Last Saturday saw The Fry Family Food Co’s 3rd Annual Green Meeting inspiring change in the hearts and minds of Cape Town’s conscious community. Over 200 veg-friendly folks gathered at the urban-chic Jack Black Brewery to be addressed by some … Continue reading
Happy New Year Veganista’s! I hope you all enjoyed an amazing holiday and festive season, and that you returned to your place of work well-rested and ready to take on the challenges of the New Year.
As some of you know, 2016 was a rollercoaster of a year for me – full of fabulous ups but not without its twists and turns. This year, instead of creating resolutions, I am reflecting on my purpose and working towards making small changes that will encourage big leaps towards it. I’ve come to notice that criticism is not something I accept easily, so that will be one of my first focal points to becoming the best possible version of me. We cannot grow if we are not able to receive guidance from others with an open and willing heart.
Criticism can either empower us – or break us down. The online vegan community tends to be fixated on calling out flaws, instead of offering support. It has never been more important for a movement to stand together and work towards our mutual goal – saving the world. If we want to see a change in ourselves and society, we need to be able to count on each other. So this year, let’s lift one another up, let’s contribute to each other’s causes and campaigns, let’s support start-ups even though they are pricey, let’s spread the amazing work that companies are doing instead of attacking their glitches, let’s give a little of our precious time to charities in need, and let’s accept criticism in a positive light.
As I make small changes to becoming more humane, I encourage you to do so too. Throughout this year, I will post about upcoming events, campaigns and activities that you can get involved with. I will also share the small changes I am making in case you want to try them too. Vegan or not, do the best you can and cause as little harm as possible. It is that simple.
Love Leo xx
Green Monday is a global initiative promoted by Humane Society International to encourage healthy, environmentally friendly living in SA. Continue reading
There’s nothing more beautiful than the love vegans share for animals. We see it in the compassion they cook with, the power they petition with and the gentleness they caress with. To capture this love on camera, photographer and friend Abigail K started a personal project called Couture Creature in which she photographs vegans with the creatures they love the most – their pets.
The Couture Creature shoot forms part of her photography service offering – Couture Portrait Shoots, which is her speciality. It would count as one of the three looks the client receives and includes wardrobe, hair, makeup and prints -depending on the package you prefer. During this project Abigail has shot some familiar faces in the South African Vegan scene including Luan from AVO (African Vegan Outreach Organisation), Toni Brockhoven from BWC (Beauty Without Cruelty) and… ME!
It was such a beautiful experience shooting with my Staffie puppy, Zeus, and telling my story on why I became vegan and how much I love this little boy. I felt like a warrior princess in the Molento Creations original I was dressed in with a contrasting makeup palette of soft hues done by makeup artists and best friend, Sherilee. You can view my feature on Abigail K’s website here as well as other Couture Creature shoots here.
Seriously, how adorable is that face? A Couture Creature shoot is not only a fantastic gift and opportunity for the vegans of South Africa, but it is also serves as a good cause. For each of the Couture Creature packages sold, Abigail is donating a percentage on behalf of her client to Beauty Without Cruelty SA. If you would like to express the love you have for your pet and book a Couture Creature shoot with Abigail K, kindly contact her on 076 129 7631 or at info@abigailk.co.za. For more information and rates, kindly visit the Abigail K Photography website.
Going fully raw or even raw till 4pm is not as easy as I experienced going vegan. I have wanted to eat raw for quite a while but failed miserably at it for the first two months. I kept craving sugar and salt and warm food – especially since I found myself in the depths Cape Town’s winter. Also, I kept feeling hungry ALL the time and couldn’t understand why.
However, instead of giving up I continued to motivate myself. Every single day I would watch vlogs from Tanny Raw, Fully Raw Kristina and Freelee the Banana Girl and also source different raw vegan recipes on the internet. The more I consumed the right information, the more I craved the lifestyle and the easier it became to eat raw. I started to incorporate it slowly with one raw meal a day – either a fruit platter, a smoothie, a zoodle pasta, or a salad and as the days went by I added more raw meals to my diet.
Today (still in the depths of winter) I can eat raw vegan meals with ease. Some days I will eat fully raw and other days I will eat raw till four and I absolutely adore it. I just find myself craving purity and exercise – the healthier I eat, the more energy I have and the healthier I crave to be. I used to be quite a coffee addict and even though I still like a cuppa in the morning, I have started cutting out coffee during the course of the day and replacing it with fresh water. I used to hate water. The best part is, I eat a shit-load and I keep shedding weight. My parents are completely amused by the fact that I would consume half a pineapple and three bananas for breakfast. No jokes – and that is only one of my four to six meals a day. I weighed myself this week and I lost two kilograms without even trying.
The trick is not to withhold anything from your body – do what works for you and be patient. I love a cup of warm tea and there is no way I am going to cut it out, but I opt for herbal teas with no added soy-milk or sugar. I also still have an alcoholic drink or two over weekends (yup I’m a party girl) and I also eat a vegan pizza or an Oreo when I really feel like it. But like I said, the longer you eat raw, the less your body wants it. I am sitting next to a box of Oreos right now and I honestly won’t touch it – earlier I had a dinner of lovely raw zoodles (zucchini noodles) with a fresh tomato base sauce and a raw date ball for dessert. It filled me up completely and I just don’t have the appetite for the creamy chocolate biscuits staring at me.
There are load of talks on the internet on the pros and cons of this lifestyle. Some love it, others curse it. I do what makes me happy and healthy. At the moment I am following a HCLF vegan lifestyle and I look and feel amazing – I have a ton of energy, a healthy body, a peaceful mind and a flat belly. This lifestyle really is worth trying and I encourage you not to give up if you are struggling. I too still watch the vlogs on a daily basis to be inspired by these raw foodies. Hopefully I will be an inspiring raw foodie someday and I will have a string of newbies following me.
