Loving Your Life With Depression

I remember when I first got diagnosed with depression a few years ago and how unaccepting I was of seeing myself as someone who was depressed. As I saw things my life was everything I wanted it to be. I was, and still am, happily married. I had just moved into a new house in a new area and I was so excited for our life together there. I had a solid career and loved my job and the people I worked with. On paper there was literally no reason for me to feel unhappy or suffer with depression. 

The Vegan Kind - #TVK46

It's that time of the month again when I am sharing with you all a look inside the latest Vegan Kind subscription box! This months box turned up at exactly the right time and just as our cupboards were starting to look a bit bare. I think with moving house and everything else that has been going on over the past few weeks, it actually felt like a really long time since the last box which I reviewed on my You Tube channel. I was definitely feeling ready for more vegan treats! 

Inside the #TVK46 Box

So without further ado, lets take a look at what goodies were inside this months box!

Sweet Freedom Choc Pot (£3.85)

If you're vegan and yet to try a product by Sweet Freedom then you've seriously been missing out! The choc pot is a totally new and versatile product which you can use on anything and everything from your toast, to pancakes, on top of rice cakes or even as a cake topper. The choices really are endless! The other good news is that it's 100% natural, palm oil free and it contains 75% less fat than the leading chocolate spread. 

Almighty Foods Strawberry Blonde Raw Chocolate (£2.89)

I have to admit that when I first saw this bar I had no idea that it is in fact a yummy bar of chocolate. It was only on opening the packet I realised the amazingness that lay within! This chocolate, which is made up from cacao, cashews and tiger nut, is so incredibly soft and creamy. The strawberry dust topping is quite bitter but together the flavours work so well. This was the first product to get demolished from this box and it's definitely my favourite stand out product of TVK46. 

Emily Crisps Crunchy Sweet Potato, Beetroot & Carrot (£1.50)

Vegetable crisps are currently my favourite snack and i've been pretty addicted to the Co-Op own brand ones over the past few weeks. I'd never tried these ones by Emily before so I was looking forward to seeing how they compared to my current favourites. I love that they contain sweet potato, carrot and beetroot as I absolutely love all of these vegetables. On first taste I noticed that they definitely taste like a much healthier version than my usual favourites and much less salty. They're very natural tasting and I was surprised by how much I liked them. Their packaging is also beautiful! 

Native Unearthed Activated Charcoal Deodorant Balm (£3.99)

Since becoming vegan I feel as though I have tried a lot of different kinds of deodorants and more natural equivalents to my usual every day Superdrug spray one. However, and not through a lack of trying, I have never been able to find one that really agrees with me and does an effective job of keeping my pits feeling fresh all day. The fact that this one is a balm consistency appeals to me quite a lot and the lavender oil within this one makes it smell really lovely. As always I am willing to try new things so i'm looking forward to giving this one a go over the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted with how I get on! 

Candy Kittens Sweet Peach Pop Bag (£1.00)

I was so happy to see Candy Kittens included in this box and especially as the Sweet Peach flavour is one I hadn't tried before. I was also really excited to see these sweets in a smaller bag. There's no denying that I love the big bags but there's definitely something quite appealing about this smaller sized variety. From reading the TVK newsletter I also discovered that Candy Kittens are finally working towards making their entire range of sweets vegan friendly - HOORAH! This is such amazing news! 

PHD Superfood Mango & Banana Protein Smoothie (£2.49)

Another completely new product to me, I was really excited to try this handy pouch of smoothie. I am always on the look out for quick, easy and protein high vegan snacks so this seemed to tick all the boxes. Maybe it was a mistake squeezing it out into a glass because the texture and consistency of this smoothie ended up turning my stomach a bit. I'm not entirely sure why but I found it very thick and goopy. Sadly for me it didn't get any better once I tasted it too. The flavour is quite overpowering and wasn't to my liking at all. As with many protein smoothies, I also found it to have quite a grainy / chalky consistency. I guess you can't win them all! But on a positive note it's really good to see a protein company introducing new vegan products to their line.

We Are Tea Super Berry Infusion Whole Leaf Tea Bag (Full size £2.99)

I'm always happy to see tea bags included in any of the boxes I receive as I am an avid tea drinker and lover. This super berry tea bag was stunning to look at, so incredibly pretty! I almost didn't want to use it! I am not usually very daring when it comes to flavoured teas with green and lemon being as far as I usually take things. I have to say that I was really pleasantly surprised by this one as it wasn't too fragrant tasting or too sweet. It reminded me of a drink similar to hot Ribena which I love! Even my husband agreed that this was a really enjoyable hot drink which I was surprised to hear as he only ever drinks every day tea. Also, for such a high quality tea bag I am impressed that they're only £2.99 for a box of 15 whole leaf tea bags. 

Newsletter & Recipe Card 

As with every TVK box I also received a newsletter which includes discount codes for featured products and information on the featured charity of the month - Food Fight UK - who will receive 10p from every box sold. I wasn't even aware of this charity who provide free vegan food for the hungry people of Glasgow. From what i've seen on their Facebook page it looks like they're providing an amazing service and I feel so happy that they will be benefitting from sales of this box. 

Also enclosed in the box was a recipe card for a yummy looking vegan chocolate orange cheesecake by @GingerVegan which includes the Sweet Freedom Choc Pot in its ingredients. I'm hoping to find some time this month to give this recipe a go! 

This was another fantastic and varied box by The Vegan Kind who somehow always manage to surprise me with new treats to try. I think you'll also agree that the contents of the box are well worth the £10.00 price tag. Also, don't forget to check out TVK's supermarket which is stocking more and more of those hard to find vegan items. Did you know that you can also order fresh vegan donuts and macarons on their website too!? I can personally vouch for them all being incredible! Check out my donut taste test video here! 

What was your favourite item in this months box? Comment below and let me know! 

* This review was completed in Collaboration with TVK. All views and opinions expressed are completely my own. 

New Beginnings

Life lately has been pretty crazy and busy to say the least. If you follow me on social media or subscribe to my You Tube channel you will already know that we finally moved house! Hooray! It's something we have been wanting to do and have been planning for well over a year so to finally be here feels quite amazing and surreal all at the same time. 

When people say that moving is stressful you may not understand why or you may just think the process of packing everything up and then unpacking is what grates the most. And yes there's no doubting that those are tasks that can be extremely tiring, but from my perspective the most stressful aspect of moving is always the not knowing. With every house move we have ever done it's the constant feeling of being in limbo that ends up wearing you down the most. The not knowing for sure what date you'll actually be moving but trying to plan everything else in your life around that. We had a rough idea of a completion date for a two week period but we didn't really know when we was definitely moving in until the afternoon of the day we actually ended up moving. 

It really did feel great to finally get the keys from the estate agents and get into our new home. It was the moment we had been waiting for. But, again, we couldn't really settle in a great deal because we'd arranged to have work completed on the property almost as soon as we moved in. We basically had to move in with the bare minimum, live out of a suitcase and go without all of our creature comforts for two weeks. I think the excitement of everything got us through that period and it was so nice to see our new flooring being laid and the walls painted white. But it was also pretty stressful having work men in our house every day, including weekends, and going through all of this with all of the pets in tow too. 

As i'm sitting here now typing up this blog post it feels so good to be back on my laptop and thinking about my content again. Things have finally calmed down in the house, all the work has been completed and we now have all of our belongings and furniture with us so it really does feel like home. We still need to finish off our office and dressing room but, those two rooms aside, everything else is done! And I really love it. This house feels so much brighter than our previous home and with nearly everything inside being brand new it feels super contemporary and exactly how I had been imagining to look. It also feels very minimal which is something I really wanted us to achieve. Less clutter and junk certainly does make for a more comfortable home and work space. 

Obviously with everything that has been going on over the past few weeks I do feel that I have somewhat neglected my blog and it's something I have thought about or felt guilty about on almost a daily basis. It was inevitable that would happen and in many ways I think the break has done me some good. But I am also now keener than ever to start planning and working on new content for both my blog and my You Tube channel. The time out has made me realise how much I enjoy blogging, taking photos and connecting with everyone and when I am not doing that I really miss it.

It's good to be back!