Fresh-thoughts Friday (…yes I know it’s a Wednesday)

Each week I spend a few thousand years scrolling through the web and if you saw the amount of bookmarks I have on my computer you would most likely laugh at me. I probably don’t need the link to the London internship I was going to apply for three years ago or a link to ’50 fun pugs and their friends’ but you just never know… I have have however, recently got a new shiny Macbook Pro (yes I’m terrified every time I pick it up that I’m going to drop it but shh) which means that I have a fresh bookmarks bar!

Now instead of going mad and frantically favourite-ing everything I see like I normally would, I’m going to condense each weeks search results into 5/10 links to share with you guys. Partly to save my sanity and partly to give you some foodie, thoughtful, or funny links each Friday.

So here goes – my favourite links on the web this Friday:

1) 17 things every girl needs to remember at all times by Hannah. It’s blunt, ingeniously true and  fantastic and every girl should read it because it’s just hilarious. Amen to no. 12 – why I think my leggings are still an exception to this rule I really don’t know.

2) When the FAO’s last Livestock report came out in 2006 it caused a big hoo-ha (and rightly so) after finding that farms breeding chickens, pigs, and cows for meat and dairy products, produced a disconcerting 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions (more than the greenhouse gas discharge from planes and cars combined). In the latest study the number was issued at 14.5% but there’s still a long way to go – this article on the subject might be a bit of an oldie, but it’s a really interesting read whether you’re vegetarian, pescatarian, fruitarian, or a serious meat eater – go have a look!

3) There’s been a lot of attention in the media about gluten-free fad diets recently and finally the low FODMAP approach is making waves –  professors at Monash University and Kings College London are getting their study on in this article, that I wish I’d had a chance to read at the start of being diagnosed with IBS.

4) A big yesss to Tesco banning sweets being placed at the checkouts of each of its stores – it’s not going to change the world but it’s one small step in the right direction.

5) And finally, for anybody else bogged down with exams, having a manic week or in a need of a chill out – a link to Musical Notes. My friend Dott constantly posts great songs, with guest features and snippets about her life in London which will have you grinning (don’t worry she has much better taste in music in music than me).

            … And I just couldn’t have a list without food in it – these lemon ginger hemp bites by Janet over at the Taste Space had me drooling at first sight and would go so perfectly with my regular strawberry-banana-oat smoothie pictured above.

Oh PS. I know publishing my first post in this series on a Wednesday this week isn’t ideal, but graduation deadlines have left this blog pretty bare as of late and what ya gonna do ay 🙂 Fresh-info Friday (the name might get changed if I come up with something wittier) will continue from next Friday, each week!

 

Super Green Smoothie Bowl and a dusty student radiator

I never really understood smoothie bowls bar the fact that they looked very pretty. Why bother with a bowl I always thought – you can drink a smoothie waay quicker  in a glass.

But then I made one. And they’re actually amazing.

I often gulp down a smoothie in about two minutes – and sometimes it just doesn’t satisfy. This is thicker, even more nutrient dense depending on what you put in – aaaand you can fit more toppings on! Always a fan of that, plus I love that you’re having a  big bowl of raw for breakfast. So much better for you than sugar filled cereal.

I really upped the greens in this one because I needed a bit of a detox after a hectic week, so swap in some more fruit if you’d like it sweeter – frozen berries would be great or some pineapple. A huge fan of wheatgrass I added a tsp of that too. A natural food source of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and the green plant pigment chlorophyll it’s a great way to add healthy nutrients and fiber to your diet, plus it tastes good and is sweet, so is a good superfood to start with I found – Chalk Board Mag has a great Superfood Spotlight section which is good to get an overview of superfoods if you fancy getting your knowledge on!

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Ingredients:

– 2 frozen bananas

– a big handful of spinach

– a big handful of kale

– tsp wheatgrass powder (can omit)

– tsp almond butter

– coconut water

– toppings of flaxseed, gluten free oats, frozen blueberries and goji berries

To make:

Simply blend all of the ingredients in a blender until thick and creamy before adding toppings! Coconut water is a great liquid to add more of if you want a thinner consistency, and ice is great to thicken – an ice cream esque texture is what you’re aiming for. Enjoy with granola, oats, fruit, superfoods or whatever the hell ya fancy.

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Kath at Kath Eats Real Food has an insane collection of smoothie bowl recipes you should go check out – or I love to use Pinterest for getting inspiration. I’ve just set up my own profile and the organiser inside of me might just be in love with the platform. Check back in a few weeks for pins of great plant-based, vegan recipes, eating clean tips and tonnes of inspiration!