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Counting my blessings: End-of-year reflection
In my post ‘10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)’, I wrote that positive thinking and gratitude can help improve our mental health and wellbeing. To help create a more positive mindset, I use a simple yet effective strategy: reflection and gratitude. At the end of each day, I spend some time noting the positive things that happened on that day. I often advise people to do the same by identifying and writing down three positive things about that day. This can enhance positive thinking and help us focus on the positive aspects of our everyday lives, rather than dwell on our shortcomings. As this year is…
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X-mas Book Flood: Jólabókaflóðið, Yule & Murder
I’ve always enjoyed reading crime novels. As a child, I read all Agatha Christie novels during my summer holidays. Recently, I’ve introduced reading to my daily life; commuting to and from work offers a perfect opportunity to read; I no longer have to wait for my holidays to do so. Yet, I’m actually looking forward to the Christmas holidays (sadly, I will only be off work on Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Days), so I can read in the comfort of my own home (with Christmas music playing, as well as a few mince pies and mulled wine on the table). Perhaps, I’ll even have a few new books to…
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Gluten- & guilt-free clementine (mandarin) cake
My birthday is on the 20th of December. Every year since I was a little kid, I’ve been having a party either the weekend before or the one after my birthday (usually before). This year, however, I decided to have my party a couple of weeks earlier, on the 8th of the month. Amongst the finger food and a large selection of mince pies from Waitrose, I also decided to bake my Caribbean-inspired banana and papaya bread. It would perfectly compliment the tropical guava rum punch cocktail I had already prepared. But then I realized that one of my friends was gluten-intolerant, so she wouldn’t enjoy the banana and papaya…
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Açaí smoothie bowl: mood-boosting, healthy eating
2018 has been a bad year for Brazilian politics. The reason? In October, far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro was declared the winner of the Brazilian general election with over 50% of the popular vote. According to the Guardian, Bolsonaro represents a clear and present danger not only to his country(1) but to the planet(2). Soon after the election, the South American country abandoned plans to host crucial UN climate talks in 2019, raising concerns about Brazil’s stance towards the environment. Unfortunately, Brazil is far from the only country where far-right politics are on the rise. Populist and nationalist political parties have been sadly gaining popularity worldwide, culminating in the election of…
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Better nutrition. Better health. Better wellbeing.
Hello! Today it is the World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the 1st of December is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic. However, I am not going to talk about AIDS today; I am going to focus on nutrition instead. From obesity to orthorexia to anorexia In 1997, the World Health Organization formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic. The same year, the term ‘orthorexia nervosa’ was also introduced. It was the American physician Steven Bratman who coined the term from the Greek words ορθο- (ortho, “right” or “correct”) and όρεξις (orexis, “appetite”). He described orthorexia as an unhealthy fixation with what the individual considers to be healthy…
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Nutritious & delicious: Caribbean-inspired exotic fruit breads
One of my favorite as well as easiest cakes to bake is the banana bread. Originating from America, this is actually a loaf-shaped cake. I have been baking it for quite a few years now, so I have reached a point that I have tweaked the original recipe quite a lot (in an attempt to make it healthier and guilt-free). Inspired by the delicious desserts and the exotic fruit I had whilst in Martinique (a small French island in the eastern Caribbean Sea), I decided to tweak it once more and make it a bit more exotic. Healthy tweaks The original recipe starts with beating butter and sugar until light…
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7 reasons to fall in love with Martinique
As I’d never been to the Caribbean before, I immediately said yes when my friend Marie suggested we go to Martinique. This was not meant to be a relaxing holiday; instead, we would spend a week practicing sports of our choice. I opted for a combination of mostly water sports and activities, such as kayaking, catamaran, sailing, hiking, horse riding and windsurfing, whereas Marie chose to practice the latter for our entire week there. Located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, Martinique is a single island directly north of Saint Lucia, and south of Dominica. Having a similar size to the Greek island…
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CultureTrip: Travel Inspiration from Argentina to Israel
Last week I wrote about Jorge Bucay, an Argentinian writer, psychotherapist, and psychodramatist. In his books, Bucay uses his clinical experience to help the readers reflect on their inner world. Even though he lives and practices in Buenos Aires, his writings transcend frontiers and are of relevance to readers across the world, which explains his popularity in different countries. Coincidentally, once I wrote that post, I came across another Argentinian writer, Ariana Harwicz, who featured in the article ‘A Life In Stories’ in the inaugural issue of the CultureTrip print magazine. I have been using CultureTrip for several years now and it is one of my favorite online resources when…
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Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales along the road to happiness
‘Traveling, watching movies and reading books’ is my usual reply when I’m asked what my hobbies are. Most would agree that films and books have at least one thing in common: there’s a story to be told. But, do they have anything in common with traveling? I believe so. When I was younger, I used to enjoy watching movies to escape from my reality and its problems. Traveling and books had the same effect: they allowed me to escape my everyday life. The inner journey Nowadays, I think there’s much more to these three activities than a route to escape. As a screenwriting student, I learned the importance of the…
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Ikigai & Komorebi: Finding purpose & beautiful moments
I’ve always been fascinated by Japan and anything Japanese. Yet, I am still to visit the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, as Japan is often called in the West. Pronounced ‘Nihon’ or ‘Nippon’ in Japanese, the name of the country actually means ‘the origin of the sun’. Fairly recently, I’ve come across two Japanese words; since they do not have an equivalent in the English language, I have introduced them both to my vocabulary: komorebi and ikigai. Komorebi Komorebi is a noun, which translates to ‘sunlight filtered through the trees’. Such a beautiful and poetic word, isn’t it? Last week, I wrote about some of the activities that I…