Saturday, February 28, 2015

January and February Purchases

As annouced, here comes my first "my purchases" post...

... I want to make these posts to be able to analyze my purchases better, to learn more about the way I consume, to question what I consume and to figure out if I buy too much, the right pieces and those kind of things. I also want to analyze how much money I spend on clothing and shoes (and maybe on clothes I do not even wear!?) 

So here we go... in Janury and February 2015 I bought (or got) the following new clothes:

1. A poncho and a coat from Sheinside (for free) - I got both pieces around a week ago and wore both of them once so far.



2. Two oversized sweaters from the thrift shop (1 euro each = 2 euros) - I got both sweaters around four weeks ago and did not yet wear them!



3. A dress and an embedded t-shirt from H&M on sale (the dress for 10 euros, the t-shirt for 7euros) - I got both pieces around five weeks ago, I wore the dress twice and the t-shirt not even once so far...



4. From an online order in the H&M sale shop I got two turtleneck sweaters, an embedded t-shirt, a pair of pants (which is for after pregnancy...), a light pink cardigan and an embedded skirt (total 50 euros). I got all of this around three weeks ago and I wore everything (except for the pants) at least once, the sweaters both twice and the cardigan like once or twice a week.



5. A flower blazer from PROMOD which I bought on sale in early January (10 euros) - I did not wear it yet since its more a Spring and Summer piece...



6. A super comfy maternity jeans and some maternity leggings from the online thrift-shop for pregnant woman (http://www.mamikreisel.de/) (12 euros for everything) - I got these some two weeks ago, I wore the jeans once and the leggings almost every day.



Total spending: 91euros

I forgot to take a picture of a maternity skirt and a blouse which I swapped on http://www.mamikreisel.de/ and, hence, did not pay for. I wore both pieces at least twice. 

Now, what do I think about my first purchases overview - first of all, I was afraid that I would have spend MUCH more money and I am somehow really relieved to see that I did not spend much at all (especially when looking at the amount of new clothes in my wardrobe). Then, I have to say that I did actually wear most of the things I bought at least once so far and I think this is quite good. I seem to have some problems with the embedded t-shirts but I think I will wear them more when the weather is getting better.
It was actually a lot of fun to make this post and I like to look back at my purchases. I am happy Kate inspired me to do this :) 

I wish you all a most wonderful weekend and lots of sunshine and fun! I have my cousin over for the weekend and we will be busy exploring the city and checking out all these delicious vegan places to eat (he is vegan too and there are not that many vegan places to eat where he lives). 

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Dark Blue Coat

Sunshine again!

Yeah! I took the opportunity to take some pictures of my new coat from Sheinside
It arrived right on time for the last days of Winter and the first days of Spring. I am not able to close it because of my big belly but since the weather was really good the other day, it worked really fine when I just wore it open, on top of a white blouse and together with this brown homemade scarf (not by me - unfortunatly I do not know how to knit).

You can check out the coat on Sheinside and its actually on sale right now, so in case you need a new coat for Spring I think this one is a good option! 









I also wanted to thank all of you SO MUCH for your comments on my last post! I was so happy to read that most of us share the same thoughts. Thank you for letting me know that I inspired some of you and also for all the sweet things you said! I was especially amazed by the thoughtful comment from Shybiker in which I found a lot of thruth and somehow consolation. But all of your words have been really important to me!

And by the way, I wanted to let you know that the sweet Natalia from http://lekcjewkuchni.blogspot.de/ won my giveaway with this awesome set from Love me Green. Congrats to you dear Natalia!!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

About Consumerism

This is a post I wanted to make for a long time...

... and I never really knew how to. We, bloggers, we all consume and we like to get free stuff from brands, we like to show what we wear, which lifestyle products we enjoy and what we buy. On the other hand, we are all part of this world which is facing lots of problems; horrible workings conditions for women working in the clothing industry somewhere in Bangladesh and China, lots and lots of trash in our oceans, chemicals from the industry in our ground water, etc. etc. this list could go on for pages. 


Now, how do we handle the balance between the way we consume and the way we want the world to become? 

Let me be really honest in this post. I feel bad when I buy from companies from which I know that they are not caring about working rights, the environment, and so on; but I also love to have new clothes and I have a very limited amount of money available to buy them. Every time I am about to make another order at H&M and every time I am asked by a Chinese clothing company if I want to promote their products on my blog, I am arguing with myself forever!   

In certain aspects of my life, I am satisfied with the way I consume - like I only buy organic make up and cosmetics. I also buy my food mostly organic and I try to support the local organic shops as much as I can. I also try to promote fair trade organic clothes brands, such as Hess Natur but I also consume a lot of clothes which come from companies which I actually do not truely support. And here I am somehow not satisfied with myself. However, I LOVE on the other hand every single piece in my ward robe, also those pieces coming from companies I do not truly support. Now what to do? I love to receive free clothes, I love to buy on sale cheap and good pieces from H&M or similar. But my head tells me all the time that this is something bad to do! 

I wonder - how do you handle this? Which compromises do you make? 

For myself, I try to compromise - I eat vegan, I try to buy organic food, I buy organic make up, I wear all my clothes for several years and I resell them if I do no longer like them, I buy second hand whenever I can (but you know, I also like some new trends...), I always ask for fair trade clothes for my birthday and for Christmas ... and on the other hand, I order from H&M and I allow a few brands to be promoted on my blog even though they are far from fair trade, just because I really want these free clothes. Now, am I a bad person? 


I think we all have an image of the perfect self in our mind and each of these images is so different from what all the other people out there think the perfect self is. My perfect self is one which does only consume in a way which makes this world a better place (WE VOTE WITH OUR DOLLARS! Dont forget that!). Well, you know what? We ARE NOT PERFECT. None of us is. And this is also why I think it is okay not be BE the perfect self. Still, I think it is important to have the perfect self in mind so that we can question our behaviour again and again and get a little closer every day to what we think the perfect self is. Without pressure! Without feeling bad! But still critical! 

For me, this means that I told myself that is okay that I consume "in a bad way" from time to time, because a. it reminds me that I am not perfect that it is okay not to be perfect b. it reminds me that I will give my very best in other aspects of life (buying from H&M but then buying local organic food for the rest of the month) and c. it reminds me that I should treat the things I bought in a gentle and grateful way and take care of them so that they last for a long time.    

This also means that I will continue showing clothes on my blog from "bad brands" but I will also try to include more and more "good brands" (which I already do now, but I want more more more of them :))! And there is another thing I want to do:

To analyze in a more critical way what I buy and what I really love of what I buy, I want to share overviews of my purchases (clothes only). I then want to look back at these purchases after a year and see if I really liked them as much as I thought in the beginning or not. Like that I hope to think even more critcally about my behaviour as a consumer and to overthink my purchases twice. I actually got this idea from Kate, she is doing the same thing on her blog :)

Now I am really really intersted in your opinion on all of this! Since you are bloggers too, you live in a similar world - how do you think about your behaviour as a consumer? How do you make your compromises, if any? How do you choose which brands to support and which not? What is your ideal self like? I cannot wait to read your comments!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Love me Green - Organic Cosmetics - Review and GIVEAWAY

Guys, I am so happy and excited to present Love me Green to you...

Love me Green is an independent organic cosmetics brand which stands for certified, high-quality organic cosmetics.

The brand pays particular attention to the environmental impact. They and their products are certified by ECOCERT Green life therefore they correspond to the ECOCERT bio-cosmetics standard.
All products are vegetarian, some even vegan. Even if a few animal products such as beeswax, honey, or royal jelly are used, they are all monitored and ECOCERT Green life conditions are met: "There can be neither parts of the animal, nor shall their extraction stress the animals or result in pain or death of the animal. They must be produced naturally.” This is guaranteed by ECOCERT Green life.

In addition the company entirely avoids the usage of micro plastic and thus avoid additional pollution of the seas. 
Love me Green guarantees:

  • 100% Natural cosmetics with natural plant ingredients & organic plant extracts and organic oils
  • 100% Guarantee the development and production in France
  • 100% free of isopropyl palmitate
  • 100% free of parabens
  • 100% free of silicones, paraffins & petroleum
  • no animal testing - even in foreign countries
  • ECOCERT greenlife certified and controlled
Does this sound good to you? It sounds good to me! And you know I am a critical when it comes to where I get my cosmetics from! Now, since I was pretty exited by their policy and standards, I really wanted to get to know the company and the products better - so thats what happend :)

I am such a lucky gal since I was invited to try all of these awesome products:

Organic regenereating body lotion with macadamia and honey
Organic regenerating facemask
Organic revitalising hand cream
And this awesome massage oil (a special treat for my baby belly) which is unfortunatly not available right now on the English website.



I love every single of the products! 

I use the massage oil for my baby belly (and sometimes the rest of my body) and it really makes my skin so soft and smooth. It absorbs really nicely and it smells good and I love to use it after having spend some time in the bath tub. You can even use it for your face, actually, since the ingredients (sesame seed oil, apricot kernel oil, soybean and sunflower seed oil) are all great for both body and face. However, I havent tried it on my face yet (maybe I should...)

Whereas I like to use the oil when my skin is rather dry, like after having a bath, I love the organic regenereating body lotion with macadamia and honey on a more daily basis. Its really light on the skin and easily applied. It absorbs super fast and leaves a smooth feeling on your skin. Its also supposed to have an anti-aging effect but I cannot say anything about this yet ;) 

Now to the organic revitalising hand cream... I am a hand cream addict and I have some high expectations when it comes to hand cream. So far my all time favorite hand cream is one from the organic brand Weleda (Sea buckthorn hand cream). Why? Because it absords really fast, smells nice and make my hands feel all smooth and good. Now these are my criteria to a good hand cream. I am happy to say that the hand cream by Love me Green meets my criteria :) I like the smell, its easy to apply, absorbs fast and leaves a great feeling! 

And, last but not least - the organic regenerating facemask. I love to have a good face mask once a week and even though I make them myself most of the time (as you know, since I share many of my recipes here in my blog) I enjoy the special treat of a good professional organic mask from time to time. The facemask from Love me Green felt really good on my skin. It was not irritated at all (even though I left it longer on than I was supposed to) and my skin felt smooth and soft afterwards. Its supposed to be anti-aging too but I cannot tell yet if this is true :) 


So to sum up - I really like this brand and this is why I share all of this with you :)



Love me Green GIVEAWAY

Now, I am really exited and happy to be able to make a wonderful gift to one of you, this cute set with an anti aging regenerating day & night face cream which is worth around 35€:



So we have here a regenerating anti-aging day and night cream with organic pomegranate seed oil. It supports cell renewal and helps the skin to retain moisture.The natural active ingredients support the regeneration process and improve skin elasticity. 

All you have to do for your chance to win this beautiful set (believe me, I would love to have it myself :D) is the following:

1. Make sure you follow my blog via Bloglovin and GFC
2. Make sure to leave a comment on this post AND write in the comment:

a. Your e-mail address or a link to the contact page of your blog
b. Which other product from Love me Green you would love to try - visit http://love-me-green.com/to fnd out :)

The GIVEAWAY is INTERNATIONAL and will be open until WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25!
After Wednesday February 25 this beautiful set will be send to you directly from Berlin! 

Good luck :) 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Chasing Sunlight

I am chasing the sunlight these days...





 ... I am soooo sooo ready for Spring so I thought when I wear my flower blouse it may arrive a little earlier - so far this did not happen, but who knows... :) 

I am pretty bored by my outfits these days since I am mainly wearing jeans and oversized sweaters and I somehow really feel like wearing something else! I have been looking for pregnant bloggers and found a few which inspired me. In case you know some blogs by pregnant women please please share the link with me! I am in need of styliing tips and inspiration!

Anyway, how do you like this outfit? Even though its simple, I am happy with it - mainly because of the flowers on my blouse. Flowers just make me happy these days :)

Sending you some sunlight to whereever you are :) 
Have a wonderful day!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

My pregnancy - Second Trimester

Today, I want to share with you some thoughts about the second trimester of my pregnancy...

... its so weird to think about that I am already in the third, the last, trimester! Only a few more weeks to go and we will have a little baby! But for now about the second trimester.


Most women say, and I agree, that the second trimester is the best one.

Usually, you do no longer feel sick and tired but full of energy. This is also how I felt. In the first trimester I felt sick for around 5 weeks and I was very very tired, during the second trimester however, I did not feel sick at all and I had plenty of energy (compared with the first trimester), I could go back to normal food and my weird cravings stopped, I had days where I almost forgot that I am pregnant ;) 

At the same time, my belly grew a lot and I had to get a few new clothes. Strangers began realizing that I was pregnant when they saw me, so when I went to places where I was offered a drink, they said things like "Anything to drink? I guess no coffee, am I right?" (since you are not supposed to drink coffee during pregnancy). Or, when we took the flight to Lisbon, the lady at the security check looked at my belly saying "oh, you are pregnant, I better scan you manually". These moments were really special, because I began realizing that I was now officially "part of" the pregnant women. People could see that I was pregnant and they treated me differently because of this. I really like this and it was wonderful to experience this special treatment for the first time in the second trimester. 


I also got in more and more contact with other pregnant women, especially because of my pregnancy yoga classes. I can totally recommend pregnancy yoga to everyone out there! Its a wonderful experience and you really get in contact with your body and your belly in a whole new way!  



Then, it also was during the second trimester that we got to know the gender of our baby and we bought the first few things (a few clothes) and began preparing a few things in the flat. So the baby was becoming more and more part of our life. We found a name and began talking about the little wonder in my belly with a name. It makes everything different to talk about a baby with a name than to talk about some anonymous person.


And, another beautiful thing which most women experience during the second trimester is when they begin feeling the baby in their belly. I will never ever forget the moment I felt the baby moving in my belly for the first time. And I will never forget how my husband was able to feel something from the outside for the first time. These moments are so precious and they make the second trimester even more beautiful. 

So during the second trimester the pregnancy became even more present in our lifes and I began enjoying my pregnancy much more - because I felt awesome, because I felt the baby in my belly and because I was treated differently by the society.

On the other hand, I also faced a few problems with my body. Nothing bad, but I began feeling dizzy in the morning (not every morning but sometimes) because of the lower blood pressure which almost all pregnant women have. I also began having some backpain since my belly was getting heavier. But I took these small troubles easy and they did not really restrict me from anything. The backpain even allowed me so get these wonderful massages every week, so I really do not want to complain about it ;) 

For me the second trimester was really easy and beautiful and I am beyond grateful for this! I know that not all women are as lucky as I am with their pregnancy and I feel blessed every day for the wonder in my belly and for my health and energy.  
In case you have been here, can you relate to anything of what I wrote? Or did you experience the second trimester differently? I would love to know! 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

benecos natural cosmetics

As promised in my last post I want so share with you something about this awesome natural cosmetics brand called BENECOS

I found out about benecos during the opening event of the vegan supermarket in my city. I posted about the event here. Anyway, there I saw the products from benecos for the first time and I was really exited about them. Why? Because its so unbelievable difficult to find somehow "natural" nail polish! I love nail polish but I always feel bad when I use it because its not organic, its not natural, its just not good for my nails. Now, the one from benecos is not 100% organic neither BUT at least they do not use any Formaldehyde, Toluene, Camphor, Phthalates and Colophony - and thats already something! 

So, I got these wonderful products to try: 

2 nail polishes which you can find here or here (colors are Wild Orchid and French Lavender)
1 nail polish remover which you can find here (its all organic and natural!!!)
1 Natural Quattro Eyeshadow which you can find here or here 

If you live in Germany you can also find the products from benecos in several organic online shops, like on http://www.ecco-verde.de/benecos , in some shops which sell organic cosmetics and in some organic or vegan supermarkets (such as Veganz)



In my last post (here) you could see me wearing the Wild Orchid nail polish and I have to say that I really like this color! I am also satisfied with how long it lasts. I am wearing it since five days now (three coats plus top coat) and my nails still look good. This is really important to me since I dont like to remove my polish too often (it just damages my nails). Before putting on the polish "for real", I tried the nail polish remover and I was happy and surprised how good it works. I thought it may be difficult to remove the polish, since the remover is all natural but it actually works really well. And, I somehow even feel like my nails are less damaged when using this remover, compared to the ones I usually use (but maybe thats just my imagination, I dont know). 




Now about the eyeshadow. Some of you have read my reviews about this organic brand called Lavera which I really love. I have to admit that in the past years I NEVER used other eyeshadows than the ones from Lavera! Yes, this might sound super boring to some of you, but I just find it difficult to find good organic eyeshadows which are looking good, feeling good and which have great ingredients - and I do not let anything else touch my skin! The skin around my eyes is really sensitive and up to know it was only the eyeshadows by Lavera which did not irritate my skin (and which are afforable at the same time...)

So... then this little package with the products from benecos came into the house and since that day I have been using the benecos eyeshadow every single day! I love the lightest color as a highlighter and I do not leave the house without it anymore! I also love the natural color of the other three shades and I love to mix around with them. It feels so good on my skin, it looks good, I just love to wear it! 



And there is a last thing I have to say about benecos... its actually cheaper than most organic cosmetic brands! It may actually become my new favorite brand for organic make up. For now, I am really in love with the eyeshadow and the nail polish and I really want to try their mascara! I am still looking for a good organic mascara and find it hard to find. Maybe I will be lucky with the ones by benecos :) 

What do you think, how do these products look to you? If you are intersted in natural cosmetics, and even if you are intersted in cosmetics in general, I think you should check out benecos and try some of their products! Its a German brand but you can order world wide from different shops or from amazon.

I hope you enjoyed this review as much as I enjoy my benecos products :) 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Black Belly

The other day, I covered my belly in this black dress...

...I actually have this dress since more than 7 years and still its one of my favorites! I got it from MANGO in those days. I am just amazed through how many phases of life it accompanies me; I bought it when I was with my second boyfriend, I wore it when I went for the first dates with my husband, I wore it when I lived in Paris and in Ohio, and now I wear it during pregnancy and it still fits so nicely! I love it :)



I was so happy to be able to take some pictures in the sunshine that day! My husband and I went for a long and beautiful walk and I enjoyed it so much to finally get some vitamin D and feel some sunlight on my skin. I am sooooo ready for Spring! 


How do you like this outfit? Next to the dress which is, as I said 7 years old and from Mango and I am wearing a H&M cardigan in here which is quite new and in my current favorite color - light pink :) The scarf is also an old one and I am sure you already saw it on my blog. 

And how do you like the color of my nail polish? I actually got in from this awesome organic brand called benecos. I am going to share more about the brand and their products in my next post. I actually had an eye on their products for quite some time now and I was really happy to finally try them now! 

If you are curious about the nail polish, you can check it out here or here. The color I am wearing in here in Wild Orchid :) 

Now, I hope guys had a good start into the week and I wish you some most wonderful days ahead! 
Sending you all much love and sunshine :)! 

Sunday, February 8, 2015

How to make your own (vegan and healthy) NUTELLA!

Today I want to share with you a recipe for a vegan healthy version of NUTELLA!

I like to eat sweet from time to time, who does not? However, as most of you know, I do not like to eat processed foods, refinded sugar and those kind of things. But I was really craving for some nutella the other day. So... I just made my own one, vegan, healthy and really good! 


You need:

200 gramm hazelnuts
Margarine or vegetable oil (how much depends on your taste)
Cocoa (how much depends on your taste)
Sweetener of your choice (refined sugar, agave syrup, raw cane sugar...)
Just a tiny little bit of salt

To do:

roast the hazelnuts in the oven for some 5-7 minutes 

Put them into your food processor and crush until you have a hazelnut paste. Add the other ingredients and continue mixing until you have a creamy consistency. Add as much of the other ingredients as you like - when you add more margarine or oil it will be fatter and also smoother (but less healthy), you can use the sweetener of your choice to make it healthier or less healthy (I used agave syrup) and as much cocoa as you like. 

You will need a really strong food processor for this recipe. In case you dont have one, I think that you can just buy a hazelnut paste from the shop and mix it with the other ingredients. I did not try this but I am pretty sure that it works fine too ... it will be more expensive however.


Yummy yummy yummy! Enjoy :)

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Pink and Grey

Yay for Pink!

Its somehow so depressing to go out for outfit shootings in this grey weather, but since it does not seem to change anytime soon, I decided to do it anyway. Can you spot the earrings which I presented in my before last post (here)? I was finally able to wear them with my pink sweater :)

Can you tell how my belly is growing? I hope I will be able to wear my normal oversized sweaters until the end of pregnancy because I really dont feel like buying even bigger ones which I will not wear after pregnancy. I hoped for Spring to come early so that it will be easier to dress up my belly but it seems as if Winter will last until March. Anyway, I will figure it out and I will for sure share with you what I did to cover up my belly ;)


I hope you all have a wonderful week so far!? Mine is quiet and nice and I enjoy having some time studying, working from my home office and reading one of the nice books I got for Christmas. 

Today then, I have my weekly highlight - a professional massage! Since my belly is growing its getting more and more difficult for my back to balance the additional weight so I have some backpain from time to time. My doctor prescribed my massages every week and I so love it!

I hope you have a great day too! Sending you lots of love!

Monday, February 2, 2015

Eating a vegan diet during pregnancy

Today I want to share with you some information and thoughts about eating a vegan diet during pregnancy...

... my decision to start eating a vegan diet sometime in 2013 was one of the best decisions of my life. I wrote a little bit about why I changed my diet in this post. Now, even though I am convinced that the way I am eating is the best for me (plus the environment, the world, and the baby in my belly), I am facing scepticism by a lot of people, many times. This did not turn any better when people found out that I was pregnant and I still sticked to my diet. I know that this scepticism is something many vegans or even vegetarians have to fight with and since I got a few questions about me, eating vegan during pregnancy, I decided to share some information and some thoughts.

First of all I want to say: It's absolutely fine and healthy to a vegan diet during pregnancy!
Then I want to say: You should take really good care of what you eat - no matter if vegan or not, and you should especially take care of what you eat when you are pregnant- no matter if vegan or not! 


You will get all your vitamins and nutrients through whole plant based food - even more and better than you ever would through meat or dairy products. The emphasis is on whole plant based food! Get informed about this lifestyle and read what your body needs and what it does not need (sugar, empty calories, fat...)!

During pregnancy you will have a somewhat higher demand for nutrients (e.g. you need around 150 milligram of vitamin C during pregnancy instead of the usual 100 milligram) and the best way to fulfill these demands is through veggies and fruits! Of course, I will not recommend anyone to eat a unhealthy vegan diet which is based on white bread, pasta and ketchup. But when you eat a plant-based whole food diet there is NO reason to worry about anything. You know that many women have problems with their iron levels during pregnancy, right? Well, guess what - I do not even eat meat and my iron levels are fine (I am in week 30 now)! There is plenty of iron in whole grain products, in nuts, in green veggies and in red fruits. And guess what more - my calcium levels, my vitamin D levels, all these "critical" nutrients that vegans may not get enough off, they are all fine.

BUT - I am also taking good care of myself. I think the most important for every vegan, vegetarian or meat eater is to get informed, to read about what we, as human beings, actually need. I read a lot since I started eating a vegan diet and I even started a correspondence degree course in nutrition consultancy in December last year! Well yes, I decided to study nutrition because I believe that nutrition is one of the most important aspects of our life. You are nothing without your body, and your body is nothing without the right nutrients! 

So what do I eat? 

LOTS of veggies and fruits! 
LOTS of lentils, whole grains, beans and nuts
JUST A LITTLE of plant oils and salt
ALMOST NO invert sugar and empty calories

Its that easy! 
Plus eating something different every day! One day its lentils, the next its whole grain pasta, then potatoes, then beans etc. etc. and of course different veggies and fruits with it every day. 

During pregnancy I take some extra care, of course, everyone should do so. For me, this means that I pay attention not to forget my daily green smoothie and to eat more than usual (more healthy calories - more nutrients for the baby).  



Now, let me give you a little more information about some of these "critical" nutrients that you have to take some extra care off during pregnancy:

When people ask you about your protein - let them know that it is impossible not to get all the protein you need when you eat enough healthy calories (legumes and whole grains)! Its simply not possible because protein is everywhere in there. And in case you want to say something more - tell them that the average American (and German) eats way too much protein and that this is actually quite harmful for their kidneys!

The same actually applies to calcium - when you eat enough green veggies, nuts and oranges (they have so much calcium and I love them in my smoothies or just like that!) then there is no need to fear a deficit.  And by the way, milk actually increases calcium loss from the bones, since it acidifies the body pH which in turn triggers a biological correction (calcium from the bones is utilized to neutralize the acidifying effect of milk). 

When it comes to iron, just make sure that you eat your plant based iron together with some vitamin C so that your body is able to absorb it. So have oats with fruits, beans with potatoes and nuts with a nice spinach salad. PLUS make sure not to drink green or black tea (it makes it impossible for your body to absorb the iron)! When you stick to these simple rules and when you eat enough, you will never face any problems with your iron levels - I promise :) 

Now a last one - the most discussed one- vitamin B12! Everyone seems to know so much about B12 and everyone keeps telling me that my diet cannot be a healthy one because there is no way to get enough B12 from it. Well... let me tell you one thing, there are actually so many people out there, eating meat and milk, having a B12 deficit! Why? Because your body is only able to absorb B12 when your gastric mucosa functions well. And you know what? It only functions well, when you eat lots of good food and fruits and veggies and it gets totally damaged when you eat los of fat and meat because its just not able to cope with it. Many people do not even know that they have problems with their gastric mucosa but its acutally a widespread phenomenon. Then, there is also the whole story about where B12 actually comes from and that a large percentage of the B12 which you can find in animal products, is there ONLY because it was fed to the animal when it was still alive. Well, why not just skip this part then, and take this little B12 pill directly? I supplement B12 and I would recommend doing so to every vegan or vegetarian, no matter if pregnant or not.

In general, I think its always a good idea to get your blood checked. When you are pregnant your blood will be checked regularly so you will be able to keep track on it. Whenever you feel tired, depressed, or just not good, it may be a sign that you have some deficits and you should check if your body misses something. When you feel great, strong and full of energy, then this means that you treat your body well and that you have nothing to worry about. The most important is always, to listen to your body! In the beginning of my pregnancy I had really bad cravings for red fruit - well, my body needed this extra iron from them, so I just had lots of red fruits. Then I was craving for lots and lots of oranges and I just ate tons, because I knew my body was in need for some extra calcium. Learn to listen to your body, appreciate it, love it and treat it well and you will not face any problems eating a vegan diet during pregnancy.

Now this is a long post and I could tell you SOOOOOO much more but I think I will stop here. Have a look at this website for information and for awesome books and studies on the whole topic: http://www.thechinastudy.com/ 

You are also always welcome to ask me questions. This post is far from answering all the questions you may have, so please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to help and share information!