405 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Covid lockdowns have sparked a Baby Puppy Boom!

Coronavirus lockdowns and a new working from home culture has given rise to a massive ‘baby puppy boom’ across the country…

Since the start of this year, the whole world has been rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has changed our lives in so many ways. Most of us have been living with some version of lockdown and have gotten used to working from home. For some of us, that is now likely to become a more permanent arrangement and this new routine has made us think about doing something we could never have really considered before. Yes, it seems that there has been a better time for people to be able to introduce a new member to their family.

Everyone who’s anyone has found themselves a adopting or buying a dog (or a little puppy) in 2020! You only have to go as far as your local park these days to see a fabulous selection of new puppies dancing around in the grass having the time of their lives. Owners have a huge smile on their face, wondering how they ever lived without their new baby!

With more and more of us working from home right now, people can now bring a dog into their home, because they have the time to look after them…

(This is Gigi!)

But there is so much more to owning a dog, than simply having some company while you work from home. Here are a few things to consider:

Proper living space. Set up a bed somewhere nice and warm in the house that your dog knows is theirs
Toilet training (toilet training mats are great for new pups) is something you should start as soon as you can
Obedience training sounds very strict, but it really isn’t and just shows your dog how to socialise properly. It is so important to do this in the early days (for you and your dog)
Routine. It’s so tempting to spend the day playing with puppy and watch them follow you around, but after a few days of getting to know each other, you need to start getting them into routine (the same as you do with small children!)
Microchipping. Unfortunately, as the demand for new puppies increases, so too does the illegal purchasing (and stealing) of dogs. This has gone through the roof in Ireland this last few months. Check with your vet and when it’s the right time, get your new dog / puppy microchipped.
Vaccinations (yes, dogs need these too!). Again, check with your vet.
Pet insurance. This might be worth investigating and there are lots of options on the market now.
Nutrition & Snacks. This is such a huge area, that we decided to focus on some homemade treats for your dog. Lets face it, we now have more time to spend preparing treats at home! We found this great article from Fluent Woof. Check out their great homemade treats for dogs here: Homemade dog treats from Fluent Woof

Fluent Woof is a great site with all sorts of important information for caring for your dog. We love their ethos about improving the bond between dog and owner and the site is based on their own story of when they adopted their own dog, Speedy from a shelter in 2016. They have great articles about exercising, dealing with separation anxiety (which will be important when we all start to return to work), and even an article about dogs and Coronavirus.

Check them out for more tips and important information to consider when you bring home your new bundle of joy!

Note from the editor: PLEASE remember that new puppies need a lot of care and you must appreciate that they are for life. If you need reminding of this, please check out the new advert (‘Sold a Pup) from Dogs Trust here:

Don’t be sold a Pup, the Xmas ad from RSPCA

Lessons in Clean Beauty by the Dynamic Duo

British-based beauty duo boasts sugarcane-derived bioplastic tubes that are recyclable and biodegradable.

BYBI stands for By Beauty Insiders. Founded by Elsie & Dominika in 2017, who are beauty bloggers, trained formulators and skincare experts who created products based on what they want and what they know still don’t yet exist.

Their products are also 100% natural, certified vegan and cruelty-free (they have the coveted Leaping Bunny stamp of approval) and are delivered using carbon-neutral methods.

Their best-selling Babe Balm contains no ‘harmful’ essential oils making it suitable for sensitive skin, pregnant mothers and babies. And they’ll even send you products in an eco-friendly and reusable branded BYBI bag.

Their products are “high quality and efficacious ingredients. This is done by striking a “delicate balance when choosing the ingredients that go into our products; first and foremost they must deliver stellar skin benefits but equally, this must not come at a cost to our planet, particularly given we’re drawing on the Earth’s resources.”

They employ an internal auditing system, aka ‘The Susty Score,’ which apparently grades the certain stringent factors and criteria in order to glean an ingredient’s carbon footprint and decipher what impact using it in a BYBI product will have on the environment. Wow – that pretty diligent and thoughtful! Are there others out there going to the same level…?

The Susty Score audits the materials they use and is based on the carbon footprint associated with the production of that material. It also takes into account the material’s afterlife (less to landfill = less greenhouse gas emissions).

The score also looks to determine how carbon sensitive a supplier’s harvesting model is, specifically looking for things including low energy-intensive machinery and good quality soil to capture and store more Co2.

Ingredients are graded on their source location and mode of transport to point of production (the UK). “We choose close to home source locations to reduce travel and, when this isn’t possible, ensure that the mode of transport is low carbon i.e. electric vehicle or boat.

Everything is formulated in-house at Bybi HQ – which means they have our own lab based in London which has the facility to produce small runs of products. The lab is powered entirely by green energy the manufacturing machinery is actually all done manually, meaning it doesn’t require any energy at all! We’re impressed!

The Duo also insist on seeing documented proof of all third-party partner’s waste management policies to ensure they are sending minimal amounts to landfill. They also need to ensure that once products have been produced, they are delivered to their final destination in electric vehicles.

Read their full story and what they stand for here

Lego to ditch plastic bags

Lego to ditch plastic bags after children call for change

Lego will start replacing plastic packaging with paper bags from 2021 as the toy brick maker aims to become more sustainable.

Lego said it had been prompted by letters from children asking it to remove the single-use plastic bags.

It said it would be investing up to $400m (£310m) over three years to improve its sustainability efforts.

Lego bricks themselves are made of plastic, although the company is exploring alternative materials.

“We have received many letters from children about the environment asking us to remove single-use plastic packaging,” Lego Group chief executive Niels B Christiansen said.

“We have been exploring alternatives for some time and the passion and ideas from children inspired us to begin to make the change,” he added.

From next year the toy company will start introducing recyclable paper bags, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, to package its loose bricks.

This is part of Lego’s ambition to make all its packaging sustainable by the end of 2025.

“Children liked the paper bags being trialled in 2021 as they were environmentally friendly and easy to open,” Mr Christiansen added.

Read the full article here

Original article published by BBC. Edited by Wasted.ie

Eco makeup brands you need to know about

More and more beauty brands are getting involved in vegan based products and ditching animal-derived ingredients all together.

If you’re thinking about making the switch, here’s a few products to consider…

Cover FX

Created and developed by former chief chemist and MD at MAC cosmetics, Cover FX products have become a little favourite of ours (although not that easy to get here). Most of their range is cruelty-free and vegan (bar a couple).

Hero product:

CUSTOM ENHANCER HIGHLIGHT DROPS

The most epic highlight drops we’ve ever used… You could go for an icy holographic glow with the shade Halo, or go for a sun-kissed gleam with the Candlelight shimmer.

B. Beauty

A vegan beauty brand, with a nice easy to justify price tag, B. is exclusive to Superdrug. Their website explains that B. “does not contain any animal derived ingredients or by-products, even beeswax which can often be found in mascara.”

Hero products PRO LONGWEAR BROW POMADE CREAM

This brow pomade is perfect for giving arches some definition

MATTE LIPSTICK IN BABY BOO This blush shade is the perfect everyday nude lipstick, plus, the matte formula is creamy and long-lasting.

Eco Tools

Purse-friendly makeup brush brand, EcoTools, offer a huge selection of brushes, all of which are vegan.

Hero products: TOTAL PERFECTING BLENDER SPONGE

Fans of the BeautyBlender should 100% give the EcoTools sponge a try, it blends foundation like a dream.

ENHANCING EYE BRUSH SET These double-ended eyeshadow brushes cover all bases when it comes to flawless shadow blending.

ON THE GO STYLE KIT

This starter kit is amazing if you’re new to make-up and need all the essentials in one place.

ELF Cosmetics

Another affordable makeup brand (now available in Pennys) E.l.f, is a favourite with Beauty Vloggers and Makeup Artists.

The entire cosmetic line is vegan-friendly.

Hero products:

Face masks – The New Normal or fashion statement?

Let’s face it – masks will soon be worn by most of us over the coming months as we enter oursleves back into society and our ‘new normal’.

There are already an increasing number of people moving around wearing face masks, so we chat to Eoin Dillon of Rueben Avenue about his range of masks that are flying out the door.

People all around the world have been taking various measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 since it first arrived. Many believe wearing masks protects an individual from contracting or spreading (more accurate) the deadly virus that has killed thousands of people worldwide. But up until now, it wasn’t very common to see people in Ireland taking up the trend.

But now, as specialists worldwide have implored the public to start wearing masks even if they are not infected, our own health officials have advised us to do the same – especially on public transport and enclosed spaces, like supermarkets.

“The surgical mask which is being used by most people prevents an individual from spreading respiratory droplets when coughing or sneezing. We are therefore encouraging people to wear them when in public places so that in the event they have the virus they do not pass it on to other people,” says the WHO.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) individuals taking care of persons suspected to be infected by the virus should wear face masks. Masks are however only really effective when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

We talk to Eoin Dillon of Reuben Avenue who had launched his very own line of functional & fashionable face masks late last year, before we had even heard of Coronavirus.

“My range are reusable masks, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, mainly stopping people putting their hands in their mouths or nose and contracting corona virus through contact. Covering your mouth is most necessary to stop spreading the virus!” says Eoin.

Eoin tells us that although there are many countries and cultures (for eg, in Asia) where wearing a face mask has been the norm for many years, people are really starting to embrace wearing masks here now.

“We have sold out twice the since the pandemic outbreak, we are now on our forth run of production.” he continued.

Health officials have urged the general public to not try to source surgical grade masks for personal use. It limits the supply of these high grade masks for the medical profession, who desperately need them on the front line. Instead, there are many other sites and on-line retailers selling masks of every sort and design. Various materials are also on offer, including natural and breathable materials available like silk and linen.

Many sites are Out of Stock at time of writing, but most have offered dates for fresh availability.

Reuben Avenue do still have stock available, and you can view the complete range here …before they sell out again!!! Reuben Avenue Travel Mask

(Image from Paris Fashion Week, courtesy of Getty Images.)

Sustainable Staycation meets Hotel Doolin

Hotel Doolin have become Ireland’s first carbon neutral hotel.

As many of us are thinking twice about travelling to Europe at the moment, at Wasted, we decided we would do some research on the best ‘environmentally friendly venues across our own country. Hotel Doolin comes out near the top of the list.

Hotel Doolin in Co Clare was awarded ‘carbon neutral status’ last year. Nestled in the Wild Atlantic Way, has been recognised by The Green Hospitality Programme for its commitment to sustainability and environmental initiatives.

It achieved a ‘Carbon Neutral12 GREENMark’ award, following the implementation of a comprehensive carbon/energy reduction programme.

This programme focused on minimising energy consumption, investing in green electricity and implementing a long-term solution to offsetting carbon emissions by planting native Irish woodland trees in a controlled location around the hotel.

Interesting Note: We love the response of this Hotel’s Manager on Trip Advisor, when he received a complaint via the review site.

Have a read of this – it will keep you laughing all day:

Doolin Hotel Manager Gives EPIC RESPONSE To Negative Review On TripAdvisor

Serious Fact: for every wedding held at Hotel Doolin, ten native trees are planted locally in partnership with Hometree 🙂 and so far equates to over 1,700 trees over the last two years!

So, if you are planning your wedding, you can ‘party without the footprint’ at this boutique style hotel. Plastic bottles and single-use items are completely banned in the hotel with all napkins reusable and toilet paper produced from recycled materials.

17 deluxe bedrooms, Glas Restaurant, Fitzpatrick’s Bar, Stonewall Café & Pizzeria, and an Eco Wedding & Events Barn with a capacity to seat 300 people. There is an outdoor BBQ area, the Sibín Bar and Gardens , the Piper’s Chair Gift Shop and Gallery and a Tourist Information Bureau.

The hotel has won numerous eco awards including Irish Medium Sized Green Organisation of the Year 2018/19 and the Green Tourism and Entertainment Award. It has also been listed in the McKenna Guide 100 Best and the Irish Independent’s Fab 50 Places to Stay.

Now that’s commitment and dedication… it’s no wonder this is becoming one of Ireland’s hottest destination!

Keep up the great work folks!:)

For more on Hotel Doolin click here

HOTEL DOOLIN…IN TUNE WITH THE LITTLE THINGS

Vision iV – Skodas New Electric SUV Offering

Vision iV – the all-new Electric SUV

I’ve always been a fan of the Skoda range, having driven the Superb, the Octavia (as well as the VRS models – nice!).

But the one remaining my favourite, was the Skoda Yeti.

The Karoq and the Kodiaq were certainly handsome additions to the Skoda Range, but I have been waiting for an EV SUV to join the family. Enter, the Vision iV….Read on

According to Skoda

“We’re meeting the eMobility revolution head-on, accelerating the transition to a future built on sustainable energy. By the end of 2022, ŠKODA’s portfolio will include 10 electrified models in various segments — six of which will be all-electric, alongside four hybrids. Here’s a closer look at what’s coming around the corner.”

The Vision iV – Exterior Designing

The VISION iV offers a distinctive feature that will be present across all of the models in ŠKODA’s future electric range, which is horizontal light strip across their front. This light strip runs along the radiator grille and spans the entire width of the vehicle, connecting the newly styled Matrix LED headlights. The VISION iV’s is deliberately minimalist in design.

The Vision iV – Interior Design

The multi-level arrangement of the instrument panel and center console, accompanied by a floating screen adds a totally new look and feel to the interior – almost futuristic. The cabin looks particularly spacious and airy. The lowest level offers plenty of storage space between the driver and front passenger seats. Above this, there is a movable and particularly easy-to-reach centre console. This provides space for control units and two mobile phones, which can be wirelessly integrated into the infotainment and operating systems, and charged inductively.

The Vision iV – Safety

The ŠKODA VISION iV uses innovative technology to improve the safety and comfort of its occupants. Fitted with various laser scanners, radar sensors and cameras, it allows you to perfectly navigate the surroundings and respond accordingly. In addition to this, the connectivity features allow it to communicate directly with other road users and cars. In certain situations, this means the ŠKODA VISION iV is able to drive autonomously or park itself! Impressive!

The Vision iV – Battery

All ŠKODA electric vehicles will all feature battery technology with the highest possible energy density, developed with safety as the highest priority. “Our Battery Management System ensures optimal performance over thousands of charging cycles. The car has a maximum range of 500 km in the WLTP cycle, and the lithium-ion battery can be charged to 80 percent in just 30 minutes.”

For more information on the ŠKODA VISION iV and its eMobility programme, see www.skoda.ie

Coping with Change – Life after Lockdown by Siobhan McKenna

Coping with Change

A…B…C… A Five Minute Read

A Prelude

Siobhán is highly-trained and experienced in Meditation, Mindfulness-Based Life Skills, and Ayurveda for Wellbeing Practitioner. She is certified by a renowned doctor, Deepak Chopra, in his signature programmes, Primordial Sound Meditation and Perfect Health – An Ayurvedic approach to total well-being. She has continued her training under David Ji, a globally recognized meditation, and stress management expert, whose retreats she also hosts in Ireland.

Changes

We’ve all been through a sudden and abrupt change. Now, as we look towards life after lockdown, there can be feelings of trepidation and fear about what life will be like. We know it won’t be the same, social distancing is here for the foreseeable future and it is normal to feel a sense of loss and insecurity about what we once took for granted, the norm. While our current times maybe unprecedented and on a massive scale, the fact is life is consistently about change.

It is human nature to resist what takes us out of our comfort zone but the better we get at accepting and navigating changes, from the little things to the big, the better we get at developing the necessary coping skills. Change brings us the opportunity for expansion and personal growth.

You may have heard the now commonly quoted analogy of ‘we are in the same storm but we are in different boats’. Young and old, across socioeconomic divides, we are all coping with the sudden change that Covid-19 brought. If you’ve been the caretaker in your family, be it the big brother, the mother, the reliable friend you may be struggling to deal with your own emotional rollercoaster, while trying to still be there to support others.

We know children are hugely impacted and now that they are not returning to school until September, there’s an added concern about the anxiety they feel being separated from their friends, or even not being able to pop into a shop taking their time to browse the freezer wondering which ice-cream they’d like to pick.

The following tips for coping with change are suitable for adults and children alike.

Learning the skill of coping with change from a young age will stand to a person for a lifetime. Depending on the age of the child, you may want to use examples such as a rainbow, a rainbow appears after a sudden sun shower, bringing it’s a beautiful prism of color and then quickly fades – it comes, it goes.

Thinking of our Fight/Flight or stress response as a loyal guard dog that’s there to protect us from danger and our relaxed response as the wise old owl that helps us calm the guard dog down when we are not in physical danger is a simple universal way of explaining and thinking about our brain’s response to stress and how we can activate our breath to induce calm.

We are all in this together, and practicing these simple tools is effective for people of all ages.

I’ve broken it down to A – B – C to make it easy to remember.

A

Acknowledge what you are feeling. Let children voice their fears and listen. You may want to admit that adults too find change scary. Talking things through helps dissipate the pent up energy of fear. Fear can be looked on as False Expectations Appearing Real.

When we acknowledge our situation, then we can move to Acceptance. When we accept our situation rather than resisting it, because what you resist persists, we gain a sense of control which leaves us feeling less overwhelmed. Finally, Awareness. The better we become at living with awareness – awareness of our thoughts, our feelings, our surroundings the better life flows. For this life skill, we are putting our awareness on our breath . . .

B

Breathe. Be. You don’t need an app and it’s right under your nose. At any moment you can activate your breath to access instant calm. Just one minute of conscious, relaxed breathing is enough to rid the body of cortisol – the stress hormone, entirely. When we feel stressed our breath is shallow and our amygdala – think of it like a barking guard dog, is in overdrive. This is necessary if you are in actual danger but in today’s world, we are often in this state of Fight/Flight as a result of the constant chatter in our heads.

Think of how you breathe when you are resistant to something – test it now, say ‘NO, NO, NO’ Chances are your breath is short and snappy. Now think of something pleasurable, something you’d want to say a big welcome ‘Yes’ to – did you breathe deeper? A simple breathing technique you can use to activate the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system is an extended exhale. Try breathing in for the count of four and out for the count of six or even eight. Slowing your breath down has an immediate effect on calming your physiology too.

C

Conscious Choice. Activate your choice muscle. You’ve put your awareness in the moment, awareness on your breathing, slowing it down. By consciously controlling your breath, you are calming your overactive mind. When we feel our circumstances are out of our control – such as not being able to hug our friends, go to school or work or look forward to our travel plans, being in control of our breath over gives us back a sense of control we may be missing.

Relaxed calm breathing results in a calming of the mind too. When consciously breathing notice where in your body you are feeling tension – your shoulders, your chest, your stomach, your lower back? Breathe into that area and consciously release tension as you exhale. Our prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that makes wise decisions – think of it was your Wise Old Owl that has flown back into the garden now that the stressed guard dog has settled down and stopped barking.

When we come from a place of relaxed awareness, we make better decisions and choices.You could also think of this part of your brain as the experienced CEO making good choices so the whole company can flourish. Remember, a quiet mind is a healing mind. Make the commitment and choice now that next time you notice your fear leading you down the garden path, you can stop, place your awareness on your breath, activate your choice muscle and decide do you want to take the path of chaos or the path of calm? Think of your brain like any muscle you exercise to grow stronger – it takes practice and persistence. It’s OK if sometimes you don’t get it right, be kind to yourself.

The world needs more kindness right now, and what better place to start than with yourself.

Article by Siobhan McKenna

See PerfectHealth.ie for more information on her classes & events. You can also catch up on her Instagram here

Learning a new language – the promise we made to ourselves

As we faced into our Coronavirus lockdown, many, many weeks ago, lots of us promised that we would take up a hobby to keep ourselves distracted (or sane!).

The most common one of the lot? Learning a new language. But, how quickly can you really learn a language?

We decided to take some inspiration from a story we read on the ravel website www.auroranolimits.com

The story is about twins Katy and Sarah, when they decided that they were determined to learn English in one week, to prove that it can be done and anyone can do it with the right methods.

They would attempt to liberate themselves from the distractions and responsibilities of modern-day life in order to cram eight hours of study time and I was observing some of the world’s most capable language learners at work.

The friends set themselves the challenge of learning a language in a week in order to stretch themselves, and then it was a question of choosing which language to learn. English presented itself as a natural option; there are nigh on 300,000 English speakers in Germany’s capital, and the areas are dotted with stores adorned with signs in English.

“Truly understanding one’s environment requires one to first understand English”

The first operational step in the friends learning process was to decorate the entire apartment with sticky notes. This had an almost ceremonial touch to it as the friends delved into dictionaries and proceeded to label everything with its corresponding English name.

Within the space of about an hour it was impossible to carry out any menial task, be it making a coffee or flicking off a light switch, without first being presented with at least three different words related to this action.

The importance of the other twin’s presence became immediately apparent as Katy and Sara delegated responsibilities for rooms to decorate with sticky notes. This simple task was augmented by continuous little tests that they would spring on one another, and the fact that they split up their day slightly differently and studied different topics meant that each twin became a source of knowledge for the other.

The most extraordinary moment came towards the end of the week!

The friends simply switched their everyday conversations to English, asking one another if they wanted tea or coffee, were ready to cook dinner or when they were going to leave the house.

Katy and Sara had numerous micro-challenges throughout the week. On the first day they were visited by a English friend who greeted them in English and complimented them on how quickly they’d picked up their first words and phrases.

They then learned the names of fruits and the numbers from one to a billion so that they could visit the English market (although they refrained from purchasing nine hundred thousand kumquats). Displaying their haul after their first functional exchange in English, they beamed with pride and a palpable sense of accomplishment before marching back home to study further.

On our second visit to the brother’s apartment 24 hours into the week, we found them sampling dozens of different kinds of English snacks.

Like kids staring at the backs of cereal packs before heading to school, the nutritional information and various special offers and competitions on the packaging were analysed during snack breaks.

There was no moment of complete removal from the language learning process during the eight hours that the friends had allotted to it.

They were constantly using their existing knowledge to support the ever-growing knowledge of English, this being the root of their success.

“you will likely come across words that share common origins with your native tongue”

The friends spent a lot of time engrossed in books or on their computers and apps, flicking and swiping their way through exercises eagerly, but at other times they were to be found searching busily for English radio stations and write-ups of English football games on the web.

There is no definitive method to learn a language fluently

All too often, people enter their weekly language class to converse with their teacher, but then barely have any contact with other speakers and that’s not enough.

The old saying that we can solve problems more effectively when we sleep on it may be especially true if the problem we’re trying to solve is learning a new language.

Researchers from two Swiss universities wanted to know if they could enhance the learning of words from a foreign language by exposing people to the words during non-rapid eye movement sleep the deep, dreamless sleep period that most of us experience during the first few hours of the night.

To find out, they gathered two groups of study participants, all of whom were native German speakers, and gave them a series of Dutch-to-German word pairs to learn at 10 pm. One group was then instructed to get some sleep, while the other group was kept awake.For the next few hours both groups listened to an audio playback of the word pairs they’d already been exposed to and some they hadn’t yet heard.

The researchers then re-gathered both groups at 2 am and gave them a test of the Dutch words to uncover any differences in learning. And indeed there was a difference:

“The group that listened to the words during sleep did better at recalling the words they’d heard”

The simple yet potent trick the researchers employed is known as verbal cueing, and this isn’t the first claim made for its success while sleeping. But what makes this study different is that it puts a finer point on the conditions necessary for this trick to actually work namely, it only works when we’ve already been exposed to the verbal cues before we sleep.

The researchers added a techie dimension by conducting electroencephalographic (EEG)recordings of the sleeping participants brains to track neural electrical activity during the learning period.

They found that learning the foreign words overlapped with the appearance of theta brain waves, an intriguing result since theta is the brain wave state often associated with heightened learning while awake (usually we’re in either the high-frequency, high-alertness alpha or beta states while awake, but it’s thought possible to induce theta state slower in frequency than alpha and beta through concentration techniques).

Holly White – Taking Salads To Another Level

Holly White has been working as Broadcaster & Journalist in Dublin for well over a decade, and she is now firmly cemented as a ‘true’ influencer – the epitome of style & healthy lifestyle.

There’s no denying she is passionate about vegan food, you just have turn on the telly or tune into Instagram and her name pops up. She really is a connoisseur of her craft.

As one journalist put it simply – ‘she walks the walk & talks the talk.’

All this month, we are going to be featuring some of her delicious recipes to help ‘Lift us out of Lockdown.’ I can already hear some of you grumbling, ‘but I’m not vegan‘ – but that’s the point. It doesn’t matter whether you are or not – this is simply about good food!

So to kick-start this culinary extravaganza, how about making a few simple tweaks to transform your plain boring salad into something “satisfying and seriously tasty,” says Hollys.

Here are a few of her suggestions:

Salads don’t have to be Cold

“There’s no need for a salad to be cold why not try adding in some warm roasted vegetables or sweet potatoes. As a general rule, I always cook extra veggies or roasted vegetables to add to my salads the next day to make dinner or lunch a quick to assemble the meal.”

Include a source of Protein

“To make my salads more satisfying I always add an extra vegan protein source. At the moment I am loving Tempeh which has a firm but chewy texture and a slightly nutty taste. It can be steamed, sautéed, or baked and but I marinate it in Soy sauce to add more flavor before frying for about 15 minutes. It’s just as nice hot or cold so it’s really convenient to have to hand for putting together a quick packed lunch on-the-go.”

Consider using Fermented Toppings

She highly recommends integrating fermented foods into your salads. A brand that makes incredible products is The Cultured Food Company which was set up in 2014 by Hayley Milthorpe when she qualified as a Nutritional Therapist.

“She started in farmers’ markets and grew the business organically reviving the ancient art of handcrafted raw fermented foods using the technique of wild fermentation; harnessing the naturally occurring bacteria on the vegetables and within the environment,” says Holly.

It’s all about the Dressing

“When it comes to the dressing this is what brings it all together and getting it right is important. For the dressing I follow a simple ratio of 50% oil, 40% sour, 5% salt and 5% sweet.”

“I am always looking for interesting ways to integrate fermented foods into my diet and I recently came across The Culture Food Company Beet Kvass. Beet kvass is a fermented drink made from organic beetroot infused with organic ginger and is high in vitamin C, folate and iron, among other nutrients. Kvass also has the bonus of probiotics from the fermentation process so it supports digestion and has an immune-boosting effect.”

Don’t forget the Nuts and Seeds

“I always like to have a little crunch or texture in a salad, additions like this really elevate the flavor. Think of adding a handful of toasted pine nuts or cashews or hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are particularly good for vegans as a 1 1/2 tablespoon serving of hemp seeds contains five grams of protein, magnesium and iron and like flaxseeds, hemp seeds contain all ten of the essential amino acids. I always choose the shelled variety which is widely available.”

Happy Cooking! 🙂

For more great ideas and information on Holly, see Holly.ie or catch her on Insta here

In association with The Cultured Food Company. For more information and to find your local stockist see their Facebook page Facebook.com/theculturedfoodco

12 3...41 Page 1 of 41

admin-wie