Firstly, hi! I have moved my subscription over to SubStack. This means that you will still get your weekly update of recipes I’ve posted, but also some other cool content. If you already have the Substack app, you’ll know that it’s an amazing way to stay in touch with all your favourite bloggers or writers in one tidy place. !
I will be offering a paid subscription for some older content, written in the days before I was plant-based but still of value to people who want to remember the young quirky Freya ;) That’s in the future though!
I want to use this as a place to share tips, thoughts, advice, reviews and other stuff that doesn’t really have a home on the blog. A benefit of that is, I have this awesome platform that doesn’t rely on SEO for my posts to find a home. They’re already home :)
The homepage looks a little funky at the moment because I’m currently updating the old blog posts for public consumption. Whilst that happens, I urge you to check out my blog Sweeter than Oats for a wealth of inspiring (hopefully) recipes!
Do let me know what you think of this format, if you unsubscribe because you’re not a fan, that’s fine too, I hope that you still continue to visit the blog for all your plant-based inspo!
Whilst I’m ironing out a few of the wrinkles in working this all out, you will still get a weekly blog update from ConvertMail, but I’m hoping that I can get rid of that once this is completely setup! Also, if you have any questions on Substack, maybe you want to make the switch yourself, or just see what it’s all about, feel free to email me, as always at sweeterthanoats@outlook.com.
Anyway, on with this, the first newsletter using this format!
January was OK. There’s that hilarious meme where people refer to January as the longest year, or the month full of Mondays.
But I found it OK. Sure, my blog views and subsequent revenue tanked beyond belief, and I found myself broke by the 2nd January, but somehow it was OK.
This is my first newsletter using substack and I stumbled across it from another newsletter (and who says email is dead). And so the year begins with another idea, another positive and exciting way to share and explore the foodie world (note: although my newsletter seems far from foodie related, having just read it back).
I spent a huge chunk of January recovering from trying to detox from Sertraline (after a long period of tapering). It was a huge success followed by an even huger failure and I made the decision to start taking the pills again. So January was an emotionally stabilising month after a very rocky holiday period, and that was fine too. It reminded me that perhaps I’m not ready or I don’t have even support at this stage. Nothing is permanent, nothing is forever. All that matters is that you feel good in the here and now.
What I Cooked and Ate
I cooked a lot. I’m currently working on Easter content for the website, and a new exciting project involving chocolate bars. Having a food blog can be exhausting and sometimes weird, because you have to pretend like it’s Easter when it’s January, or pretend to feel festive in July and style tinsel like you’re Martha Stewart (tinsel is probably too recherche for Martha, tbh). But the payoff is sweet.
I spent a little while cooking from the Cranks restaurant original cookbook, a fabric lined book from the 70s, with charming illustrations. I miss the days of cookbooks being illustrated (although for sure illustrations do not adequately reflect how to make puff pastry). I made a nut-roast which was yummy. I made a cosy apple crumble. I ordered coffee from Tim Horton’s way too much.
I perfected my Cinnabon-ish vegan Cinnamon Rolls! They are amazing and easy.
Tim (not Horton) and I visited Buddha Taste in Blackheath. Amazing vegan Pho and Banh Mi restaurant. The coconut taro milk tea was unbelievable and the Banh Mi is so good.
What I wasted time thinking about.
I need to be more organised. I follow people on Instagram who have moodboards to manifest what they want for the year ahead, and I can barely manifest myself out of bed some days.
Oh, I made a first sale on Etsy where I’ve been selling some printables. I sold a moving home planner for £3.59 and somehow incurred £4.51 worth of Etsy fees. Hmmm.
The HIV and AIDs crisis of the 80s and 90s. This is always at the back of my mind, I can never dislodge it. It is many years ago but seems so fresh still. So many amazing people, artists, writers, musicians who were key to me finding my own interests, died and I wonder how different the world would be with them still in it. I spent a lot of time watching old documentaries on youtube about these huge losses, and how the world was then, with AIDS being a guaranteed death sentence. It was scary times, and I can’t imagine a time in my life where safe sex hasn’t been a thing, even though HIV can be controlled successfully with medication.
What I wasted money on.
I listened to Jill Nalder’s Tales from the Pink Palace on Audible and it was both funny and heartbreaking. I found myself sat on the train to or from Stratford on several occasions with tears streaming down my face. If you loved Channel 4's It’s a Sin, this book is unmissable.
Too much Deliveroo.
Too much coffee (I don’t regret this).
I tried the M&S Magic Coffee. It was pretty nice, I had a soya milk one, and it was like a cortado but more full-bodied, slightly sweeter. It’s about the same price as their “full-size” lattes or cappuccinos, so I don’t think it constitutes the best value for money. I think you’d be better of spending the same on a Flat White, which is very similar. But if money is no object, go ahead and enjoy the magic coffee!
Also I managed to get the 8mm plug in my left ear. My right ear remains stoically at 6mm for now. I started stretching my ears at the beginning of December and it’s been pretty straightforward and a cheap but effective body modification that you can do at home. I’m lucky that my ears are pretty elastic and that I was able to skip through the plugs pretty quickly, but I did have a little blow-out on the lefty when I pushed the 8mm too quickly. The lobe got very red, angry looking and puffed up like an irate fugu. But a couple of days rest and all was good.
Finally January drew to a close and February began with sunshine and the promise of spring on its lips.