Victoria Chahrour

I completely forgot about doing this, I think its hard to keep on track when making a difference requires going out to make a difference. I know that my carbon foot print is reduced by a lot and so is my family's because we have the luxury to stay home. We have been wasting less food, and we have been paying attention to what we put into our bodies and into the atmosphere. We spend lots of time outside, bringing the dog for a walk or just playing with our dog and other dogs at the park. It has been harder on my journey to transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle. Ive been way too busy to feel inspired, we're also eating what we have in the freezers from what we stocked up on at the beginning of the pandemic (which consists of red meats and chicken) and we don't want to let it go to waste. I've been learning about sustainable living through social medias such as TikTok. I want to try finishing all of my beauty related/ lifestyle products in order to start fresh and investing in a sustainable lifestyle. For example, using a menstrual cup or disc instead of sanitary pads and tampons, or buying things in bulk and using my own reusable glass containers (like mason jars). Or investing in a 0 plastic razor (I think they're made of stainless steel or another hard material I don't really remember). Or getting a package of detergent pods that are reusable, recyclable and compostable the company is called Dropps. There are so many ways to live sustainably that we don't even know yet!

I went to the nearest bus stop which is around a 15 min walk to see if there was anything i can do to clean it up. there wasn't that much trash on the floor but i did my best to clean what I could while being safe. There weren't any trash cans near so I had to walk to the next stop which is another 10 minute walk to throw it out. i made sure i kept the recycling and cans so that i could dispose them in my recycling bin and dispose the cans at a non-profit organization called Au Jardin de la Famille in Fabreville where they collect the cans and any donations goes to funding their centre where "AJFF is an organization offering literacy and socio-professional integration services to a vulnerable clientele, mainly people living with intellectual, physical and / or psychological limitations". I really recommend checking them out and supporting them! all of my donations (clothes, shoes, household items, and so much more) goes to their organization 
here is the link to read more: https://www.jardindelafamille.org/

As it gets colder and , the harder it is to take the time to go out for daily walks so honestly I've been taking fewer walks. the objective is to try my best and thats what I've been doing. I'm not perfect and where I live plays an important role on my lifestyle. Just to get some milk or anything from the grocery store is at least a 5 min drive. So walking may not be the best option for my neighbourhood. The majority of the time that i spend outside is so that my dog can play with other dogs( socially distanced from the owners of course).  Eating less meat has also been a bit more difficult because i don't really feel like cooking for myself sometimes (that's my only issue), but i try to at least have 1-2 a day that are vegetarian. Or i try to encourage my mom (who does all of the cooking) to make meals that are vegetarian. 

The most difficult challenge i've had to do was eat cleaner(and be vegetarian) as i don't do the cooking in my house hold. i tried logging everything I eat in a week and keeping at least 3 days where i would eat 100% vegetarian. I understand that dairy and fish are a big issue with climate change, however i used what i had

Monday(oct 5th):
-avocado toast with balsamic and everything but the bagel seasoning, and tea with oat milk
- broccoli pasta( fresh garlic and broccoli sautéed in olive oil with romano cheese)
- Mujaddara( which are cooked lentils with sautéed onions)
Wednesday(oct 7th):
- Bagel with cream cheese, tea with oat milk 
- salad with tomato, cucumber, bell peppers and red onion with balsamic dressing 

- left over mujaddara
Friday(oct 9th):
- avocado toast with balsamic and everything but the bagel seasoning, and tea with oat milk
- salad with tomato, cucumber, bell peppers and red onion with balsamic dressing
- vegetarian sushi 

Update: 
honestly, eating vegetarian isn't hard at all, it coming up with ideas on what to make. We like to eat meat in my family but i just don't know what to make which could be vegetarian and sometimes its just easier to eat chicken just because its on hand. it also harder to plan meals but itll get easier with time 

I've been trying to eat more "vegetarian" meals and honestly it's been harder, but it's getting easier day by day. It's hard to find recipes that are actually good and easy to make. Since I am not the one that does the cooking in my household it's been harder to eat less meat during supper time. So I try my best to eat "vegetarian" breakfasts and lunches. I prefer eating "vegetarian" over being vegan just because I like diary products. If i were to ever decide to make the full lifestyle choice of being "vegetarian", I think that I would still eat chicken and fish and just cut out red meats completely(its still hard since red meat is so easily accessible and easy to whip up). I just bought some Beyond Meat burgers and I'm excited to try them!!