Let's talk about vegetarianism

I'll start off by saying that I personally am not a vegetarian, however I recently found out some facts about vegetarianism which have made me want to cut down my meat consumption. In this post I'm just going to summarise some reasons you might not have considered for and against being vegetarian.

 

A lot of people go vegetarian for ethical reasons (they don't like animals being killed), religious reasons or just because they don't like the taste of meat. I recently discovered another good reason to go vegetarian. This document explains how our meat consumption contributes to global warming and to slow down climate change, we should become vegetarians.

 

Cattle produce up to 250L of methane everyday, plus many fields used for grazing were originally forests which would've taken in more CO2 than grass does. If we reduce our meat consumption, less cattle and other livestock will need to be kept so the land they grazed on can be used to plant trees etc.

 

On the other hand, if we didn't eat any meat, no livestock would need to be kept at all. It would be so much more rare to go for a walk in the country side and see sheep or cows. They would probably be kept in zoos. Many farmers and people involved in the production of meat would lose their jobs.

 

If you want to try and eat less meat, you could try making lentil bolognaise with pasta instead of normal spaghetti bolognaise with mince (I tried it, it's delicious!) or have a chickpea burger instead of a beef burger (I have tried this one too, and although it doesn't taste like a beef burger, it tastes really good anyway). The good thing about those two recipes is that they are still high in protein despite not containing meat. Chickpeas and lentils are very high in protein so are good for using instead of meat.

 

Thanks for reading x



What I wish I'd known when I set up my blog

I'm far from an expert on websites and ICT and whatever (despite taking GCSE IT) but now that I've set up my blog, I know some things that I wish I'd known when I was setting it up because I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out really basic things that might seem obvious to other people.

 

Firstly, you need to choose a platform for your website. I knew this before, but what it took me a while to figure out is that not all platforms can connect to bloglovin'. I wanted to create a website for free and wix.com was great for designing the whole thing from scratch and making it look great, however you can't connect a blog on Wix to bloglovin'. I would recommend Wix to anyone who wants to create a blog or website who wants to really personalise it (and you can buy custom domains too) but doesn't mind if the blog can't connect to bloglovin'.

 

I used to have a blog on Wordpress which was a good platform and I could connect it to bloglovin', but after a while I wanted to change my username and domain on it which proved to be very complicated.

 

At the moment I'm using Blogger which is very suitable for me because it can connect to bloglovin' and was simple to set up. Unfortunately I can't design my website like I could on Wix, but if I really want to make my blog look nicer I can pay for a template. Also, the Blogger app doesn't work for me so I have to blog on a computer, not a mobile device. I really like the stats and how easy it is to look at and edit my blog.

 

I hope this advice helped you, it's basic things that are good to make clear.

How to enjoy a sunny day

We're reaching the end of summer, and after months of enjoying the great weather, the days are getting as boring as they are relaxing.

 

In an attempt to prevent this boredom, I made a list of things you can do which make the most of the warmer weather and pass the time.

 

Meet up with friends

This one isn't exactly rocket science, but it is so nice to keep in touch with your friends over the summer and a day spent with your friends is so much better than a day spent on your own. To be honest, I could spend the whole day listening to my friends telling me about their holidays, so it is a good way to pass the time if you're bored.

 

 

 



Go exploring

This is especially good if you're on holiday because you're even more likely to discover new things you never knew were in your neighbourhood. But if you're not on holiday you can still take a train to a town nearby or go for a drive to look for things you never noticed before. The photo above is from when I was on Lundy Island which is a tiny island off the north coast of Devon. It was such a small island we could walk around the whole thing and see every cave, lighthouse and shop there was to see.

Try a new sport

Be it something you were inspired by in the Rio Olympics or some extreme sport that you just want to try, doing a new sport is perfect for passing the time, improving your fitness and generally making you happier. Some sports you could try are:

Slacklining

Hiking

Climbing

Kayaking

Cycling  

 

 

Another idea is to have a BBQ or a picnic. These are just so summery and fun and I think a BBQ with our friends is the perfect way to spend a long summer evening. I recently discovered chickpea burgers which I think are delicious! --->mash a can of chickpeas, add a quarter of a can of sweetcorn, a quarter to half a chopped onion, a teaspoon of lemon juice, any herbs and spices you want (I like mixed herbs and paprika), a pinch of salt and combine it all. Then add flour until it all binds together. Use your hands to mould the mixture into 4 patties. You can fry, BBQ, grill or freeze them. I slightly adapted this recipe but for the original click here

 

And my final idea is to relax! I'm sure you've been doing plenty of this already but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. Reading a book and getting tanned is one of my favourite ways to spend the summer holidays!

 

Have a great summer!

What I've Been Up To

Hello! So much has happened in the past few weeks that I don't know what to write about. By "so much" I mean more than going to school everyday, so don't get your hopes up.

 

So, I had my Easter holiday which lasted two weeks and that was really good. I tried lots of things for the first time including eating vegetarian meatballs and playing card games with my family in which we betted with minstrels.

 

I went to Bude in north Cornwall (south-west England) for a week. We stayed in a static caravan which proved itself to be a lot nicer than camping in a tent because we could get in from a long walk and watch TV with the heating on.

 



 

Here's me and my cousin, Amaya, loving life.

Poppy enjoyed roasting by the gas heater with her tennis ball we found on the beach (:

Basically, we spent our holiday walking, eating and exploring. It was the perfect break from school and everyday we did something new which would be fun but at the same time it would tire us out so we slept well at night.

Some of my highlights were:

We got takeaway from the takeaway place at the campsite. My pizza was delicious!

We played long jump on the beach. I won.

I had a veggie burger for the first time and I wasn't disappointed. If you've never had one before, I recommend trying a veggie burger even if you're not trying to be vegetarian (I'm not). It was just nice to try it when I'm so used to eating meat.

Of course there would be no point in going to Cornwall if we didn't have lots of cream teas, Cornish pasties and Cornish ice cream. I had some eton mess flavour ice cream which was heaven.

My amateur photography didn't capture the beauty of this pasty, but trust me when I say it's worth going back to Cornwall for.

We spent some time in the lovely village of Boscastle and I really love it there because everything is so picturesque and cute and everyone is so friendly. At this time of year it wasn't too busy either.


Everyday we walked around a different part of Cornwall, and I got all of their names mixed up so I can't tell you where they are, but I took some pretty photos anyway!

I hope you had a good Easter!
 

My workout today!

I didn't think I'd find myself writing a blog post about a workout I'd done because normally I would think it's not very interesting, but today's workout was something new that I hadn't tried before and I loved it and thought it was worth sharing.

 

The workout I did was from this blog post and it would be useful if you have a TRX band, two dumbbells, a skipping rope and a mat if you want one.

 

 

I call it an "add on workout" because you do the first exercise, then the first exercise and the second exercise, then the first exercise and the second exercise and the third exercise and so on.

 

I had never tried this structure before, I only tried circuit training, Tabata and workouts where you don't repeat the exercises at all. I think add on workouts are my new favourite!

 

I love how it made the time pass so quickly ad never got boring. I wanted to keep going so I could try the next exercise. In this workout there is the perfect balance of cardio and strength training so it will help you get stronger while burning calories.

 

Another reason I'm a fan of add on workouts is because they are so adaptable. It's not unusual for people not to have a TRX band or a set of dumbbells lying around in their house, so if you don't want to go to the gym, you can just change the exercises. For example, you could swap TRX chest press for swimmers or push ups. It's so simple, I love it.

 

Of course, the reason I loved the workout so much could've just been because I wanted to test out our TRX band which I didn't know we had. Or it could've been because I did it outside in the sunshine (I had to make the most of it while it was there!). Either way, I recommend you try this type of workout.

 

Remember to cool down and drink water after every workout you do (:

 

Now here are some pictures:

Can we just take a moment to appreciate my new leggings... I got them for half price from Nike and  I am very excited about it.



 

Shoutout to Poppy (my dog) for not attacking me while I did my workout! Also, I am aware of the state of my hair, I just can't do anything about it.



A little post workout selfie including me looking like a tomato but enjoying endorphins anyway.



Here's me doing some bicycle crunches. Lovely.



 



A fascinating photo of some of my equipment. I hope you enjoy it.



 

Bonus photo of me and Poppy. Don't be fooled, she looks like she loves me but she is probably trying to bite my nose or something.

 

Why refusing chocolate at Easter isn't necessary

A lot of people are trying to avoid eating chocolate and sugary treats in an attempt to eat healthily. I think this is a good idea; sugary treats are generally bad for you so eating less of them is likely to make you healthier, however I don't think people should be depriving themselves of chocolate at Easter.

 

Easter is when we celebrate new life and the start of spring, so why should you have to say "no" to all of those mini eggs? Life is short, and being healthy should be something you do because you enjoy it or you think the benefits outweigh the difficulty, but you need to remember that it's absolutely fine to take breaks and eat what you want.

 

Moderation is the most important thing here. If you're trying to be healthy, you can eat whatever you want, as long as it's not excessive amounts. One good meal won't make you healthy and one bad meal won't make you unhealthy. Celebrating Easter for one weekend doesn't make you unhealthy, so just relax and enjoy your weekend!

 



My Spring Bucket List

With all of Spring to look forward to, I thought I'd make a list of things I'd like to do in the next few months and maybe you'll copy a few of my ideas (;

 

Most of these things I've done before but wouldn't hesitate to do again, and a lot of the things on the list will be ways to make the most of it being warm again (but we are in England, so warm weather might not be guaranteed).

 

Anyway, here's my list-

 

 

Buy my summer wardrobe

I love buying new clothes, and summer clothes are my favourite because it's all so cheap and easy. I have already bought some new sunglasses and tops which I know won't be worn for a few months, but I'm so excited for summer and I just want it to come sooner!

 

Celebrate Easter

I do this every year, I love it every year, I'm doing it again this year. Chocolate, spring and new life are definitely worth celebrating.

 

Go on a nice walk

I think I've written before about how much I love going for walks because of how relaxed it makes me feel, so obviously in spring I would like to go for many walks. My family are walking the South Downs Way in stretches of about 13 miles and we are doing our next stretch very soon which I'm excited for. Hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my walk with Emily, Kale and the dogs.

 

Bake something really seasonal and spring-y

 Thanks to our collection of Mary Berry cook books, I don't think I'll struggle to find a recipe. I'm thinking I might make some Easter biscuits with lots of herbs in...

 

Take some pretty photos of flowers

This should be easy, there are flowers everywhere in spring! It was a nice surprise to see some snowdrops on the side of the road when I was running. There's a walk (wow, I talk about walking a lot) that my family call "The Bluebell Walk" because it goes through a forest and at a certain time of year, there are bluebells everywhere and it's stunning.

 

Go to France again

I have some weird obsession with France, I just love everything about it, but luckily for me, I'm doing an exchange with a girl who lives near Paris so I'm very excited for that!

 

Blog a lot

As much as I'm awful at coming up with ideas and putting them into words, I love blogging and I'm planning on continuing my blog all through Spring and long after that too (:

 

Thanks for reading, and have a good Spring (or whatever season it is where you are)!