Green Vegan

I want to try to help people in the best way I can. Ive been asked quite a few times this month by various people about cravings. People have been telling me they have a craving for milk, cheese or eggs. In the same way sometimes we crave chips when actually our body is needing salt and we crave fish when actually we need omega 3 our body cant commnuicate what it actually is we are deficient in and therefore brings the food that is linked to that nutrient to our mind. Eggs are usually a sign of deficiency in B12. If you are a Vegan Junk food eater and are not eating a balanced diet or supplementing B12, Omega 3 (DHS and EPA) and Vitamin D with K then you will more often than not experience cravings. 

Below I have listed recommendations for supplements that I myself take and would recommend as a staple no matter what type of diet you have.

B12 https://www.vivolife.co.uk/products/b12-vegan-liquid-b12-complex

D with K https://www.vivolife.co.uk/products/b12-vegan-liquid-b12-complex

Omega DHA and EPA https://www.vivolife.co.uk/products/d3-plant-based-d3-with-k2

Subliminal (Liquid drop) vitamins are always best as you can maximum absorbancy

Often when you are craving a food it it less about the food that you are craving and more about your body trying to tell you what you are deficient in. Next time you crave something google the food you are craving first and see what you are deficient in !

A great Vegan nutition guide which tells you symptoms and cravings and what you are deficient in is Paul Otote’s Vegan Nutrition https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Ototes-Nutrition-Guide-Plant-based/dp/B085K8HSM8

remember we are always here to help and as a member you can message us with any help or queries you need.

Stay happy stay healthy

Its been a fair few months hasn’t it guys ! Wow what a start to the year ! We had a whole host of amazing guests for our Veganuary series which you can find over on our Veganuary video series listed below

These events were not only to inspire and help new vegans but also to give any tips or tricks to existing ones and also offer any support to those needing it. We had wellness, nutrition,food, Bafta film makers, personal trainers, Animal Sanctuaries and food bloggers. Check out Veganuary series here on instagram @greenvegan1​ 

Following that we have been continuing with existing and new clients and have been invited to talk at the prestigious Harlexton college to engage with students about sustainability and a plant based diet. We are also excited to have two edits coming out soon in both the online magazine plantpoweredplanet and also Spotlight wellbeing series.

We continue to talk to all you wonderful people over on instagram and would love at some point to start a community chat group. What do you think ?

We would love to hear your opinions views and shares and let us know if there is anything you need help with !

Peace love and light

This is a forever ongoing  debate in society, we find those who will not ever touch orthodox western medicine and those that live purely from the earth. Which is right ? I myself have struggled and battled with science as overuse of antibiotics left me with leaky gut syndrome and ibuprofen gave me bad gut health. I turned to alternative medicine and utilise turmeric in high doses for inflammation, Pau D’arco for yeast infections  and monolaurin for an immune boost and to fight colds and flu, slippery elm if i have a bad stomach or stomach discomfort, milk thistle if I have a rash. I also use a renowned herbal practitioner,  But how much these natural medicines play a part can also be to do with the other aspects of the circle, our diet, our overall health, our mental physical spiritual and emotional health our unhealed past traumas. Is filling our bodies with plant medicine enough when we are shovelling down fast food and fries at the rate of the collapse of the eco system, and when what is on the inside is manifesting out. Do they need to work hand in hand ? Does what we put into our bodies play  as much part in creating disease as much as anything else and therefore do we need to be in harmony for plants to work ? There are those who say that unless you are open to channel plant medicine will not work because you are not open to it, the connection isn't there. There are those who swear by man made science, whos illnesses have been cured by what science and man have created. In the  end it falls down to each individual, in what we believe, what we are connected to and what paradigm we see things in and what we choose, what do you choose ? 

We often walk around feeling hmmm well like we don’t fit in, like we are talking to people who speak a different language even though they speak the same one. It is sound spiritual grounding to utilise the law of allowing and let people be, for we must accept everyone is on their own journey and just because they are at a different stage of the journey to us we must realise that we may have once been where they are now. It can be very difficult at times to connect with others that are on a  completely different plane, seemingly speaking a different language  that can often lead to frustration, because of this, there are people who huddle together in communities, live with like minded people to be able to vibe and feel their connection to the earth, to others, and to their beliefs. I recently met some people that just awakened my soul helped me and gave kindness I have  not experienced in a long time. These people were completely on my level like I had known them for years but maybe I had ? Maybe this was reconnecting from another life. They welcomed me into their home like we had known each other all along and I had the most wonderful time. I think what im saying here is, if we are here for a purpose, and our calling is to teach and help others it is sometimes necessary to communicate with them but we also need to feed our own soul, fill our own petrol tank, find those who resonate with us. If we all look after each other then we will all be ok.

So whatever youre doing wherever you are, be kind, be happy and find your tribe.

This month we are focusing on mindset. Our mindset can often be our worst enemy when it comes to wellbeing. I give gratitude to the people I have  met on my path these past few months,  the harmonious humans.https://instagram.com/harmonious_humans111?utm_medium=copy_link  Every day they share inspiration and love for the universe. Another is a friend who inspired me so much with mindset and  wellbeing to write this post. We have a full post and some amazing wellbeing suggestions in our membership this month including a link to a wonderful video from my teacher Sean Orford as well as a whole host of other things such as the usual recipe ideas, new products and animal sanctuary information

https://www.patreon.com/Greenvegan.

The blog is  a bit of a mixed bag this month. Mindset, kindness, being in harmony, climate change. There is lots going on in the world right now.

 A few months ago I was driving home from work when I saw a pigeon, to most of the  people walking past it looked perfectly normal but to me I just had this sense he wasn't right. I picked him up with no box or anything to put him in, took of my coat and wrapped him up snug and put him in my car. I took him round to my mums garage which to my dads dismay is often the pop up animal hospital and we put him in an old cat carrier with some food newspaper and water covered half of the top of the basket to give him some calm as he was very very nervous. After two weeks of having him and him appearing perfectly healthy apart from a few missing feathers on his wing we took him to a local vets who care for wildlife rescue to find he had been shot by an airgun and the pellet was in his shoulder. With little chance of flying he will be residing in one of the local rehab units where birds who cant fly live. Sometimes the unkindness that humans show to not only the planet animals and each other is a weight on my shoulders and it makes me sad, however my point is this, in order for kindness to spread we need to be kind and to have a global consciousness connected to love and light. Individually we can make a small impact but together we can make a huge impact and we need to look after not only others but also ourselves. Being burnt out does not give us enough battery power to do the work we need to do. 

So green warriors, be kind to others be kind to the planet but most of all be kind to yourself. X

The Retreat Animal Sanctuary (separate post with video for those who prefer ) Theme tune video written and recorded by myself

The Retreat Animal Sanctuary (separate post with pictures for those who cannot play video ) Theme tune video written and recorded by myself

A while ago I was fortunate to go on a countryside break. The wooden hut we rented on a large piece of land where the owner lived had a little grass patch at the end of the garden. One evening whilst I sat and enjoyed the sound of dusk an adult fox came out of the bushes, saw me and shot in the other direction. The next evening I put some food out, I  always remember my mother telling me that foxes like food that they can easily pick up to take to their cubs, so I purchased a thick sausage like roll from the local shop, sliced it up and placed it at the edge of the wood where I had previously seen the fox the night before. I sat and watched making myself a little more conspicuous than the previous night, low and behold out came the fox. She looked around nervously before picking up a piece of the sausage and taking it back into the bushes before returning to repeat the process. After the last piece of sausage had been taken I wandered over, not too close, but a little closer to see if I could take a look. I sat quietly on the grass, as I sat there I was aware of a presence to my left. I slowly turned my head to see a  little cub sitting bold as brass less than a foot away looking at me. I didn't move as not to startle him. As I sat there looking at this beautiful creature his mother appeared from nowhere growling at him and from my interpretation I heard it as “Get back in the bush RIGHT NOW”. Her concern that this little fur baby had wondered out into human view was clearly overwhelming her. At first I thought it was a beautiful thing that she was protecting it, but there was also an air of sadness that this innocent little creature was so trusting and hadn't experienced the world as his mother obviously had and that was teaching him to air with caution. I felt sad that as we freely be ourselves they have to hide experience fear and be cautious about us humans. Over the years on my animal journey I've heard and seen some hideous things such as fox hunters dragging a live fox across a field with its tail tied to a rope to spread the scent before the hunt, a fox being captured and let out in an  environment it doesn't know so the hounds have an advantage. I have heard of baby foxes being captured and put into a tiny cage with hounds to train them to kill bait. In society foxes are viewed as pests and an inconvenience, a nuisance, but as I write this post with sadness I think about this, just like us a mother is just looking out for her child, a hungry being is just trying to get food to look after themselves and their family. I ask myself, are they encroaching on our land or are we encroaching on theirs ? Is their a way to share or discourage when they come into unwelcomed spaces instead of killing and harm. We as humans are intelligent beings, we send things into space, develop technologies and so much more. If we work together we can find a way to share and be kind to all living beings and if we all look after each other then we will all be ok.

Peace, love, green vegan x

I think the question I have been asked most since becoming vegan apart from “If you were stranded on a desert island and there was a pig would you eat it’ is “But where do you get your protein”?  Many people don't realise the amount of food sources vegans can get protein from, which are vast and wide. We often when eating seeds in our morning oats, chickpea salad at lunch and peas and veggies with our evening meal don’t realise  that we have actually consumed quite a lot of protein. We are  led to believe that we need a lot more protein than we actually do. If we focus on eating a wide range of fruits vegetables pulses and grains we can actually adequately meet our protein needs. Hemp seeds are a wonderful complete protein source, hemp seeds can be sprinkled on a salad, on porridge in soups and stews and blended into smoothies. Hemp seeds are one of the few plants that are complete protein sources, meaning they contain all the essential amino acids that your body can't make. Studies have also shown that the protein quality of hemp seeds is better than most other plant protein sources. How much protein do we need? An average person needs 0.8 gram of protein daily per kilogram of bodyweight (or 0.36 gram per pound). So for example if you weigh 70 kg/ 155 lb, you need around 56 grams of protein a day. If you’re building muscle, do challenging physical work or train hard, you’ll need to increase your protein intake up to 1.4-2 g per kg of body weight daily. here is a great link for more information

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein-vegans

I was happily going about my day this week scrolling through Instagram when I came across a post about the recent loss of Star at Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary. Despite only meeting this beauty twice the post really affected me in ways I never expected. I watched as Julian drove along having to give the news of Stars passing to the followers of the sanctuary  and despite wearing sunglasses I could feel the pain burning in his eyes. He continued to give the news to the followers and had to stop to take a breath in an attempt to disguise his obvious excruciating emotional pain. I stopped and I thought on this a while, it brings me back to a point where I often need to check in on myself, when I am perhaps being a scoundrel unappreciative of those around me or unappreciative of time with them. We take time for granted, we think it is here forever. In this life we share with  human or non human we all share the same thing, Love, and when that physical form of love passes it affects us in ways that are unexplainable. Through a screen from a different country I could feel this mans pain and it was awful. So people, be the best version of ourselves we can be and share that love with others. Cherish every moment. Sleep tight beautiful star x

Selfcare has been a recent highlighted topic for me. Lots of my followers always ask me “I am eating so healthy yet I still feel awful”. Life is about balance and the ethos of spiritual emotional physical and mental wellbeing all need to be working in harmony. It is so important that  we balance these four energies  for all of them to be giving optimum benefits. I find nature so healing, a green space, trickling water, a brook. Its very hard sometimes when we feel rubbish to pull ourselves up to get outside but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Nature can teach us so much, it is so resilient, a tree is cut down and it grows and keeps growing towards the light. Water runs, hit rocks and runs over them. There are times when the weather is awful and we don't feel like going out, this is the time I use to challenge myself, to work with nature not against it. I put on a pac a mac and get myself out, at  first I complain about the rain then I learn to appreciate how lucky we are to have water and find the gratitude within that. I find grey rainy weather difficult, I am definitely solar powered so working this way is difficult for me but I work with it.  So whatever makes you passionate, what ever makes you thrive do more of it.

Peace and love

Ive spoken a lot recently to people with respiratory  conditions and the potential effects of processed food.  People with asthma for example naturally have a build up of mucus which in turn affects the respiratory system. Processed food and in particular refined sugars and flours exacerbate this symptom and can add to this condition. Plants are healing sources of food. I am not suggesting that they are a cure for all but they are showing more and more evidence of relieving certain conditions and symptoms. Changing eating habits is hard and fresh produce is not always available for us but if we make one small change at a time replacing packaged food with some fresh produce our bodies will appreciate the aid in the healing process. Great article below:click on link

Plant based food is so good for our health and  wellbeing. Always try and eat a broad range of fruit and vegetables of all different colors, Eat the rainbow and you know you are half way there to meeting your nutrition needs. Food should be vibrant and attractive. We need to fuel our bodies in the best way we can for optimum health. Food is medicine, vibrant fresh fruit and veg fills our body with vitality. If we fill our bodies with rubbish it doesn't always serve us well. After all, we are what we eat.

great resource below about phytonutrients and giving our body what it needs

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/eating-the-rainbow-health-benefits/

For as long as I can remember I have had an absolute love for animals. They bring me such joy, for me they are my calm, my sanctuary my safe place. Animals seem to have an inate built in intuition, they just know. Over the last few years I have visited many animal sanctuaries such as Jacobs Ridge, Hillside, Fars and Happyfields. One thing I noticed about certain animals thar  were rescued from very poor conditions is the amount of trust they still have in humans despite the suffering they had endured, I watched them thought  to myself “ if only we were that forgiving of each other”. When I watch animals I learn things, they teach us so many things about  our inner calm and self. I watched  as a deer that had been run over and lost its mother be raised by  cockrel who now charges at anyone who goes near the deer. I became aware that they are not attched to species race colour creed or religion, they just be. They support not only their own kind but other kinds too and I think the human race can take a lesson from this, because if we all look after each other then we will all be ok.

Peace and love