Self-care September

Veggie baos forever

Sorry for the wait, but self-care September was in the works and I've had to put a lot aside to make time to care for myself mentally, physically, and spiritually. I'm back on practicing yoga, I spend an hour meditating every morning, and I've become a vegetarian (!!!!!).

My journey to becoming more plant based has been tough - eating out with friends can always be a bit awkward when y'all are used to eating family style and all of a sudden I can't have more than half the things they're having. I even had an anxiety attack in Whole Foods - can I get any more LA? I was stressed that I was shopping at rush hour and that each moment I spent longer grocery shopping I would be stuck even longer in traffic. I was trying to be full vegan at the time, and y'all know I'm ethnic af and Whole Foods' vast array of vegan burgers and hot dogs felt like a personal jab at my attempt at being a more conscious consumer. The lack of cultural variety (alright, I know there's tofus and seitans and tempehs, but why are they all chipotle and BBQ flavored?) intensely stressed me out because the closest 99 Ranch (Chinese supermarket) is more than 10 miles (easily an hour away in LA driving time) away. Clearly Whole Foods is designed for white people, and it was hitting me hard. And of course all the vegetables were $7, and I was feeling frugal because I'm working less hours to practice more yoga - phew. I no longer enjoyed my favorite activity, so I knew there was a problem.

There was a lot of things going on, so I had to make changes in all aspects of my life. I adjusted some toxic relationships, emptied my home of all the things that weren't helping me become more positive, and I signed up for a therapist on Talkspace. It's been useful having someone removed from your situation to check in on you and your goals, to nudge you back on track, and to put your perspective in a different light. Creating clarity in your physical and mental space is so key for holistic health.

So. Back to the vegetables. I'm not vegan. The name itself carries so many heavy connotations. I'm working towards it, but I'm not going to strain myself until I get there. I'm trying to live a balanced life. I'll eat mostly vegetables, buy eggs from the farmers market, and sometimes I'll have cheese when I'm eating out. I've been feeling lighter and am happy with the progress I'm making in attuning my mind and body.

So here are some highlights of what I've eaten this past month on my plant based journey. Enjoy!