Livia van Heerde

FAIR FASHION & GREEN LIFESTYLE

Posts filed in LIFESTYLE

Vegan food in Ubud at the Elephant restaurant

July 27, 2017

June and July have been all about traveling. Max and I have been to Thailand, Singapore and Bali. After 2 weeks in Bali, I can say that the island is hands down, vegan heaven.

One of my highlights in Ubud:

The elephant restaurant. The beautiful restaurant in Ubud with an amazing view offers healthy dishes with lots of vegan options. Additionally, it is making an effort to be more sustainable which I absolutely love! The restaurant is trying to be as much ‘zero waste‘ as possible: plastic is avoided at all times, organic waste gets fed to the pigs, reusables gets reused. Lots of ingredients they use are local and organic. They even filter their own rainwater to conserve water. In short, a sustainable restaurant heaven.

When it comes to the food, let me tell you, it was delicious. We’ve had the rice paper rolls,  garlic bread, steamed greens, coconut noodle soup, vegan spaghetti bolognaise and the potatoes along with a coconut and the green juice. As a dessert we’ve shared the mango sticky rice and I can tell you, I’ve never been so full in my life.

The day before we’ve been to their sister restaurant in Canggu, the Green Ginger noodle house which offers similar dishes in a more causal and smaller venue. The food was incredible as well and a must when you’re in the Canggu area!

Simply look at the photos I’ve taken of the venue and the vegan food and I’m sure the elephant restaurant will be a must at your next Bali trip.

Vegan & organic restaurant & shop in Vienna at ELMIRA

July 24, 2017

If you follow me on my Instagram, you know that I’m spending the summer in Vienna (after my 1 month travels around Asia) which I’m very happy about since Vienna is a great city if you’re vegan. The city offers you lots of vegan shops and restaurants and there are always new vegan business opening up.

Therefore, I was very excited to see that there was a new organic shop & lunch place near my best friend Sarah’s place.

Elmira sells organic, fairtrade and vegan food such as nuts, lentils, rice, coconut oil, protein powder and more and offers organic, vegan and even raw dishes and drinks. The exciting part about the shop is that they have huge variety of bulk foods that you can fill up in your own containers or in the jars or bags they provide you. Plus, the bulk food, jusst like everything Elmira offers, is very affordable!

When it comes to the fresh vegan snacks and lunches they create, I’ve tried the quinoa salad, the lentil apple salad and the bagel, along with a pomegranate lemonade and a turmeric lemonade and everything was not only healthy but delicious. One of my highlights was their vegan homemade ice cream which they sell for only 2€! You can choose between a vanilla or chocolate ice cream base that is made out of rice milk. Then you can choose your ingredients: berries, coconut, fruit or a variety of nuts, whatever you like. The Elmira employee will then put the desired ingredient with the ice cream base into their ice cream machine that they’ve imported from the USA and mix your fresh ice cream. I was stunned. Sarah and I decided to go for a vanilla, berry, pistachio mixture and it tasted incredible!

There’s so much more I could tell you about this amazing place. For example that Elmira sells homemade coconut oil, nut milks  and homemade raw sweets, tries to get as much of their ingredients and products from local farmers as possible or that they also do diet and exercise consultancies. But just go to their website or Facebook page and read for yourself. The owner of the family business Elmira is a very caring and sweet woman who really tries to offer you only the best of the best.

I’m amazed by the shop and will definitely come back many times and hope you’ll give it a try too!

(almost) PLASTIC FREE BATHROOM ESSENTIALS

June 4, 2017

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SOLID DEODORANT BY Lamazuna

SHAMPOO BAR FOR NORMAL HAIR BY Lamazuna

TEA TREE OIL

MAKEUP REMOVAL PADS BY Lamazuna

Okay, so I’m not completely zero waste like Lauren Singer. But I’m aware of the fact that there is A LOT of plastic in our everyday life which cannot be recycled and ends up in the ocean. The solution to that are small changes in eg. your hair and skin care product choice that make your life more sustainable.

The company Lamazuna offers plastic free products like this deodorant that you simply apply on damp skin (€12) and this shampoo bar for normal hair (€13). This shampoo bar smells like a day at the Spa and even foams! After trying out several shampoo bars and even no-poo methods (rye flour, rice flour, baking soda, ACV) and hating every single method, I felt so happy to find this amazing shampoo bar. You seriously won’t notice the difference to a (plastic) bottled shampoo and it’s perfectly suitable for traveling!

Tea tree oil is the best natural spot treatment since it’s antiseptic and dries out the blemish overnight. Plus, it usually comes in a glass bottle.

Lamazuna’s make-up removing wipes (€11) are a good swap for your conventional disposable pads. Just put them in the little washing bag they come with and throw them in the washing machine after use.