#digestiveissueslife

Despite digestive issues being something that I've struggled with my entire life, I never really thought I'd be posting about it on the internet. I'm not sure why - I think it stems from the fact that nothing I've tried has ever worked. My symptoms are pretty typical. Constant stomach aches, TERRIBLE bloating (I look 9 months pregnant at all times) and never-ending brain fog. I also have suffered with pretty bad acne from the age of 20. HOWEVER. That is alllllll about to change.

I started this year with one resolution. I wanted to take control of my health. So far, I've done everything in my power to do this. I've seen numerous doctors, specialists and naturopaths to work towards healing my stomach. Unfortunately, as what has happened in the past, I wasn't exactly getting results. I've been told time and time again that it's just IBS and I should take a probiotic here and there and I'll be fine. I've been told countless times that perhaps it's because I'm vegan - which obviously wouldn't make sense, but also I've only been vegan six years and I've had these issues for almost twenty five. I've had suggestions such as 'have you tried herbal tea?!' and 'maybe don't drink water with meals!' - all great suggestions.... but I'm not exactly going to work a miracle with these solutions.

I got my first lot of results when I saw a naturopath. I tested positive for a klebsiella overgrowth, candida and small intestine bacterial overgrowth. This meant I had to go on a strict low-starch diet, avoiding all grains and sugars. THIS WAS THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE. I felt better, and I'm currently waiting to get results back as to whether I have cured these parasites or not. However, once I added each of the food groups back one by one the drama started. I felt worse than before. I was waking up during the night with stomach pains. Things that never affected me before were causing my agony. I had less energy than ever before.

Trying to identify my food intolerances has been one of the biggest difficulties I've encountered. I feel like I've tried everything! I did a bit of Googling about this, and found that there are hundreds of people in the same boat as me. This is an extremely common thing. So, where is my next step?

I've taken out some of the food groups that I eliminated during the low-starch diet, including gluten, soy (insert sad emoji here), garlic (!!!), cashews and sugar. I'm going to try this again, and if this doesn't work, I'll try low FODMAP. I've tried to do the low FODMAP diet previously, however I wasn't going it with someone overseeing me (i.e. naturopath/doctor) and therefore I kind of messed it up.

Fingers crossed I get to the bottom of this - and I'll let you know if I do!

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Hi. Hey. Hello. I know, I know. It's been a minute. I've been busy. I've been uninspired. I've had a broken camera. I got married. I moved. Excuses, excuses. I'M BACK THOUGH. New domain, new recipes, new me. Let's get to it, and what better way to make a come back than with a new pancake recipe?! I love pancakes, especially on a Sunday. I've been Pancake Sunday-ing since I was in high school, and (in my humble and unbiased opinion) these ones are my best yet. Introducing.... the blueberry buttermilk pancake. They're SO good, and they're especially thick - which is how a pancake should be.


What You'll Need:

• 2 x cups oat flour (pulse oats in a blender until they resemble an oat-like consistency. Alternatively, you can use another type of flour.)
• 1 x cup of nut milk (I use Bonsoy ALWAYS)
• 2 x tbsp lemon juice
• 1 x tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1 x overripe mashed banana
• 1 x cup of blueberries
• 1 x tbsp vanilla essence
  
  

What You'll Need To Do:

1. Pre-heat your non-stick pan first. This key to keeping your pancakes oil-free is by having a super, duper hot pan!
2. In a bowl, set aside your milk, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. You want to let this sit for about ten minutes. Your milk will start to curdle. This is what creates the buttermilk taste!
3. In another bowl, bash your banana and stir in your flour and vanilla. Once your buttermilk is set, stir that in too. Finally, add in your blueberries.
4. Fry away! As per typical pancakes, once the pancake starts to bubble it's ready to flip. Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler Overnight Oats

More Autumnal recipes! Autumn is so close I can taste it and the food I am creating is certainly reflecting that. Today's recipe is one I've been OBSESSED with lately. Mainly because it means I can sleep for an extra ten minutes in the morning, and that is something I can get behind.

MEAL PREP FRIENDLY - simply make 5 x what this recipe calls for and store in the fridge for the week. Individually serve a portion each morning.


What You'll Need:
- 1 x cup rolled oats

- 1/2 cup plant milk (I used Bonsoy)

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp mixed spice

- 1/2 tsp ground ginger

- 1 chopped medium sized peach.

- 1/2 mashed overripe banana


What You'll Need To Do:

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.
3. Serve in the morning! Enjoy. It's that easy.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

I moved away from the Coast a few months back and it has been SO much hotter than I'm used to. Which I absolutely hate. However, it apparently cools down a lot earlier in the year and therefore here I am smashing in pumpkin soup in EARLY MARCH?! Absolute craziness. I'm not complaining though. This pumpkin soup is the best thing in the whole entire world and I will happily be eating it for every single meal until about November.

This pumpkin soup makes about five servings and is PERFECT for meal-prepping as it stores well and can easily be frozen.

What You'll Need:

• One large butternut pumpkin ("squash")
• Two medium sized sweet potatoes
• Two white potatoes
• Two carrots
• One onion
• 1L of veggie stock (choose a no oil / low sodium one if possible!)
• cinnamon, tumeric, ginger, garlic powder and chili flakes to taste

What You'll Need To Do:

1. Place all of the veggies chopped up into a large pot. Try to chop the veggies up as small as you can!
2. Cover the vegetables with the veggie stock and cover.
3. Boil for around 20 minutes or until completely soft.
4. Place all of the vegetables into a high-speed blender with approximately half of the liquid - you can use more if you prefer it less thick.
5. Add in the spices to taste.
6. Blend until completely processed and smooth.
7. Enjoy!

What I'm NOT Buying in 2017

If you know me, you'll know I am the definition of a hoarder. Up until last week, I had boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff under my bed that I haven't touched in years. Just incase. I had clothes from when I was 40kgs heavier still in my wardrobe. Just incase. Heck, I had clothes from PRIMARY SCHOOL. Just incase. I had make-up that I bought in 2010 (SEVEN YEARS AGO?!) that I'd genuinely never used. Just incase.

To put things into perspective for you - I owned over 50 scarves. I live on the Gold Coast. Why? When would I ever have a need for FIFTY SCARVES? I had a draw full of lip balm. I had over 10 unused bottles of soap from Lush. It was insanity. I didn't take any photos because it was straight-up embarrassing.

The problem wasn't excessive spending though. I'm actually a really great saver (if I do say so myself -hair flick-). The problem was my need to "stock up" on things, and my issue with throwing them away. Ever. Even if they're empty. I can honestly say I've bought about three or four make-up items in the past two years, however I had draws upon draws filled. I had two wardrobes overflowing with clothes, but can never ever find something to wear. I had a box full of boxes of products I'd once bought, because one day I might need the box of the iPod Classic I got for Christmas in 2007, you know?

I spent weeks (yes, weeks. Probably closer to months) getting rid of my stuff. I threw all the expired make up out, as well as the clothes that were ruined. I donated A LOT of stuff. At current count I've donated over 15 bags to LifeLine. I'm honestly nervous that if I was to go into my local store it would just be like walking back into my bedroom. I gave some stuff away. It was such an effort, but it's done. I can now fit all my make-up into a small bag, all my clothes fit into a small wardrobe and I have a pretty normal amount of scarves left. It was a huge process and I need to make sure it isn't going to happen again. 


So I set myself a challenge. My challenge is not buy anything in 2017. Not a single thing.

Well... that was my original challenge until someone pointed out that I'll probably need to eat and buy toothpaste and stuff. So the challenge is to not buy anything that isn't necessary. That means no new clothes, no new fuzzy socks, no new make-up, no shoes, no books, no jumpers, no candles, no unnecessary skincare products. Nothing. For twelve whole months. Not only is this going to be better for me, and better for my wallet, but also better for the environment.

Cue the minimalism. I've done my research. I've watched all the documentaries, read all the blogs, watched all the YouTube videos.. and I am SO inspired. I just can't contribute and participate in this kind of lifestyle anymore. I've always fantasied about going zero-waste and how am I supposed to do that when I own six jars of moisturiser? So. I'm not going to buy anything for a year, because I can guarantee if I need something I probably already have it. 

I'm going to make monthly posts to keep me in line showing you everything I've bought that month and I'll justify it's necessity. For example, yesterday I bought an iron. That's totally necessary... right?

Let me know if you'd like to see a post about how I managed to make the shift from being a hoarder to being a (wanna-be) minimalist. I'm so excited and nervous for this year, and I just really don't want to get a place of my own and fill it with junk. Wish me luck!

Waffles! (HCLF)

My fantastic brother got me a waffle maker for Christmas. So, naturally, I woke up bright and early on Boxing Day and whipped up a batch of waffles! These waffles are so food for you, and so so healthy!

What you'll need:
- 1 cup flour of choice (I used oat flour)
- 1 large overripe banana
- 1/2 cup liquid (I used water, but soy or almond milk would be nice!)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp baking powder
- toppings of your choice!

What you'll need to do:
1. Heat up your waffle maker.
2. Mash up the banana until it's almost a liquid.
3. Combine all of the ingredients well.
4. Cook in your waffle maker until golden brown.
5. Serve with toppings of your choice. I opted for fresh mango and strawberries, but banana and maple syrup would also be delicious. Enjoy!

Christmas Granola

Living in Australia often means I sometimes miss out on a lot of the Christmas treats people online talk about. It's currently forty degrees and eating anything hot is just not going to happen, however I found myself craving those traditional Christmas flavours I keep seeing. Thus, I found a way to combine Christmas with something cold!



What You'll Need:

• 2 cups oats
• 5 medjool dates
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ginger 
• ½ cup cranberries
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

What You'll Need To Do

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
2. In a food processor, combine one of the cups of oats, dates, vanilla and the spices. Pulse briefly so it gets nice and mixed together.
3. Lay the ingredients out on a tray lined with baking paper.
4. Sprinkle the other cup of oats and cranberries on top and mix well.
5. Pour out the maple syrup on top, ensuring to cover evenly.
6. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Store in an air-tight container for up to five days.
8. Serve with some banana ice-cream for a refreshing Christmas-y treat - enjoy!