When we were singing Auld Lang Zyne as the clock struck midnight and transported us to the year 2020, I bet not one of us would have believed what havoc would be wrecked by one tiny vicious Virus as the days and weeks turned into months of Pandemic blues!
Taking Charge of our Physical and Mental Health
Many lives and livelihoods have been lost, but we also learnt many valuable lessons along the way; such as taking better care of ourselves and not running to the doctor for every little ailment, as medical centres and hospitals became two places we tried to avoid visiting.
In order to fight this Coronavirus, our bodies need to function at its optimum to build up a strong immune system; now more than ever before!
Mental Well-being
The toll of this pandemic on mental well-being has been massive so now is the time to start living a mindful life.
Have a look at techniques like meditation, yoga, breathing exercises and start enjoying the natural wonders of the world around us.
Our very own @ericvancewalton, the author of The Perfect Pause - Meditating Your Way to the Ultimate You has written a follow-up book entitled Mindful Moments - Living your Best Life in Imperfect Times.
We were fortunate in reading the draft of this wonderful book here on Hive; all the links to the chapters are found in this POST!
Image by @ericvancewalton
Physical Well-being
Food is the first step towards achieving good health as our body needs optimum nutrients to function at its best!
Just like a motor car needs fuel to keep running, just so do we need the correct food to keep our batteries charged!
A plant-based lifestyle
I really admire my friends who follow a plant-based lifestyle; they certainly are healthier and way more energized than any of us who use animal products!
My goal is to move to this kind of lifestyle as studies have proven that those who do not consume animal products are healthier by far and helps avoid getting diseases such as cancer, hypertension and heart disease.
Check out this Source
Naturally we also need to become more active by doing some kind of exercise, with regular walks being my favourite.
Special Times
Special times with smaller groups of close family will be how many of us will be celebrating the Christmas Holidays this year.
Gifts from the Heart
What has been your favourite and most meaningful gift ever received?
Certainly not a mass-produced store-bought gift I'm sure!
One good thing that has emerged as a result of Covid, is that we're not all rushing to the shops to buy meaningless gifts!
As the economy has been hit hard, people are putting more thought into gifts; either buying online with many making gifts from their kitchen, garden or sewing rooms.
Something homemade means so much more, and as a home-cook, I will be sharing some ideas for Vegan Treats that you can give your family or friends as a thoughtful Christmas gift straight from the heart.
Adding the recipe to that gift will be a really nice extra touch.
Soup Mix with recipe for Grandma's Herbal Broth
Nothing could be simpler than packing the base ingredients for a nourishing broth into pretty glass bottles with the recipe attached; may as well add a bottle of Popcorn seeds for Movie time at home!
Apple Date Cobbler
A really delicious dessert made with Granny Smith Apples and topped with an Oat Crumble topping and Medjool Dates in a pretty Apple Pie dish makes a really nice gift - recipe attached as well;)
Aquafaba Meringues
I first made these Vegan Meringues for #fruitsandveggiesmonday some time back, and was really amazed that one could turn the brine of a can of Chickpeas into the lightest and crispiest Meringues!
These will be a delightful gift for anyone but especially for your vegan friends; recipe attached of course!
Raw Chocolate Brownies
Who says decadent Chocolate Brownies cannot be healthy?
These were made with Macadamia Nuts & Walnuts, the superfood raw Cacao Powder, rolled Oats, unsweetened Peanut Butter, Coconut Oil, Dates and garnished with dark Vegan Chocolate, Coconut flakes, Strawberries and Blueberries.
No added sugar as the dates provide all the sweetening; a trick I learnt from a fellow Hive foodie @plantstoplanks!
Your friends will be over the moon with this gift; don't forget to share the recipe...!
Nutty Shortbread
Christmas just ain't Christmas if there's no shortbread in the house; you'll have to hide these from the family if you want to give them away as gifts, really yum!
I believe I've given you plenty of Food for Thought or shall we say Sweet After-thoughts as my contribution towards @naturalmedicine's December Challenge, hope you found some inspiration here; there's still four sleeps left before Christmas day, hope you find the time to make a special gift from your kitchen for that special friend or family member!
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