & refined foods, white bread & sugars, soft drinks, coffee & alcohol) means their body is overly acidic. @return2raw contains 3 energising & alkalising ingredients – alfalfa, barley grass & wheat grass which can help restore this balance and optimize our health & wellbeing.

It’s gluten free & vegan and rich in chlorophyll, protein, amino acids, beta carotene, antioxidants, omega-3’s, b vitamins, vitamin c, e & k, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, folic acid, potassium, manganese & zinc. Talk about superfood powers!

It’s my second favourite supergreens powder out of the three I have tried, I’d definitely recommend it! I normally pop it in nicecream as pictured or in oatmeal & smoothies. It doesn’t taste overly “green” like some blends do and when you add it with bananas it’s perfect!

Enter the code “lwr2r” at the checkout when purchasing @return2raw for a 10% discount.
http://www.return2raw.com

Organisation & Meal Prep

Being 22 and living in my own house & working fulltime means things can get pretty full on when trying to balance all my duties. I love being organised, I’m always thinking of when to do things, spending my time wisely and how I can make things easier for myself so things can get done.. and food prep is a weekly must do!

I do my food shop once a week, lately it’s been on Saturday’s but sometimes I will go after work. Lately my fresh produce shopping has been at one of the local fruit & veg stores and my grocery shop is usually at Coles and sometimes I’ll get some fruit & veg bargains there when they have sales.
I wash all my fruits an veggies before popping them away so they are ready to go for when I want them. I add them to the sink & cover them with water, add a splash of white vinegar and let them sit for about 5 minutes, except for stone & citrus fruits and zucchini, just rinse those in the water as the skins can go soft. I then rinse them in water & leave them to dry on a tea towel.
– I store ripe fruits in the fridge but unripe ones I store out of my fridge until ripened.
– Bananas are kept in a big banana box in the corner of my living/dining area to ripen and when they are overripe, I peel & break each one into three individual pieces, pop them into freezer bags in serving size amounts and pop them in the freezer. I have ALOT of bananas!
– I store my veggies in sealed tupperware containers in the fridge lined with paper towel on the bottoms.
– Potatoes, carrots, baby spinach & lettuce are the only veggies I clean right before using them. Potatoes are kept in my pantry on the floor, in believe it or not a fruit basket – haha. Carrots, lettuce, baby spinach and any new/unwashed veg I store in the crispers.

On Sundays I like to get some food prepared for the week as it makes my nights after work easier. Making & taking your own food to work, school or uni saves you money so you’re not wasting money on lunch everyday – because that can add up quickly, it also keeps you on the right track to healthy living because you know exactly what is in everything you made! Stock up on some tupperware containers because they’re the handiest thing to have – I have heaps!!

Breakfast:
Never skip breakfast! Lately I’ve been having smoothies that I can make every morning but some breakfast prep ideas are:
– Overnight oats which is oatmeal soaked overnight in milk of choice. (1/3 cup oats & 1/3-1/2 cup almond milk) you can play with flavours using fruits and other add-ins like chia seeds, coconut shreds, yoghurt, protein powder, nuts, seeds, cinnamon or maca powder. You can store these in jars in your fridge for the week and top with any extra goodies you desire and take brekky on the go!
– Bake a batch of baked oatmeal, muesli bars or muffins
– Chia pudding (1 cup almond milk & 2 tbsp chia seeds)
– Chop and prep some fruit (bananas, berries, mangos ect.) and pop in serving size freezer bags so you can just chuck them in a blender to quickly whip up a smoothie and this can be taken on the run too if you pop it in a jar.

Lunch:
For lunch I used to cook up a meal for every single day on a Sunday (my boyfriend does this too) but lately I’ve been loving rice salads (I prep two or three for the week) & the other days I just slice up some cucumbers & tomatoes, pop them in a container with some baby spinach to be put onto some rice thins!
Some other lunch prep ideas that can be done on a Sunday is:
– Protein, rice & veg
– Stir-fry
– Curry
– Salad
– Pasta
– Frittata
– Sushi
Be sure to keep it interesting and play with herbs and spices so that way you look forward to it and it doesn’t get boring. Another option is making extra for dinner that night and taking leftovers to work the next day which I sometimes do.
My meals are vegan but my boyfriends contain meat (the common meat, rice & veg usually) and we both just keep our meal preps in the fridge and they stay fine, we don’t freeze them.

Snacks
At the moment I’ve been mainly snacking on grapes, bananas & apples. The bananas & apples I just get together when packing my lunchbox in the morning but the grapes I pop into snack containers for at least three days worth. So that’s easy peasy!
Other snack ideas you can prepare and make yourself are:
– Hummus to dip veggie sticks in or spread on rice or corn thins.
– Bliss/Protein Balls
– Muffins
– Muesli Bars
– Chia Pudding (snack size)
– Overnight oats (snack size)
 

Other Handy Food Prep
I like to also keep a batch of cooked rice in the fridge which saves time at dinner time or for weekend lunches. Alot of rice gets eaten, so it always gets used up!
Keeping roast veggies in the fridge can come in handy too to go with dinner or to go with your lunch.
My boyfriend also preps himself some boiled eggs for the week as he has those as his snack before the gym every morning along.
Sometimes I even pre-prep the following nights dinner (or do it in the morning), just by chopping veggies up or getting the things out that I will be using.