On what I eat.

vegan chocolate cookies made with avocaado!

healthy full of vitamins breakfast!

smashed bananas with some lemon juice! the perfect sweet little treat!

green beans and sesame seeds + potatoes and broccolis!

I get an awful lot of questions regarding what I eat. So I thought I'd do a quick post, answering some of the most frequently asked questions, and maybe, will I keep blogging about food? 

As probably 90%of you already know it, I am a vegan. I became a vegetarian when I was 14, and a vegan a bit less than a year ago, and I'm now 21,soon to be 22. I am healthy, strong, happy with what I eat, I love cooking and I love discovering new tastes and recipes.

What I don't like is suffering, murder, blood and hypocrisy that lies in the way too often heard speech I love animals, I just love meat, we were made to eat meat ... bullshit. 

Maybe a bit less than 90% of you know that I'm never sugarcoating my thoughts when it comes to that matter, or to any important matter that involves lives in fact, and when people tell me I'm violent, it makes me laugh, coming from people eating murdered sentent beings, yes that is quite laughable. So if you don't like reading/hearing someone stating facts and not disguising reality in order to not hurt you, or being 100%honest, I suggest you don't read this.

I am not going to talk about why I became a vegan, and why everyone should, that's another topic, a long and complicated topic that brings unfortunately many bad reactions from a lot of people. 

More than that, I'd like to talk about how good, easy, healthy and just great vegan cuisine is!

Pumpkin with garlic and fresh herbs baked in the oven!-you could add some maple sirup-

kimchi rice! ah. the delice. 

I am eating a lot of raw food, but that's a complete different story, up to everyone's personal choice and preferences(which isn't the case of eating animals, as a choice that involves the death of living beings doesn't sound very personal to me).
And eating raw is delicious! Juices, smoothies, salads, bowls of fruits, raw sushi, raw desserts ... The list is long and oh, I can't tell you how good that tastes, and how amazing that makes you feel!

But adopting a vegan diet doesn't mean you'll eat only raw food or salads. Hard to believe but true, many people still have this misconception that because I am a vegan, I eat less products, less foods, lack nutrients, iron, vitamins, proteins  ... And don't like food!
Well sorry to break all of your preconceptions. .. I LOVE food, to be honest, from all of my friends, I'm the one who loves food the most, and who cooks the most! If there's a dinner, it's at my place, and nowhere else!

apple+banana+grapefruit!

stuffed zucchini! cute, easy and delicious!-stuffed with mushrooms,peppers and quinoa-

People can get a little intimidated when it comes to changing their lifestyle to a vegan one or a vegetarian one, but if you decide to do so ... not only are you making the good choice for the planet, animals and other human beings, but you're also entering a world of delicious meals!

There are some foods that are ... a vegan or a vegetarian's best friends. And I'm going to share some of them with you! Ok, bananas. Bananas are an amazing fruit that allows you to do all sorts of fun recipes and gives you a lot of energy! Quinoa tastes amazing, is super healthy and is great if you want to cook some salads, couscous, tabbouleh ... Tofu. I could write a whole book about tofu! It's amazing. So many textures, tastes and possibilites! I like the plain soft of firm tofu, and it's perfect for stews, stir fries, desserts ... Tomato sauce, soy sauce, deep fried ... tofu is the best! And it tastes as good as long as you know how to make it good. If it doesn't taste good ... just don't blame tofu! Beans and nuts! Beans are great, I mean who doesn't love a good chili?And nuts add a little yummy touch to vegan icecream, chocolate cakes or make really good creemy sauce! 

vegan sushi!

fresh orange juice! with some bergamot oranges!

Avocados! They taste good, they allow you to bake, they make great guacamole to spice up a dish, delicious vegan avocado carbonara, sushis ... 

Potatoes/sweet potatoes also make it to the list! Instead of the super salty deep fried fries, you can bake potatoes/sweet potatoes fries in your oven, or smashed potatoes, or gnocchi ... 

Seasoning is important, it can really make any dish taste delicious, and bring you to India, Japan, Korea, Moroco or the south of France for example!

tofu with japchae sauce! with veggies!

sweet potatoes&potatoes fries and lamb's lettuce!

vegan chicken with a mustard crust!

You love meat too much? Or fish too much? Or cheese too much? First of all, that isn't a question of liking or not a taste. I don't dislike the taste of meat, quite the contrary, I LOVE fish and ADORE cheese. I just don't think of myself as the center of the world, the master of living beings, and don't value more a brief culinary pleasure than the life of a sentent beings. 

Good news for you though, there are tons of alternatives! Vegan cheese ( not going to lie it's not the same, especially being french I know quite a bit about cheese but still good), vegan meat, vegan sausages, pizzas, almond milk, soy milk, vegan yogurts ... 

colorful and beautiful bell peppers!onions make it tasty!

You also learn to explore and try all the different vegetables or fruits! Okras, jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes, all sorts of pumpkins!, parsnips, fennel, all colors/shapes of tomatoes, asian mushrooms, dragon fruits, cashew apples, loquats, kumquats ...

homemade apple sauce with cinnamon!

I hope this post was interesting to some of you, hopefully to many of you, I hope this rose interest for a vegan or vegetarian diet, if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them! I could start blogging about food a bit more, as I love it so much! Let me know if you'd like to see recipes or tips! And if you have any advice, suggestions or recommendations feel free to share them as well! I didn't mean to offend any of you, I just feel very much about this topic because it is important, and for many reasons! Plus it just makes food even more delicious and joyful!

With that being said, bon appétit!

Cologne.

Remember the post I wrote a few weeks back, or maybe months back about Eltz Burg?

Well it seems I completely forgot to talk about Cologne!

It would be utterly repetitive of me to write again how much I like Germany, but let's face it, you can never like something too much! Or can you?

Cologne was no exception to the rule, and to be honest I didn't question at all the fact that I would like it and have a good time there. 

There isn't that much to say, so I'll just let you enjoy(hopefully you do) the pictures I took during this short yet very sweet stay!

I love train stations in Germany, they are completely different from the ones in France!

I could have spent hours staring at the cathedral, it was simply stunning!

yep. taking a picture with two random strangers. 

kartoffel... how often have I heard this word in german classes.

vegan&delicious japanese dinner!

My sister and I were planning another trip to Germany for my birthday by the end of January, I really wanted to go back to Munich and see Neuschwanstein under the snow, but ... it doesn't look like there will be any snow so... Germany, I don't know when I'll see you again, but until then, don't change anything, you're perfect, just the way you are!

Reflecting on the year that was.

January was a busy month. I was already seeing my therapist, was feeling slightly better, and had spent a not too bad New Year's Eve( rare enough to be said). The month went by quickly or so it seems to me.

My friends and I got a late Birthday present to one of our friends, aka a surprise trip to Berlin which coincided with my birthday too. It was awesome, travelling with friends to a city I love, despite the cold that almost froze my fingers to the point they would fall( yesyes I come from the South of France keep that in mind!). 

We had snow in Paris, and I remember a specific day my sister and I went for a long walk in the city, excited to discover, the first time for her, the beautiful sightseeings covered in white. 

What has to be said about January on a more personal level is that I had to break a relationship with someone I really liked and cared for. It wasn't easy at all, and I took this decision in the flight from Berlin to Paris, decision that caused a lot of tears. Eventhough this relationship was quick, short and disappeared as fast as it started, it made me feel loved again, which hadn't happened in a long time. My feelings were sincere and I was honest, but now I can say I was probably wrong and just let myself fall for something that looked reassuring, comforting and sweet, but wasn't nor what I wanted nor what I needed in the longterm. I don't regret it, I just regret hurting someone badly.  

February ... didn't leave a remarkable impression on me. My sister and I made ourselves chocolate on Valentine's day, and I started talking again to an "old" friend around that time of the year, which made me pretty happy. I also got my blue wig, detail to some, awesome piece of news to me!

I think this was in February that I decided to be a bit more serious about japanese studies, even if I were to not study it at uni anymore. A pretty good decision. March resembled February like a twin, or almost. I played a lot with my blue wig, did a few videos in japanese, and cooked a lot of vegetarian meals, including delicious vegetarian lasagna. Two of my friends also payed me a really quick yet nice visit, which felt really good. 

I remember April a lot more. I've always loved Aprils. One of my sister's friend visited us a for a few days, we had good food and I ate a raw diet for a week. I loved April. The weather was amazing, we had such beautiful days, I started drawing again and started planning my summertrip, especially Moscow. I also got in touch with a really nice and interesting guy, who eventually took me for a fool, but still. April was the start of many snapchats, messages and what I hoped would be a very good friendship. I guess things didn't turn out exactly as I hoped they would, but we're still sort of in touch anyway.

The following month was a very important month for it was the month I started running and transitionning to veganism. In brief, an healthy and pretty spiritual month. I also did quite a bit of sightseeing in Paris, went for the first time to le Louvre and discovered how good blackbeans icecream tastes. Also was talking a lot to this guy. I also took the decision to quit japanese at uni, and to join the frenchliterature major. Despite this difficult decision to take, I felt super good during this month, thanks to this change in my lifestyle. I think I ran 4kms for the first time and was super excited about it haha.

In June my sister and I went to Italy, stopped by Venice, Florence, Sienna and Cinque Terre. Ah, just writing those words I start missing the italian sun.

In June I also hosted my first couchsufers, two american girls first, two turkish boys next and then two taiwanese girls. The only thing I have to say about couchsurfing is why didn't I start before?!

I need to fly to Taiwan. 2 amazing girls are waiting for me there! and I miss them a lot.

Right there, in between June and July I had a high episode of loneliness, nostalgia and sadness, I almost felt like I didn't want to go on the trip I had planned anymore. I'm glad I didn't listen to these gllomy feelings!

July was the adventure month! Bratislava, where we had the sweetest hosts ever, Budapest, the foreverlove, Kiev(with much troubles to get there) and Moscow. Now that I think of it, May, June and July were just amazing months, filled with everything I love.. Friends, lovely people, long talks, travels, beautiful places, good food, laughters and adventures. Ever since I started travelling summers have become awesome.  

In August I hosted Josie, an awesome vegetarian, feminist, polyglot british girl and met Shannon the loveliest and wittiest person ever. I feel so blessed for all the people I got to meet this year. In August I also had to say goodbye to one of my closest friends who left for London. I was and still am very glad for her, but many things throughout the year and around this departure left me a very bitter taste. I won't lie, it didn't feel very nice. Oh and I finally ran 10kms in 1h time. Probably one of the biggest achievement of this year. 

September. Or what feels to me like another new year because of the scholar calender. September was a relief. A relief to see I could be normal, go to school and enjoy it, to see I was getting a little bit over my anxiety and survive to change. Also had one of the best time of the year, attending The Gazette's show. My father came to spend a few days with my sister and I, which resulted in sightseeing again!

I don't have much to say about October and November, they were busy months with school and work, I didn't have time to run, to see friends, to do anything really. I still found time for a quick trip to Cologne and Eltz Burg. Those months were a bit hard to deal with because I had very little time for myself, and felt a bit sad seeing my physical state getting worse, my creativity as well... But that's a student life. Also in early October, this guy I was very happy to be in touch with got himself a girlfriend and thought it was probably unecessary to keep on talking with me. 

And here I am now, in 2014 already.
2013 wasn't a very eventful year. It was more of a year of transition, readjusting to life, readapting to it and accepting and letting go of many things. I got really upset and lonely, I had a lot of resentment towards some of my friends, but finally understood that I was in charge of my life, and that I needed to do things for myself first, not in the hope that people would do them with me.

 My friends, by letting me down on two big occasions this year, made me grow up, in a painful, yet efficient way. People are people, and people will sometimes hurt you, by liying to you, leaving you or neglecting you. It shouldn't prevent you from being happy because you deserve to be happy no matter how people treat you. And you shouldn't wait for an apology or a discussion that won't come while those people are moving on. You too, move on. You deserve it.

Eventually, people show how much they value, love and respect you in words but most importantly, in actions. Sometimes people make mistakes. We all do.I used to forgive, now I just acknowledge it. I don't feel like I have this duty to forgive or be fine with what they've done to me anymore. I'm allowing myself to disagree and not forget everything I've been done wrong. Not dwelling into resentment, that's no good. Just allowing myself to say " I wasn't okay with this, I'm still not okay with this, whether you'd like to think I am or not."

I discovered a motivation, a strengh and a will that I never suspected. For the first time in many years, I felt proud of myself. And sport brought me that. I won't let go of this source of joy and accomplisment.

I start this year in peace with many things, pleasant and unpleasant ones. Focused and confident. I still have this voice inside my head that tells me how hard it's going to be, how I could fail, how bad those past years were, how worthless I am or how nobody likes me. I still have this anxiety sometimes that prevents me from going out alone, talking in public, responding to the phone or keeps me awake at night.

But the voice isn't as strong as it used to be, and a new voice has appeared. A voice that says you've been there, you've been so low and sad and alone, and you've come this far. You have amazing people rooting for you, you're lucky, you're healthy, you can do it if you put your mind into it. You can do it, you will do it. God is watching you, loving you and won't abandon you.
I am so grateful for all the amazing and beautiful and kind people I know, those I've met in 2013 and those whom are still in my life years and years after we met. More than ever I've become this being of love for all living beings, and this love is a treasure.
2014 will be the year of closure for many things, a year that, hopefully will take me towards my dream.
So far, it's been great.


Thanks to everyone who's had a little thought for me this year, and I wish you all a very very happy new year.