Hello and welcome to my blog!

My name is Anesu. I’m a medical doctor, entrepreneur, yoga teacher, plant lady, novice zero-waster, easy going vegan and traveller. My blog will deal with all of these topics as well as some of my other musings.

It is my hope that by sharing my experiences, you may realise that while we are all different, we are actually all connected and one in the same.

I hope you enjoy reading my (at times self-indulgent ) stories.


Happy reading!

The light within me recognises and acknowledges the light within you.


Namaste

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  • Zero-waste Out and About

    Hello and welcome back to my blog!

    This year has been interesting to say the least, and as we begin to slowly re-adjust to going back to work and being out and about, I thought I would dedicate this blog post towards showing you what to carry along with you to ensure that your social activities don’t wrack up your plastic consumption and waste.

    2020 has been all about me kick starting my zero waste journey (you can read about how it all began here), and as I’ve adjusted to reducing my waste, I’ve come to realize that living zero-waste isn’t just about buying eco-friendly products, its about changing and adapting your entire lifestyle. This may sound like a chore, but its actually the opposite. Living zero-waste has led to me being more intentional about my actions and my behaviors as a consumer, and I’ve actually found that its been a wonderful way of linking the intentionality of mindfulness that I’ve developed in my yoga and meditation practice to all of my actions in every day life.

    When we begin to talk about moving around and away from home and being zero-waste, the most important thing is to take everything that you could possibly need with you. This does NOT mean carrying a huge bag of zero-waste goodies around with you though, instead its about finding products that are light weight, space efficient and multi-functional that can easily fit into your handbag or car cubby-hole.

    BEVERAGES

    The first thing that I invested in for being out and about was my water bottle. Drinking more water was one of my resolutions for 2020, and because I aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day, I found that it was usually when I was away from the house that I fell off the band wagon.

    Enter my super beautiful gem infused water bottle from Vitajuwel! I’m a sucker for beautiful things and have learnt that if I want to maintain a habit, I need to trick my mind into believing that my new habit is a treat. My VIA bottle from Vitajuwel does just that!

    Vitality Vitajuwel Bottle

    Vitajuwel have a range of different glass water bottles which contain gem pods that hold different mixtures of crystals. The idea is that the crystals charge the water in the bottle with different energies, meaning that you essentially get an internal energy charge whenever you take a sip of water which is magical to me.

    I decided to choose their Vitality Blend of crystals which is a mixture of Emerald and Clear Quarts. Emerald is my birth stone and is said to assist with opening up and clearing the heart chakra and maintaining vitality, and so every-time I take a sip from my bottle I get a visual treat from the beautiful striking colours of the stones, as well as a soothing flow of grounding and revitalizing energy from the water.

    The Vitajuwel bottles are made of glass, stainless steel and silicone meaning that you don’t have to worry about BPA and micro-plastics entering your water over time, plus glass is fully bio-degradable, making these bottles kind to the body, kind to the soul and kind to the planet all at once.

    You can check out all the different products that Vitajuwel offer here. I absolutely adore my bottle and genuinely feel like its made my 2 litres of water habit feel like a daily Reiki and healing session. I love it, and even if chakras, crystals and energy aren’t your thing, these bottles are spill proof, beautiful and long lasting, making them a great investment regardless.

    Emerald and Clear Quartz in my Vitality Vitajuwel Bottle

    Apart from my water drinking, I also find that I tend to order a lot of other different beverages on the go. Whether its a smoothie, juice or a red cappuccino, I love sipping on something yummy while I go about running errands or doing admin, and receiving these treats in plastic cups and containers was becoming a real issue for me on my zero-waste journey. Solution: buy your own zero-waste alternative to these single use options and carry them around with you.

    Since going zero-waste I’ve established that I need a maximum of 3 other beverage containers other than my water bottle:

    a cup for takeaway coffee or tea

    a container for smoothie or juice take-aways

    a thermos or flask for tea or hot chocolate from home that I want to take with me

    Now this might sound like a lot of containers to buy, but actually investing in one good, long-lasting and zero-waste version of each will save you loads of cash in the long run while also saving the planet. Here are my top choices:

    1. The Take-away coffee mug:

    I got my mug from Strong by T-shirt Bed Co, but you can find these almost anywhere now including at The Nest Space. The most important thing is to make sure that your cup has a lid and is BPA free. These cups come in the same standard sizes as the plastic/single use ones, and all you need to do is give the cup over when you order your tea or coffee and the barrister will simply make your coffee in your cup. Winning!

    Eco-cup from Strong by Tshirt Bedco

    2. Smoothie or Juice containers:

    Generally the best way to go with this is to have a clear glass or BPA-free plastic container with a lid that you can sip your smoothie or juice out of, or alternatively a container that can fit your zero-waste straw.

    These can also be bought all over the show, just make sure that its BPA free, spill proof and with a big enough opening for thicker smoothies to be drunk out off. For this I generally just use the smoothie cup that came with my Philips Pro-mix Blender – its nice and light-weight with a great lid and measuring lines, and I love the convenience of being able to make and takeaway my smoothie in the same container.

    Philips Promix Smoothie Cup

    3. A thermos or flask

    Last but not least, I find it super handy to have a container that maintains the heat of the beverages I put into it. I’m a tea addict and so in the colder months, its really useful to have a spill free container that keeps my tea hot.

    I use my Natural Life Steel thermos bottle for this purpose. Natural Life have a variety of bottles which are all made from high quality 304 stainless steel. They are double-walled and vacuum sealed to keep liquids cold for over 6 hours or hot for over 4 hours! I absolutely love my mint colored bottle and am always amazed when I go for a sip of tea hours after making it and find it still steaming and piping hot. These bottles are multi-functional for hot and cold beverages, making them a great buy!

    Steel bottle from Natural Life

    TAKEAWAYS

    The next challenge when it comes to out and about zero-waste living is the issue of meal takeaways! I’m a bigger eater but every now and then I do take away what I can’t finish. Most restaurants now-days have moved to providing take-aways in cardboard containers which is a huge plus. This alleviates the need of needing to carry around your own bulky container, but most of them still give you plastic single use cutlery to go along with it and I don’t really see this changing anytime soon. Along with this comes the usual plastic straw issue for takeaway drinks.

    To resolve this issue, I’ve got a super cute bamboo cutlery set from Natural Life. The cutlery comes in a little bag making it space efficient and easy to slot into my bag and it also fits my metallic and bamboo straws and straw cleaning brush inside meaning that I have everything I need for zero-waste takeaways in one, small place. Perfecto!

    I bought my metallic and bamboo straws from The Nest Space and absolutely love them, you can find our selection of straws here.

    Bamboo cutlery from Natural Life

    SHOPPING BAGS

    Last but definitely not least, the final thing to consider when going out and trying to be zero-waste are your shopping bags. Make sure to find tote bags or shopping bags that can be easily folded and stored in your car or handbag so you don’t forget them.

    For this purpose, I use my mesh bag from Kare Bags. Due to the fact that it’s mesh, it’s light and takes up very little room when folded while still being able to expand to hold loads of stuff when full. Kare Bags have a variety of bags like this available and I find that having 3 or so bags for shopping available anytime alleviates the need to use any plastic bags when shopping.

    Mesh Kare Bags

    Well there you have it folks. Everything you need to go out into the world once again. As with most zero-waste items, these products are an investment but once you have them they are long lasting, beautiful and super functional meaning that save you loads of cash in the long run and protect our magnificent planet.

    I’ve found that going zero-waste can be overwhelming if you try to do it all at once, but if you take it step by step like I have this year, and follow the advice in my blogs, you will find that its a super fun and rewarding habit change to make. Start off with zero-wasting one area of your life before moving onto the other, and you’ll be living your best zero-waste life in no time. Remember, if I can do it….so can you!

    CREDITS

    Vitajuwel | gem infused water products

    The Nest Space | zero waste out and about supplies

    Natural Life | steel water bottles, bamboo cutlery, bamboo straws

    Strong by T-shirt Bed Co | eco coffee mug

    Kare Bags | zero waste shopping bags