Tag: COVID-19

Tips for dealing with loneliness (especially during lockdown)

It doesn’t matter who you are or how social you may be, but everyone on this planet experiences loneliness and I think that during this time more than ever, loneliness is a growing feeling for us all. We’re isolated and at home and as much as we have the aid of all our modern technology, it’s just not the same as interacting face to face with friends and family. You can only catch up so much via messaging and even though we’re all at home, it still seems hard to find the time for video or normal calls and that starts to have an effect on us. No matter how old you are, we all experience loneliness at different stages of our life and that’s okay. I promise you are not alone (no pun intended). I’ve struggled with this a lot over the years and particularly in the last year and a half and while I don’t have all the answers these are some of the things that have helped me get through it. I hope that they can help you too.

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Healthy, low-calorie Apple Banana Muffins! Step-by-Step Recipe

Everyone seems to be baking up a storm with all of the extra hours at home, but that increase in delicious treats everywhere means more snacking and they aren’t always the healthiest. If you are enjoying the baking but don’t want to make items that are full of sugar and calories … don’t worry because here is a step-by-step recipe for my delicious (and healthy) low-calories apple and banana muffins. Keep reading to check out the recipe 🙂

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How to crush those sugar cravings!

Hey there everyone! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during this difficult time and that any cases of cabin fever haven’t gotten too unbearable. This lockdown/quarantine period certainly isn’t easy, especially when it comes to staying healthy. Most of the foods that are non-perishable tend to be of the less-healthy variety, chips, chocolates and cookies have become the ideal snack food because fresh fruits are not as easy to buy and we’re stuck at home so don’t have as much natural exercise or variety of food to consume. So, given all of this, I’m sure everyone is struggling to keep up healthy diets or lifestyles. One thing that is particularly challenging is dealing with sugar cravings … We all know that when those strong cravings hit, it almost impossible to not cave in to temptation. How on earth, given the situation, can we stay healthy when it seems that our very lifestyles at the moment allow us to give in to desires for junk food and sugar cravings? Well, I know that it can be extremely challenging to let go of sugar (trust me, I’ve been there and it’s not exactly a party), especially when the situation isn’t ideal, so today I thought I’d share some tips to help with that. The global quarantine doesn’t exactly make it any easier, but if you are determined to drop the amount of sugar you consume and don’t want to be overcome by cravings, then try out these tips to help you crush those sugar cravings!

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My three books of the month – 5 reasons why you should read these books!

One of the huge benefits of being on a lockdown (I know that sounds weird but one can’t deny that in spite of all the stress and negativity and health concerns, there are a few positives that can emerge) is that I’ve had way more time to read. For as long as I can remember, reading has been my favourite hobby. I used to stay up past my bedtime and read by torchlight under my duvet, thinking how sneaky I was and that my parents would never know. Of course, they always knew but the reason they never stopped me is because they’ve always loved how much we all read and have encouraged us to read as much as we want for years. However, the end of high school meant that I didn’t have nearly as much leisure time and so my favourite hobby sort of fell into the cracks of my life. You might think that I could have revived it last year during all my travels and short courses, and I would have made the same assumption, except I was actually incredibly busy so while I may have been able to read a little more than in high school, it still wasn’t a lot. This lockdown has meant that I can finally start enjoying all those books I’ve been wanting to read and haven’t had the time for. So, as you can imagine, I’ve been reading quite a bit and have easily read a dozen books this month. It’s been amazing! Now I mostly read YA and contemporary romantic fiction, because who doesn’t love some romance and a happily ever after, but occasionally I branch out and try something a little more heavy. So, because Thursday was World Book Day (I would have posted this on Wednesday but Wednesday was Earth day and I really wanted to write something that honoured our incredible planet – P.S. check out that post here: ) I thought I’d share my favourite books of the month and five reasons why you should definitely give them a read. There is one YA Romcom (because it’s my favourite genre and everyone could do with something light and sweet these days), a fantastic romantic fiction that is laugh-out-loud, and a more intense YA contemporary fiction novel for those who aren’t as into candyfloss stories as me. This is my first attempt at a blogging book review so hopefully it isn’t too awful and I will do my best to not give any spoilers 😊 Right … Let’s talk about books!

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IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! Now what?!

Everyone and every country are responding quite differently to the Coronavirus. In South Africa, things have become quite serious as COVID-19 has been declared as a national disaster. Scary right? This means travel bans to high risk countries, all learning institutions have been closed and gatherings with more than a hundred people are an absolute no. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it will actually reduce the infection and spread rate because it is minimising access to high risk areas and forcing social distancing. However, this hasn’t boded well for grocery shopping, or parents who now have children without a place to go during the day. I went to buy some ingredients for dinner on Monday and was shocked to see that there was no protein in the store. Absolutely none! Most of the non-perishables had been cleaned off the shelves and I couldn’t find even the shadow of a roll of toilet paper. These are crazy times for us to be living in, especially when we, the public, have got so little control over the situation. So, here are a few suggestions that can hopefully help all of us get through this pandemic – together.

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