Recipe for Success?  It's a piece of cake!

I wrote this as a LinkedIn update a little while ago.

As a long time vegetarian, I am frequently asked to describe meals, what food to buy, how to cook it and, yes, the very common, where do vegetarians get their protein.

Last year, I wrote a couple of articles, one for the Vegetarian Society of Ireland website, about shopping to stock your cupboards as a new vegetarian. Last week, some radio interviews ended up covering a lot of the same information. It occurred to me that stocking your cupboards with the right foods is a metaphorical recipe for success whatever your project or undertaking.

The recipe for success in any area starts with 'stocking your cupboards', and having the right 'ingredients' so, when you're starting a new project;

1)do the research and

2)acquire the knowledge so that you

3)know the 'ingredients' you need and

4)have the right tools at your disposal

5)have you checked your process/recipe?

6)don't be afraid to ask for help!

7)keep your ingredients and tools in order

8)replace if you run out and have a 'shopping list'

9)don't be afraid to try new things

10)if it doesn't work first time, look, learn, try again.

Sometimes a recipe just needs a little tweak, the first result may not be perfect but it is a result and you now have the knowledge, the tool and newly acquired experience.

Last but not least.  Don't forget to enjoy the cake!

No smoke without a zippo lighter and a packet of Camel

No smoke without...

A zippo lighter and a pack of Camels.

What to do when you catch your teen smoking?

I started smoking at age 15. I started smoking because my boyfriend smoked and I couldn't stand the smell. I started smoking because I thought he'd stop smoking for me. However, teenage love isn't as strong a pull as that sweet pull of nicotine addiction!

Years later after many battles with the weed, I don't smoke. Nor do my parents, nor anyone else in the family (as far as I know!) except now for my teenage son.

I had thought for a while that he was smoking and my allegations had been laughed off and denied, but a couple of weeks ago I discovered the unequivocal and heartbreaking evidence that took the form of a zippo lighter, some rizla filters, tobacco and a pack of B&H. 

So what to do? How do you handle it? I took the 'softly softly' approach and said that if he is smoking, he must not smoke in the house and must dispose of dog ends in an assigned bin. We had a a chat about COPD, lung cancer and heart attacks. I also decreased his allowance so he will have to make choices between treats and cigarettes. His dad took a harder approach and confiscated the cigarettes, lighter and has said he will give him no money until he has stopped smoking.  We both offered him help with nicotine replacements.

Would have been nice to be singing off the same hymn sheet but I guess that's partly why we split up all those years ago. We do try at smooth co-parenting but it very rarely seems to work out, despite our good intentions.

Anyway, neither approach worked. Neither approach worked because he is hooked on tobacco. The only difference is, it was Camel he was smoking last night instead of B&H. I remember, when I was a teenager 20 odd years ago, smoking Camel or Marlboro rather than JP BLue or B&H was a step in the direction of cool. Smoking brand awareness can only be a bad thing in terms of his psychological and physiological addiction. Smoking has become part of his image.

I get why he's started. It is totally a social thing for him. He was never sporty and didn't fit in. Bit of an outsider like him mum! I get it.  And now he fits in with the other smokers, they have their own brand of smokin' cool and he has made friends with them. He's not going to give up because I explain the health risks nor because his dad tells him to nor because his allowance is cut nor if he sees how heartbroken his parents and grandparents are.

He's all tooled up for smoking. Cool lighter, cool cigarettes, cool friends and now even has a cool and throaty smoker's cough to boot.

I don't think there's any way of making him stop, he's got to do it himself. He has to realise that cigarettes aren't his friends - despite the voice in his head telling him that they are  and nor are the fellow smokers if they don't remain friends post tobacco, he has to realise that cigarettes are a waste of money, he has to decide to quit.

Vegetable Soup for a cold Spring Day

Spring is in the air and the daffodils are blooming but it's still cold!
Today, it's Saturday and it is also Pi day 3.14.15, I should have made a perfectly round pie to celebrate  but instead we started off the day with pancakes, chocolate and bananas #veganstyle and then had a warming vegetable soup for lunch. Usually I make scones on Saturdays, today I went to visit my friend Tracy as it is her birthday so we had had delicious seeded rolls from Lidl instead.
Pancake recipe, I will post another day as I never measure the ingredients, it's easy though and just made of flour, a little sugar, a little salt, milled linseeds and plant milk. Always turns out perfect.
Anyway, back to the soup recipe

Warming vegetable Soup

A butternut squash, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
A vegetable stock cube
A bunch of fresh parsley if you have it.

I have decided not to sweat my veggies first when I make soup, so it really is as simple as throwing everything except the parsley into a large pot with enough hot water to cover. Bring to the boil and then simmer until tender, 20 mins roughly. Then add the parsley . Remove from the heat and smooth with a handblender.
I used pre prepared butternut squash today, which made the whole thing so much easier. This made four large portions ad was deliciously sweet and tasty.

Easy as Pi ;)

Vegan Cook-Off #2 * Dublin * Friday 13th

Vegan Cook-off Competition Friday 13th February

Friday the 13th will be lucky for one person at the Vegetarian Society of Ireland’s cook-off competition! The second vegan cooking contest will fundraise for Focus Ireland and is being held in St. Andrew’s Resource Centre on Pearse St.

For €9, members of the public can sample both sweet and savoury vegan dishes and vote for their favourites to win. Food lovers have a chance to cook up a storm; you don’t need to be vegan to enter but all dishes must use vegan ingredients. Anyone interested in taking part can register atwww.vegetarian.ie.

VSI spokesperson, Louisa Moss said “The original cook off held four years ago was a great success and I’m excited this year that all proceeds will go to Focus Ireland to support them with the wonderful work they do for the homeless and those at risk in Ireland.”

Come along and discover the delights of vegan food!

For further information you can email vegantasticcookingcontest@gmail.com.

vegantasticcookingcontest@blogspot.com

The Vegetarian Society of Ireland would like to thank the Hopsack for part-sponsoring this event.

Ten Minutes to Kindness

Ten minutes to kindness sounds so easy and it so easy to say 'be kind', but, quite often, so hard to be it. People can be difficult, minds and voices clash, we are hurt and then we lash out, causing more hurt and more retaliation in a never-ending cycle of anger.

None of us are perfect, but we are all perfectly human, perfect earthlings, perfectly imperfect, we are what makes our world turn around.

I stumbled upon what follows earlier this year and it became my New Year's Resolution. Whilst it is not always easy, a month in it is becoming easier and I am a happier and less stressed person for it. This has impacted on every being and every situation I have encountered. Don't get me wrong, I still mess up - all the time - but kindness is winning.

Dalai Lama's Millennium Practice

1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and to be loved) and we are all connected to one another.

2. Spend 5 minutes -- breathing in -- cherishing yourself; and, breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing,extend your cherishing to them anyway.

3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc.), as well as the "important" people in your life; cherish the people you love and the people you dislike.

4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you. These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.

Ten minutes to kindness, ten minutes to less stress, ten minutes to a gentler heart.

May Monday be kind to you!

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, 

Friend Request, Connect Requests and Followers.  

What's the etiquette for responding (or not!)?

Hello!  My name's Louisa and I am an addict, I just can't get enough, a social media whore, I find the beep of notifications for all the platforms an irresistible draw.   I have made some great online friends and contacts and I reckon I know the systems well.  So here's a little piece about how to handle contact requests and privacy settings.

It has taken me a long time to get here, lots of rejections and unfriendings but honestly that's not how to work social media.

I used to refuse connect requests from people I didn't know, and unfriend people if we hadn't been in touch for a while, but that really only serves to create bad feeling and quite frankly, it is bad mannered.  

So, when should you refuse a friend request on Facebook? 

Never!

When should you refuse a connect request on LinkedIn? 

Never!

Why, I hear you ask!  LinkedIn tells me after all that I should only accept contact from people I actually know.  Facebook is all about protecting your privacy.

Okay here's why!  On Facebook you have a lot of control over what you share but you need to understand how grouping system works.  If someone sends you a friend request and you're not keen to be any closer, unless they're a stalker (in which case you should block them and report them) accept their request, and put them straight into a group called 'restricted'.  Restricted is automatic group which means they will only see anything you post for public viewing.  So they don't get to see your stuff, nor do they get annoyed or upset about being rejected!

LinkedIn - why would anyone ever refuse a connect request on LinkedIn - you basically have to pay LinkedIn a subscription to get your profile boosted - more contacts is more free viewings, more networking opportunities.  Keep connecting!  Just don't post sensitive personal or company information or anything that might elicit responses that enable your competitors to steal your clients or business!

An example of this would be, as I have recently seen, one of my competitors posting jobs that got responses from potential candidates.  I was then able to pick off and connect with the candidates myself!

But, if you have a contact on LinkedIn who posts inappropriate remarks on your posts, I would block them and the same for Facebook.  

It is so hard to gain followers on Twitter, because it is not an automatic like for like, people can follow you without you following them and you can follow them without them following you!  

Spread the love, connect, connect, and follow!  It's nice to be nice!  All publicity is good publicity after all!

How to choose a nursing home for a loved one

Just recently my job with http://www.yourworldhealthcare.com/ has involved, among other things, working on staffing solutions for nursing homes in Ireland.  I must admit, I haven't had much contact with with Care of the Elderly in Ireland before now; my parents are still young, my grandma lives nearby, still lives alone and manages well.  My teenage son tells me regularly that I had better be nice to him or I will end up in the worst nursing home he can find - and that is the extent of my contact with nursing homes until last the couple of months. It got me thinking, if I am ever in the position to need to find care for a loved one, how would I go about finding the right place, what would be my priorities in ensuring the optimum health and happiness for them? 

So based on my recent experience, here are my top ten pointers for consideration.

1, 2 &3) Location Location Location - The Nursing Home has got to be easy for you and other family members to travel to - this has got to be the number one priority.  Much nicer to be able to drop in for frequent short visits than to have to plan a possibly stressful infrequent day out.    If the Home is near you, it is easier to keep an eye on things too!  Make a shortlist of accessible homes and visit them all at least once.

4)When you visit - look at the facilities, take in the room sizes, are they en-suite?  Single?  Double?  Is there room for personal belongings?  What is the communal space like?  Is it clean and comfortable? Are there phones in each room?  Is there wifi?

5)What is the medication procedure and what are the access arrangements to healthcare/doctors/hospitals?  Do residents still see their own doctors?  What is the preventative care procedure e.g  Are flu vaccinations given as standard?

6)What is the staffing situation?  Talk to the nurses and health care assistants who are working during your visit.  Do they look happy in their work?  Are staff in permanent or agency roles?  Is there a high staff turnover or are residents able to build relationships with their carers?

7)Talk to residents.  Are they well dressed and looking cared for?  Is there any community spirit?  Are there any organised activities?  What is the daily routine?

8) What is the food like?  Does the home cater for special diets? (I have a particular interest in this being from a family of vegetarians - incidentally, there is a UK Charity that specialises in promoting vegetarian diets in Nursing Homes in the UK and Ireland www.vegetarianforlife.org.uk I have been in contact with this excellent charity in my capacity as PRO with the Vegetarian Society of Ireland www.vegetarian.ie)  Or if your loved one is coeliac, will their diet be properly catered for?

9)Is the Nursing Home Secure?  Do residents have a safe storage place for precious items?  Is the home alarmed?  Are individual rooms alarmed?  Are all staff properly Garda Vetted?

10)Lastly, look at the price.  What is covered in the cost you have been quoted, should you expect further charges.  Are there extra charges for laundry for example?

Choosing a home is never going to be a nice decision but we all want to do the best we can (unless you're my teenage son!) I hope my top ten list helps if you have to make a decision in the near future.