Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if You are new here, I hope You are all right?
The book You are seeing in the picture is the book that propelled me into natural beauty and lifestyle journey about 15 years ago. I can’t thank Janey Lee Grace enough for it (see interview with her here), I talked about this book for years and I gave it away for my first ever giveaway. I also lent it to all of my friends, meaning I had to buy it four times (more on it later). I still take it out to re-read it from time to time and this is where the idea struck me. What if I were to answer the questions Janey asks various people in the book?
Bright and early
Early, but don’t ask me to be bright 🙂 Coffee first thing in the morning. Tried to give up like 7 times, no can do. I try to drink sole water or lemon juice with water before that if I can remember.
Typical brekkie
Never been a breakfast person, nor I like traditional breakfast foods like cereal, muesli, yogurts, toast or eggs. I let my body tell me when it’s ready to break-a-fast and it’s usually about 11 am. No typical days either, sometimes it is savoury, sometimes it is bananas or dates with nut butter. It is never planned. I decide on the spot.
Lunch
Again, never planned, mostly leftovers from the fridge. Although I am trying to be better at adulting by prepping food a few times a week. Are You proud of me yet?
Dinner
Plant based a couple of times a week, usually stir fries or something fresh, quick and easy. I always cook from scratch, but I recently had a thought maybe I am spoiling my family too much. No one but me will eat the same thing twice in a row, nor touch leftovers. My hubby always compliments me on my cooking though. In the restaurants he has no problems to announce “You make it better”. Trouble is, I freestyle a lot and barely remember recipes later. My family has this running joke that if they liked something that was served, they better ask for the recipe the same day and not a week later. My firstborn still remembers long-lost-recipe of my homemade veg nuggets which she said were the best she ever had & at first she mistook it for real chicken nuggets. Trouble is she asked for it two months later. My mind still draws blank on what exactly I used back then. This is part of the reason I created Green Life In Dublin Cooks IG page, to write down the recipes, partly for myself, partly for everyone else. Oh, I forgot to mention that I am gluten free & dairy free for health reasons, plant based by choice. Not vegan though, sorry my vegan friends..
Drinks – water – bottle or tap?
Because we are still renting, I can’t install reverse osmosis filter I am after, so after many years of lugging bottled water up the stairs we now have a Berkey style water filter. The best investment ever.
Favourite superfoods I couldn’t live without
Turmeric, medicinal mushrooms, greens and berries blends and the like. Baobab or amla for natural vitamin C.
When I am under the weather
I up my vitamin C waaay up, together with vitamin D and zinc. I also drink lemon tea all day, get the body as much rest as I can and make garlic heavy dinner for about two nights in the row. Usually that’s enough to kick a cold.
Favourite treatments
I don’t get any, so let’s proceed to the next question.
For exercise
Morning walks and a bit of yoga & that’s it I am afraid. I wish I lived close to the beach, I’d be walking there twice a day.
For relaxation
I don’t know what that is 🙂 Honestly, after putting other people first for years and decades, I am learning to carve out time just for me. I love reading, but time to do that is a luxury. I also love Clipper Sleep Easy tea, that relaxes me, as well as shroomy lattes (post). Basically, give me some quiet time, a book and a cuppa and I am good!
Save my skin
Natural skincare, duh! That’s what my whole blog is about. Just search “skincare” in the search bar or see my Favorite Products List seen below. With ultra sensitive, reactive and dermatitis prone skin I am very limited in trying what clean beauty world has to offer, but I promise You, You can have great skin with natural products. There’s no man made product or ingredient Nature wouldn’t have an answer for.
Favourite beauty product
All can be found here:
Haircare
Rahua Voluminous Shampoo (review) or Pure Anada Balancing Shampoo Bar (review). I am very minimal with my hair care. Prior to finding Rahua shampoo, I spent YEARS of having bad hair days trying all the natural shampoos from everywhere, even to the point of thinking of going back to the “conventional” hair care, but that product changed all that and I deem it worth every penny. Pure Anada shampoo bar was a happy accidental discovery sent by one of my favourite online shops Live In The Light – I was really surprised by it, as I was having to worst time with all the shampoo bars up to that.
Cleaning & laundry products
Castille soap, water, vinegar, soda and essential oils are all I need to clean my whole house naturally. Haven’t bought a cleaning product for years at this stage. I should actually blog about it probably?
Recycling & composting tips
I am known for reusing things till they fall apart, I recycle religiously, but I do not have tips for composting as I only have balcony garden.
Gardening naturally
I water my plants with leftover tea – I am big on loose leaf tea, so I always have leftovers at the end of the day. I pour it to a watering jug (tea and all), fill it up with cold water and leave it overnight. The way I think is that there’s no way all these minerals and tanins are gone after just one or two brews. There must be something to that, plants love it! You can do the same with organic banana or other fruit peels too.
Pets
Only fishes, so no good tips on pets.
Baby care
In the ideal world we all would be using all organic everything on our precious little bundles, but these things add up fast. You just have to decide what’s a priority for You for them. I did organic food and organic skincare products, they need so little of it at the start. All You need is soap, good quality oil and nappy rash cream to begin with. Organic clothes and blankets were out of my price range, but I made sure to dress them in pure cotton. You can shop second hand for them, I promise You can find bundles of barely worn onesies for very cheap online or in car boot sales.
For the kids
Same principles apply.
Top parenting tips
Do not give them too much toys or gadgets too early, they need You, not a pile of expensive toys. Involve them in every day activities like making dinner, take them places. Be present and please put that phone down when You are with them!
To achieve balance in my life..
This was the hardest thing to learn, but take it from recovering people pleaser – learn to say no. Do more of what makes You happy.
To revitalize my soul I go to…
Sea. I wish I had means to travel more, nothing revitalizes my soul more than visiting places I haven’t been. There’s something amazing about being at the sea too. I read once that sea vibrates at the same frequency as a deeply relaxed human body – I can relate to that.
The only thing I couldn’t live without..
My family.
Guilty secrets & imperfections
I am definitely not perfect, I am only a human after all. Guilty secret would be chocolate truffles and maybe macaroons too. I do not watch TV, but I a guilty of watching all series of Celebs Go Dating. The narrator is a comedian, You are guaranteed to finish off an episode in a better mood than You started off.
If I had a magic wand, I would..
I would make wars disappear, I would distribute wealth to all the people, not just one percent that hold 99% of world’s money. Not to get political, but I feel angry about a lot of stuff that’s unfair in the world right now.
That’s all for now, I hope You found it interesting and/or useful. Thanks for reading, I appreciate You choosing to spend Your time with me.
Sending LOVE & LIGHT,
Renata.
