Sadhana Kitchen Degustation: what it was REALLY like.

If you've been to Sadhana Kitchen, you know they do raw vegan best (in my personal opinion!). Dat lasagna... Dem cakes.....

Maz Valcorza, the owner of the cozy, but hugely popular cafe, not only works with a few other very creative chefs to make the best meals on the menu, but also offers an utterly mind blowing raw vegan degustation experience. 

Looking for a new experience to share with my S.O for our anniversary, I decided to give the degustation a look, and woop woop- they were on sale for half price! My friends from the world renown food blog (JK, they're not there yet), the Bunny Bloggers, also joined us for dinner that night. 

An intimate, candlelit dinner with wonderful combinations of flavours and textures, and an interesting experience. I would recommend anyone give it a go (especially since the sale is still on)! Read more about my experience.

What Is Mindfulness and Why You Should Be Practicing It.

Practicing mindfulness is, most definitely, something to strive toward achieving if you live in this society. 

With all the stresses we deal with day-to-day (from family, work, uni, reading things in the news about wars, diseases), and convenient distractions that are available at a touch of a button/mouse from our phones/laptops, it has become much too easy to go through a day, and not be aware of your own thoughts and feelings, and responses/reactions to things.

The aim of mindfulness is this: to be in the now. 

The importance of practicing mindfulness 

By being in the "now", you are more conscious of all aspects of yourself, thus, able to better deal with situations, both past and present, as well as plan ahead. 
By being able to do so, you are in control of:

•  your emotions (for the "I have no idea why I reacted that way" moments), 
• your eating (for the over eaters), 
• your concentration (less getting "lost in thought"), 
• your attention to detail (less running on autopilot). 

There are so many benefits for yourself, and others around you. 

I, myself, am guilty of getting lost in thought, and having difficulty remembering certain details of my routine because I'm stuck on autopilot. 
During my train rides to school, work, or just heading out with friends, one thing I always aim to do is to NOT look at my phone. Even though those rides are, for the most part, pretty uneventful, I am more aware of the small things. The trees beginning to bloom, a book someone's reading, how I'm feeling emotionally and mentally, my breathing. Before bed, I also do a bit of stretching and yoga. 

I find that the basics of yoga, are very helpful in practicing mindfulness, and that, by focusing on how my body is feeling in response to the yoga practice, I feel that I am more in tune with myself. By focusing on my breathing during yoga, I find myself feeling like I am more in tune with the universe. 


There are several different ways you can practice mindfulness, however, and I found a great site that has mp3 & pdf files to help you practice! 

Visit LivingWell to learn more.


I hope you enjoy reading about what you find, and let me know what other ways you practice mindfulness.

Love and light to you all,
Michelle

Sydney Cruelty Free Festival 2014

Last Sunday, the ninth Sydney CFF opened its arms to welcome in beautiful dogs, true animal lovers, food enthusiasts, and the like, to a day of beautiful souls coming together to keep our minds off the scorching heat & sticky humidity.

Tip #1 for Successful Metamorphosis

I have had my fair share of trials and tribulations as I became accustomed to my new vegan lifestyle (the 14th of December 2013!). I began this blog, primarily to provide some sort of assistance to others taking the step to living a more compassionate life, to be a sort resource/guide while I myself continue learning more about it.

This will be the first of a series of posts to help you successfully begin a long-term change. While the tips can be used for all goals, they have been specifically written for people wishing to start a vegan lifestyle.

Veganised Black Star Pastry Strawberry and Watermelon Cake

Not too long a go, before I turned vegan, I had a few slices of the Black Star Pastry ever so popular 'Strawberry and Watermelon cake'. The first time, I was actually a little disappointed (maybe I expected too much haha) but the second & third times I ate the cake... woah mama.
This cake was made famous through the complex yet elegant beauty of the dacquoise, rose cream, & watermelon layers, topped with the harmony of colours, and flavours, of pistachio, strawberry, ruby red grapes and dried rose petals. It's really quite a piece of food art.


Today... let me show you how you can veganise/"healthify" this cake... and still have it looking and tasting amazing in a completely mind-blowing way! You'll see what I mean ;)

The Open

Hello, and welcome to the very first post of Fully Conscious Living.

My name is Michelle and I am a vegan.

Before that word gets you running for the hills and vowing to never ever return, I'd like to state that this lifestyle blog born from the idea that I could maybe help to open up minds, widen perspectives and help others towards a lifestyle that is kind, and compassionate.

This blog is, and will not just be about a diet!